Last edited by canpakes on Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
WK: "Joseph Smith asserted that the Book of Mormon peoples were the original inhabitants of the americas"
Will Schryver: "No, he didn’t." 3/19/08
Still waiting for Will to back this up...
Mercury wrote: Are you this stupid? I doubt it. What is it that makes you so unwilling to accept the standard definition of a word and the fact that there was a drastic change made to the "market test" version of the Book of Mormon?
It does not matter how many times you say it, it still does not make it true. You are wrong, wr are right. Concede or continue to appear like an ignorant vinegary shill.
Okay, merc. Here is the dictionary.com definition of the word "principal." 1. first or highest in rank, importance, value, etc.; chief; foremost. 2. of, of the nature of, or constituting principal or capital: a principal investment. 3. Geometry. (of an axis of a conic) passing through the foci. –noun 4. a chief or head. 5. the head or director of a school or, esp. in England, a college. 6. a person who takes a leading part in any activity, as a play; chief actor or doer. 7. the first player of a division of instruments in an orchestra (excepting the leader of the first violins). 8. something of principal or chief importance. 9. Law. a. a person who authorizes another, as an agent, to represent him or her. b. a person directly responsible for a crime, either as an actual perpetrator or as an abettor present at its commission. 10. a person primarily liable for an obligation, in contrast with an endorser, or the like. 11. the main body of an estate, or the like, as distinguished from income. 12. Finance. a capital sum, as distinguished from interest or profit. 13. Music. a. an organ stop. b. the subject of a fugue. 14. (in a framed structure) a member, as a truss, upon which adjacent or similar members depend for support or reinforcement. 15. each of the combatants in a duel, as distinguished from the seconds.
Okay, now, merc, eat your words. The very first definition says what I have been saying all along. MOST IMPORTANT!
Maybe next time, before you make an argument you should check it out and see if the argument flies.
You can't look at that statement out of context. Sure it can be interpreted that way, but look at the church culture and teachings at the time that statement was written. It's more likely that BRM meant "first" which happens to be the very first definition in your dictionary. You even bolded it. Why should church members take your interpretation over that of the apostles who wrote and approved of that statement? Isn't that like taking the words of a Private over those of a General? And now you have the church changing it to "among" which ruins both you and BRMs theories.
Last edited by Guest on Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"We of this Church do not rely on any man-made statement concerning the nature of Deity. Our knowledge comes directly from the personal experience of Joseph Smith." - Gordon B. Hinckley
"It's wrong to criticize leaders of the Mormon Church even if the criticism is true." - Dallin H. Oaks
SatanWasSetUp wrote: You can't look at that statement out of context. Sure it can be interpreted that way, but look at the church culture and teachings at the time that statement was written. It's more likely that BRM meant "first" which happens to be the very first definition in your dictionary. You even bolded it. Why should church members take your interpretation over that of the apostles who wrote and approved of that statement? Isn't that like taking the words of a Private over those of a General?
Here's Merriam-Webster (a more acceptable source than dictionary.com, in my opinion as an editor):
Main Entry: 1prin·ci·pal Pronunciation: \ˈprin(t)-s(ə-)pəl, -sə-bəl\ Function: adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin principalis, from princip-, princeps Date: 14th century 1 : most important, consequential, or influential : chief <the principal ingredient> <the region's principal city> 2 : of, relating to, or constituting principal or a principal.
It's not a synonym for "among."
But yeah, we all know what the church meant. Revisionism is fun, but not particularly useful.
SatanWasSetUp wrote: You can't look at that statement out of context. Sure it can be interpreted that way, but look at the church culture and teachings at the time that statement was written. It's more likely that BRM meant "first" which happens to be the very first definition in your dictionary. You even bolded it. Why should church members take your interpretation over that of the apostles who wrote and approved of that statement? Isn't that like taking the words of a Private over those of a General? And now you have the church changing it to "among" which ruins both you and BRMs theories.
Now, look at who is arguing context. I am glad to see a critic understands the concept.
You have focused on the word "first." How do you think Elder McConkie meant it? First, as in Adam was the first man? What do you mean by "first?"
Now, can you show me any where that the Apostles ever said, "This is how we interpret 'principal' in the introduction to the Book of Mormon." I have interpreted it as they did. And 'among' doesn't ruin anything. If the American Indians are descended in any degree ( 1 one ancestor or 50 or 1,000) from a Lamanite, those Lehite ancestors are the most important, because of the Abrahamic covenant.
charity wrote:Now, can you show me any where that the Apostles ever said, "This is how we interpret 'principal' in the introduction to the Book of Mormon." I have interpreted it as they did. And 'among' doesn't ruin anything. If the American Indians are descended in any degree ( 1 one ancestor or 50 or 1,000) from a Lamanite, those Lehite ancestors are the most important, because of the Abrahamic covenant.
But we all know what BRM meant by "principal": "dominant blood lineage."
"Moving beyond apologist persuasion, LDS polemicists furiously (and often fraudulently) attack any non-traditional view of Mormonism. They don't mince words -- they mince the truth."
-- Mike Quinn, writing of the FARMSboys, in "Early Mormonism and the Magic World View," p. x (Rev. ed. 1998)
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen