The Book of Mormon has been acknowledged as one of the most influential books in human history. Regardless of whether someone believes the book to be true or false, few people will deny it’s influence. But the question remains: Is it true or is it false? Was it an elaborate scheme or a divine gift to mankind?
Millions of people that have studied the Book of Mormon will tell you that they have a certain witness that the book is true. On the other end of the spectrum, there are people that have studied the Book of Mormon and are convinced that it’s a fraud. Some of the people that are now convinced that the book is a fraud were previously people that bore their testimony that they received a witness that the book was true.
So my question is…how does someone go from “knowing that the Book of Mormon is true” to “knowing that the Book of Mormon is a fraud” so quickly? I’ve come to know that many of the people that once adored the Book of Mormon but now reject it are not bad people. Most of them are really good people that have been shocked to learn things that they weren’t previously taught when they were young or when they were first investigating the church. I know many of them and they are my friends.
But here’s the deal. We’re all learning things! Everyday. From the proverbial least to the greatest. Sunday school teachers, seminary teachers, institute directors, bishops, church historians, apostles, and even the prophet. All of us are learning during this amazing age of research and internet accessibility. I’ve learned so much over the last couple years. Some of the things I’ve learned reinforced the things I already knew, and other things opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. Having the fullness of the gospel with it’s associated doctrine and ordinances doesn’t equate to having a perfect knowledge of all the details.
At the center of all controversy is the question of whether Joseph Smith fabricated or translated the Book of Mormon. The answer to that question is the hinge upon which the truthfulness of the church swings. So it’s natural that there’s a lot of people researching the possible ways that Joseph Smith might have been able to write the Book of Mormon. In fact…for me…that is about all I’ve studied for the past year. When I hear something compelling, I don’t write it off as “anti” and ignore it altogether. I never want to be one of those people that just shuts down all suggestions that contradict my current beliefs.
[adinserter block=1]As a missionary, I always asked people to listen to the things I was sharing with an open mind. I hated when they’d close their ears just because of their unmovable position. Before they slammed the door, if I could get a sentence out, I would sometimes appeal to the biblical proverb that says “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” [Proverbs 18:13] What kind of hypocrite would I be if I shut my ears to everything that didn’t jive with my current beliefs.
So…when I learn that Joseph Smith looked at a rock in a hat to translate the Book of Mormon, I’ve got to admit that it’s mind-boggling. I can’t understand it. The skeptic in me starts to wonder. But my incomprehension doesn’t mean it didn’t happen just as he said it did. Just picturing a guy looking in a hat to dictate one of the most influential books in human history by itself can seem strange. Was it just dumb luck? Sheer genius? Or could it be that we just don’t understand the technology that was used to bring forth the Book of Mormon. Sort of the same way people must have felt when Isaiah was trying to describe airplanes and trains to desert tent dwellers. People hated Isaiah and probably called him nuts. But here we are…riding on planes as if they were no different than horse and buggy.
I personally carry with me a smooth stone-like device in my pocket all the time. This device I carry with me shines in darkness and (gasp….) words appear on it! Not only words… but pictures, videos, maps, and apps that talk to satellites and measure heart rates. Talk about incomprehensible. Just recently, I was using a Strong’s concordance app on my phone to get the Hebrew translation of a few words. The screen illuminated out of darkness and I was given the translation. It’s a miracle. We never question the technology we use in our world today, but we balk at the technology that God might have used in the past to communicate with his children. Can you imagine trying to explain your most recent Facetime video call or Skype chat to your backwoods buddy on the banks of the Susquehanna in 1830? He would laugh in your face.
That’s what many people did to Joseph Smith. Laugh. Even his closest associates and scribes devised tricks to see if he was making this stuff up. They always came up empty. They knew him well. They lived in tight quarters. Not many places to hide. No internet. No copy paste for curation of other books. Couldn’t even write a coherent letter. No logical explanation. Never stopping to ask where he left off. Never going back to correct a contradiction. (Because there were none) Spelling out words he couldn’t pronounce. Not knowing of a wall that surrounded Jerusalem, yet knowing so much about Old Testament history. These people couldn’t understand this technology. Joseph didn’t even understand this technology at first. But none of them could deny it.
