Alpha & Omega: A Book of Mormon anachronistic blooper

[_Shulem]

It's not so much an anachronism as it is plagiarism. The same phrase is in the Bible. The Book of Mormon is Bible fan fiction, so you would expect some of the same phrases to be copied.

Folks, we have a winner! That's exactly what Joseph Smith did. He borrowed, stole, and plagiarized from the Bible. There was no reason whatsoever for Mormon Jesus to cite Greek letters to the Nephites! All he had to say was that he was the First and the Last, the Word of God. That would have sufficed just fine. But, clearly, we see Joseph Smith taking things and putting them where they don't belong. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

[_Runtu]

It's not so much an anachronism as it is plagiarism. The same phrase is in the Bible. The Book of Mormon is Bible fan fiction, so you would expect some of the same phrases to be copied.

Not just that, but as Mark Twain put it, it is "tedious plagiarism."

[_Shulem]

And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his brother whom he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, whose name was Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiah—now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen.

Here we see that Joseph Smith provides gobbledygook Nephite names but lo and behold, we have two Greek names now!! Aside from Timothy, we have Jonas, the Greek transliteration of "Jonah" of the Old Testament, meaning "dove".

Why is Joseph Smith assigning a Greek name to a Nephite? Could it be that he ignorantly stole it from the New Testament in a vain attempt to make his record look more authentic?

Or, according to zerinus, the original Nephite name meant "dove" so Joseph Smith was inspired to use the Greek language to represent the disciple. Never mind the Nephite name. Never mind original Hebrew. Let's introduce Greek.

[_zerinus]

Here we see that Joseph Smith provides gobbledygook Nephite names but lo and behold, we have two Greek names now!! Aside from Timothy, we have Jonas, the Greek transliteration of "Jonah" of the Old Testament, meaning "dove".

Why is Joseph Smith assigning a Greek name to a Nephite? Could it be that he ignorantly stole it from the New Testament in a vain attempt to make his record look more authentic?

Or, according to zerinus, the original Nephite name meant "dove" so Joseph Smith was inspired to use the Greek language to represent the disciple. Never mind the Nephite name. Never mind original Hebrew. Let's introduce Greek.

I am more interested in Mathoni, Mathonihah, Kumen, Kumenonhi, and Shemnon. Where did he get those from, I wonder.

[_fetchface]

I am more interested in Mathoni, Mathonihah, Kumen, Kumenonhi, and Shemnon. Where did he get those from, I wonder.

Straight. Outta. Hisass.

[_Shulem]

I am more interested in Mathoni, Mathonihah, Kumen, Kumenonhi, and Shemnon. Where did he get those from, I wonder.

Ah, the oldest apologetic trick in the book. Step over the vomit and keep on going. The apologist will say, "Never mind the pile of poop, walk over here".

You, zerinus, will need to start a different topic for those other names. This topic is about Greek. You know, Mormon Jesus telling the Nephites about how Greekish he is rather than just telling them he was the "WORD OF GOD". But as we see, Joseph Smith in his utter fascination with post Christian era terminology "Alpha & Omega", he couldn't resist throwing it into the Book of Mormon.

[_zerinus]

Ah, the oldest apologetic trick in the book. Step over the vomit and keep on going. The apologist will say, "Never mind the pile of poop, walk over here".

You, zerinus, will need to start a different topic for those other names. This topic is about Greek. You know, Mormon Jesus telling the Nephites about how Greekish he is rather than just telling them he was the "WORD OF GOD". But as we see, Joseph Smith in his utter fascination with post Christian era terminology "Alpha & Omega", he couldn't resist throwing it into the Book of Mormon.

Your error has already been demonstrated. Nothing more to add.

[_Shulem]

Shulem Interviews Joseph Smith

SHULEM: Mr. Smith, how is that Jesus introduced himself by the Greek terminology of Alpha & Omega when clearly you said there was no Greek on the plates and the Greek language would have been foreign to the inhabitants of the new world?

SMITH: The translation is correct. Jesus Christ is the First and the Last, he is the written word of God to all nations and his testimony is the same.

SHULEM: But the Nephites didn't speak Greek and the language was not their own so wasn't Mormon Jesus speaking in an unknown tongue?

SMITH: The Nephites were filled with the Spirit of God and the gift of interpretation was poured out upon all the people. Their spiritual eyes were opened and they knew Jesus was the Word of God, the First and Last, the alphabet of every language, kindred, and tongue.

SHULEM: Okay, so what you're saying is the gift of tongues was at play and while Jesus spoke Greek the people understood?

SMITH: The spirit of Jesus is the testimony of revelation and prophecy and they understood the Greek and wrote the testimony just as they had received from the Lord.

SHULEM: Were these things recorded by the Greek disciples, Timothy and Jonas?

SMITH: You do error, Timothy and Simon son of Jonas were apostles of the New Testament wherein the Greek was openly used to preach and testify of Christ and his gospel.

SHULEM: Sir, I refer to the two disciples which Mormon Jesus called in third Nephi: Timothy and Jonas which are Greek names. How is it they had Greek names?

SMITH: Sir, my time with you does not allow me to go into all the particulars and sundry points about things that are complex and not fully understood. The testimony of the Nephites is true and the authority of the disciples was given by the Lord to minister to the people. Their names as contained in the record were given by the Lord and the translation is correct.

SHULEM: So, even though there was no Greek on plates and Greek was not in their language, you claim that two Nephites had Greek names, nonetheless. And did they walk Roman miles?

SMITH: What do you mean by Roman mile?

SHULEM: You know, the part about walking the extra mile?

SMITH: Walking the second mile and turning the cheek is Christian doctrine and the Book of Mormon bears testimony that it's verily true.

SHULEM: How is it that the Nephites even knew what a mile was or the distance therein considering the fact that a mile is a Roman unit of measurement?

SMITH: You do error; the Nephites were filled with all manner of wisdom and understood the things of Christ as he revealed it to them.

SHULEM: So, Mormon Jesus revealed the Roman mile to the Nephites for the first time and they knew what it meant and how long it was, is that correct?

SMITH: Yes, and it was a marvelous work and a wonder.

SHULEM: Thank you, Mr. Smith for your time.

[_Shulem]

Your error has already been demonstrated. Nothing more to add.

Elohim and Mary,
Sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
First comes love. Then comes incest.
Then comes a baby in the baby carriage,
Sucking his thumb,
Wetting his pants,
Doing the hula, hula dance!

[_SteelHead]

The extra mIle thing is more than just the use of the world mile, it is the use of a custom by which non citizens could be compelled to bear burdens for the roman army. It made sense to the people hearing the sermon on the mount. To the Nephites the idiom would have been absolutely meaningless. Without any cultural context.