41
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 ...
- 26.9k
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 ...
- 31.5k
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 (...
- 14.4k
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 ...
- 31.3k
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 ...
- 1,394
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 ...
- 14.4k
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 ...
- 31.3k
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 ...
- 8,697
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 ...
- 1,775
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 - ...
- 8,697
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 8,697
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 ...
- 4,693
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 ...
- 23.6k
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 ...
- 11.2k
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 ...
- 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--...
- 191
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 31.3k
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 ...
- 3,814
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 ...
- 11.2k
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 ...
- 11.2k
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 ...
- 755
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 "...
- 8,835
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 ...
- 71
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 ...
- 23.6k
7
votes
According to Latter-day Saints, what are the strongest apologetic arguments for the divine inspiration of the Book of Mormon?
Much of the conversation often focuses on Joseph Smith's supposed translation and whether or not it was miraculous. I do not discount those arguments, as they are important, but I feel that there is a ...
- 170
7
votes
Accepted
Has any Latter-day Saint published a very detailed description of how the Holy Spirit confirmed to them the truth of the BofM, as per Moroni 10:3-7?
Many times. Although it is possible that the details they provide are not the details this question specifically seeks.
One of my favorites is the account of Vincenzo di Francesca, who first read the ...
- 11.2k
7
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?
Me and my friend made an effort to read the Book of Mormon. Of the many things I could say, one is pretty strong. A miraculous translation should not produce bad grammar; neither should it produce ...
- 329
7
votes
How does LDS theology suffer when Book of Mormon historical claims are unsupported?
Without the Book of Mormon, nothing at all remains. If the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph is a prophet and everything else that entails. If it's not true, then so is the claim that Joseph is a prophet,...
- 5,533
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