Recovery to Mormonism
Q & A: The Book of Mormon
Pick a Topic or Question:
The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
Language and Editing of the Book of Mormon
Differences between the Book of Mormon and the Bible
Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages and phrases from the Bible?
Did Book of Mormon People Worship Christ and Keep the Law of Moses?
If God had a body, why did the Book of Mormon people refer to him as a spirit?
Mormons worship Jesus, but the Book of Mormon always talks about God.
Don’t Mormons believe that Hell is just a lower level of Heaven?
. . . Or scroll down to see all questions.
The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses
In the Testimony of the Eight Witnesses, how could the men have “hefted” the gold plates if they weighed 230 lbs.?
Estimates given by some who lifted the plates put their weight at somewhere around 40-60 pounds. There are no official records of the weight, though Roy W. Doxey discounts the 230-pound theory thus:
“Such estimates, however, are based on computation of a solid 24-karat gold object with the dimensions described by the Prophet; this estimation does not allow for the weight reduction that would naturally result from cutting the engravings, from unevenness of the leaves wrinkled by hammering, and from air space between each leaf.”
In 2 Nephi 27:12 it says that no more than three witnesses would see the plates, so why were there eight more?
It is important not to take single verses out of context. The very next verse, 2 Nephi 27:13, says, “And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead” (emphasis added). So the Lord does not preclude the possibility that he would command more people to see the plates in order to testify of their truth.
Of the eight witnesses who testified, five apostatized. That leaves only the three members of Joseph’s family. Family cannot legally testify, and there is no date on the document, so it can’t be legal.
All of these accusations are true. However, the five who apostatized, even though they faced much persecution, never denied having seen the plates. Not a single one revoked his testimony, even after leaving the Mormon Church. The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses is just that: a testimony. It is not a legal document and does not claim to be. It sits in front of scripture to testify of it to a world full of individuals seeking truth.
The Spirit
John 7:39 says that the Spirit had not yet been given. The Book of Mormon has accounts of men being “filled with the spirit of the lord” over 600 years prior, as in 1 Nephi 1:12. They couldn’t have had the Spirit of the Lord because it wasn’t on the earth yet.
It is true that at the time of Christ the Spirit had not yet descended to dwell with the Disciples of Christ. This is because Christ himself dwelt among them, and they therefore had no need of the Spirit. One member of the Godhead was there, why would they need another? After Christ’s death, on the day of Pentecost, they did receive the Spirit.
This does not negate the fact that before Christ’s birth, the Spirit was with men and even “filled” them. In fact, 1 Samuel 16:13 (which well predates Christ’s birth) records that “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” The Spirit of the Lord certainly dwelt on Earth before Christ came here. That is how men prophesied of him and knew to wait for him and trust in his atonement before it happened.
Language and Editing
The language of Jews would have been Hebrew: why does Nephi say it’s Egyptian when no devout Jew would have used that language to write anything?
It is true that many Jews, including the prophets at the time, condemned Egypt and any contact with it. This kind of hatred often causes language rifts. However, there is nothing to show that all Israelites felt the same way. There is evidence that Israelites and Egyptians worked together, particularly in trade. It is likely that Nephi and Lehi would have spoken Egyptian since Israel was a vassal-state of Egypt. There were numerous connections between Egypt and Israel, and thus numerous reasons for Israelites to speak Egyptian. For an in-depth and academic explanation of why Lehi and his family would have been likely to speak Egyptian, click here.
Things have been changed from the original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. For instance, in 1 Nephi 11: 21 and 32 the words “even the Son” and “the Son of God” have been added. There are many other changes. None of these changes is noted in later editions.
As askers of this question have probably noticed, the Church makes no effort to hide changes that were made between editions of the Book of Mormon. As with most books that go through multiple editions, changes are not listed item for item. As a student of both editing and English linguistics, I know that every book needs editing, even if the information in it is correct. Sometimes words, allusions, and references must be clarified. Editing in the Book of Mormon took place to help readers understand what it meant. In places where “the Son of God” and like phrases are added, the reference to Christ was already intended, but it was not clear and needed to be added in later. The information in the Book of Mormon didn’t change, but it was clarified, restated, and explained.
