Buffalo wrote:When it comes to Mormonism, accurate information is inherently critical in nature....
Well, I thought I would put up my very first work on Mormonism, 3 pages at a time. Perhaps board members will care to comment on what I have written in this article? Thanks. Rich.
An Incredible Story Part I — The Book of Mormon
Rich Kelsey What comes to mind when people think of Mormons? Many of us envision clean-cut young adults riding bicycles or knocking on doors. That’s because Mormons between the ages of 19 to 25 are encouraged to go on a fulltime, two year mission. Over the course of this mission, these young adults follow a rigid schedule of evangelizing which includes “bearing testimony.”[1]
The most common testimony Mormon missionaries share is called the “burning in the bosom.” Mormons are taught that if people ask if something is true, with a sincere heart, with real intent, and having faith in Christ, God will cause their bosom to burn[2] as a confirming sign.
Mormons often encourage potential converts to ask[3] God about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and to look for this sign confirming it. The implication is, if the seeker does not get the burning bosom experience, then he or she was not sincere, lacked faith, or possibly did not show real intent.
Mormons are taught that God will give them a personal witness, or revelation, as to what is true. The Book of Mormon substantiates this:
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni, 10:5).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that:
“Feelings from the Holy Ghost are personal revelation to you that confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon and the gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.”[4]
(The broader meaning of 'personal revelation' includes: logic, study, pondering and deep thought, intuition and utilizing all the cognitive and spiritual capacities that we have).
New converts are assured that they don’t need to try to prove the Book of Mormon, intellectually, or on paper, because the Holy Ghost will lead them in matters of truth. The following transcript from a Mormon video further demonstrates this teaching:
A young woman named Jennifer is bearing testimony; she was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1993:
“It was not a decision I made with my head, it wasn’t. That was what was so odd about it, was that I was raised in academia, everything made sense. I studied. I was a math brain, a science brain, everything had to make sense and this was the first time in my life, that I was making the biggest decision that I had ever made, based on something that I didn’t feel that I could or had to prove on paper...
(page 1)
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Continued:
...I knew that God told me this was true, I knew that I’d read the Book of Mormon and that I had prayed, and that I had done everything the Missionaries told me to do and that I, without any question, knew that this 14 year old boy in New York — Joseph Smith — was actually a prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon was actually the word of God and that the truth had been restored, and I couldn’t prove it, I didn’t, I didn’t have any proof, and, and so it wasn’t, it wasn’t anything that was logical, to ask me what I was thinking, I wasn’t thinking. I was feeling. And, I hadn’t ever really been in touch with my emotions before, and, I didn’t realize how much more powerful that would be.” (Narrative from, The Restoration of Truth – How Can I Know This Is True, 2008, video, @ Mormon.org)
Mormon Faith
Dallin H. Oaks, one of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church, said:
“Our individual, personal testimonies are based on the witness of the Spirit, not on any combination or accumulation of historical facts.”[5]
Possibly the reason Mormons have such strong testimonies is because from the first moment they encounter the LDS Church, they are taught, and also encouraged, to give such testimonies.
Usually once a month, on the first Sunday of each month, a Fast and Testimony Meeting is held. During these meetings, faithful members of the LDS Church are invited to bear a verbal witness of their feelings. New converts are often encouraged to give a pure testimony, such as:
"’I know the church is true.’ ‘I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.’ And, or, ‘I know the Book of Mormon is true.’"
In Mormon ideology, if one doesn’t have a testimony yet, one can get a testimony by bearing one. Mormons often find that their testimony gets stronger each time they bear it; but, is confessing faith in something over and over again, until people firmly believe in it, really the way to determine truth?
This Mormon principle has encouraged untold numbers of new converts and other faithful Mormons to testify that they are strong in the Mormon faith, when in reality, they still have doubts.
The very fact that Mormons get together, bearing and listening to testimonies, such as, “I know the Book of Mormon is true,” points to the possibility that they need more convincing themselves.
(Page 2)
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Reasons for Doubt
Respected BYU Professor, Daniel C. Peterson, spelled out:
"I cheerfully admit, and routinely say, that Mormonism has not proven its claims. I don't think it's supposed to do so, either..."
