“I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

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Shulem
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Faith in the Book of Mormon?

Post by Shulem »

Having faith that Nephi and his little band of followers built a temple after the manner of Solomon’s is faith in something that cannot be substantiated in the least. In other words, faith in Nephi’s temple is not good religion because it’s simply not true. It’s believing and hoping in something one knows can’t be true but they believe it anyway because Book of Mormon testimony gets a free pass and trumps everything and anything -- no matter what. Maintaining faith in something one knows is wrong is just not good faith. Simply put, there is a lot of bad faith in the world. Faith can be a bad thing. Right?

Having faith in Nephi’s temple is not a good thing. It’s a bad seed that will only rot in water and wilt in the sun.
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Shulem
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Not enough time, help, and tools

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There simply weren’t enough hours in the day for Nephi, his brethren, and the few adult hands he had available during his lifetime to cut, hew, transport, and lay the foundation and set the walls of a structure constructed in the manner of Solomon’s temple. The massive amount of work required to produce stone blocks, transport them, and raise them to considerable height, is beyond the scope and ability of Nephi’s rag-tag family and the few hands that followed him into the lonely wilderness. No matter how many children they had, working with stone is a job that requires muscle, brawn, brute strength, tools, endless supply of rope, sleds, ingenuity, and great skill. The claim that such a structure was built by this people who were limited to what they had on hand when they set out and begin a colony anew is simply impossible.

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The rag-tag family clan would spend their entire lives attempting to hew, transport, and raise stone only to suffer horrible bodily injuries and exhaustion in making such a foolish attempt. Their progress would not get far when they realize they don't have the tools or means to build a world class stone structure or anything like it, such as the House of the LORD in Jerusalem. Out of necessity they would have to spend all their energy and time in building homes, farms, and working crops in order to survive. That in and of itself would wear them out and exhaust all their life’s energy.

Joseph Smith made a fatal mistake by including this into his Book of Mormon novel. It did not happen.

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Shulem
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Work Hazards

Post by Shulem »

One thing that is very important regarding the health and wellbeing of the main characters of the story who would serve as the backbone and breadwinners of their respected families from the day they left Jerusalem is physical wellbeing. The men of faith in the story who would have labored with great physical exertion were Nephi, Sam, and Zoram. These three men were heavily involved in building the ship in the Old World as they prepared to make their escape and transoceanic voyage. The building of a ship and working with fire to smelt metal is dangerous work that entails many hazards that are harmful to one’s health.

So, what’s my point? The point is that there are many, many, ways and means in which a healthy man may be injured or harmed in building a ship and later erecting a massive building constructed of stone and wood. These two construction projects coupled with other work in maintaining daily subsistence in keeping house and providing basic needs would stretch anyone to the breaking point. All it would take is one little mistake or slip-up to cause an accident that would render the workman completely immobile or incapable of working further until such time as healing allowed him to work again. A blow to an eye, a sore back, a pulled muscle or broken bone – these injuries are sufficient enough to force a worker to take to the bed and heal. Bodily injuries without medicine would heal very slowly if at all.

Protecting the eyes and toes are just two things that come to mind when thinking about all the different ways that an accident can occur while working in heavy construction. Working with molten metal and cutting wood, using fasteners, and driving wedges is hazardous and injuries are very likely to result especially without protective gear and labor support needed to safely carry out each task successfully and execute dangerous tasks without getting hurt.

BOTTOM LINE:

Nephi and his brethren did not build a ship.
Nephi and his brethren did not build a temple.

It did not happen. It’s just a story that Smith made up while his head was buried in a hat. Smith said very little about how those men actually built a ship and said NOTHING about how they built a temple. Technical heavy construction was over Smith’s head seeing he had no idea how such a building would be constructed and lacked understanding of the logistical needs and requirements to construct a structure of that magnitude. So, he simply said they built a temple and moved on to his next fabricated story.
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Shulem
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BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART, 1969

Post by Shulem »

BRIGHAM YOUNG MUSEUM OF ART

MINERVA TEICHERT (1888-1976), NEPHI, THE BUILDER, FORGING SWORDS, C.1949-1951, OIL ON MASONITE

“Emphasizing the industriousness of Nephi’s people, the mural depicts a unique combination of activities—washing and hanging laundry, constructing the temple, and forging swords. This imagined scene draws on Nephi’s earlier description of using fire and a bellows to make tools (1 Nephi 17:9-11). The temple resembles a house, for it is the house of the Lord, designed, Nephi states, like the temple of Solomon but much plainer. Two figures ascend the temple stairs, their striped robes serving as mantles, perhaps a sign of priesthood authority. The mural stresses the unity essential to build a righteous society and notes the necessity of defense for the Nephites’ domestic tranquility.”

2 Nephi 5:14-17

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Folks, it is clear to me that BYU is a deceptive university that presents these images for the sole purpose of increasing faith rather than establishing truth out of facts through calculated reasoning. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints simply cannot be trusted. I am very grateful that I am no longer a member of that Church or a believer in the Book of Mormon, a book of pure fiction. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Book of Mormon was made-up out of the mind of Joseph Smith who dictated imaginative stories to Oliver Cowdery. The book is not true. I know it absolutely as I know that I live, breathe, and witness the sun rise and set each day. It’s pure knowledge in my mind and heart.

I so testify that there was no such thing as Nephi and his little family band building a temple like that depicted in the artwork above.

Amen.
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by TheSonOfKorihor »

This whole story seems to suffer from the same problem as the Tower of Babel. How could there be enough people descended from Noah, Ham, Japheth, and Shem a mere 100 years later to necessitate a confounding of languages, let alone to build a building of that magnitude?

Just like this story of Nephi and his posterity building a temple, there is simply no way it could be done.
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by Kishkumen »

Yeah. These are myths. Myths.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by Shulem »

Indeed and thanks for those remarks, TheSonOfKorihor. It’s impossible that Nephi, his brothers, Zoram, and what other hands were able, could have built a temple of stone of any significance let alone of fine workmanship. It’s simply impossible from a mathematical and engineering standpoint alone. I suppose if they were super-heroes having amazing abilities and were able to work 24 hours a day nonstop they might be able to construct a heavy hewn stone structure. But Smith’s story doesn’t imply they had super-powers or a host of angels coming down out of heaven to help build it. Recall that Nephi was exceedingly swollen when his brethren bound him on the ship. This means he was subject to human frailty even at a young age and no doubt he had little use of his arms for quite some time after that. So no, Nephi was not a super-hero! It’s all in the math and basic laws of man and things being subject to physics such as water doesn’t run uphill unless it’s being pumped. The Nephites did not have the capability of building that temple -- calculation and estimation from an engineering standpoint is enough to prove the story false. They did not have the manpower and they were not mechanized having sufficient hardware to manipulate and move the elements necessary to accomplish that scope of work. Smith bit the bullet when he had Cowdery write that into his story.
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by Shulem »

Kishkumen wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 4:36 pm
Yeah. These are myths. Myths.

Perhaps at some point, Book of Mormon defenders will seriously present the idea that angels came down from heaven and assisted the little family band in building the temple. You know the old absence of evidence argument -- can work both ways. Smith never said anything about angels building the temple. There isn’t a hint or a glimmer that anything like that was part of the mix. But you know apologists, they will fall back on anything to save themselves and defy the critics to prove it didn’t happen.

So, it seems the only thing apologists can do at this point is credit the angels for building the temple while Nephi and his family helped out.

There, problem solved! it was a miracle.
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by Kishkumen »

They should have angels come down and assist in building the temple. If Solomon could control demons with his magic ring and make them build his temple, then what can we say about Nephi et al. building a temple after the manner of Solomon?

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https://nammu.com/eng/king-solomons-lapis-lazuli-ring/
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Re: “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Post by Shulem »

Kishkumen wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 5:22 pm
They should have angels come down and assist in building the temple. If Solomon could control demons with his magic ring and make them build his temple, then what can we say about Nephi et al. building a temple after the manner of Solomon?

Behold, it must needs be that I nip this in the bud before Book of Mormon defenders get the wild idea that it was angels that came down out of heaven and helped Nephi build the temple. Let’s see what we can do, shall we? The Book of Mormon was meticulous about mentioning angels when they helped out. Take for example Laman & Lemuel being reproved by an angel in Nephi’s very presence, thus they were commanded to obey their younger brother and to stop beating him with a rod. The story even details the personal entry and exit of that angel:

  • And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them
  • And after the angel had spoken unto us, he departed

Later, when building the ship, Nephi again reproves his brethren and reminds them that they had seen an angel: “Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time”

Nephi was commanded to write about the things of God, important things that pertain to salvation, things about his visions and prophecies and teachings he received by an angel, etc.

  • I desire the room that I may write of the things of God
  • Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men

So, did angels come down out of heaven and assist Nephi’s people in building the temple? What does the record say?

“And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon”

Note that it says “I, Nephi” and that “I did construct” the temple. Nothing is said about angels! It was all about “I”. It was Nephi presiding over his family administration that built the temple. No working angels are mentioned in the account and the record plainly states that the temple was built by Nephi whereby he also said, “did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands.” Hence, it was Nephi who did the building and cause his people to work hard. Nothing is said about angels building a temple. Nephi was clear about who was responsible for construction and said, “I did teach my people to build buildings.” Nephi did the teaching and the construction – NOT angels.

Period.
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