Category: Scripture

References
1	The Dangers of the So-called Sex Revolution, Apostle Mark E. Petersen – http://scriptures.byu.edu/gettalk.php?ID=1684
2	Leviticus 20:13, The Holy Bible – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/lev/20.13

References
1	Wikipedia, Horses in the United States – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_the_United_States
2	Fair Mormon, Horses in the Book of Mormon – https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/horses-in-the-book-of-mormon
3	Book of Mormon (search:horse) – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/search?lang=eng&query=horse&testament=bofm

References
1	The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi, Chapter 9 – https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/9?lang=xho&clang=eng
2	US Census bureau – https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US#viewtop

Book of Mormon and DNA

Excerpt from the ‘Book of Mormon and DNA Studies’, LDS Gospel Topic Essay: ¹

The evidence assembled to date suggests that the majority of Native Americans carry largely Asian DNA. Scientists theorize that in an era that predated Book of Mormon accounts, a relatively small group of people migrated from northeast Asia to the Americas by way of a land bridge that connected Siberia to Alaska. These people, scientists say, spread rapidly to fill North and South America and were likely the primary ancestors of modern American Indians.

Spencer W. Kimball
The Lamanite: Their Burden, Our Burden
Feb. 9, 1967 ²

(0:00)
My beloved brothers and sisters. My fellow Indian students. It’s a joy to be with you and I appreciate this privilege of being with you, especially this week, during the Indian week.

The Indian is the Lamanite. They are South Americans, Central Americans, Mexican, Polynesian and other Lamanites running into millions who are not specifically called Indians though they are related Lamanites.

The Lamanites are a mixture of many. Undoubtably there is in their veins the blood of Nephi, Joseph and Jacob as well as that of Laman, Lemuel and Sam. Also of the Mulekites of Judah. They are not Orientals. They are from the Near East. The twelve apostles who were associated with the prophet Joseph proclaimed this to the world. Quoting “He, the Lord, has revealed the origin and the records of the aboriginal tribes of America and their future destiny, and we know it.”

We also bear testimony that the Indians, so-called, of North and South America are a remnant of the tribes of Israel. Through the centuries, movements, discovery, explorations, settlement and colonization of the people of this land—it is not impossible that there could have seeped across the Bering Strait a little oriental blood as claimed by some people. And possibly a little Norse blood may have crossed the North Atlantic. But basically these Lamanites, including the Indian, are the descendants of Lehi, who left Jerusalem 600 years BC. In the general sense, we are the Gentiles having come from Gentile nations. The name ‘Indians’, given to the early possessors of the Americas by Columbus, as they intermarried with the invading European conquerers and nations were formed, they became Mexicans, Peruvians, Bolivians, Guatemalans and others. But the correct name for all the descendants of Lehi and Ishmael is Lamanite.

This is an honorable name. It was the Lord who so designated it. Every descendant of Lehi should proudly say “I am a Lamanite, and I am proud of my heritage.” The Book of Mormon was written to the laminates who are a remnant of Israel, for the express purpose of convincing the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God. And that the Lamanites might know their ancestors and the spectacular promises of the Lord to them.

(4:25)
Wilford Woodruff, president of the Lords church, identified many of the larger tribes as Lamanites. President Joseph Smith and John Taylor called them lamanites as have all the presidents and leaders of the church since. And so we look upon the name as proper and dignified and fully acceptable. The Lord consistently called his people the Lamanites.

(4:58)
He [Moroni] probably saw with rather clear vision the deterioration, becoming savages without a written language, ignorant, superstitious and without God in their lives.

(5:29)
Undoubtably, he [Moroni] saw the inspired Columbus bridge the mighty deep and bring two worlds together. The explorers, the discoverers, the conquerers, the colonists, peopled the land. He would have seen the growing gentile nation throw off the thralldom of it’s mother country in the great revolutionary war. There, developing a constitution, and freedom, and all of this was in preparation for the restoration of the gospel with the Book of Mormon.

(15:18)
Whereas the Lamanites had been as numerous as the sands of the sea, through disease and warfare these numbers had dwindled by the time Columbus came. Likely there were fewer in the whole land left, than were killed in the one battle of Cumorah.

