Statements Why Bom Is True...

[letsjam]

It has been suggested that Ol' Joe Smith himself wrote the Book of Mormon and that any individual with a creative mind could accomplish the same. If this is true that individual would have to follow certain points/cirumstances/condtions in order to be able to accomplish what Joseph Smith did in regards to the "fictitious" Book of Mormon:

1. They would have to start this project between the ages of twenty-three and twenty-four years.

2. They cannot be a college graduate or high school graduate--in fact, they are allowed to only have 3 years formal school.

3. What they write must be based upon what they know, without any research or background investigation permitted.

4. They would need to write a book with 239 chapters; 54 about war, 21 of history, 55 of prophecy and its fulfillment, 71 of gospel doctrine, 17 about missionaries and 21 concerning the mission and sayings of Jesus Christ.

5. They would be writing a history of an ancient people in a distant land, covering the period from 600 B.C. to A.D. 421

6. They need to include in the book the history and writings of two tribes of people with separate leaders and customs and would need to describe and carefully follow a detailed history of nations and peoples that nobody has ever heard of before.

7. Their writings should describe the religious and social culture, the economy, and the politics of both nations.

8. They must include in the history the gospel of Jesus Christ and the model of Christian life as it applies both in ancient and modern times.

9. Once they begin this 1,000 year book of history and doctrine, they must finish it within eighty days. The copy dictated to the scribe will be the final draft, with no revisions or updates necessary.

10. They would have to announce that the writings are not fiction, but are truth. They would claim these are sacred writings of history.

11. When they have finished writing the text they may not make any changes in the text.

12. The writing would fulfill prophecies from the Bible with this book, satisfying both the words and intent given in these prophecies: Isaiah 29:24 and 11-14, Ezekiel 37:18-21, Psalms 85:10-11, John 10:16 etc.

13. They must publish this book with the intention of spreading it to every nation tribe, people and tongue.

14. They must include in the writings a promise: If people read, meditate, and pray about the book, then they can know that it is true by the power of the Holy Ghost.

15. During the next 170 years, millions of readers will testify that they know this book is true because they followed the promise and received their answer by the power of the Holy Ghost.

16. Thousands of great men and women, even intellectual giants and scholars, must become disciples of the book, even to the point of giving their lives for it.

17. The descriptions of the culture and people of these civilizations must include the manner of their written and spoken language, the types of buildings, geographic locations, tools, building material used, and other items that are/were a part of their society.

18. There cannot be any inaccuracies in the history.

19. They cannot make any absurd declarations, or state as fact anything impossible, contradictory, or anything not in keeping with the historical setting.

20. They must invite expert scholars and all types of people to examine the writing and try to prove its fraudulence. The book must confound these experts.

21. Research, scientific evidence, and discoveries in archeology and anthropology for the next 175 years need to prove that the history is absolutely true, even to the point that descriptions accurately depict the clothing, streets, and weapons of war that this people constructed in ancient times.

22. Evidence of the fulfillment of both external and internal prophecies must occur during the next 170 years.

23. Three witnesses, honest and credible, must testify to the world that an angel from heaven appeared to them and showed them the plates from which this book was written.

24. Eight witnesses must testify that they saw and touched the plates that this translation came from in full daylight.

25. The first three witnesses and the other eight witnesses must testify of the book not for pay but for personal sacrifice, they will affirm their testimonies despite general disbelief and persecutions until the day they die.

26. Someone must finance the publication of the book, and he must know that he will receive no pay or profit for his assistance. The book must be sold at or below the cost of production.

27. They must tell the world that the history they have translated was written on gold plates, at a time when nobody knew that ancient people wrote on such material. It will not be until 100 years later that other ancient records are found to be written on gold plates.

28. Finally, after enduring many trials and persecution for nearly twenty years after writing this book, they must voluntarily give their life as a testimony to the truthfulness of the book and its teachings.

How could a "normal" person in the 1820's produce such a book as the Book of Mormon? It is hard to fathom a plausible explanation other than to say "He had help from the Almighty."

[Jason]

Since we just hashed this out a few months ago, for anyone who could have forgot:

http://www.ldstalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...=book+of+mormon

[letsjam]

I’m sorry that I started talking about BOM again, but I’m new here. I didn’t know that someone already posted almost the same stuff :) I would call BOM as everlasting book, so it can discussed all the time.

[StrawberryFields]

You are doing fine Letsjam. I think Jason was just trying to be helpful.