[adinserter block=2]To those early scribes…there’s no way this guy dictates a book like the Book of Mormon without divine aid. No books, no manuscripts, no ear piece with audio recordings to recite from. No tricks. No gimmicks. No one close to the process reported anything that seemed fishy. They put Joseph to the test for their own peace of mind, and none of them could write it off as fraudulent. None of the journals or testimonies give any indication that anyone else was “in on it.” They only stood by and witnessed what they considered a miraculous undertaking. These people were sacrificing a lot of their time, money, and energy to help that book come forth and none of them wanted to be part of a fraud. None of them wanted their reputation tarnished in cities where everyone knew everyone. They were no different than you and I are today. They weren’t stupid. Ignorant. Knowingly turning a blind eye. They weighed the logic of a frontiersman being able to pull off something like the Book of Mormon in the way that he did and determined it was an impossibility.
I believe that God used technology that turned a farmer into a translator. It was a marvel to those that witnessed the process. It continues to be a marvel to me today.
I have another one for you Greg. Why are people okay with the concept of 5th dimensional bulk beings, as seen in Interstellar, but not open to the idea that God could be utilizing the same science? A being that works differently through time and space. A being that can influence things around him without being there in person but in ways that could be ignored. A being that lives and is in time but can also pass through time? That film also depicts gravity affecting time and time running at different rates on different planets. Sounds a lot like “a thousand years to us is a day to God.”
I also look at the fact that God who is all powerful to create this earth, to create us, the stars and planets, the heavens, that He is obviously not limited to our technology in our time or any other time in history to help Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon. If other religions believe that Moses parted the red sea and brought forth the plagues and other “miracles” just by his staff which God gave power to, just through Moses’ faith in God, if they believe the prophets in the bible spoke with God and work miracles then, if they believe God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then why wouldn’t he have a mouthpiece or prophet today? Could He not then speak to Joseph Smith through a seer stone, through the urim and thummim, or even through his thoughts and the spirit? Or any way He needed to communicate with him for that matter?
If I can add my testimony, I’ll say this; I’m not much of a reader as far as books goes. I’m a fluent reader and can read just fine, but have always had a hard time concentrating on what I’m reading. That’s why very few of the books I’ve picked up and attempted to read I’ve finished. My prayer to Heavenly Father each time I read my scriptures is to be able to understand and feel what I’m reading as though I were there. When Nephi obtained the plates from Laban, when they sailed across the sea to the promised land, when Abinadi preached to the false priests of wicked king Noah, when Alma baptized at the waters of Mormon, when Alma the Younger was chastised by and angel and caught up in the spirit and saw his Savior. When Samuel the Lamanite preached to the Nephites of their wickedness, when the star appeared as a witness to Christ’s birth, when Jesus came to the Nephites and blessed them, healed them and when he blessed the little children angels encircled them, when the 2000 stripling warriors stood against and conquered their enemies because of the faith in God their mothers taught them, and all the other stories. And it works, I can envision the events as though I was there and what comes to my thoughts for each event doesn’t deviate one bit. It has helped me read the Book of Mormon several times and I am reading it again.
For someone who can’t concentrate very well on other books, God helps me to read, understand and finish my scriptures. This includes the Bible, the Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price along with The Book of Mormon. The spirit always manifests to me that what I’m reading is true. The outside world can try to show me why I’m wrong until they’re blue in the face but it won’t work. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know it, God knows I know it and I will not deny it.
Greg, I have a quick suggestion: You do have the right to *edit* what displays on your site here. You have no moral obligation to give people like Alex De Leon Eisenberg a forum for their idiotic drivel. You don’t have to publish every bit of slime that oozes under your door, brother.