References[+]

References
1	Book of Mormon and DNA Studies, LDS Gospel Topic Essay – https://www.lds.org/topics/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?lang=eng
2	The Lamanite: Their Burden, Our Burden, BYU Speeches (audio) – https://teknik.byu.edu/talks/spencer-w-kimball_lamanite-burden-burden/

December 17, 2017

Worldwide Flood

Excerpt from ‘The Flood and the Tower of Babel’ published in the January 1998 Ensign:¹

There is a third group of people—those who accept the literal message of the Bible regarding Noah, the ark, and the Deluge. Latter-day Saints belong to this group. In spite of the world’s arguments against the historicity of the Flood, and despite the supposed lack of geologic evidence, we Latter-day Saints believe that Noah was an actual man, a prophet of God, who preached repentance and raised a voice of warning, built an ark, gathered his family and a host of animals onto the ark, and floated safely away as waters covered the entire earth. We are assured that these events actually occurred by the multiple testimonies of God’s prophets.

References[+]

References

1 LDS Ensign, ‘The Flood and the Tower of Babel’ (January, 1998) – https://www.lds.org/ensign/1998/01/the-flood-and-the-tower-of-babel?lang=eng

September 14, 2017
7,000 Years

Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 [footnote]Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 – LDS.org[/footnote]

“Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?

A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and the works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence.”

Crash Course:

Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 – LDS.org

September 14, 2017
No Evidence

Image: National Geographic image. A Canadian archaeological dig finding evidence of a viking outpost dating to around 1000 AD. Evidence of Viking Outpost Found in Canada

The Smithsonian Institution’s letter “Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon“

