During my research for the other “challenge”, I found another fantastic page. I am not going to include it in its entirety, but I’ll pick out some of the best examples and publish them here. Please click here to read the article in its entirety. It’s worth the time to read it, that’s for sure.
EDIT: And here’s another refute to the points made in Nibley’s challenge:
Book of Mormon Challenge
CHALLENGING THE BOOK OF MORMON
by Stephen F. Cannon
Most recently, while perusing the Mormon websites on the Internet, I came across a challenge issued to prove that the Book of Mormon is both scripture and history. This writer had heard many of the arguments before, but this was the first time they had been found all in one place and issued as a challenge. As I read through the statements, I decided to answer them as a body, as they were presented. My prayer is that these answers will find their way to the maximum number of people so when Mormon missionaries come calling with a smile and a free copy of the Book of Mormon, truth will prevail.
Many of these statements are very misleading. Taken the way they are phrased, without clarification, grants some LDS presuppositions. When discussing doctrinal or historical points with Mormons, one must be careful to define terms. Mormons use the same terms as orthodox Christians, but define them differently.
Those who dialogue regularly with Mormons often express how frustrating it is to communicate with them meaningfully. Taking the following challenge will demonstrate that such communication can be very time-consuming and detailed. Don’t be discouraged! If you love Mormons enough to share the true Gospel with them, be ready to spend quality time preparing and communicating that truth.
With that in mind, let’s get on with…
Here is the challenge: Can you accept it?
You Bet!
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6. Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. The first edition as you dictate it to your secretary must stand forever.
Again, there is a major difficulty with this condition. Neither sentence of this condition is accurate. There have been many more than “a few” grammatical corrections. It takes only a few minutes of comparing the latest edition of the BOM with the first edition to see that there have been thousands of spelling and grammatical changes, as well as some significant historical and doctrinal changes.
As I write, I have before me a reprint of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon with all but the most recent changes marked. This volume is available to any one who wishes to compare the modern editions of the BOM with the original.11
Space prohibits a detailed examination of the many changes, but I think it important to include a few of the more serious doctrinal and historical changes. I do so without comment to show that the above condition is totally in error. (Words in bold type are the added words.)
- 1 Nephi 11:18 — “Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1830 ed., pg. 25).
1 Nephi 11:18 — “Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1989 ed.).
This mistake was made and rectified in two other places:
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1 Nephi 11:21 — “And the angel said to me, behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!” (1830 ed., pg. 25).
1 Nephi 11:21 — “And the angel said to me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” (1989 ed.).
1 Nephi 13:40 — “These last records … shall make known to all kindreds, tongues and people, that the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior” (1830 ed., pg. 32).
1 Nephi 13:40 — “These last records … shall make known to all kindreds, tongues and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of Eternal Father, and the Savior” (1989 ed.).
And in Mosiah 21:28 (1830 ed. pg. 200), we read about king Benjamin having a gift from God, but since BOM chronology actually has Benjamin dead at that time, it was later changed to king Mosiah having a gift from God.
Again, the changes are too numerous to list here. The facts demonstrate that this condition is not accurate.
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9. Change your style of writing many times. Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon, each with his own style.
You can file this one under the “opinion of the writer.” I have read the BOM 1957 edition cover to cover once and the 1830 edition cover to cover once, as well as studied various parts of the book on many occasions and the writing style (except those portions that were copied from the King James Version of the Bible) is clearly that of one person. This is especially easy to see in the 1830 edition. Moreover, the present theory in LDS circles on how the BOM was translated is that God revealed to Joseph the concepts of the BOM and he then wrote them in his own words. This, they say, is why the first edition was such a mess of bad spelling and bad grammar.
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19. The book must not contain any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Your history must not contain any statement that will contradict any other statement elsewhere in the volume.
Oh, brother! Here is where the challenge really begins to unravel. A volume unto itself could (and has many times over) be produced to answer this point of challenge. First the absurd: The next to last book in the BOM (the book of Ether) purports to be an account of a migration of people from the Middle East at the time of the confounding of languages at the Tower of Babel. A godly man by the name of Jared and his even godlier brother (and his friends and family) are told by the Lord to migrate to a land across the sea.
The first absurdity we are treated to is the lack of identity of Jared’s brother. Mormon Apostle Bruce R. McConkie said:
- “Some of the greatest heavenly manifestations ever vouchsafed to man were given to the Brother of Jared.” [Mormon Doctrine, op. cit., pg. 391.]
And yet, we are never given this holy man’s name. He is always addressed as the “brother of Jared.” In fact, in the first six chapters of the Book of Ether he is addressed as “brother of Jared” 46 times, “Jared with his brother” one time, “Jared, his brother” one time, “Jared and his brother” six times, “Jared said unto his brother” three times, and “Jared died, and his brother also” one time. How much easier to just give us the brother’s name.
