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.

Friday, July 20, 2018

July 20 misc

4 items today.

1. Our Oliver Cowdery Memorial has had a steady stream of visitors here in Palmyra. 

Visitors are learning about Letter VII, the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah, and how Cumorah fits with the rest of the geography.

I'm posting the posters on the Letter VII blog.


Someday, I hope the Cumorah Visitors Center (as well as the Temple Square Visitors Center) also teaches visitors what the prophets have taught about the New York Cumorah.

In the meantime, visitors to Palmyra and the missionaries who serve here finally have an opportunity to learn what the prophets have taught and why Cumorah is so important.

As a side note, it's fascinating to hear the reactions of people. Almost everyone says they've never heard of Letter VII before. They've never heard of the depository in the Hill Cumorah. They didn't know the final battles took place here. They didn't know about all the archaeology and anthropology that corroborates what the prophets have taught. 

Most of them say it never made sense to them that the Book of Mormon took place in Central America. 

How long it will take before all members of the Church recognize the absurdity of Mesomania I don't know, but we're reaching a tipping point, I think.

2. Nightly lectures. We've had lectures every night during pageant about Church history. I've spoken about the two sets of plates, Letter VII, and other related topics. Other speakers have addressed topics related to the Book of Mormon and the Palmyra area.

3. FairlyMormon blog. A lot of people ask about FairMormon, including their upcoming conference. I explain why I'm not attending this year on my FairlyMormon blog, here: 

4. My post on FairlyMormon explains my concerns about the new Church history book, Saints, which I've discussed several times on this blog. I'll repeat those comments here:

As I've noted several times, the book Saints is being edited by revisionist Church historians who are methodically re-writing Church history to accommodate Mesomania. 

-They are deleting all original references to the New York Cumorah. 

-They are not explaining the two sets of plates that Joseph translated. 

-They are teaching that Joseph didn't use the plates when he translated, a theory built upon anti-Mormon sources that also ignores what Oliver Cowdery and Lucy Mack Smith specifically stated. 

-They are omitting Letter VII from the record. 

-They will attribute the anonymous 1842 Times and Seasons articles to Joseph Smith.

In my view, the book Saints will further erode faith among members of the Church and will deter sincere investigation of the Church by people who know how these revisionist LDS historians are actively re-writing Church history.

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