Pg. 1
Your recent inquiry concerning the Smithsonian Institution’s alleged use of the Book of Mormon as a scientific guide has been received in the Smithsonian’s Department of Anthropology.
The Book of Mormon is a religious document and not a scientific guide. The Smithsonian Institution has never used it in archeological research and any information that you have received to the contrary is incorrect. Accurate information about the Smithsonian’s position is contained in the enclosed “Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon,” which was prepared to respond to the numerous inquiries that the Smithsonian receives on this topic.
Because the Smithsonian regards the unauthorized use of its name to disseminate inaccurate information as unlawful, we would appreciate your assistance in providing us with the names of any individuals who are misusing the Smithsonian’s name. Please address any correspondence to:
Anthropology Outreach Office
Department of Anthropology
National Museum of Natural History MRC 112
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC 20560
Pg. 2
1. The Smithsonian Institution has never used the Book of Mormon in any way as a scientific guide. Smithsonian archeologists see no direct connection between the archeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book.
2. The physical type of the American Indian is basically Mongoloid, being most closely related to that of the peoples of eastern. central, and northeastern Asia. Archeological evidence indicates that the ancestors of the present Indians cane into the New World – probably over a land bridge known to have existed in the Being Strait region during the last Ice Age – in a continuing series of small migrations beginning from about 25,000 to 30,000 years ago.
3. Present evidence indicates that the first people to reach this continent from the East were the Norsemen who briefly visited the northeastern part of North America around A.D. 1000 and then settled in Greenland. There is nothing to show that they reached Mexico or Central America.
4. One of the main lines of evidence supporting the scientific finding that contacts with Old World civilizations if indeed they occurred at all, were of very little significance for the development of American Indian civilizations, is the fact that none of the principal Old World domesticated food plants or animals (except the dog) occurred in the New World in pre-Columbian times. American Indians had no wheat, barley, oats, millet, rice, cattle, pigs, chickens, horses, donkeys, camels before 1492. (Camels and horses were in the Americas, along with the bison, mammoth, and mastodon, but all these animals became extinct around 10,000 B.C. at the time when the early big game hunters spread across the Americas.)
5. Iron, steel, glass, and silk were not used in the New World before 1492 (except for occasional use of unsmelted meteoric iron). Native copper was worked in various locations in pre-Columbian times, but true metallurgy was limited to southern Mexico and the Andean region, where its occurrence in late prehistoric times involved gold, silver, copper, and their alloys, but not iron.
6. There is a possibility that the spread of cultural traits across the Pacific to Mesoamerica and the northwestern coast of South America began several hundred years before the Christian era. However, any such inter-hemispheric contacts appear to have been the results of accidental voyages originating in eastern and southern Asia. It is by no means certain that even such contacts occurred; certainly there were no contacts with the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, or other peoples of Western Asian and the Near East.
7. No reputable Egyptologist or other specialist on Old World archeology, and no expert on New World prehistory, has discovered or confirmed any relationship between archeological remains in Mexico and archeological remains in Egypt.
8. Reports of findings of ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, and other Old World writings in the New World in pre-Columbian contexts have frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, and sensational books. None of these claims has stood up to examination by reputable scholars. No inscriptions using Old World forms of writing have been shown to have occurred in any part of the Americas before 1492 except for a few Norse rune stones which have been found in Greenland.
Pg. 3 & 4
Coe, Michael D. Mexico. 4th revised edition. Thames & Hudson, 1994. (A well-written, authoritative summary of Mexican archeology.)
Coe, Michael D. The Maya. 5th revised edition. Thames & Hudson, 1993. (A general summary of the archeology of the Maya.)
Coe, Michael D. and Richard A Diehl. In the Land of the Olmecs. 2 vols. University of Texas Press, 1980.
Fagan, Brian. Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent. 2nd ed. New York: Thames &Hudson, 1995.
Kingdoms of Gold, Kingdoms of Jade: The Americas Before Columbus. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1991.
Ferguson, Thomas S. OneFold and One Shepherd. San Francisco: Books of California, 1958. (A book presenting the Mormon point of view.)
Freidel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker. Maya Cosmos. NY: New York: William Morrow & Co., 1993.
Hammond, Norman. Ancient Maya Civilization. New Brunswick New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1982.
Hunter, Milton R. and Thomas S. Ferguson. Ancient America and the Book of Mormon. Oakland, California: Kolob Book Co., 1950. (The Mormon point of view is presented.)
Jennings, Jesse D. Prehistory of North America. 2nd edition. McGraw Hill, 1989.
Jennings Jesse, editor. Vol. 1. Ancient North Americans. Vol. 2. Ancient South Americans. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1983.
Lamberg-Karlovsky, C. C. and Jeremy A. Sabloff. Ancient Civilizations; The Near East and Mesoamerica. 2nd ed. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1995. (Chapter 4 discusses the first Mesoamerican civilization and its origin. Very readable.)
Marcus, Joyce. Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Papers of the New World Archaeological Foundation. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1952-. (Published results of archeological investigations in Mesoamerica by the Foundation supported by the Mormon Church.)
Riley, Carroll L. et al., editors. Man Across the Sea: Problems of Pre-Columbian Contancts. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1971. (A collection of articles, mostly by well-qualified specialists, concerning transoceanic contacts.)
Sabloff, Jeremy A. Cities of Ancient Mexico: Reconstructing a Lost World. New York, NY: Thames &Hudson, 1990.
Schele, Linda, and David Freidel. A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. New York, NY: William Merrow & Co., 1992.
Wauchope, Robert. Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents. University of Chicago Press, 1974. (Chapter 4 covers Mormon theories, setting them in the context of other nonscientific schemes. Author is a well-qualified specialist on Mexican archeology.)
Williams, Stephen. Fantastic Archaeology: the Wild Side of North American Prehistory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. (See the chapter “Archaeology and Religion: Where Angels Fear to Tread.”)

The National Geographic Society’s letter ‘Statement on the Book of Mormon.’ National Geographic Society Statement on 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 and the Bering “land bridge.” (Lower sea levels during the 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.

Crash Course:

Statement Regarding the Book of Mormon – The Smithsonian Institution
National Geographic Society Statement on the Book of Mormon
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon – Wikipedia
Dr. Michael Coe – An Outsider’s View of Book of Mormon Archaeology (Podcast) – Mormon Stories

June 12, 2017
Where is Cumorah?
Image: The Hill Comorah is a drumlin in Manchester, New York, United States, where Joseph Smith said he found a set of golden plates which he translated into English and published as the Book of Mormon.

