The Helaman 9:2 test for M2C and SITH

Every person on earth has a direct personal interest in whether what Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery said was true or not. If they told the truth, then their message supersedes all other religious traditions and beliefs (although the truths found in those are also part of the full Restoration). 

If Joseph and Oliver did not tell the truth, then their message is worthless.

This is why SITH and M2C are so fundamentally inimical to the Restoration.

For new readers, SITH is the "stone-in-the-hat" theory about the production of the Book of Mormon that contradicts the Urim and Thummim explanation Joseph and Oliver always gave.

M2C is the "Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs" theory that the Book of Mormon events took place in Mesoamerica, that New York is too far away to be the location of Cumorah/Ramah, and therefore the "true" Cumorah/Ramah must be in southern Mexico while the hill in New York was only called Cumorah because of a false tradition.

_____

The ongoing pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding leads us to recognize that all the conversations/debates about the Restoration revolve around the principle set out in Helaman 9:2. 

This includes claims by "Christians" that Latter-day Saints are not "Christian." It includes claims by non-Christians that the Restoration was based on the imagination or deception of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the only two witnesses of the restoration of the Priesthoods and temple keys.

Helaman 9:2 even addresses conversations/debates among Latter-day Saints about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. 

The chapter begins with five men running to see if what the prophet Nephi had said about the death of the judge was correct.

Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. 

Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; 

nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the chief judge be true, that he be dead, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true.

Most people in the world come to the Restoration from a state of disbelief. The Restoration contradicts the beliefs they inherited from their parents, peers and society. Naturally, they do not believe the truth claims made by Joseph and Oliver.

Those who once accepted the Restoration come to disbelieve the truth claims for a variety of reasons, but mainly they lose their belief that Joseph and Oliver told the truth.

We can apply Helaman 9:2 to our day this way:

Behold, now we will know of a surety whether this man be a prophet and God hath commanded him to prophesy such marvelous things unto us. 

Behold, we do not believe that he hath; yea, we do not believe that he is a prophet; 

nevertheless, if this thing which he has said concerning the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon be true, that Joseph obtained the plates from the hill Cumorah/Ramah and translated them by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates, then will we believe that the other words which he has spoken are true.

SITH and M2C both teach that Joseph and Oliver did not tell the truth about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. As these academic theories spread throughout the Church by means of certain professors and influencers at BYU and CES, members naturally grew increasingly skeptical about the reliability and credibility of Joseph and Oliver. 

We can learn from Helaman 9:2 what happens when people find Joseph and Oliver credible. 

We can also see the inverse. When people are taught by prominent LDS scholars and social media influencers that Joseph and Oliver misled everyone about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon, it is a bridge too far for many people to split the hairs necessary to believe the other truth claims they made.