The Book of Mormon and The Book of Revelation

The next topic I will address involves the Book of Mormon and a scripture out of the Book of Revelation that our critics often use to find fault with our belief in the Book of Mormon. The scripture in question is nearly the last verse of the Bible - Revelation 22:18-19 which reads as follows.

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The charge is that the Book of Mormon adds to the Bible. In coming posts I will address whether this is a legitimate criticism or not. Stay tuned!

Hebrew Temple In MesoAmerica?

Critics of the Mormon belief that ancient Hebrews emigrated to Central/South America thousands of years ago will not want to read about recent research that shows that the Temple of Solomon, the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, and the ruins of Izapa in Mexico all have the same dimensions.

The story includes this paragraph:

From the cloth and wood tabernacle, to the stone temple of Solomon, to the huge complex of buildings in Izapa, there was a correlation in size, according to Hauck. "The measurements system used to design Izapa, and the basic architecture in Izapa were copied directly from sacred architecture employed by Moses and Solomon."

Of course none of this is surprising to Latter-day Saints who believe in the Book of Mormon. It is only uncomfortable for our critics. To read the whole story click here.

Senator Bennett

Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) has written a book defending the Book of Mormon. Mormon Times has the following:

The Republican senator from Utah is the author of "Leap of Faith," which was recently released by Deseret Book. It examines the origins of the Book of Mormon and confronts accusations by detractors that the text was forged while also encouraging members to analyze and better found their own understanding of it.

Bennett didn't like the way the Book of Mormon was represented in media coverage leading up to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He began penning letters to the editor of newspapers and the project soon "took hold" of him, and he expanded them into a book in the years afterward.

The article goes on to explain more about the senator's background in identifying forgeries. Although I haven't yet read the book it sounds fascinating. It can be purchased at your local LDS bookstore or by clicking here.

The Book of Mormon

I find it interesting that critics of the Church tend to avoid deep discussion of the Book of Mormon. They will take cheap shots at it, but avoid any in-depth discussion. I have my suspicions as to why. The Book of Mormon is tangible, it isn't some spiritual concept. Concepts are easier to argue than something real. So critics stay in the safer arena of arguing scriptures and concepts instead of addressing the reality of the Book of Mormon.

There also is the problem of the growing set of evidences that support hundreds of things in the Book of Mormon. It is simply too large to ignore. While none of those evidences "proves" the Book of Mormon to be true, they are troubling to an honest critic, thus it is easier to simply avoid.

Book of Mormon critics have created a deafening silence regarding the Three Witnesses: Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer. It is harder for people to recognize what "isn't being said" than what is being said. Therefore it takes more effort to notice that our critics don't want to touch the Three Witnesses. Their collective testimonies are compelling evidence to the honest at heart and therefore are best ignored by our critics.

The Eight Witnesses are often overlooked but they effectively counter the few arguments against the Three Witnesses that they experienced some form of "group delusion". There is nothing supernatural about handling a bunch of metal plates. The allegation of some form of tomfoolery regarding the Three Witnesses is effectively neutered by the testimony of the Eight Witnesses. Again, it is easier to ignore these 8 men whose collective testimony is the perfect compliment to the Three Witnesses.

The fact that most of these eleven men fell away from the Church, yet never denied their testimony is somehow even more compelling testimony. It probably shouldn't, but it nonetheless seems to lend greater credibility to their prior testimony.

I understand how some might find it hard to believe that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. But the honest at heart have to answer the questions I've listed before they can reject the Book of Mormon as our enemies have done. I was once an non-member and I remember how strange that sounded to me at first.

I have yet to hear a rational argument that effectively challenges these three things: the growing collection of evidences supporting the Book of Mormon; the Three Witnesses; and the Eight Witnesses. Until some rational argument can be made against these very compelling evidences I suggest that the honest at heart will eventually come to realize that as strange as the Joseph Smith story sounds when it is first heard, it is still the best explanation for the presence of the Book of Mormon. And once one reaches that logical conclusion the Spirit can bear witness that they are correct - the Book of Mormon truly is the Word of God.