In the text of the Book of Mormon, “Cumorah” is a hill located in a land of the same name, which is “a land of many waters, rivers and fountains”. In this hill, a Book of Mormon figure, Mormon, deposited a number of metal plates containing the record of his nation of Nephites, just prior to their final battle with the Lamanites in which at least 230,000 people were killed.

From the BYU publication ‘Journal of Book of Mormon Studies’, Archaeology and Cumorah Questions, 2004 —John E. Clark

In accord with these general observations about New York and Pennsylvania, we come to our principal object—the Hill Cumorah. Archaeologically speaking, it is a clean hill. No artifacts, no walls, no trenches, no arrowheads. The area immediately surrounding the hill is similarly clean. Pre-Columbian people did not settle or build here. This is not the place of Mormon’s last stand. We must look elsewhere for that hill. The Palmyra hill is still a sacred place and was the repository of the golden plates and other relics placed there by Moroni. How Moroni made his way to this place and constructed his time capsule of artifacts is a historic adventure for another time.”

From an October 16, 1990 letter from the secretary of the First Presidency addressing a question from a Brother Sparks about the location of the Hill Cumorah referenced in the Book of Mormon:

Dear Bishop Brooks:
l have been asked to forward to you for acknowledgment and handling the enclosed copy of a letter to President Gordon B. Hinckley from Ronnie Sparks of your ward. Brother Sparks inquired about the location of the Hill Cumorah mentioned in the Book of Mormon, where the last battle between the Nephites and Lamanites took place.
The Church has long maintained, as attested to by references in the writings of General Authorities, that the Hill Cumorah in western New York state is the same as referenced in the Book of Mormon.
The Brethren appreciate your assistance in responding to this inquiry, and asked that you convey to Brother Sparks their commendation for his gospel study.

Crash Course:
- Cumorah – Wikipedia
- Archaeology and Cumorah Questions, 2004—John E. Clark, BYU
- First Presidency Letter on Location of Hill Cumorah – Joseph Smith Foundation
May 26, 2017
No Death Before the Fall of Adam

Image:Tyrannosaurus, Frankfurt Museum. Age: approximately 70 million years.

From the current (2017) publication of the LDS Bible Dictionary. Topic: ‘Death’:

Latter-day revelation teaches that there was no death on this earth before the Fall of Adam. Indeed, death entered the world as a direct result of the Fall (2 Ne. 2:22; Moses 6:48).

2 Nephi 2:22:

22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

Moses 6:48:

48 And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe.

From the current (2017) publication of the LDS Bible Dictionary. Topic: ‘Chronology of the Old Testament:

4000 B.C. — Fall of Adam

Crash Course:
Bible Dictionary. Topic: ‘Chronology of the Old Testament’ – LDS.org
Bible Dictionary. Topic: ‘Death’ – LDS.org
2 Nephi 2:22 – LDS.org
Moses 6:48 – LDS.org
Conflicts with Science – Mormon Think

May 21, 2017
Young Earth

Image: The Venus of Willendorf is an 11.1-centimetre-high (4.4 in) statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between about 28,000 and 25,000 BCE.(Venus of Willendorf)

From The Doctrine and Covenants section 77. Question and answer session regarding the revelations of St. John:

6 Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?
A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and the works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence.
—
12 Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years—the preparing of the way before the time of his coming.
13 Q. When are the things to be accomplished, which are written in the 9th chapter of Revelation?
A. They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh seal, before the coming of Christ.

Crash Course:
Doctrine and Covenants section 77 – LDS.org
Conflicts with Science – Mormon Think

May 11, 2017
Paint out the Hat

Image: Screen capture from a production note of The Days of Harmony LDS church videoScreen Caps of the editing of The Days of Harmony

In a 2015 LDS church production, titled The Days of Harmony, the editors were instructed to ‘paint out the hat’ from the scenes depicting the translation. The video, currently showing in temple visitor centers and LDS historical sites, entirely omits the white hat from the depiction. Curious, because as David Whitmer recalls: (An Address to All Believers in Christ, pg. 12 – David Whitmer)

“I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine.