God bless,
Hey Glen, so you have no arguments to discuss this rather than ad-hominems, and being a bully, like a playground kid? If your brain is capable enough please try to refute my points. Your lack of respect is telling, must fit your concept of a true Christian, I guess…
Greg has showed complete respect to others no matter how different their opinions, something I admire though…
What’s the point of having an opinion if you can’t defend it with healthy discussion? No need to say nasty things like that about other human beings
Glen, exactly what was it that Alex De Leon Eisenberg said that qualifies as idiotic? More over, You have the same opinion as many Mormons, the idea that anyone who disagrees with the official word of the church should be silenced. This is of course one of the clues that should raise a red flag about the accusations that the LDS church is a cult. If you constantly warn members not to read anything that is not approved by your church, you have something to hide. If the church is true then there would be no danger to letting people hear the other side. If the church is true then no one would ever leave because they learned the truth about it. How many people do you know who, after getting a Master’s degree in physics went on to earn their PHD and after two years of intensive study and research decided that Physics is not true. Have you ever heard of anyone that studied and learned more and more about a scientific regimen until they finally decided that it was all a hoax. And yet most Mormons are terrified to listen to anything that is not approved by the leaders. Is this because they know that their testimonies are so weak that the minute someone tell them a lie they will fall for it and leave the church to join Satan? Or is it more likely that you are discouraged from listening to negative information about the church because so many have left after realizing that the anti-Mormon stuff is true. Think about it,
I think anyone with a strong testimony can listen to anything and be comfortable in their testimony. Some in the church, as in any field of learning, do not understand their own religion well. This leads to believing of all manner of falseness before truth, “deceived by the cunningness of the devil”. Many educated with false ideas also prey on the less educated religious. You say many are terrified. This is your own presumption, and it is false. I have a doctorate in science and I have a immensely firm believe in the LDS faith. I find reinforcing evidences everywhere in nature, physics, chemistry, and cellular biology. I read every opinion if there is something valuable in it. I must admit, however, the most important and true words uttered about life, happiness, and the eternities come from Church leaders.
Sorry I took so long to see your reply. I would like to ask you a few simple but honest questions.
Do you think it is fair to claim that Joseph Smith was a prophet and then dismiss most of what he said as him speaking as a man whenever what he said is shown to be false?
Do you believe in a literal Flood of Noah?
If you do why do you dismiss the findings of 99.9% of all geologists, cellular biologists, chemists and physicists?
If not then how did civilization get from Jackson County Missouri (Adam Ondi Ahman) to the Middle East so that Jared and Nephi could return to the Western Hemisphere?
In my opinion you cannot claim that science reinforces Mormonism when so much is in direct conflict with it.
I agree with Glen. If someone has worthwhile intelligent opinions (agreeing or disagreeing) let them share them. I would not let silly anti-Mormons throw mud at everything you say. Many have trigger happy cynicism brought on by intense emotions, and instantly disregard anything positive or relevant about the Church. Your comment section has become a magnet for anti-Mormon trolls, fault finders, and bullies. Let’s seriously take the hate down a notch people.
“The Book of Mormon has been acknowledged as one of the most influential books in human history.”
Acknowledged by who? A tiny portion of people in human history have even been aware the book exists. It has been influential on people whose lives have been influenced by Mormonism, but you overstate the case to declare it one of the most influential in human history.
Pretty simple really. You can do a simple google search for the most influential books in history and the Book of Mormon comes up on list done by several people, places, studies, etc. It is actually listed among all of them in the Top 50, I would say that is pretty prevalent when you look at all the books in the world. Gosh, up above Alex De Leon mentioned some books I had never heard of, does that mean those are wrong also. I would say not without reading and studying them first. However, with regards to your statement. Ignorance, laziness, lack of reading and study doesn’t necessarily justify or make a statement or book true. Which is what you have done here. I am sure there are a “tiny portion of people” scattered throughout the world who have never scene or read the bible or the book The Art of War, but both books are on the Top 10 list, does that mean that either of these books is not influential.
