Evidence of the Book of Mormon

[SoyLeche]

I'm not aware of any contradictions myself, but if you'd like to discuss any you believe to exist, I'd be happy to address them. Keep in mind, though, that if the Bible is silent on a topic and that topic is mentioned in the Book of Mormon, this cannot be considered a contradiction.

Also should probably point out that if such a conversation were to occur, it should be in a different thread, because that is not the topic of this thread

 

[PHOTOTAKER]

i thank with the DNA evidence either for or ageist the book of mormon there are three peoples that were in the land of promise, the Jaridites from the book of Eather they were all destroyed we don't know if there were any survivors, the people that were already in the land maybe Jaridites and new arrivals no reference to them besides what was in Nephi’s record, and the Nephi and the family... so if there is any evidence left there is no way to tell weather they are nephites laminites or jaredites, not knowing were all came from... beside Nephi and his people... we know from science that some people built basal bouts and travel to central America, we also know that Asia came up and around into Alaska... we know that people came from bout the stories of the meso America culture tell of it, we also know that some of the inhabitants worked with metal including gold, copper and iron... all verify that Joseph Smith jun. who was unlearned would of not been able to come to any conclusion on any of these matters for all that i have written are discoveries from the last 20 years or so...

 

[groovyable]

Any physical evidence that Christ visited the Americas? No, there isn't. For that matter, there is no physical evidence that Christ ever existed, but I don't think that will stop you from believing in him. It certainly doesn't stop me.

Other evidence? You can peruse http://farms.byu.edu/ if you like. There are plenty of articles there to look at.

Scriptures from the Bible:

John 10:16 - although that one can be interpreted different ways, we believe he was talking about his coming visit to the Americas, among other places.

Ezekiel 37: 16 - 17 - again, open to interpretation, but we believe that the "stick of Joseph" refers to the BoM.

Isaiah 29: 11-12 - once again, can be interpreted different ways

Are there any scriptures that can't be interpreted different ways? I doubt it. Just ask Jewscout or Jay if the Old Testament talks about Jesus Christ anywhere. I believe it does, but they will probably disagree.

As far as contradictions go, we've had many such threads, and so far I haven't seen any real contradictions brought up. You are free to try though

Also, you mention "points I've read about the BoM" - may I ask where those points come from. You'll be much better off reading the actual BoM to find out what it says.

Thank you very much for your reply, i have read some of the BoM on the offical Latter Day Saint, website. OK there are 2 things that i can think of that troubles me about the Book of Mormon. One is that in Genesis 3: 16-19 the Bible teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve created sin (because they ate the forbidden friut) which created sin and death. Yet the book of 2 Nephi 2:23-25 teaches that it was necassary to eat the fruit to have children and joy. The 2nd dought, is at James 2;1 God comdems favorism yet at 2 Nephi 5:21 The Book of Mormon teaches that white people are more spiritually superior than black people.

Oh and one last point, it does seem to me that LDS see the BoM more superior that the Bible. For example the Bible, teaches that a little bit of wine is good for the heart, yet mormons follow the book of wisdom teachings where it teaches that you shouldnt drink alcohol.

Please remember i am not bashing the LDS Church, am just a guy who wants to know the truth.

Many thanks xxxx

 

[groovyable]

Oh, I'd say there is about as much physical evidence that He went to the American continent as there is that He returned to the Earth in 1914.

i supose the signs of his pressence doesnt count IE..world war 2, the increase of earthquakes, increase of wars, famin Matthew 24:7

 

[SoyLeche]

i supose the signs of his pressence doesnt count IE..world war 2, the increase of earthquakes, increase of wars, famin Matthew 24:7

Oh, you mean the things that are supposed to happen BEFORE he comes, right? (not the topic of the thread, but, whatever)

 

[Katzpur]

OK there are 2 things that i can think of that troubles me about the Book of Mormon. One is that in Genesis 3: 16-19 the Bible teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve created sin (because they ate the forbidden friut) which created sin and death. Yet the book of 2 Nephi 2:23-25 teaches that it was necassary to eat the fruit to have children and joy.

Okay, let's start by looking at Genesis 3:16-19, and then at Moses 4:22-25 (from the Pearl of Great Price, which, like the Book of Mormon, is considered by the Latter-day Saints to be scriptures). If you're going to compare LDS doctrine on the Fall of Adam to the biblical account, this is clearly a better place to start.

Genesis 3:16-19 "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Moses 4:22-25 "Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Okay, now let's look at Nephi 2:23-25:

"And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

Clearly, it would have been impossible for Adam and Eve to progress unless they were able to discern good from evil. Had they continued to live forever in Eden, they would have experienced pleasure but not pain, health but not sickness, happiness but not sorrow, good but not evil. By partaking of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve took the first essential step towards becoming more like their Father in Heaven. As Genesis 3:22 puts it, "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil..." God's purpose in putting us here on earth was entirely unselfish. He wanted us to have joy. True joy comes from knowingly choosing righteous behavior and from attaining the potential God has given us, not from existing in a perpetual state of innocence.

The 2nd dought, is at James 2;1 God comdems favorism yet at 2 Nephi 5:21 The Book of Mormon teaches that white people are more spiritually superior than black people.

2 Nephi 5:21 states:

"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 him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them."

The reference to a black versus white is also used in the Bible in a similar manner. For example, in Lamentations 4:6-8 whiteness is representative of goodness (prior to a moral fall) and blackness with sin.

[SIZE=-1]"For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her. Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick."[/SIZE]

It's very easy, but not particular prudent to make generalizations about what the Book of Mormon teaches by focusing on a single passage of scripture. I'm not sure whether this characterization of LDS doctrine is your own interpretation, or if you perhaps had some help on it. Either way, I'd be interested to see how you would you interpret the following:

2 Nephi 26:33 "For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."

Finally, it is also worth noting that all of the Book of Mormon people were original from the Middle East. None of them would have been blonde-haired and blue-eyed. Furthermore, none of them were of the Black race. Consequently, it would not even make sense to try to interpret the phrase "skin of blackness" literally.

Oh and one last point, it does seem to me that LDS see the BoM more superior that the Bible.

We believe that both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God. They are, therefore, absolutely equal in that regard. The text of the Book of Mormon was, however, perfectly preserved in its original form, whereas the Bible is a collection of inspired writings which were hand-copied numerous times and which have been translated into dozens of versions. It all gets down to the potential for human error in the transcription and translation process.

For example the Bible, teaches that a little bit of wine is good for the heart, yet mormons follow the book of wisdom teachings where it teaches that you shouldnt drink alcohol.

First of all, your "example" is flawed in that (1) it really has nothing at all to do with whether the Book of Mormon is superior to the Bible and (2) the Word of Wisdom (there is no such thing as the book of wisdom) isn't even mentioned in the Book of Mormon. I'm certainly not going to waste my time arguing the merits of our health code, except to say that studies have shown conclusively that Latter-day Saints (here in the U.S) have a life expectancy that is several years longer than the general population. (The one I'm most familiar with was done by UCLA Medical Center; I can provide the details if you'd like.) Enjoy your wine. My heart's doing fine without it.

Please remember i am not bashing the LDS Church, am just a guy who wants to know the truth.

No problem. Keep asking your questions; we'll keep answering them.