THE CROSS UNVEILED
Last Update: 1/2014
Is the Book of Mormon Inspired? Part 2
This section covers the books of Jacob through Mosiah
The Book of Mormon claims to be the inspired word of God and Joseph Smith further claimed it was "the most correct book of any on earth" (Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon Introduction). With these types of claims one would expect there to be no errors, contradictions, anachronisms, or issues with archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, metallurgy, population growth, etc.
Please bear with me as I go through the Book of Mormon pointing out irreconcilable issues in these areas.
Jacob
- Jacob 2:24, 27 "Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord....Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;"
This completely contradicts the doctrine of plural marriage as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants section 132.
132:1 "Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines"
David and Solomon were practicing an abomination according to the Lord in the Book of Mormon, but they were justified by the Lord according to the Doctrine and Covenants.
D&C verse 34 also states "God commanded Abraham, an Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife."
But, Genesis 16:2 says that Abraham listened to his wife Sarah to take Hagar to have a child. God had nothing to do with the transaction. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says God is not the author of confusion and it does not get more confusing than this.
- Jacob 3:5, 8 "Behold, the Lamanites your brethren, whom ye hate because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins, are more righteous than you... O my brethren, I fear that unless ye shall repent of your sins that their skins will be whiter than yours, when ye shall be brought with them before the throne of God."
This is one of about 20 total verses in Mormon standard works that show just how uninspired their scripture is through racism. Mormon doctrine teaches that those who were valiant in the pre-existent war in heaven (fought for Christ) will have white skin while on earth and those who were not valiant (fought for Satan) will be cursed with dark skin. They refer to this as "The Curse of Cain." Mormonism teaches that the curse God put upon Cain was dark skin. Here are some quotes of Mormon leaders regarding this curse of dark skin:
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 10:110, 1863).
"Cain might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin" (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:290, 1859).
"And after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God" (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 22:304, 1881).
"There is a reason why one man is born black and with other disadvantages, while another is born white with great advantages. The reason is that we once had an estate before we came here, and were obedient, more or less, to the laws that were given us there. Those who were faithful in all things there received greater blessings here, and those who were not faithful received less...There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Satan. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body.The Negro, evidently, is receiving the reward he merits" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1954, 1:65-66).
In an October 1960 LDS Church General Conference message, Spencer W. Kimball shared how Indian's skin color was becoming whiter when they converted to the LDS church. He stated, "The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and now they are becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. ...The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their bothers and sisters...At one meeting a father and a mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl--sixteen--sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents...There was a doctor in Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home had stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation...One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated" (Spencer W. Kimball, "The Day of the Lamanites," The Improvement Era, December 1960, p. 923).
Does the Bible speak of Cain being cursed with dark skin? The biblical account where the LDS are referring to this curse is found in Genesis 4:11-12, just after Cain kills his brother Abel. The problem is the curse was that that Cain's crops would be unfruitful and that he would be a vagabond (wanderer) as verse 12 plainly states. A mark was put on Cain (verse 15) so that others would know not to kill Cain. There is no Biblical support for this mark being black skin. As you can plainly see, the LDS leadership has twisted the scriptures and brought forth a policy of racism for over 100 years before it was removed in 1978, well after the Civil Rights movement. If the Prophet of the LDS church does communicate with the Lord, why was racism in place for over 100 years in the church? Why was racism still taught years after the Civil Rights movement? The Bible states everyone is the same; there are no advantages or disadvantages with skin color.
Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
- Jacob 4:9 "For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created..."
This account of the creation of the world as being God-breathed is similar to the bible, yet completely contradicts the account in Abraham chapters 4 and 5 which say the Gods did not create the earth, but organized it out of existing matter.
- Jacob 7:27 "And I, Jacob,...I bid farewell, hoping that many of my brethren may read my words. Brethren, adieu.
What is a French word doing in the Book of Mormon? French was not a language until 700 AD, so how would it get translated from gold plates written centuries earlier?