Next we are treated to a description of the Lord’s revelation for building “barges” to get Jared and his associates across the ocean. I offer the below description without comment. It is up to the reader to judge the absurdity of the narrative.
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Ether 2:16-21 — “And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water. And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, I have performed the work which thou hast commanded me, and I have made the barges according as thou hast directed me. And behold, O Lord, in them there is no light; whither shall we steer? And also we shall perish, for in them we cannot breathe, save it is the air which is in them; therefore we shall perish. And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did so, according as the Lord had commanded.”
Next, I offer a couple of examples of the impossible. Close to the end of the book of Ether, we find ourselves in the New World.
Again we find ourselves in what is to become upper New York State, near a hill that will one day be named Cumorah and once again we are witnesses to an epic battle. The descendants of Jared (led by King Coriantumr) are about to be annihilated by the armies of an evil king named Shiz. Coriantumr is wounded and carried away to recuperate. Here we pick up the story:
- Ether 15:1-2 — “And it came to pass when Coriantumr had recovered of his wounds, he began to remember the words which Ether had spoken unto him. He saw that there had been slain by the sword already nearly two millions of his people, and he began to sorrow in his heart; yea, there had been slain two millions of mighty men, and also their wives and their children.”
Even if only half of the two million mighty men had only one wife and one child, that would put the casualty list at four million, and that doesn’t account for fatalities in Shiz’s army! This number matches about one half of all the military deaths of World War I. [Multimedia Encyclopedia, op. cit., table entitled: “Cost of World War One.”]
And all without benefit of modern weapons or a war of many years duration!
The last impossibility is the demise of Shiz himself.
- Ether 15:29-31 — “Wherefore, he did pursue them, and on the morrow he did overtake them; and they fought again with the sword. And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword, save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword, that he rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smitten off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised up on his hands and fell; and after that he had struggled for breath, he died.”
As I try to construct a mind picture of this tableau, I wonder which part of Shiz was struggling for breath, the headless torso or the severed head? Also, the idea that a headless body would raise itself up on its hands is quite ludicrous.
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29. You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. Like those that believe you, you must submit yourself to the most vile persecution. And finally after 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for your testimony concerning your history book. This must be done willingly on your part.
Unfortunately, there is a little bit of revisionist history here. While Joseph was unjustly and brutally murdered, he did not die for his testimony to the authenticity of the BOM, and he did not go as willingly as our challenger would have you believe.
Early 1844 finds Joseph and his faithful followers living in the thriving Mississippi River town of Nauvoo, Ill., a town the Mormons had built out of a swamp.
Joseph had been secretly teaching the doctrine of plural wives for many years. Publicly he was denying it. William Law, a Mormon dissident, announced his intention to start a newspaper (The Nauvoo Expositor) and use that as a vehicle to expose Joseph. On June 7, 1844, the first and only edition of the Expositor was published. In it were references to the polygamy revelation and Joseph’s recent ordination as King of Israel on Earth. Under the prompting of Mayor Joseph Smith, the Expositor was declared a public nuisance by the city council and destroyed.
Because of the destruction of the newspaper, an arrest warrant for inciting a riot was issued for Joseph and his brother Hyrum. Because of the recent activity surrounding Joseph’s ordination as King, the charge of treason was added. Fearing for their lives, Joseph, Hyrum and two others fled Nauvoo under cover of darkness on June 22nd.
Most of the faithful felt abandoned by their leaders, and even members of the inner circle of the church openly charged the Smiths with cowardice and abandoning the flock. On June 24th, a dejected Joseph surrendered to the civil authorities. He, Hyrum and two devoted followers were incarcerated in the nearby Carthage, Ill., jail. Joseph announced that this surrender will mean his death. D. Michael Quinn wrote:
- “27 June, 5PM. A large group of men approaches Carthage Jail disguised with blackened faces. Smith at first assumes it is the Nauvoo Legion he has secretly ordered to rescue him. However, Major-General Jonathan Dunham has disobeyed orders knowing that a prison escape would mean the annihilation of Nauvoo. Instead the vigilantes storm the upstairs room, instantly killing Hyrum and severely wounding Taylor. Joseph defends himself with a pistol, jumps out the window, and begins to shout the Masonic cry of distress: ‘Oh, Lord, my God, is there no help for the widow’s son?’ Masons in the crowd show no mercy and prop the semi-conscious Smith against a nearby well and shoot him several times at point blank range.”[Mormon Hierarchy, op. cit., pg. 646.
]
So, while Joseph was murdered, he did not go “willingly.” He used every means at his disposal to stave off his untimely demise, as any sane individual would. I do not fault Smith for defending himself, I would do the same, but the idea that Joseph went “as a lamb to the slaughter,” is not true history.
