Why is Bethlehem not included in the Book of Mormon?

[Andrew_Larkoski]

The BOM fraud thread got nixed, but I think that this is an important topic.

So why is there no Bethlehem in the BOM when describing Christ’s birth place? Joe Smith could have said that Christ was born in Bethlehem, which is in the Land of Jerusalem, but he didn’t. Why? Mormons will say that the Nephites didn’t know where Bethlehem is but they know where Jerusalem is. However there is an underlying theme.

The word Bethlehem in Hebrew means “House of Bread”. Who, exactly, was the bread? It was Jesus Christ. Saying that Jesus was born in Jerusalem is being ignorant of Hebrew and of the enormous symbolism which God gives us. His birth in Bethlehem as the Bread of Life connects to the Last Supper where He initiates the Eucharist, then to His death and resurrection. Bethlehem is no misnomer, nor is it something that can just be left out of a “sacred” text. The Most Holy of all Bread was born there.

This omission from the Book of Mormon is completely unacceptable. Joseph Smith could have retained Bethlehem, but because he didn’t, there is no doubt that the BOM was in NO WAY divinely inspired.

If the Nephites knew Hebrew (which I believe they did) they would have understood this symbolism immediately.

 

[MYSTERIOUS_An-D]

This is one of the many that simply seem to be missing in this so-called 'sacred text." The fact of the matter is that mormons simply have no historical backing to prove that the events they claim happened actually occurred. I would like to suggest that if you are interested in reading some insightful material on the Mormons religious beliefs that you read the book Kingdom of Cults by Walter Martin. In the book he goes through every facet of Mormonism and provides specific details of doctrinal error. Unfortunatly, Martin is a Protestant so some Catholics may discredit him simply because of his beliefs. However, if you do take the opprotunity to read it I bet that you will find some interesting information.

I don’t mind that Mormons have their own religious views, the problem I have is when they call themselves Christians. Their views are so far from that of Catholics or Protestants that grouping themselves in the same category is absolutly absurd. Here are some quotes from Martin’s book that can offer some insight into the Mormonisms real views of God.

1. “In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 349).
   2. “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man ”(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 345).
   3. “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s: the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit ” (Doctrine and Covenants, 130:22).
   4. “Gods exist, and we had better strive to be prepared to be one with them” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 7:238).
   5. “As man is, God once was: as God is, man may become” (Prophet Lorenzo Snow, quoted in Milton R. Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages, 105–106).
   6. “Each of these Gods, including Jesus Christ and His Father, being in possession of not merely an organized spirit, but a glorious immortal body of flesh and bones ” (Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology, ed. 1978, 23).
   7. “And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth” (Abraham 4:1).
   8. “Remember that God, our heavenly Father, was perhaps once a child, and mortal like we ourselves, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement; has moved forward and overcome, until He has arrived at the point where He now is” (Apostle Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses, 1:123).

This is clearly not the God of the Bible.

 

[AmandaPS]

Here’s what I wrote in that thread:

If the Holy Spirit of Mormonism can give the Greek name of the Messiah to a group of Jews from 600 B.C., why could the name Bethlehem not be given too? The Jews of Lehi’s family must have known of the existence of Bethlehem since Jacob buried Rachel on the road to Bethlehem (Ephratah) (Gen 35:19; 48:7). The Book of Ruth tells the story of Naomi, married to a man from Bethlehem-Judah (the town of Bethlehem in the land of Judah). It’s also where King David was born, so the town must have had some significance to the history of Lehi’s people. How then could it be that the Nephites did not know of Bethlehem when given the prophecy?

This is the same Holy Spirit that can tell the Nephites how to build synagogues in the same manner of the Jews, which was not in common use until after the fall of Jerusalem, but can’t tell them the name Bethlehem, which should’ve been well-known.