[Dr T]

Strawberry,

You are so kind. :)

[StrawberryFields]

Strawberry,

You are so kind. :)

Thank You Dr. T.

You know what they say..."It takes one to know one"

[prisonchaplain]

It has been suggested that Ol' Joe Smith himself wrote the Book of Mormon and that any individual with a creative mind could accomplish the same. If this is true that individual would have to follow certain points/cirumstances/condtions in order to be able to accomplish what Joseph Smith did in regards to the "fictitious" Book of Mormon:

I'm going to walk through this exercise, not as an "Anti"--trying to prove that the BoM is fiction, but as a student, trying to grapple with the challenge sans any research (in other words, just off the cuff):

1. They would have to start this project between the ages of twenty-three and twenty-four years. 2. They cannot be a college graduate or high school graduate--in fact, they are allowed to only have 3 years formal school. 3. What they write must be based upon what they know, without any research or background investigation permitted.

Okay, we'll start here. A man in his twenties with a high IQ (my guess) who was home-schooled and self-taught. Also, one who probably had access to at least some books, and might have been well versed in the oral histories of the day. In other words, Joseph Smith was probably naturally intelligent and his schooling was not unusually low for his era, I would guess.

4. They would need to write a book with 239 chapters; 54 about war, 21 of history, 55 of prophecy and its fulfillment, 71 of gospel doctrine, 17 about missionaries and 21 concerning the mission and sayings of Jesus Christ. 5. They would be writing a history of an ancient people in a distant land, covering the period from 600 B.C. to A.D. 421 6. They need to include in the book the history and writings of two tribes of people with separate leaders and customs and would need to describe and carefully follow a detailed history of nations and peoples that nobody has ever heard of before. 7. Their writings should describe the religious and social culture, the economy, and the politics of both nations.

Without historical documents showing that the writings describe real peoples and real events wouldn't a naturally gifted writer be able to come up with such a story? The same could be said about much of the Bible, btw.

8. They must include in the history the gospel of Jesus Christ and the model of Christian life as it applies both in ancient and modern times.

If Joseph Smith was versed in the KJV of the Bible, he could have grafted this element into the story.

9. Once they begin this 1,000 year book of history and doctrine, they must finish it within eighty days. The copy dictated to the scribe will be the final draft, with no revisions or updates necessary. 10. They would have to announce that the writings are not fiction, but are truth. They would claim these are sacred writings of history. 11. When they have finished writing the text they may not make any changes in the text.

I've heard tales of writers occasionally drafting whole novels over a weekend. Of course, then you have Ayn Rand taking over 10 years to write Atlas Shrugged. As for changes, haven't there been quite a number of revisions since the first edition?

12. The writing would fulfill prophecies from the Bible with this book, satisfying both the words and intent given in these prophecies: Isaiah 29:24 and 11-14, Ezekiel 37:18-21, Psalms 85:10-11, John 10:16 etc.

In my study of Revelation I've been amazed at how much John drew from other biblical writings--especially Old Testament. Joseph Smith had access to the Bible, so could certainly have grafted some solutions into the writings.

13. They must publish this book with the intention of spreading it to every nation tribe, people and tongue. 14. They must include in the writings a promise: If people read, meditate, and pray about the book, then they can know that it is true by the power of the Holy Ghost. 15. During the next 170 years, millions of readers will testify that they know this book is true because they followed the promise and received their answer by the power of the Holy Ghost. 16. Thousands of great men and women, even intellectual giants and scholars, must become disciples of the book, even to the point of giving their lives for it.

The same could be said for the Qur'an.

17. The descriptions of the culture and people of these civilizations must include the manner of their written and spoken language, the types of buildings, geographic locations, tools, building material used, and other items that are/were a part of their society. 18. There cannot be any inaccuracies in the history.

19. They cannot make any absurd declarations, or state as fact anything impossible, contradictory, or anything not in keeping with the historical setting. 20. They must invite expert scholars and all types of people to examine the writing and try to prove its fraudulence. The book must confound these experts.

21. Research, scientific evidence, and discoveries in archeology and anthropology for the next 175 years need to prove that the history is absolutely true, even to the point that descriptions accurately depict the clothing, streets, and weapons of war that this people constructed in ancient times.