Joseph Smith used a seer stone placed in a white hat as the primary method for the translation. Something the church seems hesitant to depict in its art and media.

Crash Course:
An Address to All Believers in Christ, pg. 12 – David Whitmer
Book of Mormon Translation – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
Source Post – Reddit
Translation of the Book of Mormon – Mormon Think
Days of Harmony trailer – LDS.org

May 11, 2017
Mormon Pseudepigrapha

Image: Richard Lyman Bushman (born June 20, 1931) is an American historian and Gouverneur Morris Professor of History emeritus at Columbia University. He was the Howard W. Hunter Visiting Professor in Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University from 2008 to 2011. He also serves as one of three general editors of the Joseph Smith Papers.

Richard Lyman Bushman, New Perspectives on Joseph Smith and Translation – Utah State University March 16th, 2017: History and Context—Richard Bushman

From a modern scholarly perspective, Moses along with a later translation of the Book of Abraham, looks less like a translation of the Bible, than a major variant of a second major translation project in the 19th century, the recovery and analysis is pseudepigrapha.
These scripture like texts, now numbering in the hundreds, were taken seriously during the first centuries of the Christian era when they jostled for inclusion in the Christian and Jewish canons. They were wanted to be scriptures. They didn’t quite make the grade, but still hung around in various forms. These are writings that had a biblical ring and echoed biblical themes, but for reasons both theological and political, did not make it into the canon. The Bible as we know it. They were called pseudepigrapha because they oftened pretended to be authored by a biblical figure and spoke in that prophets voice. Though the actual author, of the writing, was unknown. They had names like the Apocryphal Set. The Inquiry of Abraham. The Testament of Job. The Apocryphal of Ezekiel.
Joseph Smith’s books of Moses and Abraham and the writings of Enoch and the Book of Moses bear a resemblance to this large corpus of scriptures in that they came in the form of writings in another persons name. Joseph was producing pseudepigrapha at the very time when scholars were taking these writings seriously again. Interested Pseudepigrapha had faded out in the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Christian era after the canon settled in. And revived in the renaissance as part of the return to antiquity for wisdom and science. Over the course of the 19th century, translation and study of pseudepigrapha became a major scholarly endeavor.

Wikipedia definition of Pseudepigrapha

Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as “pseudepigraph” or “pseudepigraphs”) are falsely-attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past. Pseudepigraphy covers the false ascription of names of authors to works, even to authentic works that make no such claim within their text. Thus a widely accepted but incorrect attribution of authorship may make a completely authentic text pseudepigraphical. Assessing the actual writer of a text locates questions of pseudepigraphical attribution within the discipline of literary criticism.

Richard Lyman Bushman, New Perspectives on Joseph Smith and Translation – Utah State University March 16th, 2017 (video) History and Context—Richard Bushman

Crash Course:
History and Context (video)—Richard Bushman
Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – LDS Gospel Topic Essay
Response to the Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – Robert K. Ritner
The Joseph Smith Papyri (Video) – An explanation and overview of the Joseph Smith Papyri and their connection with Mormon scripture.

May 5, 2017
Sell the Copyright

In 1829 Joseph Smith received a revelation to sell the copyrights of the Book of Mormon in Canada. Ultimately the effort was unsuccessful.

Revelation given to Joseph Smith regarding the sell of the Book of Mormon copyright, Joseph Smith Papers – 1829:

