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39 votes

Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?

For those who have 'discovered' the Jesus of the Bible, resurrected from the dead and alive today, they swiftly spot that the Jesus of Joseph Smith is not the same Jesus. He is claimed to be the first ...
Anne's user avatar
  • 23k
34 votes
Accepted

What are scholarly objections to the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

The arguments against the authenticity and veracity of the Book of Mormon are multiple. To name a few: Convenient absence of the original 'golden plates' According to Joseph Smith the golden plates ...
DJClayworth's user avatar
  • 30.9k
22 votes
Accepted

Why did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon into Jacobean English, not in use in 1830?

Joseph Smith did not just translate the Book of Mormon into Jacobean English, but into a very specific type of Jacobean English, as used in the King James Version of the Bible (KJV). W. H Stevenson (...
Dick Harfield's user avatar
18 votes
Accepted

Is the English translation of "Book of Mormon" ever revised or updated, and if so, on what basis given that the golden plates have disappeared?

No, the Book of Mormon has never been revised into a more modern English dialect. There have been various updates to the printing of the Book of Mormon over time to correct errors in the typesetting ...
Mason Wheeler's user avatar
  • 31.1k
17 votes

What are scholarly objections to the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

Reformed Egyptian and archeology Only a select few ever claimed to have seen the golden plates Smith said contained the records of the Book of Mormon. The plates were said to have been written in ...
Machavity's user avatar
  • 1,321
15 votes
Accepted

Did Joseph Smith “translate the Book of Mormon”?

Yes, according to the Latter Day Saints, the Book of Mormon was originally written in 'reformed Egyptian characters' on gold plates by prophets living in the Americas from the fourth century BCE until ...
Dick Harfield's user avatar
15 votes
Accepted

Assuming the Book of Mormon is historically accurate, does this necessarily imply the Great Apostasy?

First, you should be aware that not all of Mormon doctrine, or even of the things that are generally considered "the stuff that makes Mormons unique among Christianity," is contained in the Book of ...
Mason Wheeler's user avatar
  • 31.1k
14 votes

According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

1. Authorship-Translator Joseph Smith had an elementary education and managed to produce a 500 page book in 3 months (obtained plates on 22 September 1827). Born into a poor farming family, he was ...
depperm's user avatar
  • 8,543
13 votes
Accepted

Is there an Arabic translation of the Book of Mormon?

Yes, the Book of Mormon is translated into Arabic (كتاب مورمون), as well as the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. A scanned PDF of the Arabic Book of Mormon can be found here, and a ...
Samuel Bradshaw's user avatar
12 votes
Accepted

According to the Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of great price and/or prophets, what prohibits lust?

The LDS believe in chastity or in being sexually pure. The Law of Chasity describes the commandment to not commit adultery, or to lust. Scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants: D&C 42:22-23 - ...
depperm's user avatar
  • 8,543
11 votes

Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?

Even if we accept that Joseph Smith received the golden plates as LDS describes it, neither LDS adherents nor skeptics can verify the translation. Contrast this with Bible believing Christians, any of ...
nickalh's user avatar
  • 464
11 votes

According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?

Witnesses: Testimony of Prophet Joseph Smith Testimony of Three Witnesses Oliver Cowdery David Whitmer Martin Harris declared an angel of God appeared to them and showed them the Book of Mormon ...
depperm's user avatar
  • 8,543
10 votes

Did the Community of Christ denounce the Book of Mormon?

The Community of Christ has not denounced the Book of Mormon. According to Wikipedia the Community of Christ views the Book of Mormon as an additional witness of Jesus Christ and publishes two ...
Dick Harfield's user avatar
10 votes

What are scholarly objections to the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

Why should we believe Mormonism's one and only source? The content of the Bible enjoys the benefit of what historians call "multiple independent attestation." that is, the events, people and ...
Mr. Bond's user avatar
  • 4,306
10 votes

Why do non-LDS Christians accept the testimonies of the apostles but reject the testimonies of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?

