Hey a thread that I probably should have jumped on immediately. First being a STICKLER you could find small number errors.. names.. ect But that is in both the original text and the book of mormon. So I hope to merely stick with theological problems I see.. but i will also throw in alot of joseph smith things, mainly because thats what I've been researching today.. Here we goooo-
---- Number of God's Issue. ESPECIALLY since common mormon thought has been at times that we eventually become Gods.
MORMONISM: "And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the
Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth." - Joseph Smith, (allegedly from a translation of an ancient papyrus), Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 4:1
Should i get into the doctrine books... LDS believe we eventually become Gods but i guess you already know that.
CHRISTIANITY: "You are my witnesses, " declares the Lord, "And my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me." - Isaiah 43:10
-----This one could get me into trouble... But you can take what you want front it.
MORMONISM: "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. ... He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; ... He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fullness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;" - Joseph Smith, The Origin of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Mormon
CHRISTIANITY: "But though we, or an Angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed." - the apostle Paul, Galatians 1:8-9
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." - the apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 -- Hehe.. maybe you see my point.
Realize it says a gospel contrary to that which you have received! In other words they had already heard the fullness of the gospel. You could never say that they needed anything else. Which I hear mormon's saying many times. That as a disbeliever in the bom, I won't receive the fullness of heaven.
---next are some quotes that shout invalid at me--
"God is in the still small voice. In all these affidavits, indictments, it is all of the devil - all corruption. Come on! ye prosecutors! ye false swearers! All hell boil over! Ye burning mountains, roll down your lava! for I will come out on top at last. I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam. A large majority of the whole have stood by me. Neither Paul, John, Peter nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such a work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from Him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet" - Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 6:408-9
WOW.. ouch. Your telling me NOT even jesus did as great a work at joseph smith. I dont even need to find verses for this.
-- This is my favorite thing I have found today!!
On January 19, 1841 (
notice the date!), God said (Doctrine &Covenants 124: 1617):
Again, let my servant John C. Bennett help you in your labor in sending my word to the kings and people of the earth, and stand by you, even you my servant Joseph Smith, in the hour of afflictions; and his reward shall not fail if he receive counsel.And for his love he shall be great, for he shall be mine if he do this, saith the Lord. I have seen the work he hath done, which I accept if he continue, and will crown him with blessings and great glory. [emphasis added]
Joseph Smith reported in the History of the Church, 5:42-43, the following, quoting his letter to the governor of Illinois:
About the early part of July, 1841, I received a letter from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; in it was contained information setting forth that said Bennett had a wife and two or three children then living. This I read to him, and he acknowledged it was true. ... It can be proven by hundreds of witnesses that he is one of the basest of liars, and that his whole routine of proceedings, while among us, has been of the basest kind.
So God was just unaware? Or perhaps someone was falsely speaking for God?
--next-
What was the name of the angel who appeared to Joseph Smith in 1823 and later delivered to him the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated?
Most Mormons believe his name was "Moroni," as reported in modern editions of the Pearl of Great Price (JS-History 1:33).
But in reality The earliest reports by Joseph Smith and others gave his name as "Nephi" (a completely different character in the BoM who supposedly lived a thousand years before Moroni), including the 1851 edition of the PoGP, the 1853 biography of Smith by his mother (Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith p 79), and two early Mormon periodicals The Millennial Star 3:53, 71, and Times and Seasons 3:749, 753 (the latter personally edited by Smith himself)
So why change it after the fact? ..well to be honest that happens alot looking at the 1851 edition. I would REALLY REALLY endorse reading the early versions. It will open your eyes if your willing.
Hopefully I made my point that I find SO much skeptism in the prophets of mormonism that I don't believe I could ever trust man more than God. And my gut feeling and intuition says caution...