“A Revelation given to Oliver [Cowdery] Hyram [Hiram Page] Josiah [Stowell] & Joseph Knight given at Manchester Ontario C[ounty] New York Behold I the Lord am God I Created the Heavens & the Earth & all things that in them is wherefore they are mine & I sway my scepter over all the Earth & ye are in my hands to will & to do that I can deliver you o{ut} of evry difficulty & affliction according to your faith & dilligence & uprightness Before me & I have cov{◊enanted} with my Servent Joseph that earth nor Hell combined againsts him shall not take the Blessing out of his hands which I have prepared for him if he walketh uprightly before me neither the spiritual nor the temporal Blessing & Behold I also covenanted with those who have assisted him in my work that I will do unto them even the same Because they have done that which is pleasing in my sight (yea even all save it be one o{lnly}) Wherefore be dilligent in Securing the Copy right of my work upon all the face of the Earth of which is known by you unto my Servent Joseph & unto him whom he willeth accordinng as I shall command him that the faithful & the righteous may retain the temperal Blessing as well as the Spirit[u]al & also that my work be not destroyed by the workers of iniquity to the{rir} own distruction & damnation when they are fully ripe & now Behold I say unto you that I have covenanted & it Pleaseth me that Oliver Cowderey Joseph Knight Hyram Page & Josiah Stowel shall do my work in this thing yea even in securing the Copyright & they shall do it with an eye single to my Glory that it may be the means of bringing souls unto me Salvation through mine only Be{gotten} Behold I am God I have spoken it Wherefor I say unto you that ye shall go seeking me continually through mine only Be{tgotten} & if ye do this ye shall have my spirit to go with you & ye shall have an addition of all things which is expedient in me. amen & I grant unto my servent a privelige that he may sell a copyright through you speaking after the manner of men for the four Provinces if the People harden not their hearts against the enticeings of my spirit & my word for Behold it lieth in themselves to their condemnation {or} th{eir} salvation Behold my way is before you & the means I will prepare & the Blessing I hold in mine own hand & if ye are faithful I will pour out upon you even as much as ye are able to Bear & thus it shall be Behold I am the father & it is through mine o{nly} begotten which is Jesus Christ your Redeemer amen.”

Letter from from Hiram Page to William McLellin, 1848:[footnote]Letter, Hiram Page to William McLellin, Fishingriver, Feb. 2, 1848; Community of Christ Archives, spelling and punctuation standardized by Eldon Watson[/footnote]

Joseph heard that there was a chance to sell a copy right in Canada for any useful book that was used in the States. Joseph thought this would be a good opportunity to get a hand on a sum of money which was to be (after the expenses were taken out) for the exclusive benefit of the Smith family and was to be at the disposal of Joseph. Accordingly Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Knight, Hiram Page and Joseph Stoel were chosen (as I understand by revelation) to do the business; we were living from 30 to 100 miles apart. The necessary preparation was made (by them) in a sly manner so as to keep Martin Harris from drawing a share of the money. It was told me we were to go by revelation, but when we had assembled at Father Smiths, there was no revelation for us to go, but we were all anxious to get a revelation to go; and when it came we were to go to Kingston where we were to sell if they would not harden their hearts; but when we got there, there was no purchaser, neither were they authorized at Kingston to buy rights for the Provence; but little York was the place where such business had to be done. We were to get 8,000 dollars. We were treated with the best of respect by all we met with in Kingston – by the above we may learn how a revelation may be received and the person receiving it not be benefitted.” (Letter, Hiram Page to William McLellin, Fishingriver, Feb. 2, 1848; Community of Christ Archives, spelling and punctuation standardized by Eldon Watson)”

David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887[footnote]David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887, p. 30-31:[/footnote]

“Joseph looked into the hat in which he placed the stone, and received a revelation that some of the brethren should go to Toronto, Canada, and that they would sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon. Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery went to Toronto on this mission, but they failed entirely to sell the copyright, returning without any money. Joseph was at my father’s house when they returned. I was there also, and am an eye witness to these facts. Jacob Whitmer and John Whitmer were also present when Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery returned from Canada.”
“Well, we were all in great trouble; and we asked Joseph how it was that he had received a revelation from the Lord for some brethren to go to Toronto and sell the copyright, and the brethren had utterly failed in their undertaking. Joseph did not know how it was, so he enquired of the Lord about it, and behold the following revelation came through the stone: “Some revelations are of God: some revelations are of men: and some revelations are of the devil.” So we see that the revelation to go to Toronto and sell the copyright was not of God, but was of the devil or of the heart of man.”

