Book Of Mormon, Hoax?

SortOfMormon · #1 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 02:31 PM

How accurate is the Book Of Mormon? Is there any proof that anything in it really happened?

WindRiver · #2 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SortOfMormon

How accurate is the Book Of Mormon? Is there any proof that anything in it really happened?

How accurate is the Bible?

Is there any PROOF that any of it really happened, other than someone named Jesus lived during that time? lol

Sorry dude that is not how it works. If you seek physical proof of anything from God you will not find it until AFTER you have gained a testimony. Faith precedes the miracle. Giving proof does nothing to edify the soul. Just look at Laman and Lemuel and the scores of others in the Bible and Book of Mormon who witnessed miracles first hand, saw angels, yet it did NOTHING to "convert" them.

The ONLY way to know eternal truth is through personal revelation, a witness from the Holy Ghost. Anything else is just wishful thinking or relying on what someone else tells you the scriptures mean.

mhansen · #3 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRiver

How accurate is the Bible? Is there any PROOF that any of it really happened, other than someone named Jesus lived during that time? lol

Well, let's not be glib. This is something that I am struggling with as well. There is plenty of evidence for many, if not most, of the Biblical cities, civilizations, and historical events. What is debatable is the miraculous aspects of the texts--Jonah, Noah's Ark, the Resurrection, etc. When one puts their faith in the Biblical accounts, they know that there is at least something solid (the historical aspect) to stand upon.

However, as I read the Book of Mormon and I learn more about the Lehites I cannot help but wonder why I never learned about them in history class. LDS scholars continue to debate where in the Americas the BoM narrative takes place, how large an area it was, etc., without any conclusive archeological evidence. So, unlike the Bible, the BoM doesn't have a proven historical foundation.

Now, I'm not saying that that makes the BoM false, or a hoax, or whatever. However, I am being intellectually honest. If I am going to commit myself to the LDS faith, then I must find and be certain of the truth of the Book of Mormon. I'm just saying that, for me, it'll be hard to put my faith in a book that lacks any evidence beyond spiritual confirmation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WindRiver

The ONLY way to know eternal truth is through personal revelation, a witness from the Holy Ghost.

Does this conflict with Paul's view that the pagans can discover the truth of God solely through logic and the majesty of His creation? Can't faith come through reason? Or are the two mutually exclusive?

Palerider · #4 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 04:24 PM

Here is a nice site for you to read....

Mormon Truth and Book of Mormon Evidences: Not Proof, But Indications of Plausibility

Mahone · #5 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palerider

Here is a nice site for you to read....

Mormon Truth and Book of Mormon Evidences: Not Proof, But Indications of Plausibility

Lol, looks like an interesting read. However I don't have a spare five hours to get through it at the moment, haha. The pure size of that article all on one webpage will put most people off, the author needs to cut it down into sizeable chunks on different pages, a bit like how they do it on howstuffworks.com

Palerider · #6 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 04:43 PM

The whole web site is awesome....there is alot to read there.....I think it would do more harm than good to cut it down....there is alot of info there.

volgadon · #7 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 05:00 PM

Troy existed, does that mean that Aphrodite and Athena exist and are true gods?

The people and places of the Quraan existed, why aren't you a Muslim?

Jerusalem, the wilderness, the Red Sea, Arabia and America exist, therefore, by your logic, the BoM must be true.

Joseph Smith existed, the places associated with him existed, therefore he must be a true prophet.

Do you see how week your arguments are?

Biblical archaeology quite frequently contradicts the contents of the Bible.

Megiddo, according to archaeological finds, did not have even one stable, let alone 900.

There is utterly no evidence for the events of the entire book of Joshua.

Did you learn about the Yazids in school? Did you learn about Pugachev's Rebellion, about the Molochans, the Derevlyans, the Lemko and Hutsuls, the Mazurs, the Ismaiylians, the Alawi, the Arizal, the Shabetaens, the Druse, the Shepsug, the Kalmyks, and the list could go on and on.
What they don't teach in school literally fills volumes.

Why is a man recieving ancient records from an angel of the Lord and translating them through the gift and power of God harder to swallow than someone raising themselves from the dead and living in the heavens?

Truth, eternal truth, is not discovered by any other source than God himself. Blessed art thou for flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee....

volgadon · #8 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahone

Lol, looks like an interesting read. However I don't have a spare five hours to get through it at the moment, haha. The pure size of that article all on one webpage will put most people off, the author needs to cut it down into sizeable chunks on different pages, a bit like how they do it on howstuffworks.com

Start with one or two points.

Elgama · #9 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SortOfMormon

How accurate is the Book Of Mormon? Is there any proof that anything in it really happened?

if its a hoax - you tell me who wrote it? I can only think of one LDS member who may have been capable of doing it, and even then its doubtful. Love to hear which of the early members you think is most capable and what their qualifications are.

-Charley

Moksha · #10 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 06:11 PM

Proof can sometimes be found in possibilities. It is possible that during their voyage to the new world, Lehi and Company stopped at the Island of Comos (Cumorah) near the village of Moroni before sailing around Cape Horn and that both names got incorporated into the Reformed Egyptian list of possible names or else the already existing names became incorporated into the proto-Comoros language.

American Indian place names could well have sprung from the Lehite place names such as Oneida/Onidah, Rama/Ramah (and the rest of the Vernal Holley study) to their Book of Mormon counterparts.

Lehi and company traveled through the Arabian peninsula. This could serve as further proof that the proto-Arabic language had the place name Nahom through the Lehite usage.

These are all possibilities, but they may point the way to a larger truth.