Again, similar claims would be made by followers of most writings declared to be Scripture. Seen through faith-filled eyes, most religious writing could pass this test, because, by definition these characteristics are true. For example, I believe these things about the biblical narrative. Some Christians even believe that the earth is between 6 and 20 thousand years old, and that the flood largely explains the characteristics of nature that have wrong led scientists to dating the earth in the billions of years. Why battle the scientific community? Because, by definition, the Scriptures are true, without contradiction, without absurdities. So, if one arises, the absurdity lies outside the faith--again, by definition.

22. Evidence of the fulfillment of both external and internal prophecies must occur during the next 170 years. 23. Three witnesses, honest and credible, must testify to the world that an angel from heaven appeared to them and showed them the plates from which this book was written. 24. Eight witnesses must testify that they saw and touched the plates that this translation came from in full daylight. 25. The first three witnesses and the other eight witnesses must testify of the book not for pay but for personal sacrifice, they will affirm their testimonies despite general disbelief and persecutions until the day they die. 26. Someone must finance the publication of the book, and he must know that he will receive no pay or profit for his assistance. The book must be sold at or below the cost of production. 27. They must tell the world that the history they have translated was written on gold plates, at a time when nobody knew that ancient people wrote on such material. It will not be until 100 years later that other ancient records are found to be written on gold plates. 28. Finally, after enduring many trials and persecution for nearly twenty years after writing this book, they must voluntarily give their life as a testimony to the truthfulness of the book and its teachings.

Many such sacrifices and testimonies have been made for many different religions. To the faithful, these facts are uplifting. To the outsider they likely sound similar to claims made by Islam, or by Christianity in general.

How could a "normal" person in the 1820's produce such a book as the Book of Mormon? It is hard to fathom a plausible explanation other than to say "He had help from the Almighty."

There are other explanations--though the faith-filled one is understandable. IF Joseph Smith was a gifted writer, story teller/trader, then it does not seem impossible that he did what he did. The amazing part is the result--many others have tried to found religions and fallen flat. On the other hand, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha, etc.--many have founded religious movements based on experiences called visitations from God, revelations, enlightenments, etc.

[letsjam]

Now I will try to answer only a few problematic questions, quoting both mine and yours comments.

Quote:

[8. They must include in the history the gospel of Jesus Christ and the model of Christian life as it applies both in ancient and modern times.

If Joseph Smith was versed in the KJV of the Bible, he could have grafted this element into the story.]

The explanation:

From the title page, we learn that in the BOM we have to deal with the histories of two nations, who flourished in America as the descendants of small colonies brought hither from the eastern continent as the Nephites and the Jaredites. The last Nephite representative was Moroni, who, wandering for safety from place to place, daily expecting death from the victorious Lamanites, wrote the concluding parts of the Book of Mormon, and hit the record in Cumorah, what is now the State of New York. It was the same Moroni who, as a resurrected being, gave the records into the hands of Joseph Smith in the present dispensation. All the stories from Bible and BOM have absolutely different story line, “The Book Of Mormon is a divinely inspired record, made by the prophets of the ancient peoples who inhabited the American continent for centuries before and after time of Christ, which record has been translated in the present generation through the gift of God and by His special appointment. The authorized and inspired translator of these sacred scriptures, though whose instrumentality they have been given to the world in modern language, is Joseph Smith.” Christian life of all the nations was different. Did you read the BOM? Not only Christian, but even life style was different. It’s like to compare Britain and Africa. Also:

“Of the approximately 264 thousand words in the Book of Mormon, about 17 thousand are close parallels to the King James translation of the Bible. Most parallel verses occurred when Nephi quoted the Isaiah of the Old Testament using records on brass plates brought from Jerusalem. Other parallels occurred when the resurrected Savior repeated his Sermon on the Mount to the Nephites and then quoted Malachi at length. In both cases, we are told in the text that these are quotations of scriptures that had been recorded elsewhere.

Joseph Smith left no record of how he translated the plates beyond saying that it was done by the power of God. LDS scholars generally agree that in instances where the Book of Mormon parallels the Bible, Joseph Smith must have noted the parallels and used the King James Bible to guide him in his choice of words. If the Book of Mormon agreed with the Biblical text in meaning, he apparently utilized the Biblical text, italicized words and all. However, when the plates differed from the Biblical text, he followed the text on the plates.

For example, of 433 verses of Isaiah quoted in the Book of Mormon, 46 percent are identical to those in the Bible, while 54 percent are modified to some extent. These different verses have been of great use to LDS scholars. Several Hebrew literary structures are found only in a degraded form in the King James Bible, while those literary structures are complete and intact in the Book of Mormon. This shows that the brass plates version found in the Book of Mormon was a different, older Isaiah text.

