davidprisco Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hey everyone,Encase you missed my introduction, my name is David Prisco and I'm a life insurance agent in Philadelphia, Pa. I found this board after a friend of mine were out one night talking about the old South Park episode that poked fun at Scientology and the one about LDS. We were trying to figure out what was true and what was created for comic appeal. I felt it best to ask you all rather than assume what I find on a google search to be accurate or what I watch in a TV show to be true.A little bit of my background, I was born and raised Catholic and went to a Catholic H.S. as well as University. Even with that up bringing, I never studied the spirituality of Catholicism or any other religion. So I'm hoping that I'm posting the the correct board to gain some insight on LDS and clear up any misconceptions that South Park/the media have thrown out there. Sorry for not having a more general question and this is more of open ended start to a thread. Hopefully it will gain some positive traction! Blackmarch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Hi David, Good for you for being willing to explore what we believe legitimately. That's awesome. You will find that many of the South Park claims are somewhat true, but that they are twisted with agenda in order to make fun and marginalize. They are simplified and distorted. Of course, there are other things that are just false. (And, of course, decried as "dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb".) So ask away. We'll happily explain. Sunday21 and davidprisco 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegaseamaster75 Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Like Folk Prophet said most of the south park stuff that I have seen is true. They poke fun at it of course and in that light it looks weird but the same can be said of any religion. If you can point to any specifics I'm sure it will lead toward a spirited discussion. davidprisco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidprisco Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Thanks for the warm welcome! To start things off, would you all mind explaining the accurate story between Joseph Smith and the plates that he found and translated? For me, that was one of the more confusing parts to the episode and I feel that South Park purposefully left out larger chunks of the story to add to the humor. From my understand, he found one set of plates and he was able to translate them with the help of the lord. I find that this draws a lot of similarities with Moses finding the commandments. But where things get a bit mucky for me is the second set of plates that he finds and translates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Read the story directly from Joseph Smith here (specifically starts vs. 27). Not sure what 2nd set of plates you mean. davidprisco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Read the story directly from Joseph Smith here (specifically starts vs. 27). Not sure what 2nd set of plates you mean. Probably the Kinderhook Plates? That story is here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 But where things get a bit mucky for me is the second set of plates that he finds and translates. I was thinking about it and I think the answer is the following: Joseph only got one set of plates. However, those plates were combined writings of different authors (mostly abridged by the prophet Mormon, but some directly from the original authors.) Joseph translated 116 pages from the writings of Lehi. These pages were then lost and the Lord told him not to re-translate that portion again, but to instead move on and translated the rest. so that is probably what is being alluded to. There were no other plates found however. Just_A_Guy and davidprisco 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Probably the Kinderhook Plates? That story is here. I don't think the South Park story introduced the idea of the kinderhook plates hoax. davidprisco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 I decided to watch through the South Park episode again so as to be informed. One falsehood: No one else ever saw the plates. That's not true. At least 10 others saw them. davidprisco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 I was thinking about it and I think the answer is the following: Joseph only got one set of plates. However, those plates were combined writings of different authors (mostly abridged by the prophet Mormon, but some directly from the original authors.) Joseph translated 116 pages from the writings of Lehi. These pages were then lost and the Lord told him not to re-translate that portion again, but to instead move on and translated the rest. so that is probably what is being alluded to. There were no other plates found however. It can also be the Book of Abraham? Although that's not in plates... Sorry, I have not seen a single Southpark Episode except for some clips on youtube or some such... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Finished the episode. My response about the 116 pages was accurate. No 2nd set of plates. They were all part of the same plates. Another falsehood: The Book of Mormon does not say that Adam and Eve lived in Jackson County Missouri. That comes from direct revelation to Joseph Smith. Beyond that there's all sorts of half truths. Sort of true, but not entirely accurate. I always forgot how offensive South Park is. Not just to Mormons (though, explicitly to them). It's just offensive. davidprisco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidprisco Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Big thanks to everyone that responded and I appreciate all the links! I'm going to take the time to read through everything and, after I do, I'll be back with some more questions! Again, do appreciate everyone here for being so welcoming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daybreak79 Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Davidprisco, while you are reading may I suggest you start reading the Book of Mormon as well. The Book of Mormon starts with a brief introduction and contains the statements of 11 witnesses of the Book of Mormon and an account from Joseph Smith. If you do not have a copy of the Book of Mormon you can read it online at https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng or we can help you get a free Book of Mormon delivered to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Folk Prophet Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Davidprisco, while you are reading may I suggest you start reading the Book of Mormon as well. The Book of Mormon starts with a brief introduction and contains the statements of 11 witnesses of the Book of Mormon and an account from Joseph Smith. If you do not have a copy of the Book of Mormon you can read it online at https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng or we can help you get a free Book of Mormon delivered to you. Just FYI, David, the account from Joseph at the beginning of the Book of Mormon is taken from Joseph Smith History, which is the link I provided. I absolutely concur with Daybreak79 though. If you want to know about the Book of Mormon, read it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahlia Posted July 12, 2014 Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 David - former 'Fluffian' here and former Catholic. You might want to look at ' Catholic Roots Mormon Harvest' by Eric Shuster, a Catholic convert whose wife has a masters in Catholic theology. They do a good description and explanation of where Catholics and Mormons are similar and where they differ. As a Catholic (12 yrs Catholic school, but not in Philly) I was never encouraged to read the Bible. I knew Bible stories, and took a college course in the Bible as literature, but never knew the detail of the Bible itself. I have found that every time I had doubts about where Mormons were getting their theology and 'facts' from, they could point to the Bible and there it was! It's been an amazing trip. Blackmarch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidprisco Posted July 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Just FYI, David, the account from Joseph at the beginning of the Book of Mormon is taken from Joseph Smith History, which is the link I provided. I absolutely concur with Daybreak79 though. If you want to know about the Book of Mormon, read it! :) Davidprisco, while you are reading may I suggest you start reading the Book of Mormon as well. The Book of Mormon starts with a brief introduction and contains the statements of 11 witnesses of the Book of Mormon and an account from Joseph Smith. If you do not have a copy of the Book of Mormon you can read it online at https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng or we can help you get a free Book of Mormon delivered to you.Hello All,Since you were so friendly last week, I thought I should update you all and let you know I started reading the Book of Mormon on my way into work today. Don't worry, I take the train so I wasn't reading and driving! Ha. Again, thank you all for taking the time to answer and respond to my post; I do greatly appreciate it. notquiteperfect, omegaseamaster75 and The Folk Prophet 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hello All,Since you were so friendly last week, I thought I should update you all and let you know I started reading the Book of Mormon on my way into work today. Don't worry, I take the train so I wasn't reading and driving! Ha. Again, thank you all for taking the time to answer and respond to my post; I do greatly appreciate it. What do you think? My favorite chapter in the entire book is 2 Nephi 2. Have you gotten to that part yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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