One might wonder why the LDS Church downplays the need to prove the Book of Mormon. Maybe, it’s because evidence to indicate the book’s truthfulness, such as the golden plates, along with the special glasses[6] used for translation were allegedly taken [7] from the Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, by a divine messenger, and so far, nothing from the ancient civilizations mentioned in the Book of Mormon has been discovered.
For example:
The National Geographic Society,
“does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon."[8]
The Smithsonian Institution reports,
“Smithsonian archeologists see no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book.”[9]
It’s not just the lack of evidence that makes the Book of Mormon difficult to prove; there are also a number of things that appear wrong with the book:
"...the terminologies and the language used and the methods of explaining and putting things down are 19th century literary concepts and cultural experiences one would expect Joseph Smith and his colleagues would experience” (Dr. Ray T. Matheny, Mormon professor of Anthropology, Brigham Young University).
Scholar, Seeker of Truth, and Regrettably, Finder of Truth:[10]
Thomas Stuart Ferguson, a distinguished and devout Mormon archeologist, set out to prove to the world that the Book of Mormon was true. Ferguson thought it would be possible to find artifacts from archaeological digs that would confirm its truthfulness. All he had to do was use the Book of Mormon as a guide because it spells out a time when a people called the Nephites lived in the New World, and it mentions several Nephite cities by name,[11] along with Nephite lands and villages. The Book of Mormon records that the Nephites constructed houses of cement,[12] as well as temples, synagogues and sanctuaries [13] throughout their territories.
Yet, with all of the digs and research Ferguson and his team undertook, they failed to find one artifact to prove that Book of Mormon Nephite cities, villages, or territories ever existed.
After twenty-five years of research, Ferguson concluded:
"…you can’t set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere, because it is fictional...”[14]
Ferguson, whose original goal was to prove to the world that the Book of Mormon was true,[15] eventually lost faith in the Book of Mormon.
(Page 3)
Link:
http://richkelsey.org/book_of_mormon.htm--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] "Latter-day Saints often bear testimony when teaching in Church services, when explaining gospel principles to members of other faiths, and in the fast and testimony meeting, held monthly in each congregation … Latter-day Saint missionaries, in particular, rely on testimony bearing, rather than on logic or artifice, to reach their listeners. The impact of this faith and practice is illustrated by Brigham Young's account of his own conversion to the gospel when as LDS missionary, Eleazar Miller, bore his testimony: If all the talent, tact, wisdom and refinement of the world had been sent to me with the Book of Mormon, and had declared, in the most exalted of earthly eloquence, the truth of it, undertaking to prove it by learning, and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which arises only to vanish away. But when I saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who could only say, 'I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the Lord," the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the testimony of the man was true.'"[JD 1:90]. (About Mormons, by Clayton Christensen)
[2] “But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right” (Doctrine and Covenants, 9:8).
[3] “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Book of Mormon, Moroni, 10:4).
[4] (The Restoration of Truth – How Can I Know This Is True, 2008 , text @ Mormon.org)
[5] (Doctrine and Covenants Conference, Brigham Young University, Aug. 16, 1985)
[6] "After affixing the magical spectacles to his eyes, Smith would take the plates and translate the characters one at a time. The graven characters would appear in succession to the seer, and directly under the character, when viewed through the glasses, would be the translation in English." (Statement by David Whitmer, Deseret Evening News, December 24, 1885)
[7] “But by the wisdom of God, they (the golden plates) remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him: and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty eight.” (Origin of the Book of Mormon, p.3, 1977 edition, Book of Mormon preface, also found in The Pearl of Great Price)
