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.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Why LDS scholars still try to discredit Letter VII

Because the only alternative hypothesis to "Letter VII is speculation" is "I have been wrong about everything," we can expect LDS scholars and educators who have long promoted the Mesoamerican and two-Cumorahs theories to continue trying to persuade people that Letter VII is speculation and it is incorrect.

[If you don't know what Letter VII is, go here.]

This means these scholars and educators will continue trying to persuade people that when Oliver Cowdery wrote it was a fact that the final battles of the Jaredites and Nephites took place in New York, Oliver was merely speculating. They know that if there is one Cumorah and it is in New York, everything they have been teaching students for decades about Book of Mormon geography is false incorrect. Consequently, they want people to believe Oliver didn't know what he was talking about and was wrong because they, the Mesomania scholars and educators, know more about Cumorah than Oliver did when he wrote Letter VII.

When you consider the claims of the Mesomania scholars and educators, remember that when he wrote Letter VII, Oliver was the Assistant President of the Church. Of course, he had recorded most of the Book of Mormon, interacted with angels, was the only witness besides Joseph Smith to critical events, and a few months later would, with Joseph, receive the Priesthood keys directly from the Savior, Moses, Elias, and Elijah.

These same Mesomania scholars and educators who claim to know more than Oliver Cowdery also want you to believe the Joseph Smith, who helped write Oliver's letters and endorsed them multiple times, was also speculating. Worse, according to these scholars and educators, Joseph misled the Church for a hundred years until the scholars came to the rescue with their two-Cumorahs and Mesoamerican theories.

When you read what the Mesomania scholars and educators write and teach, be sure you understand their motivations. I have no doubt they want to build faith and share their knowledge, but unfortunately, they also have a strong interest in perpetuating the theories they've advanced for decades.
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*I credit Scott Adams with framing a completely different issue this way here.

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