Enos
- Enos 1:1 "Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man -- for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord -- and blessed be the name of my God for it --"
Ephesians 6:4 was written several centuries later so how could the same part of the verse be in Enos?
"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
- Enos 1:27 "...And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.
1 Corinthians 15:53 was written several centuries later so how could the same part of the verse be in Enos?
"For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. "
Mosiah
- Mosiah 2:3 "And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses;"
This contradicts the bible in that firstlings were reserved for the Lord and given to the priests as tithing. They were never used in burnt offerings (Exodus 13:2, 12, 22:29-30; Numbers 3:13, 18:15-18; 2 Samuel 24:24).
- Mosiah 2:19 "And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!"
Why would the translation from the golden plates be going back and forth between archaic Elizabethan form English and modern English? Is this inspired?
- Mosiah 3:5 "For behold, the time cometh, and is not far distant, that with power, the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men,..."
This contradicts Mormon doctrine a of progressing God. If God was once a man and progressed to godhood as taught in theJanuary 2005 Ensign, then how can he also be God from all eternity to all eternity?
- Mosiah 3:8 "And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary."
Sounds biblical, but Jesus Christ is not the Father of heaven and earth under Mormon doctrine, that title belongs to God the Father. Also, According to chapter 4 of the book of Abraham, "the Gods" did not create all things, but organized existing matter.
- Mosiah 3:19 "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint ..."
Again, why would the translation from the golden plates be going back and forth between archaic Elizabethan form english and modern english? Is this inspired? This continues to occur in the Book of Mormon as further examples include Mosiah 4:22 and 24.
- Mosiah 4:9 "Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."
According to chapter 4 of the book of Abraham, "the Gods" did not create all things, but organized existing matter.
- Mosiah 5:15 "Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works,..."
1 Corinthians 15:58 says virtually the same thing which was written almost two centuries later. How can this be inspired writing?
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. "
- Mosiah 9:9 "And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and ofbarley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land."
Wheat and barley were not in the Americas until about the year 1602 for wheat and 1494 for barley.
- Mosiah 13:18 "But the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work,..."
A seven day week was completely unknown in ancient America.
- Mosiah 15:1-5 "And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son -- The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people."
This contradicts Mormon doctrine (at least historical doctrine) that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct persons and three Gods.
"I have always declared Gog to be a distinct personage, Jesus Christ a distinct personage from God the Father, and that the Holy Ghost was a distinct personage and a Spirit: and these three constitute three distinct personages and three Gods. If this is in accordance with the New Testament, lo and behold! we have three Gods anyhow, and they are plural; and who can contradict it?" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Joseph Fielding Smith, p. 370) (emphasis mine)
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith can be purchase today from desertbook.com.
These verses also teach the biblical doctrine that Jesus is God in the flesh, which completely contradicts Mormon doctrine.
- Mosiah 15:26 " But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection."
This verse contradicts the Mormon doctrine of baptisms for the dead, which allows for a second chance after death.
- Mosiah 16:6 "And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there could have been no redemption."
Remember "Christ" is not a name, but is a Greek word that means "annointed" corresponding to the Hebrew word "Messiah." As I stated earlier and an issue that plagues the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith is asking us to believe the correct English translation fo a reformed Egyptian word is the anglicized Greek word "Christ." This is not inspired writing.
- Mosiah 18:17 "And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church."
The time period for this scripture is about 147 BC. The major issue is that while Jesus was teaching, He always referred to the church as something that would be built in the future (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:47). The church was established on the day of Pentecost after the resurrection (Acts 2) almost 200 years later. Baptism taught by Christ did not occur until the New Testament in Matthew 28:19.
- Mosiah 26:27 "And then I will confess unto them that I never knew them; and they shall depart into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matthew 25:41 reads the same, which was written over 150 years later. Truly inspired or complete plagiarism?
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"