A slightly more difficult problem is posed by Book of Mormon similarities with Biblical scriptures which were not in existence when Lehi left Jerusalem. For instance, Moroni 7:45, 46 parallels 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (Paul's discussion on charity) so closely that some explanation is called for.

Mormon, Moroni's father, lived after Christ and knew Christ's teachings. Since the ultimate source of Paul's teachings was also Christ, it should not be surprising to find both Mormon and Paul teaching the same thing. The fact that both wrote on charity indicates the importance of this gospel concept.

If Mormon delivered a sermon on charity, it could logically contain much of the same material as Paul's teachings on the same subject. However, one would not expect identical, word-for-word renderings of the two writings, and indeed they are not totally identical. Two significant clauses found in I Corinthians are absent from Mormon's sermon, and Mormon's definition of charity is absent from Paul's writings. Nonetheless, several phrases are identical. These identical phrases are understood the same way as the Isaiah passages by Latter-day Saints: Joseph Smith recognized Mormon's teachings as similar to Paul's and likely used the biblical text where it agreed in meaning with the plates. Where the meanings differed, he followed the plates.

Since the ultimate source of the teachings of the Book of Mormon is Christ, and since the ultimate source of the teachings of the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is also Christ, it should surprise no one that there are many parallels between Book of Mormon and Bible passages. While one cannot conclusively prove that Joseph Smith used a King James Bible as an aid in translating the parallel passages, that explanation is reasonable.“

Quote:

“9. Once they begin this 1,000 year book of history and doctrine, they must finish it within eighty days. The copy dictated to the scribe will be the final draft, with no revisions or updates necessary. 10. They would have to announce that the writings are not fiction, but are truth. They would claim these are sacred writings of history. 11. When they have finished writing the text they may not make any changes in the text.

I've heard tales of writers occasionally drafting whole novels over a weekend. Of course, then you have Ayn Rand taking over 10 years to write Atlas Shrugged. As for changes, haven't there been quite a number of revisions since the first edition?”

The explanation:

Question: If the LDS Church really believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God and, as Joseph Smith said, "the most perfect of any book on earth," why have there been more than 4,000 changes in it?

Answer:

As is evident from his statement, he was referring to the book's precept--the doctrines it contains which bring a man to God. First of all, anti-Mormon detractors often misquote Joseph Smith, and they have done so on this statement. Joseph Smith never said it was a perfect book. What he said, in a meeting with the Twelve on November 28, 1841, is recorded in History of the Church, Vol.4, p. 461, as follows. "I told the brethern that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." Joseph's statement does not mean correct as far as spelling, grammar, or punctuation, but correct as to its historical origin and doctrinal precepts.

Anti-Mormon criticisms of changes in the Book of Mormon have their roots in Evangelical beliefs pertaining to what they regard as the "inerrancy of the Bible." Yet to sustain their belief in the Bible's inerrancy, in the light of the many thousands of changes and variations which exist in the numerous manuscripts and translations, they typically hedge their definitions of inerrancy with numerous limitations such as the following summarized from The Moody Handbook of Theology, pp. 166-70:

1.inerrancy is limited to the original manuscripts,

2.inerrancy allows for variety in style,

3.inerrancy allows for variety in details in explaining the same event,

4.inerrancy does not demand verbatim reporting of events,

5.inerrancy allows for departure from standard forms of grammar,

6.inerrancy allows for problem passages, and

7.inerrancy demands the account does not teach error or contradiction.

The anti-Mormon detractors who criticize the changes made in the Book of Mormon are seeking to impose a different standard on the Mormon scripture than they claim for the Bible. If the criteria listed above are applied to the Book of Mormon, then their criticism is completely lacking in merit and is valueless.

While it is true that there have been several thousand of changes made in the Book of Mormon since its first printing, the vast majority have been punctuation, spelling and minor grammatical corrections. However, there have been other changes in addition to these.

As Joseph Smith made the translation from the plates, Oliver Cowdery, as well as other scribes, wrote down Joseph Smith's words as they heard them. Some errors occurred there, such as the substitution of the word "straight" for "strait."