It is simplistic to suppose that a choice is being made by certain Christians to believe the testimony of twelve Israelites in the middle of the first century or to believe the testimony of eleven men ...
Nigel J's user avatar
  • 21.8k
10 votes
Accepted

How do Latter-day Saints respond to the claim that the Book of Mormon is based on "Manuscript Found" by Solomon Spaulding? (aka the Spaulding Theory)

For about 50 years in the 19th century the Spaulding manuscript was the most popular naturalistic explanation for the origin of The Book of Mormon; it has now been widely discredited by both friends ...
Hold To The Rod's user avatar
9 votes
Accepted

Did the Community of Christ denounce the Book of Mormon?

In order to understand the current position of the Community of Christ on the Book of Mormon, it's important to look at the role The Book of Mormon holds in the shared history of the Community of ...
Samuel Bradshaw's user avatar
9 votes

What is LDS teaching about how Bible verses came to be in the Book of Mormon?

The short answer is that some church leaders and others have commented on this subject, with various points of view taken. On the one hand, some point out that those who witnessed the translation ...
lish's user avatar
  • 957
9 votes
Accepted

Is the Book of Mormon considered to be another Gospel? (LDS perspective)

No, according to the subtitle to The Book of Mormon, it is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ", not another gospel. Quoting from the title page of The Book of Mormon (emphasis mine): Which is to ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11.7k
9 votes

According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

tl;dr Either Joseph Smith had a nearly unrealistically powerful imagination and coincidentally had many completely imaginative story elements line up with reality, or he had some kind of supernatural--...
Joseph Hansen's user avatar
8 votes

Is the English translation of "Book of Mormon" ever revised or updated, and if so, on what basis given that the golden plates have disappeared?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is the most prominent group of people associated with the name 'Mormon', have only issued new editions when previous editions were found to not ...
Ketura's user avatar
  • 188
8 votes

What did Jesus actually get up to in America (according to Mormons)?

If you have a quad, [a four-in-one book containing all four Standard Works that Mormons recognize as canonical scripture, for those unfamiliar with the term,] this account can be found in the Book of ...
Mason Wheeler's user avatar
  • 31.1k
8 votes

How was the translation of the Book of Mormon shown through Joseph Smith's seer stones and hat?

From LDS.org we read: The other instrument, which Joseph Smith discovered in the ground years before he retrieved the gold plates, was a small oval stone, or “seer stone.” As a young man during the ...
JBH's user avatar
  • 3,694
8 votes

According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?

My previous answer addressed negative arguments -- I believe a well-rounded response to the OP's question should also contain positive arguments and a general look at the purpose of the Book of Mormon ...
Hold To The Rod's user avatar
8 votes

According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest arguments for the credibility of the 3 & 8 witnesses to the golden plates?

The Spaulding Theory (I will address various parts of the OP's questions in separate posts, for readability) For about 50 years in the 19th century the Spaulding manuscript was the most popular ...
Hold To The Rod's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

How do non-LDS Christians respond to the stylometry argument for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon?

With apathy Simply, most non-LDS Christians would not consider the argument to be persuasive enough for consideration. That doesn't meant to say that it isn't useful at all, but just that it doesn't ...
DKing's user avatar
  • 745
7 votes

What is LDS teaching about how Bible verses came to be in the Book of Mormon?

Yes. The Bible verses found in the Book of Mormon were translated directly from the plates. In fact, such comments by scholars can be found right in the Book of Mormon. 2 Nephi 12 is a good example. ...
Matt's user avatar
  • 11.7k
7 votes

Why did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon into Jacobean English, not in use in 1830?

From an exmormon standpoint, an alternative explanation is that there were no plates to "translate," and the whole thing was something he created, using contemporary sources. The current thinking is ...
Slugnut's user avatar
  • 71
7 votes

Is the Book of Mormon considered to be another Gospel? (LDS perspective)

Your interpretation of Paul's warning is anachronistic. At Paul's time there was no Bible, he wasn't referring to the four gospels according to Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. He was referring to the "...
ShemSeger's user avatar
  • 8,835
7 votes

Is the Book of Mormon in English as authentic as in the original, or is Joseph Smith's translation imperfect?

Does the English text Book of Mormon have just as much authority as, say, the Greek text of Matthew's Gospel ? The New Testament part of the Holy Bible, that is to say the collection of volumes ...
Nigel J's user avatar
  • 21.8k

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