Jersey Girl wrote:It doesn't matter what was found in Peru. The book is a 19th century copy and paste job by multiple authors.
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Evidence please
a 19th century copy
check - It was produced in the 19th century.
copy and paste job
check - I believe it's been quite adequately demonstrated that portions were plagiarized from the KJV Bible. Other portions were plagiarized from other sections of the Bible.
by multiple authors.
This is the only part I'm unsure of. Whether or not Joseph Smith had help in writing it.
Look, JB. It's a 19th century production. If you (and the church) want to claim otherwise (supernatural means), then you (and/or the church) need to pony up the evidence. Until it's been demonstrated that it's not a 19th century work, it remains so.
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...
Sure it is a 19th century work. It was produced then. How I do not know nor do you. Joseph may have recieved it as claimed, it may be inspirational fiction, if how he claimed it could Smith could have expanded on its original contents to address issues of his day and so on. Even with all of that it would have a 19th century feel about it just as the KJV is written in 17th century english.
Or it could have been patched together by Rigdon and Rigdon could have stolen it from Spalding. Or there could be someone else. Or Joseph Smith wrote it all from his mind.
In all cases it would have a 19th century flair.
The LDS Church has the witness of Smith, Harris, Cowdrey, Whimer and eight others for the plates. The LDS Church also has Emma who was JSs brief scribe. I know of no other theory that has as many witnesses. So there you have it.
I am not sure how we got it but Jersey Girl isn't nor or you and I have yet to see Jersey Girl or anyone give compelling evidence for their thoeries that is more compelling than the ones from the people I mention above.
Just because a few people say it's a 2,000 year old historically accurate book written on gold plates in an unknown language, brought to the earth by god's angel, doesn't make it so. It's a 19th century piece of fiction, till you can demonstrate otherwise. Sorry. That's just the way it is.
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...
I am not sure how we got it but Jersey Girl isn't nor or you and I have yet to see Jersey Girl or anyone give compelling evidence for their thoeries that is more compelling than the ones from the people I mention above.
There's certainly compelling evidence that it is NOT an ancient Mesoamerican document.
Aside from the "flair", there's also the fact that the Book of Mormon text addresses the controversial issues that gripped Joseph Smith' culture: infant baptism, universalism, and masonry, for examples.
It's just too convenient by half for a truly ancient text to just HAPPEN to be interested in the same controversies that gripped 19th century new england.
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.
Who Knows wrote:Just because a few people say it's a 2,000 year old historically accurate book written on gold plates in an unknown language, brought to the earth by god's angel, doesn't make it so. It's a 19th century piece of fiction, till you can demonstrate otherwise. Sorry. That's just the way it is.
Sorry
It is called witnesses and a pre-preponderance of evidence. where is yours?
I am not sure how we got it but Jersey Girl isn't nor or you and I have yet to see Jersey Girl or anyone give compelling evidence for their thoeries that is more compelling than the ones from the people I mention above.
There's certainly compelling evidence that it is NOT an ancient Mesoamerican document.
Aside from the "flair", there's also the fact that the Book of Mormon text addresses the controversial issues that gripped Joseph Smith' culture: infant baptism, universalism, and masonry, for examples.
It's just too convenient by half for a truly ancient text to just HAPPEN to be interested in the same controversies that gripped 19th century new england.
I would guess that about 80% of the doctrinal issues the Book of Mormon addressed have been debated for 2000 years.
Jason Bourne wrote:The LDS Church has the witness of Smith, Harris, Cowdrey, Whimer and eight others for the plates. The LDS Church also has Emma who was JSs brief scribe. I know of no other theory that has as many witnesses. So there you have it.
I am not sure how we got it but Jersey Girl isn't nor or you and I have yet to see Jersey Girl or anyone give compelling evidence for their thoeries that is more compelling than the ones from the people I mention above.
If Jersey Girl gave you a piece of paper saying that her theory is correct, and it was signed by 11 of her family members and friends, would that convince you? What if she came back with 12 witnesses?
"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