The first manuscript written by the scribes was called "the original manuscript." Oliver Cowdery, in preparation for printing, hand copied the original manuscript to make a printer's copy, which was delivered several pages at a time to the printing firm of E. B. Grandin. In the copying, Oliver made additional errors . The following statement by John H. Gilbert, the typesetter who worked for Grandin, sheds considerable light on the need for later changes. From his account (which was written on September 8, 1892, when he was 93 years old), we learn that he was twenty-seven in August, 1829 when the seven-month project of typesetting and printing the Book of Mormon was begun. From his memorandum it is apparent that he definitely was not a highly skilled grammarian. He wrote:

In the forepart of June 1829, Mr. E. B. Grandin, the printer of the "Wayne Sentinel," came to me and said he wanted I should assist him in estimating the cost of printing 5000 copies of a book that Martin Harris wanted to get printed, which he called the "Mormon Bible."

It was the second application of Harris to Grandin to do the job,--Harris assuring Grandin that the book would be printed in Rochester if he declined the job again.

Harris proposed to have Grandin do the job, if he would, as it would be quite expensive to keep a man in Rochester during the printing of the book, who would have to visit Palmyra two or three times a week for manuscript, &c. Mr. Grandin consented to do the job if his terms were accepted.

A few pages of the manuscript were submitted as a specimen of the whole, and it was said there would be about 500 pages.

The size of the page was agreed upon, and an estimate of the number of ems in a page, which would be 1000, and that a page of manuscript would make more than a page of printed mailer, which proved to be correct.

The contract was to print and bind with leather, 5000 copies for $3,000. Mr. Grandin got a new font of Small Pica, on which the body of the work was printed. When the printer was ready to commence work, Harris was notified, and Hyrum Smith brought the first installment of manuscript, of 24 pages, closely written on common foolscap paper--he had it under his vest, and vest and coat closely buttoned over it. At night Smith came and got the manuscript, and with the same precaution carried it away. The next morning with the same watchfulness, he brought it again, and at night took it away. This was kept up for several days. The title page was first set up, and after proof was read and corrected, several copies were printed for Harris and his friends. On the second day--Harris and Smith being in the office--I called their attention to a grammatical error, and asked whether I should correct it? Harris consulted with Smith a short time, and turned to me and said: "The Old Testament is ungrammatical, set it as it is written."

After working a few days, I said to Smith on his handing me the manuscript in the morning; "Mr. Smith, if you would leave this manuscript with me, I would take it home with me at night and read and punctuate it." His reply was, "We are commanded not to leave it." A few mornings after this, when Smith handed me this manuscript, he said to me:--"If you will give me your word that this manuscript shall be returned to us when you get through with it, I will leave it with you." I assured Smith that it should be returned all right when I got through with it. For two or three nights I took it home with me and read it, and punctuated it with a lead pencil. (This will account for the punctuation marks in pencil, which is referred to in the Mormon Report, an extract from which will be found below).

Martin Harris, Hyrum Smith and Oliver Cowdery were very frequent visitors to the office during the printing of the Mormon Bible. The manuscript was supposed to be in the handwriting of Cowdery. Every Chapter, if I remember correctly, was one solid paragraph, without a punctuation mark, from beginning to end.

Names of persons and places were generally capitalized, but sentences had no end. The character or short &, was used almost invariably where the word and, occurred, except at the end of a chapter. I punctuated it to make it read as I supposed the Author intended, and but very little punctuation was altered in proof-reading. The Bible was printed 16 pages at a time, so that one sheet of paper made two copies of 16 pages each, requiring 2500 sheets of paper for each form of 16 pages. There were 37 forms of 16 pages each,~570 pages in all.

The work was commenced in August 1829, and finished in March 1830,--seven months. Mr. J. H. Bortles and myself done the press work until December taking nearly three days to each form,

Cowdery held and looked over the manuscript when most of the proofs were read. Martin Harris once or twice, and Hyrum Smith once, Grandin supposing these men could read their own writing as well, if not better, than any one else; and if there are any discrepancies between the Palmyra edition and the manuscript these men should be held responsible.

Joseph Smith, Jr. had nothing to do whatever with the printing or furnishing copy for the printers, being but once in the office during the printing of the Bible, and then not over 15 or 20 minutes. (Wilford C. Wood, Joseph Smith Begins His Work, Vol. 1, pp.30- 31 [unnumbered]).

It is obvious that the first edition of the Book of Mormon was punctuated and then typeset (by hand, one letter at a time) by a young, relatively unskilled worker and was proofread by completely inexperienced proofreaders.

As he reviewed the printed First Edition, the Prophet Joseph Smith made more than a thousand alterations before the second edition was printed in 1837. These included typographical, spelling, and grammatical corrections as well as the addition of some minor clarifications. As late as 15 January 1842 (less than two years before his martyrdom), Joseph Smith was still making corrections. The first European edition published in 1841 used the 1837 edition as its basis, thereby perpetuating errors that had already been corrected in the 1840 American edition.

Three major editions have been published since, under the direction of either the President of the Church or the First Presidency. President John Taylor asked Orson Pratt to prepare the 1879 edition, which included such changes as redividing the chapters and adding verse numbers. President Heber J. Grant called Elder James E. Talmage of the Twelve to prepare the 1920 edition which included double-column pages and many grammatical improvements. All these are no doubt counted as part of the 4,000 changes.

The Scriptures Publication Committee, working under the direction of the First Presidency, prepared the 1981 edition. Some recurring problems were finally settled in that edition. For example, the printer's manuscript referring to the converted Lamanites read "white and delightsome," although the 1840 edition prepared under the direction of Joseph Smith read "pure and delightsome." The publication committee had white permanently changed to pure, as Joseph Smith intended it to be.

The changes in the book present little problem to most Latter-day Saints. Even the most ardent anti-Mormons have cited only about a dozen changes as having any doctrinal and historical significance. A close examination shows that even they are not significant. The Book of Mormon was written by prophets, abridged by a prophet, translated by a prophet, and changes were made under the further direction of a prophet. It was the word of God before the changes were made and it is the word of God after the changes have been made.

The changes in the Book of Mormon are actually few compared to the number of changes made in today's English Bibles. The late William Barclay, perhaps one of the best known of British Bible expositors, records the following facts:

In the Greek manuscript of the New Testament, there are 150,000 places in which there are variant readings. Of these 150,000, fewer than 400 affect the sense, fewer than 50 are of any importance (William Barclay, Introducing the Bible, p.134).

Barclay also cites a 19th century committee of the American Bible Society which examined six different editions of the Authorized Version (King James) and found nearly 24,000 differences! (ibid, p.134)

If the 4,000 minor changes in the Book of Mormon make it without value, what do the 24,000 differences in the Bible do to its worth? Some detractors would probably be aghast if they read about the number of changes to the Bible. Do detractors feel differently about their conviction that the Bible is the word of God because of these changes? We would think not.

About changes in the title of BOM:

Someone acquainted with the story of the Book of Mormon might assume that the name "Mormon" simply refers to the man who compiled the book. However, although Mormon acknowledges that "my father's name was Mormon" (Mormon 1:5), he tells us in 3 Nephi 5:12 that he was not named after his father; rather he was named after the land in which the restoration of Christ's covenant and church took place:

And behold, I am called Mormon, being called after the land of Mormon, the land in which Alma did establish the church among this people: Yea, the first church which was established among them after their transgression. (3 Nephi 5:12)

[And] if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. (3 Nephi 21:22)

So perhaps it is coincidence, perhaps not, that the title of the Book of Mormon was changed in 1986 to read, "The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ." If we focus on the idea that the name Mormon was associated with a restored covenant, and if the word "testament" means a covenant witness, then we might read the title according to Mormon's own definition as "The Book of the Restored Covenant, Another Covenant Witness of Jesus Christ."

When this meaning is understood, the Book of Mormon can better be viewed in its rightful place alongside two other published witnesses of Christ's covenant with his children: The Old Testament (the "Old Covenant") and The New Testament (the "New Covenant"). [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes2]

Let me quote BOM. In Mormon 7:8-9 he says:

“Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

For behold, this [THE BOOK OF MORMON] is written for the intent that ye may believe that [THE BIBLE]; and if ye believe that [THE BIBLE] ye will believe this [THE BOOK OF MORMON] also; and if ye believe this [THE BOOK OF MORMON] ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them”