Errors that needed to be fixed are no surprise, especially considering the tedious process of printing in 1830, and the fact that Joseph Smith’s translations were first spoken by him, and then written down by a scribe, adding another step to an already complicated publishing process. Mormons do not believe that prophets are infallible; any mistakes Joseph made do not make the book false, nor do they make Joseph’s teachings false.
There is bad grammar in the Book of Mormon.
The simplest defense of this argument is that there is also “bad grammar” in the Bible. A simple perusal of the Bible will show various word combinations or punctuation uses that would horrify the modern grammarian if they were in any other text. The reasons for the Bible’s perceived errors also serve for the Book of Mormon’s. The Book of Mormon, however, has a different story behind it and a different set of reasons for its own idiosyncrasies.
The Book of Mormon, as a translation, is a preservation of ancient words and some ancient grammar in English. Some things will naturally not sound right, seem ambiguous, and not follow the constraints of present-day English. Important to note as well is that English in 1830 is different from English today. Some might call Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales bad grammar and atrocious spelling, but it was written according to the standard of English of the day. Joseph probably wasn’t likely to be a stickler about changing grammar in his translation to match English standards since he was trying to preserve as much meaning and nuance as possible from the original text.
Words like the modern “church,” which comes from Greek, would not have been used hundreds of years before Christ.
It is true that the words Joseph Smith used in his translation are modern inventions. We cannot, however, fool ourselves into thinking that just because the word didn’t exist, the concept was also missing. In Old English, there were not words for many concepts, but the Old English people would combine other words to signify those concepts. The Book of Mormon people met together in what we would call today a church, and Joseph Smith would be able to recognize that and translate whatever they called their group accordingly. The words of the Book of Mormon, like those in any translation, will not be the same as are used in the original text, nor will they always be perfectly interchangeable, but Joseph, as he translated the text, knew the concepts of the words he translated and used modern words that would signify the same meanings, even if they weren’t used back then.
Differences Between the Book of Mormon and Bible
In 1 Nephi 19:10 it says there would be three DAYS of darkness at the time of Jesus’ death. This is a false prophesy for in Luke 23:44 it says there were only three HOURS of darkness.
It is important to note that in Luke 23:44, the events of the Old World are recorded. There were only three hours of darkness in the Old World. The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, records the events in the Americas, where there were three days of darkness. Three full days of darkness are recorded in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 8:23 after Christ’s death. What we can gather from this is that the actual amount of time is less significant than the number three itself and that symbolism.
The Book of Mormon has things in it that aren’t in the Bible. For example, the name Mary is mentioned as the future mother of Christ when she was called only “a virgin” in Bible prophecies.
Since the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon contain records of separate revelations, it makes sense that prophecies about the same things would be given slightly differently. If the Book of Mormon were plagiarized, it would have been easy for Joseph to leave out the name, but he records that the Book of Mormon people did have the virgin’s name.
This begs the question: “Why did God give one people the name but withhold it from the other?” The following is only one guess: Imagine the problems that would arise if people in the Jerusalem area knew the name of the woman who would mother Christ. People may have tried to find her, and anyone born to a woman named Mary may have claimed to be Christ. On top of problems like these, there is the issue of taking away the need for faith. If the people could react to a prophecy so specific, there would likely have been less doubt of the identity of Christ. In the Americas, none of these problems is possible. They knew Christ was to be born in the Old World, and they couldn’t try to find him or Mary. In other words, for the people in Jerusalem, the name of Mary would have mattered too much to them, while for the Nephites and Lamanites, the name was just another part of the prophecy of the coming of the savior.
Plagiarism?
Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages and phrases from the Bible? The phrases from the New Testament couldn’t have been translated from the plates because the New Testament prophets had not yet been born when the plates were engraved.
Actually, quotes, ideas, and paraphrases from the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, serve to verify the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon tells the history of Jews who left Jerusalem and traveled to the New World. They would, of course, be very familiar with the writings of the Old Testament. Often quotations from the Bible differ from the originals in the King James Version (which Joseph Smith used). This makes sense because of differences in translation and changes made in the Bible since the time when the Book of Mormon people had it.
New Testament quotes in a book of scripture should not be surprising either. The God Mormons worship is the same God as is in the Bible. This God delivers his gospel to his faithful and chosen followers no matter where they live. Why would God give the Book of Mormon peoples only the part of the gospel that was not given in the New Testament? It would be suspicious if God gave two separate gospels to two separate peoples. The New Testament and the Book of Mormon are two accounts of the same gospel, each from a different group of Christ’s followers, each record having survived through translation and hundreds of years of preservation.