Crash Course:
Joseph Smith Papers, Revelation Book 1
The attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright

May 1, 2017
The Late War

Image: Title page of The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain, by Gilbert J. Hunt

[footnote]The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain, Gilbert J. Hunt[/footnote]

A single example out of hundreds between The Late War (published 1816) and The Book of Mormon (Published 1830).

The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain, by Gilbert J. Hunt – 34:10

But it came to pass, in the same year, that the people of Columbia were revenged of the evil:

The Book of Mormon – Alma 50:30

And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of Nephi had peace restored unto them…

New York, 1816: When Joseph Smith was 12 years old, Gilbert Hunt published a scriptural style account of the War of 1812, titled “The Late War between the United States and Great Britain.” The book was marketed for the use of schools throughout the United States” under the title The Historical Reader. Written in King James style English and laced with chiastic literary structure, The Late War bears remarkable similarities to The Book of Mormon, published over a decade later.

Possible explanations for the similarities include:
1. The Late War was a direct source for some of the language and content of the Book of Mormon.
2. The Book of Mormon was consciously styled in the language of The Late war but was not dependent on it for literary content.
3. The parallels between the BoM and the LW are incidental and both books merely reflect a style of writing in KJV prose that was conventional during the period.

Whatever the connection between the two volumes, the similarities clearly reflect the milieu in which they were created. The Late War and The Book of Mormon look exactly like you would expect two books with similar themes coming out of early 19th century frontier America.

For a side-by-side comparison between the two volumes and added contextual information – A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and the Late War

Also read the original text – The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain

Crash Course:

The Book of Mormon and the Late War: Direct Literary Dependence?
A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and the Late War – Word Tree Foundation
A Historical Analysis of The Late War – Rick Grunder
2015 Presentation: The Late War and the Book of Mormon
Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon (video) – Dan Vogel

April 25, 2017
Justified Evil

Image: President Dieter F. Uchtdorf – April 2017 General Conference

From the Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 10-13, 18:[footnote]1 Nephi 10-13, 18 – LDS.org[/footnote]

10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.

12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;

13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

18 Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.

Excerpt from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April 2017 General Conference address:[footnote]Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s April 2017 General Conference address – LDS.org[/footnote]

“There may be moments when we are tempted to justify our actions by believing that the end justifies the means. We might even think that to be controlling, manipulative and harsh will be for the good of others. Not so, for the Lord has made it clear, ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness [and] temperance.’ “

Crash Course:

Mormon leader condemns fear tactics; new Utah temple, four others announced – Salt Lake Tribune
April 2017 LDS General Conference – LDS.org

April 4, 2017
Slaves Submit

From the Bible, 1 Peter 2:18:[footnote]1 Peter 2:18 – Bible[/footnote]

18 Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.

Crash Course:

Prelude to the National “Defense of Marriage” Campaign: Civil Discrimination Against Feared or Despised Minorities – D. Michael Quinn

Blacks and the Priesthood – Mormon Think

Black people in Mormon doctrine – Wikipedia

Statements about race in the Book of Mormon – Religious Tolerance

Race and the Priesthood Essay – LDS.org

March 13, 2017
Double Helix

Image: Asianic migration routes of the Native Americans.

The introduction to the Book of Mormon:[footnote]Introduction to the Book of Mormon – LDS.org [/footnote]

The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.

In 2006, after DNA studies began confirming Asianic migration rather than Middle Easter migration the text was changed to read:[footnote]Single word change in Book of Mormon speaks volumes – Salt Lake Tribune [/footnote]

The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

Crash Course:

Single word change in Book of Mormon speaks volumes – Salt Lake Tribune
A genomic view of the peopling of the Americas – Harvard University
Book of Mormon and DNA Studies – Gospel Topic Essay
Simon Southerton, DNA, Lamanites and the Book of Mormon (podcast) – Mormon Stories

March 8, 2017

References
1	LDS Ensign, ‘The Flood and the Tower of Babel’ (January, 1998) – https://www.lds.org/ensign/1998/01/the-flood-and-the-tower-of-babel?lang=eng

Honestly?