Mormon provides the key of using modern-day scriptures to teach the meaning of troublesome biblical pages. First find the answer in modern-day scripture. Then read Bible and see what difference it makes. For example, one of most misunderstood but vital doctrines is the nature of God. Indeed, the Savior said it is “life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). The problem arises when we testify that God has a tangible body, because John 4:24 says that “God is a Spirit.” So it takes some study, but your search is rewarded as you discover Doctrine and Covenants 130:22, which says in part: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.” That is the true doctrine. So John 4:24 states in full, “God is a Spirit; and they that worship him is spirit and in truth.” Does the fact that God has a body prevent him from also having a spirit? Of course not. A thorough search reveals that “man is a spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fullness of joy” (D&C 93:33). Our spirits communicate with God’s spirit: we do not have to rely solely on our physical eyes and ears. Man certainly does not have to lay aside his body so that his spirit can communicate with God. Likewise, God’s ability to communicate with man’s spirit does not require that he not have a body. Physically, God can only be in one place at one time, so it would be restrictive if he were limited to a physical means of communication. The Savior, in teaching the woman at the well in Samaria, said, “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship” (John 4:22). If we wanted to continue our explanation from the Bible using our understanding gained from Doctrine and Covenants 130, we could use Luke 24:36-39 to show the resurrected Christ had a body of flesh and bone that he invited the disciples to handle. Also, in Hebrews 1:1-3, Paul informs us that the Son is in the “express image” of the Father – meaning that he does not vary in any way. Together these scriptures clearly confirm what God has chosen to reveal about himself through modern-day prophets. This example was based on Bible and D&C, but it’s also true about the BOM.

[prisonchaplain]

Now I will try to answer only a few problematic questions, quoting both mine and yours comments.

Based on the length of your post, I think I'm safe in saying I'm glad you enjoyed this, and found it fruitful to work on.

have you read the BOM? Not only Christian, but even life style was different. It’s like to compare Britain and Africa. Also:

I think the key point is that Joseph Smith would have had to be a lot more educated and resourceful than his resume would lend us to believe, in order to come up with an accurate description of life during the times he wrote about. By way of disclosure, I've made my way through 1st & 2nd Nephi (and seen the Book of Mormon movie ), so understand what you are getting at. James Michener might agree with you or not. We need a gifted writer to tell us how hard or easy such writing would be.

Several Hebrew literary structures are found only in a degraded form in the King James Bible, while those literary structures are complete and intact in the Book of Mormon. This shows that the brass plates version found in the Book of Mormon was a different, older Isaiah text.

This is an interesting argument. How much attention/traction has this gotten outside of the LDS theological community? I'd be especially interested by the appraisals of Hebrew scholars on this matter.

Question: If the LDS Church really believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God and, as Joseph Smith said, "the most perfect of any book on earth," why have there been more than 4,000 changes in it?

Answer:

As is evident from his statement, he was referring to the book's precept--the doctrines it contains which bring a man to God. First of all, anti-Mormon detractors often misquote Joseph Smith, and they have done so on this statement. Joseph Smith never said it was a perfect book. What he said, in a meeting with the Twelve on November 28, 1841, is recorded in History of the Church, Vol.4, p. 461, as follows. "I told the brethern that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." Joseph's statement does not mean correct as far as spelling, grammar, or punctuation, but correct as to its historical origin and doctrinal precepts.

I only mentioned the changes because the OP seemed to say there were none, and I'd read that there were numerous changes.

[letsjam]

Thank you :)

Okay, I’m writing a spiritual book now. All I can say that it would be really difficult to write such a book as BOM. It’s possible to write spiritual and uplifting book, detective story or just fiction and poetry, and it will be a work of art. It’s just impossible to write a scripture by oneself. I know it 100%. Also, the truthfulness of BOM was proved be scholars. It happened that people on the Temple Square were sharing testimonies about BOM, and also there were scholars who proved its truthfulness. But one woman said that she doesn’t care anything about those logical and intellectual proofs. All she needs is her OWN testimony about this book, and she said as she already got that testimony by Lord’s Spirit testifying her about its truthfulness, she’s sure this Book is true. Why should we know logical proofs if we actually didn’t read the whole BOM, didn’t pray and didn’t get the answer to our prayer? It’s kinda useless.

But I will go back to Isaiah. I will quote BOM and Bible.

Some of important Isaiah’s revelations were written in 1 Nephi 20-21. As we can see from 1 Nephi 19:8-14, God commanded Nephi to include the most clear and precious parts that will be lost from Bible:

“And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.”

Now let me show something.

Isaiah 48:1 : (King James Bible Version)

“Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.”

1 Nephi 20:1 (BOM) :

“Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, OR OUT OF THE WATERS OF BAPTISM, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.”

Pay attention, “OR OUT OF THE WATERS OF BAPTISM” – it’s actually the quotation about the baptism from the Old Testament, but it was lost in modern variant of Bible or something. I think it’s a great example.

