What single honest act would hurt LDS the most?

[_schreech]

And, as to your 3,000+ word effort; any explanation for that laughable anachronism about syphillus in the 5th. century A.D? If something like that had been in the first 3,000 words of 1 Nephi, you know good and well it would have been hooted to the high heavens.

lol - you.are.hilarious:

“And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.”

"Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

"And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper."

"virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the God, after the manner of the flesh" (although this one has been fixed)

and my favorite:

“… all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.”

I could go on (King James English in the Book of Mormon, etc.), but I think this is good for now....

[_logjamislds]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

[_MrStakhanovite]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

[_SteelHead]

You going to address the fine steel bow and sword and the animals?

[_Morley]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

That Egyptian could be the "language of [Nephi's] father" could not be because he was a trader. The 'language of your father' is your native tongue.

Sure, anachronisms often have to do with time. I'd assume that the only way Egyptian could be the language of Nephi's father would have to do with Exodus (at least 600 years earlier). Time.

[_Morley]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

My emphasis.

You said it yourself.

[_Quasimodo]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

Even if Lehi and Nephi did exist (doubtful). Lehi's native language would not have been Egyptian. As you said, it's possible (also doubtful) that he knew some Egyptian, but Nephi would not have called it "the language of my father".

by the way, Egypt and Israel/ Judea were never really allies. Judea and Israel were subject provinces of Egypt for a time, but not allies.

[_Morley]

You misunderstand the meaning of "anachronism": it has to do with time. If 1 Ne. had said Lehi called Nephi on the phone, that would be an anachronism. As to Lehi speaking Egyptian; the Israelis and Egyptians were quite close at that time, united against the Babylonian empire. Lehi quite probably was a trader, shipping goods to and from Egypt; therefore, he would have been fluent in their language.

Even if Lehi and Nephi did exist (doubtful). Lehi's native language would not have been Egyptian. As you said, it's possible (also doubtful) that he knew some Egyptian, but Nephi would not have called it "the language of my father".

by the way, Egypt and Israel/ Judea were never really allies. Judea and Israel were subject provinces of Egypt for a time, but not allies.

Ha! You said it much better than I. Thanks, Quasi.

[_logjamislds]

Sheesh, you people. Could not Lehi have been bi-lingual and bi-cultural? Especially if he did business with the Egyptians, and there are many indications that was his profession. Israel was carrying on trade with Egypt, and they did ally with Egypt against Babylon, much to God's chagrin. The Book of Mormon as later related, was written in "reformed Egyptian"; perhaps Egyptian was an easier language to write in than Hebrew. Nephi in the second verse says he writes his records in Egyptian. Remember, he was inscribing things on metal plates, so an easy and shorthand language would be preferable to something that would take more room. I'm no linguistics expert, especially on the languages of that time, but Egyptian probably proved to be a more convenient language for that purpose than Hebrew.

[_logjamislds]

As to addressing the "steel bow"; the Bible already does. 2 Sam 22: 35, Ps. 18: 34, Job 20: 24, all of which are pre-Nephi. I probably shouldn't have given you those references; you'll now probably accuse Joseph Smith of stealing ideas from the Bible.

As to the herd animals running loose; my guess is they were Jaredite livestock that escaped when those people suffered their collapse. This ain't brain surgery, people; just read with an open and honest heart, instead of desperately grasping at any straw that comes along. (Hence, my gnat-strainer prize.)