[8] "Thank you for contacting the National Geographic Society. Our position on the Book of Mormon has not changed, nor have we retracted any statements made previously. The National Geographic Society has not examined the historical claims of the Book of Mormon. We know of no archaeological evidence that corroborates the ancient history of the Western Hemisphere as presented in the Book of Mormon, nor are we aware of empirical verification of the places named in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is clearly a work of great spiritual power; millions have read and revered its words, first published by Joseph Smith in 1830. Yet Smith's narration is not generally taken as a scientific source for the history of the Americas. Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere's past, and the Society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon. In fact, students of prehistoric America by and large conclude that the New World's earliest inhabitants arrived from Asia via the Bering land bridge. (Lower sea levels during ice ages exposed the continental shelf beneath Bering Strait, allowing generations of ancient Siberians to migrate east.) National Geographic carried "The First Americans" in its September 1979 issue, perhaps on your library's shelf… Sincerely, Lisa Walker" (Research Correspondence (The National Geographic's Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon Received via Email 1/21/2001)
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Also consider: "The first myth we need to eliminate is that Book of Mormon archaeology exists… no Book of Mormon location is known with reference to modern topography. Biblical archaeology can be studied because we do know where Jerusalem and Jericho were and are, but we do not know where Zarahemla and Bountiful were or are. It would seem then that a concentration on geography should be the first order of business, but we have already seen that twenty years of such an approach has left us empty-handed." (Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Summer 1969, pp. 77-78 by Dee F. Green, editor of the University Archaeological Society Newsletter, published at the Mormon church’s Brigham Young University)
[9] (The Smithsonian Institution statement on The Book of Mormon)
[10] In a paper entitled, "Thomas Stuart Ferguson, 1915-83," Fred W. Nelson wrote the following: "Thomas Ferguson has either directly or indirectly influenced thousands of people's thinking on archaeology.... He has had a great influence on professional archaeology through the Department of Archaeology at Brigham Young University, the Gates Collection, and the New World Archaeological Foundation.... Ferguson's legacy in the founding of the Archaeology Department at Brigham Young University, the obtaining of the Gates Collection, and as founder of the New World Archaeology Foundation stands as a shining example to us all." (As cited in The Messiah in Ancient America, pp. 282-83)
[11]
City of Ammonihah, Wicked Nephite City, 'Desolation of Nehors'
City of Bountiful, Major Nephite city in the northeastern quadrant
City by the Sea, Nephite city on the west coast
City of Cumeni, Nephite city fought for by Helaman
City of Desolation, Northern Nephite City
City of Jordan, Nephite retreat maintained by Mormon
City of Judea, Nephite city
City of and Land of Moroni, In southeast of Nephite lands
City of Moronihah, Iniquitous Nephite city
City of Mulek, Nephite city south of Bountiful
City of Nephihah, Nephite refuge captured and lost by the Lamanites
City of Omner, Nephite city by seashore on east borders
City of and Land of Shem2, Nephite land north of Antum and Jashon
City of Zarahemla, Major capital of Nephites from about 200 B.C. to A.D. 200
City of Zeezrom, Nephite city on southwest frontier
[12] “Many Nephites migrate to the land northward—They build houses of cement and keep many records—Tens of thousands are converted and baptized—The word of God leads men to salvation—Nephi the son of Helaman fills the judgment seat. Between 49 and 39 B.C.” (Introduction to the Book of Helaman 3).
[13] “But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.” (Helaman 3:14)
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[14] Thomas Stuart Ferguson was, at one time, one of the most noted defenders of Book of Mormon archaeology. Mr. Ferguson planned the New World Archaeological Foundation which he hoped would prove the Book of Mormon through archaeological research. The Mormon Church granted hundreds of thousands of dollars to this organization, but in the end, Thomas Stuart Ferguson admitted that although the Foundation made some important contributions to New World archaeology, all his work with regard to the Book of Mormon was in vain. He admitted, in fact, that he had wasted twenty-five years of his life trying to prove the Book of Mormon. In 1975 Ferguson prepared a 29-page paper in which he wrote: "I'm afraid that up to this point, I must agree with Dee Green, who has told us that to date there is no Book-of-Mormon geography." In a letter to Mr. & Mrs. H.W. Lawrence, dated Feb. 20, 1976, Thomas Stuart Ferguson plainly stated: "…you can’t set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional and will never meet the requirements of the dirt-archeology."
[15] In a letter to Mormon President David O. McKay, dated Dec. 14, 1951, Ferguson wrote: "If the anticipated evidences confirming the Book of Mormon are found, worldwide notice will be given to the restored gospel through the Book of Mormon. The artifacts will speak eloquently from the dust." (The Messiah in Ancient America, p. 257)