Also, there were written of the Advent of Messiah, gathering of Israel, etc. in Isaiah 49 or 1 Nephi 21. But from version of Isaiah’s teachings from BOM we can find out that this message was concerned such Israelites as Lehi’s family, who were cut like branches of tree from the main trunk of Israel and were dispersed everywhere, and that the reason of it is sins of their leaders in Jerusalem.

[prisonchaplain]

Thank you :)

Okay, I’m writing a spiritual book now. All I can say that it would be really difficult to write such a book as BOM. It’s possible to write spiritual and uplifting book, detective story or just fiction and poetry, and it will be a work of art. It’s just impossible to write a scripture by oneself. I know it 100%.

Again, Mohammed's disciples did--compiling the Qur'an. L. Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics, which has become a Scripture of sorts for Scientologists. Rev. Moon, Sunmyung wrote a set of Scriptures (the name of it escapes me now). I'm sure there are countless others. So, yes, it's possible to write a set of writings and declare them Scriptures. So, what will make or break Joseph Smith's work, is its veracity. Is it true? You address this in the next quote...

Also, the truthfulness of BOM was proved be scholars. It happened that people on the Temple Square were sharing testimonies about BOM, and also there were scholars who proved its truthfulness. But one woman said that she doesn’t care anything about those logical and intellectual proofs. All she needs is her OWN testimony about this book, and she said as she already got that testimony by Lord’s Spirit testifying her about its truthfulness, she’s sure this Book is true. Why should we know logical proofs if we actually didn’t read the whole BOM, didn’t pray and didn’t get the answer to our prayer? It’s kinda useless.

I'm guessing that what you mean when you say the BoM is proven by scholars, is that there are facts in the writing that have since come to be proven true. Some of those facts, it is intimated, could not have been known by Joseph Smith, without inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

The response, of course, is that other books are purported to be Scriptures, and make similar claims.

So, what's the ultimate answer. Gaining a testimony! Something most Christians would call "Faith + an assurance from the Holy Spirit."

But I will go back to Isaiah. I will quote BOM and Bible.

Some of important Isaiah’s revelations were written in 1 Nephi 20-21. As we can see from 1 Nephi 19:8-14, God commanded Nephi to include the most clear and precious parts that will be lost from Bible:

“And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon these plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.”

Now let me show something.

Isaiah 48:1 : (King James Bible Version)

“Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.”

1 Nephi 20:1 (BOM) :

“Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, OR OUT OF THE WATERS OF BAPTISM, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.”

Pay attention, “OR OUT OF THE WATERS OF BAPTISM” – it’s actually the quotation about the baptism from the Old Testament, but it was lost in modern variant of Bible or something. I think it’s a great example.

I'm aware that there is water baptism in the Jewish religion. Are you suggesting that Isaiah wrote that phrase down, and it got lost, or simply that Nephi's added element brings out a truth that Isaiah missed? How would you demonstrate that the mention of baptism SHOULD HAVE BEEN in Isaiah?

Again, thanks.

[letsjam]

Baptism by immersion by someone with authority is necessary for the baptism to be correct. Not only in the Jewish religion.

Jesus Christ taught that we must be baptized by immersion. Even though He was free of sin Christ set the example by being baptized:

"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:15-17)

Jesus revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that one must be baptized by a person having the proper priesthood authority:

"Shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism. … Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water." (D&C 20:73-74)

Being immersed in water and coming back up again is a symbol of death and resurrection, as the Apostle Paul taught:

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." (Romans 6:3-5)

(See 3 Nephi 11:21-27 on how to perform a baptism.)

And Abraham was the first man on the earth who baptized by immersion. First man from the Old Testament. Also, don’t forget – Isaiah was a prophet of God, so that mention of baptism should have been in original Isaiah. And actually it was there, but it got lost. In the Book of Mormon we can see the original text. It was quoted as they already had the revelations of Isaiah. Nephi didn’t add it by himself.

One more thing – Joseph Smith wasn’t NATURALLY intelligent, his family was very poor and he went to school a little, so they couldn’t give any education. Joseph grew helping his parents and working. He wasn’t even good in grammar or something. He became intelligent when God started to teach him all the things. Also, he translated the BOM with God’s power and help as he was a prophet. It took 65 days. But do you know that the BOM was translated to the all world’s languages. So to translate it on Russian language took 5 years. Compare.