long ago ideas

“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago." - Friedrich Nietzsche. Long ago, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery conquered false claims that the Book of Mormon was fiction or that it came through a stone in a hat. But these old claims have resurfaced in recent years. To conquer them again, we have to return to what Joseph and Oliver taught.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

What if Joseph told the truth?

It remains a mystery why some LDS scholars reject what Joseph and Oliver said about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.

Even the Gospel Topics Essays ignore what they said.

The Gospel Topics Essay on the translation of the Book of Mormon should start with what they wrote, not ignore what they wrote. 

The scholars who reject these plain teachings owe it to the Latter-day Saints to be clear about their rationalization. It is inexcusable to ignore/censor/suppress the teachings of Joseph and Oliver about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. Such censorship is the antithesis of scholarship as well.

Latter-day Saints and everyone else interested in these topics deserve clarity so they can make informed decisions.

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Here's one example of a declaration by Joseph Smith that the essay ignores, apparently because it refutes the popular SITH narrative.

Question 4th. How, and where did you obtain the book of Mormon?
Answer. Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the book of Mormon [p. 42] was translated, in a hill in , Ontario County New York, being dead; and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were; and gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them, and the Urim and Thummim with them; by the means of which, I translated the plates; and thus came the book of Mormon.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/elders-journal-july-1838/10




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