THE CROSS UNVEILED

Last Update: 1/2014

Is the Book of Mormon Inspired? Part 5

This section covers the books of 4 Nephi through Moroni

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. 

Mormon 

- Mormon 5:15 "And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry."

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."
   
- Mormon 8:18 "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."

Joseph Smith taught in the King Follett Sermon “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens ... It is necessary that we should understand the character and being of God, and how he came to be so; for I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity, I will refute that idea, and will take away and do away the veil, so that you may see. These are incomprehensible ideas to some; but they are simple..." (Joseph Smith Jr., King Follett Sermon, Ensign, April 1971).

LDS Prophet Lorenzo Snow coined the couplet “As man is God once was, and as God is man may be.” (The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow,  ed. Clyde J. Williams [1984], 1.)  Here is the direct link to this quote at the LDS.org website.

In the Bible, Isaiah chapters 42-44 consistently show that God is the only God from the beginning.  He is everlasting and unchangeable.  This is exactly what the Book of Mormon states about God in the following verses: Mosiah 3:5; Moroni 7:22, 8:18; D&C 20:17 and 76:4. 

- Mormon 8:32 "Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins."

This is exactly the doctrine of the Mormon church as shown by Doctrine and Covenants 64:23 "Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.  

Think about it; Can you as a Mormon get into the Celestial Kingdom without paying your full tithing?

- Mormon 9:9 " For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?"

Yes, we do read this in the New Testament from Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17.  How could they be reading the New Testament in the Americas when it was not there?  This is plagiarism of the New Testament.

- Mormon 9:32-33 "And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech. And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record."

First, Hebrew is one of the most efficient languages in word form in the world.  The average word is about four letters long.  Egyptian is much more complicated and is inefficient.  Also, why in the world would you have descendants of Jews write in the language of your arch enemies?  

So what supposedly grew to a nation of millions of people wrote in a language in which not a single archeological finding has ever been produced supporting this claim.  It is impossible for millions of people to have vanished off the face of the earth without leaving a single shred off evidence that they inhabited the land.  Not one coin, document, building structure, temple, bone, spear, sword, or armor has ever been located.  Even when you narrow it down to the great last battle on the Hill Cumorah, which is in western New York, where supposedly hundreds of thousands of warriors died in battle, not one artifact has ever been recovered.  

Ether

- Ether 1:34-37 "And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded. Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord,and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded."

This contradicts the biblical account given in Genesis 11:9 where ALL the people on the earth had their language confounded.

"Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth."

- Ether 1:43 "And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me."

So if the Lord blessed the Jaredites to be the greatest nation, why did they all die off?

- Ether 2:19-20 "And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish. And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood."

Joseph Smith is asking me to believe the omniscience and omnipotent God forgot to tell them these important instructions of putting "plugs" in the tops and bottoms before building the boat?  Not to mention how ridiculous it is to have "plugs" on wood that is supposedly airtight so they could breathe.  How in the world did they get in the boats and keep them airtight?

- Ether 3:13 "And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you."

This contradicts the 2nd Article of Faith which states, "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression."

In Mormon theology Jesus' atonement only covers the fall so all mankind is not punished for Adam's transgression, but for our sins only.  Why then is the Lord telling the brother of Jared that because he believes, he is redeemed from the fall if Jesus has not atoned yet or if man is not punished for the fall?

- Ether 3:14 "Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters."

I already cover a portion of this in the "Who is Jesus?" section.  Again, Jesus Christ is plainly stating that He is the Father and the Son.  Jesus is God as the bible eludes to over and over.  See also Ether 4:7 and 4:12.

Also, the biblical doctrine of salvation is clearly represented here as well.  All would believe of His name will eternally become His sons and daughters.  There is nothing else added here to state how we inherit eternal life; no laws, ordinances, works, moral conformity, etc.

- Ether 6:5, 8, 11 "And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.  And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water."

With such "furious" winds constantly blowing, the would have sailed much further than they did if they were on the water 344 days.  Also, it is interesting that all the boats landed at the same exact time and place after being in the water that long.

- Ether 9:17 "Having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things;"

Silk and wool (linen) did not exist at this time.  This issue also exists in Ether 10:24.

- Ether 9:18-19 "And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man. And they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms."

There is no archeological evidence supporting the existence of oxen, cows, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, or asses before the Europeans began bringing them over in 1492.  Elephants could not possibly have been here.  The closest thing was the wooly mammoth, which became extinct about 10,000 years ago.  What in the world are cureloms and cumoms?

- Ether 12:25-26 "Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.  And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;"

So the Book of Mormon is apologizing for being written so poorly even though it was supposedly written by the power of God.  Then it boldly condemns those who refuse to believe it!  This could not possibly be inspired writing of God.

- Ether 15:30-31 "And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died."

So if Shiz just had is head lopped off by the sword, how does Shiz then raise up his hands, fall, then struggle for breath, then die?

Moroni

- Moroni 7:22 " For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing."

This contradicts LDS doctrine that God was not always God.  He was once a man who had to earn his way to godhood. 

- Moroni 8:5 "For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little children."

Interesting how infant baptism found its way into the Book of Mormon given it was a hot topic among Evangelical Protestantism during the 2nd Great Awakening in the early 1800's.  

- Moroni 8:18 " For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."

This contradicts LDS doctrine that God was not always God. He was once a man who had to earn his way to godhood.

- Moroni 10:32 "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

How does one deny himself of all ungodliness?  If we don't have anymore ungodliness then we don't have sin.  1 John 1:8 tells us that if we think we don't have sin then we are deceiving ourselves and there is no truth in us.  This is an impossible command to fulfill.  Please read the section titled "Salvation in Mormonism" for more on this verse.