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.

Monday, October 30, 2017

Contributing to Book of Mormon Central

Many people are receiving fund-raising emails from Book of Mormon Central.

Here's my advice.

Tell them you will donate as soon as they do at least these two things: 

(1) give readers a full explanation of the North American setting (Moroni's America and the Heartland) as an alternative to their Mesomania; and

(2) explain clearly why they reject what Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and all their contemporaries and successors have taught about the Hill Cumorah being in New York.
______________

Look at their logo and you'll see confirmation of their corporate mission "to increase understanding of the Book of Mormon as an ancient Mesoamerican codex." 

I don't think this mission deserves one penny of support because, as Joseph Fielding Smith warned, it causes members of the Church to "become confused and greatly disturbed in their faith in the Book of Mormon." In my view, this mission undermines all the good that Book of Mormon Central otherwise does. It's a major impediment to missionary and reactivation work.

Unless and until Book of Mormon Central changes its editorial policy on Cumorah, we should continue to consider them Book of Mormon Central America because they are not representing all faithful Book of Mormon evidence, studies, or scholarship.

Here's what their email looks like, complete with the famous logo depicting Mayan culture along with Hebrew, Greek and Egyptian.

Book of Mormon Central
Friends,

Book of Mormon Central has many exciting projects planned for the next year, and we need your help. Please consider a donation to Book of Mormon Central this season. The Book of Mormon is a cause worth supporting. Please share this email with family and friends. Scroll down for more information.

Kind Regards,
John W. Welch
Chairman
Kirk A. Magleby
Executive Director
Taylor Halverson
Board Member
Ruth Schmidt
Board Member
Scott Petersen
Board Member
Bob Babcock
Board Member
Click to Donate
PO Box 1538, American Fork, UT 84003-6538bookofmormoncentral.org

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