Friday 14 November 2014

Questions for My Mormon Friends

Please give honest and satisfactory answers to these questions . . .

1.  Are the testimonies recorded in the front of the Book of Mormon credible and impartial? Is it not true that the “three witnesses” all left the Mormon Church and were later condemned as reprobates and criminals by the Mormon Church? Is it not true that the other “eight witnesses” were all related to either David Whitmer (one of the “three witnesses”) or to Joseph Smith, Jr., and that Whitmer’s living relatives had all left the Mormon Church by the eighth year of its existence? [cf. Apostle George A. Smith, Journal of Discourses 7:114-15]

2.  Why were portions of the Book of Mormon copied word for word from the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible?  For example, compare the following:

Isaiah 2:1-9 (King James Version)                            2 Nephi 12:1-9 (Book of Mormon)
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning                      1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning
Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the                       Judah and Jerusalem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the
last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall                          last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall
be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be                      be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.                     exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us                    3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us
go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the                        go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we                        God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we
will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the                       will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he                    law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 And he
shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many                       shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many
people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,                  people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up               and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any                       sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the                   more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the
light of the Lord. 6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people             light of the Lord.... 6 Therefore...thou hast forsaken thy people
the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the                 the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the
east,  and  are   soothsayers  like  the  Philistines, and they                east, and hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they
please themselves in the children of strangers. 7 Their                      please themselves in the children of strangers. 7 Their
land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end                 land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end
of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither                 of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither
is there any end of their chariots: 8 Their land also is full                  is there any end of their chariots: 8 Their land also is full
of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that                   of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that
which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man                which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man
boweth  down,  and  the  great  man  humbleth  himself:                   boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not:
therefore forgive them not.                                                                     therefore forgive them not.

Except for minor variations, the above passages are identical (even the verses correspond). The King James Version was published in 1611. The Book of Mormon was supposedly translated into English “by the gift and power of God” in the 1820s. Thus either (a) God speaks 17th century English, or (b) the King James Version of 1611 is a divinely inspired English translation, or (c) whoever wrote the Book of Mormon had access to the King James Bible (which was available and commonly used in the 1820s) and copied portions from it.

3. If the Book of Mormon is from God, why is it filled with errors and contradictions? For example:

·      2 Nephi 5:15 says that these precious ores “were in great abundance,” yet verse 16 says, “They were not to be found upon the land”???
·      2 Nephi 5:15 mentions “steel” being in America between 588 and 570 BC, yet steel was not made in America until the 1800s.
·      In 1 Nephi 18:21 it is recorded that Nephi used a “compass” in 589 BC, but the compass was not invented until the 12th century AD.
·      In 1 Nephi 18:25 asses and horses are mentioned as being in America in 589 BC, yet these animals were first introduced in America only about 500 years ago by the Spaniards. 
·      Alma 11 mentions various coins that were supposedly used, yet inhabitants of North & South America did not use coins before the 15th century AD.  None of these coins have ever been found, while every coin mentioned in the Bible has been found in abundance.
·      Alma 7:10 states that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, when in reality he was born in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:1).
·      Heleman 14:20 and 3 Nephi 8:3,20-23 assert that the sun was darkened for three days, when in reality it was only three hours (Matt. 27:43; Mark 15:33).
·      Alma 14:13-16 refers to the people in 73 BC as “Christians,” so they were presumably wearing the name of Christ 73 years before Christ was on earth. The Bible says, “the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).

4.  Mormon 9:32 says that the Book of Mormon was originally written in the “reformed Egyptian” language. Nephi was supposedly a Jew who lived in Jerusalem around 600 BC. At that time both the written and spoken language of the Jews was Hebrew. Where did Nephi learn “reformed Egyptian”? Why did God cause copies of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible to be preserved in greater numbers than those of any other ancient book, whereas in the case of the Book of Mormon he purportedly left us with only an English translation? There is not a single manuscript for the Book of Mormon. The gold plates from which it was supposedly translated are nowhere to be found. There exists no literature in the so-called “reformed Egyptian.”  What assurance do we have that “reformed Egyptian” was actually spoken and written?

5.  How do you explain the fact that Mormon teaching is inconsistent with the Book of Mormon?  For example:
·      Baptism for the dead: Alma 34:32-35?              
·      God is changeable: Moroni 8:18?
·      God is flesh and bones: Alma 22:9-10 (cf. John 4:24)?          
·      Plural wives: Jacob 2:24?
·      Water in communion: 3 Nephi 18:8 (cf. Matt. 26:29)?

6.  How do you explain the fact that the Book of Mormon contradicts Doctrine and Covenants?  For example:

Book of Mormon                                        
Having multiple wives and concubines is abominable to the Lord (Jacob 2:23-24,35).
Doctrine & Covenants
Having multiple wives and concubines is not sinful, is a commandment of the Lord and part of his everlasting covenant, and failure to comply results in damnation (D&C 132:1-6,29-38).
Book of Mormon
Baptism is for remission of sins (3 Nephi 12:2).       
Doctrine & Covenants
Baptism comes after remission of sins (D&C 20:37).

7.  Why is Mormon teaching inconsistent with the Bible?  For example:
·      Those who enter the “Celestial Kingdom” will be gods (D&C 132:20); compare Isaiah 43:10; 44:6.
·      “unto that soul who sinneth shall the former sins return” (D&C 82:7); compare Hebrews 8:12.
·      “Man was also in the beginning with God” (D&C 93:29); compare Genesis 1:26; 2:7; Zechariah 12:1; Ecclesiastes 12:7.
·      John was not to die (D&C 7:1-3); compare John 21:20-23.
·      The Bible alone is insufficient (2 Nephi 29:6-10); compare 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:3-4; James 1:25; Jude 3.
·      The Mormon Church was established in 1830, and Joseph Smith was its head and laid its foundation (D&C 21:1-3; 28:2,6); compare Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:11; Ephesians 1:19-23; Colossians 1:17-18.

8.  Have Mormons obeyed (or do they intend to obey) the instructions set forth in Doctrine & Covenants 57:2-3; 84:5 in regard to building a temple in Independence, Missouri?

9.  Would you like to learn more about the Bible, true Christianity, and God’s will for your life? 

--Kevin L. Moore


Related PostsMormonismQuestions for My Jehovah's Witness Friends

Related articles: Jess Whitlock's Differences between the Bible and Book of Mormon

Recommended Websites: Nathan Franson's Mormon Study, Lance Mosher's 3 Tests Book of Mormon Can't Pass

Image credit: http://blog.chron.com/mormonvoice/files/2013/09/bom.miss_.2.jpg    

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