Did Book of Mormon People Worship Christ and Keep the Law of Moses?
How could the people in the Book of Mormon have worshipped Christ when he wasn’t even born yet?
Book of Mormon prophets taught of Christ before his birth looking forward to his birth and to his atonement. They knew that he would atone for their sins and that the blessings of that atonement, though it hadn’t happened yet, would apply to them. To these people, Christ’s arrival and atonement were so sure, they might as well have already happened. Sometimes the atonement is referred to as if it had already happened. This is just because the timing wouldn’t matter. The blessings would come and salvation was possible, even though the act itself had not yet been done. The atonement of Jesus Christ is referred to as “infinite and eternal,” and therefore applied to all of the sins of the world. Though many would die before Christ atoned for their sins, they would still be able to be forgiven by God.
Why did book of Mormon people keep the Law of Moses (it says they do in Jacob 4:5) if they believed in Christ?
Mormons believe that the Law of Moses was given to the Israelites by God to prepare them for the atonement of Christ. The law of sacrifice, which commanded burnt offerings, was to represent the sacrifice that God would make to atone for the sins of the world, just like high priests by the Law of Moses would make those offerings for those in their communities. The Book of Mormon people came out of the Israelites, and would have had that law and lived by it to prepare for the coming of Christ as well. The Law of Moses was not taken away from anyone until after Christ had atoned. Paul tells us in the New Testament that Christ’s atonement fulfilled the law, so people didn’t need to keep the Law of Moses anymore. This same rule applied to the people in the Americas. Again, this is the same gospel, but given in two different lands.
God: Spirit or Body?
If God had a body, why did the Book of Mormon people refer to him as a spirit? How did God take upon himself flesh if he already had it?
This is an issue of there being three people referred to as God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God. In phrases where just “God” is used, it may have referred to either the Father or the Son. The Father had a body from the beginning, but Jesus Christ didn’t have a body until he came to Earth and was born of Mary. Christ was a spirit until that time, and would have been known as such, though his spirit would have looked much like a body to those who saw it; it just wouldn’t have been solid.
God or Jesus?
Mormons worship Jesus, but the Book of Mormon always talks about God.
Mormons worship all three members of the Godhead. To Mormons, these three personages are distinct and separate people, but they are one in will and purpose, so they are one God as three people. The God referred to in many Book of Mormon passages is the same God as is in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ. All three members of the Godhead, God the Father, called Elohim; God the Son, Jehovah or Jesus Christ; and God the Holy Ghost, are called God in different contexts. Jesus Christ will sometimes speak as God. The fancy term for this is “divine investiture,” but it means that Christ is speaking for God in the first person. He has the right and ability to do this since he and the Father are of the same will and are technically the same God.
Do Mormons believe Hell is a lower level of Heaven?
The Book of Mormon teaches that Hell is eternal punishment. Don’t Mormons believe that Hell is just a lower level of Heaven? Who will end up there? Evil sinners or just ordinary unbelievers?
The misunderstanding here is that we are talking about three different “hells.” One “hell” talked about in the Book of Mormon is spirit prison. When people die, they go to either spirit paradise or spirit prison. Spirit paradise is for little children and those who have been baptized, kept their covenants, and obeyed God. Spirit prison is for those who were old enough to be baptized but were not baptized, or for those who didn’t keep their covenants. In spirit prison, people can still repent and go to spirit paradise. These spirit worlds are for before we are judged. We will all be judged at the same time, though we die at different times. 2 Nephi 9:12 talks about hell giving up the dead. This is when the spirit prison will open so people can be judged.
The eternal hell referred to in the Book of Mormon is what Mormons would call Outer Darkness. This is a place people can go only after they are judged. It is not a lower level of Heaven, and it is the only eternal kingdom that has no glory. This is for people who knew the truth about God and then denied it. They must have been given God’s power, and then defied against God.
The “hell” that is a lower level of Heaven is called the Telestial Kingdom. It does have some glory, but it is for those who refused to believe in Jesus Christ, even after they died. Everyone of this status will be there, whether they are evil or they simply refuse to believe even after they die. This may seem harsh, but these people will have had a chance to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ even after they died and could see how things were.