Ok, I googled it. It appears on some lists and is absent on others that I saw. I would agree that it’s one of the most influential in American history. Human history seems like a stretch to me, but there’s probably no sense quibbling over something that is subjective.
The only reason I might agree with “Human History” and not just American History is that it is a book that has affected people world wide. And is approaching two centuries now of affect.
Jim, your willful ignorance is so telling!! Your church, like any other religion, praises ignorance to the fullest extent, and the effect on brainwashed sheep like you is obscene!!
People like you deserve to be deceived!! You church has hidden on purpose this stuff and lie and you don´t care… Priceless…
Greg, I have been reading your posts for a while now. I appreciate that you are becoming more understanding of people who no longer believe. Thank you for that.
I just have to say, I don’t take any more issue with the fact that it was a rock in a hat that than I would with it being the urim and thummin, or even actually looking at the (~200lb gold) plates and translating line for line. To me, they are all on the same level of crazy, for lack of a better word.
What I do take issue with, however, is your comments suggesting the church leaders and historians may not have known about this. To me, that is even more crazy. Of course they knew! They have had the damn thing (or at least pictures of it) for all these years, and the history is there, just really really hard to find, unless you want to go diving into “unofficial” sources!
The leaders and historians of the church have lied to us. They have lied about this and many other issues. I spread those lies as fact as a missionary, and dispelled what is now known and acknowledged as the truth as anti-Mormon lies!
The church lied, Greg. They purposefully kept information from us and covered it up with lies and part-truths. No amount of mental gymnastics or apologetics can get around that.
Why didn’t you approve my comments? Because my opinion doesn’t match yours? I get that it’s your site and you can do whatever you want, but dang dude, I was just adding to the discussion with my opinion.
Hey Josh…I wish I could sit around and approve comments all day but I’ve got to work bro. I approve comments 99% of them time unless there are vulgarities present.
Well that’s embarrassing lol. I don’t really know discus and it looked like it didn’t get approved
Hey man! No worries. Happens all the time!
Hey Greg, can I go South Park Mormon on these guys?
Kind of a side question, I know, but where in Isaiah does he try to descibe airplanes and trains? I’ve never heard of this before.
The urim and thummim is simply two seer stones used in conjunction with each other. When a person reads the Bible and sees that ordained seers (which are greater than prophets) used the urim and thummim/seer stones to reveal truth as it was, is, and is to come, suddenly the notion of a seer using a seer stone to reveal the Book of Mormon in our day makes more sense. And although these stones in the urim and thummim were often white or clear in color, there is nothing to suggest that having a seer stone that is a different color would be wrong. Same argument could be made for shape and size as well. Truly a marvelous work and a wonder!
But this brown seer stone that Smith used to help translate the Book of Mormon was first found in a well. It was not given to him by angelic messengers. And he used it to defraud people by claiming he could see buried treasure in it. So….
While I agree that seer stones can be used for wicked means, it doesn’t mean that they can’t also be used later by the same person for divine means, if one is so called. The Lord is the creator of the earth, and I’m not aware of anything to suggest seer stones can’t come from inside the earth as well. The reason Joseph was withheld for many years from obtaining the plates was because he would use them for the purpose of making money by selling them as a treasure, the time period of which you speak. He was warned of this, and it was a trying time for him. Once he learned sufficiently what needed to be done, and was humble, he could have them in his possession. When the first 116 pages were translated, it was done with the Urim and Thummim that had been included with the plates. During that time, Joseph learned some of the language and also learned how to develop faith in the process and receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost. When the pages had been lost, Joseph lost his privilege to translate with it, so an alternative means was provided for him. Over time, he became familiar enough with the Holy Ghost’s voice that the seer stone was no longer needed.
If you ever have a missionary opportunity to explain the coming forth of the Book of Mormon to a non-member, will you tell them everything you just wrote above?