Izapa Stela 5

Excerpts from BYU Journal of Book of Mormon studies, ‘A New Artistic Rendering of Izapa Stela 5: A Step toward Improved Interpretation’, by BYU Mesoamerican archaeologist John E. Clark (August 1 1999): 1 “In the 48 years since Jakeman first concluded that Stela 5 represents Lehi’s dream of the tree of life, major advancements have … Read more

Segregation

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

One Drop

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Lord’s Segregation

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Become White

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

Go as a Servant

Excerpts from a 1954 Address by Apostle Mark E. Petersen, ‘Race Problems As They Affect The Church’: 1 “It is a good thing to understand exactly what the Negro has in mind on this subject, I’ll be talking about other races besides Negroes, of course, but it is the Negro question which pinpoints it, so … Read more

For the Love of God

Excerpt from an October 1967 General Conference address by Ezra Taft Benson, ‘Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh’: 1 “The world largely ignores the first and great commandment—to love God—but talks a lot about loving their brother. They worship at the altar of man. Would Nephi have slain Laban if he had put the … Read more

Disavows Scripture

Excerpt from the LDS Gospel Topic Essay, ‘Race and the Priesthood’: 1 “Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects unrighteous actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of … Read more

New World Horses

Excerpt from the Oxford Journal of Heredity, ‘Iberian Origins of New World Horse Breeds’: 1 “Fossil records, archaeological proofs, and historical documents report that horses persisted continuously in the Iberian Peninsula since the Pleistocene and were taken to the American continent (New World) in the 15th century….The genus Equus evolved in North America, and during … Read more

Sabellianism

Apostle Russell M. Nelson referenced a list of things the Book of Mormon is during his October 2017 General Conference address. The following is an excerpt from that list: 1 “The Book of Mormon affirms: The individual identity of Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.”   From Wikipedia, Sabellianism: 2 In Christianity, Sabellianism … Read more

Horse

Excerpt from Wikipedia, Horses in the United States: 1 “The horse evolved in the Americas, but became extinct between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago. When the Spanish arrived on the American mainland in the 16th century, they brought horses with them and re-established the animals on the continent.” Excerpt from a Fair Mormon article titled, Horses … Read more

3 Nephi 9 — Destruction of Cities

Quote from 3 Nephi 9 describing the burning and drowning of entire cities and their inhabitants, paired with a statistic noting that children make up roughly 25 percent of any population.

Excerpts from 3 Nephi, Christ is speaking to the remnant survivors in America, describing the destruction he’s caused: 1 1 And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying: 2 Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto … Read more

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 … Read more

It Takes Religion

Image: Artists portrayal of Nephi slaying Laban (1 Nephi 4) while he was incapacitated. Steven Weinberg (born May 3, 1933) is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles. “With or without religion, … Read more

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 … Read more

Mark Twain

Illustrated portrait of Mark Twain with a quotation criticizing the Book of Mormon, calling it pretentious, slow, and “chloroform in print,” from Roughing It (1872).

Image: Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecture. In Mark Twain’s book titled Roughing It (1872), he gives a review of the Book of Mormon: All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few … Read more

The Late War

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

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 … Read more

Loathsome

The Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 5:21-25), in describing the ‘curse of dark skin’ that afflicted the Lamanites (American Indian), reads:[footnote]2 Nephi 5 – The Book of Mormon [/footnote] 21 And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against … Read more

Scales of Darkness

Until 1981 2 Nephi 30:6 in the Book of Mormon taught that dark-skinned Lamanites (Indians) would eventually experience a change in the color of their skin should they embrace the Book of Mormon. This passage read: “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand … Read more

Becoming White

Lesson 19, A white and Blessed People:[footnote]Manual for the Priests’ Quorum, Nephi Jensen – Deseret News Press, 1927 [/footnote] LESSON NINETEEN A WHITE AND BLESSED PEOPLE (a) Activity Period: (About 15 minutes.) Prayer.—Roll Call—Consider ways of getting attendance of absent members.—Report of assignments performed.—Assignments for ensuing week.—Social and fraternal activities.—Instructions by Bishop. (b) Lesson Period: (15 to 30 minutes.) … Read more