Image: Facsimile #3 from the modern printing of the Pearl of Great price with corrective translations by Egyptologists handwritten in.

From Gospel Principles, Chapter 31, Honesty:[footnote] Gospel Principles, 2011, 179–83 [/footnote]

“There are many other forms of lying. When we speak untruths, we are guilty of lying. We can also intentionally deceive others by a gesture or a look, by silence, or by telling only part of the truth. Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.”

Published in the Times and Seasons in 1842, the Book of Abraham, were said to be “written by his [Abrahams] own hand, upon papyrus.” [footnote] The Book of Abraham, LDS.org [/footnote] In 1880 the church canonized the Book of Abraham along with three hypocephalus known as Facimilies 1, 2 and 3. Thought to be lost in the great Chicago Fire (1871) the papyri were later discovered in New York and returned with great excitement to the church in 1967. Soon however both LDS and non-LDS scholars determined the papyri bore no semblance to the translation provided by Joseph Smith, verifying instead that they were common Egyptian funerary documents post-dating Abraham by centuries. For over 45 years this information was concealed from the general membership until 2014 with the publication of the ‘Translation and the Historicity of the Book of Abraham’ Gospel Topic Essay, in which the church admitted “None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham” [footnote]Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, Gospel Topic Essay [/footnote]

Compare below the translation provided by Joseph Smith and that of Egyptologists:

Joseph’s Translation	Modern Egyptological Translation
Abraham sitting upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head, representing the Priesthood, as emblematical of the grand Presidency in Heaven; with the scepter of justice and judgment in his hand.	“Label for Osiris (text to the right of figure 1 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Osiris, Foremost of the Westerners, Lord of Abydos(?), the great god forever and ever(?).”
King Pharaoh, whose name is given in the characters above his head.	“Label for Isis (text to the right of figure 2 of facsimile 3): Isis the great, the god’s mother.”
Signifies Abraham in Egypt as given also in Figure 10 of Facsimile No. 1.	“Altar, with the offering of the deceased, surrounded with lotus flowers, signifying the offering of the defunct.” –Theodule Deveria
Prince of Pharaoh, King of Egypt, as written above the hand.	“Label for Maat (text to the left of figure 4 of facsimile 3): Maat, mistress of the gods.”
Shulem, one of the king’s principal waiters, as represented by the characters above his hand.	“Label for Hor the deceased (text in front of figure 5 of facsimile 3): The Osiris Hor, justified forever.”
Olimlah, a slave belonging to the prince.	“Label for Anubis (text in front of figure 6 of facsimile 3): Recitation by Anubis, who makes protection(?), foremost of the embalming booth,…”

Crash Course:

Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – LDS Gospel Topic Essay

Response to the Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – Robert K. Ritner

The Joseph Smith Papyri (Video) – An explanation and overview of the Joseph Smith Papyri and their connection with Mormon scripture.

February 12, 2017

The Book of Abraham

Image: Museum Walls Proclaim Fraud of Mormon Prophet, New York Times, December 29, 1912 [footnote] New York Times Article – Link [/footnote]

From the introduction to the Book of Abraham as published in the Pearl of Great Price: [footnote] The Book of Abraham – LDS.org [/footnote]

“A Translation of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.”

From the 2014 Gospel Topic essay published on LDS.org: [footnote] Translation and the Historicity of the Book of Abraham – LDS.org [/footnote]

“None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Mormon and non-Mormon Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham.”

Crash Course:

Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – LDS Gospel Topic Essay

Response to the Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham – Robert K. Ritner

The Joseph Smith Papyri (Video) – An explanation and overview of the Joseph Smith Papyri and their connection with Mormon scripture.

February 12, 2017

Category: Scripture

Wage of Sin

Horse

Burned with Fire

Book of Mormon and DNA

Worldwide Flood

7,000 Years

No Evidence

Where is Cumorah?

No Death Before the Fall of Adam

Young Earth

Paint out the Hat

Mormon Pseudepigrapha

Sell the Copyright

The Late War

Justified Evil

Slaves Submit

Double Helix

Honestly?

The Book of Abraham