What proof is there that the Book of Mormon is true?

Answer 1

None. But there's plenty that proves that it's NOT:

BOOK OF MORMON PROBLEMS


The Book of Mormon is still the baited hook by which Mormons lure thousands of new converts into their ranks every year. Prospective converts are urged to read it and then pray to ask God if it is true. Only upon reading it do they learn of its threats of eternal condemnation to all who reject it (2 Nephi 33:10-15; 15:11-18; Mormon 8:16-17; 4:21-22).1

Obviously, accepting it would seem safer than rejecting it under those circumstances, and this is undoubtedly one of the reasons for its success.

The Book of Mormon claims to be superior to the Bible. The first hundred pages are spent laying the groundwork for this position. Its basic presupposition is that the Bible has been altered by unscrupulous clergy in centuries past and no longer contains all the truth which God wants man to have. This, then, creates a need for the Book of Mormon, which claims to restore those "plain and precious things" which are necessary for the salvation of mankind (I Nephi 13:26-40; 3:166-193).2

It claims to be a record written on golden plates by prophets of a white race who lived in the Americas for about 1,000 years. This race was exterminated in A.D. 421. The indigenous race inhabiting the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 is portrayed by the Book of Mormon to be the cousins of that white race, cursed with a dark skin for having rejected God (2 Nephi 5:21; 4:33-35).

It teaches that the American Indians are actually Israelites of the tribes of Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh.3 Their skin curse is to be removed within a few generations after being converted to Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 30:6'versions before 1981; 12:84).4 This change in skin color from black to white has supposedly taken place several times in the past, whenever they turned to the Lord (Alma 23:18; 14:20; 3 Nephi 2:14-16; 1:52-53).

Perhaps its greatest claim is that it is preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus. Christ's second coming is to be preceded by a massive conversion of the American Indians to Christ through the Book of Mormon. These converted Indians will then exterminate those gentiles in the Americas who will not accept it.5 After that, the believing Indians and the Mormons will build the New Jerusalem where Christ will return to live (3 Nephi 16:11-16;7:35-42;3 Nephi 21:24-25;9:98-100). Subsequent revelation by Joseph Smith revealed this site to be in Independence, Missouri.6 Faith in the Book of Mormon thus becomes an added condition for salvation besides faith in Jesus Christ.

In reality, the Book of Mormon contains very little original information. Rather, Joseph Smith apparently reworked information which he had assimilated and then presented it as a "translation" from the golden plates. This can be demonstrated by comparing the Book of Mormon with other sources which were available to him. Also, he probably had some unpublished manuscripts from Solomon Spaulding which he used.

Material in the Book of Mormon will be examined which appears to be plagiarized from The Maccabees, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Josephus' Wars of the Jews, Solomon Spaulding's Manuscript Found, Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews and the King James Version of the Bible. Then other kinds of difficulties with the Book of Mormon will be scrutinized.

The most common masculine name in the Book of Mormon and the title of four of its fifteen books is "Nephi." Most Mormons are surprised to learn that this name is found in 2 Maccabees 1:36. Here it is a place name, however, and not the name of a person.7

The play Hamlet has been popular ever since written by William Shakespeare. In the Book of Mormon, a paraphrase from Shakespeare is considered by many to be evidence of plagiarism.8 Here the Book of Mormon represents Lehi, who supposedly lived about 600 B.C., as saying, "the cold and silent gravefrom whence no traveler can return." (2 Nephi 1:14; 1:28). The Shakespearian play, Hamlet, written during the 16th century after Christ, reads, "...death, the undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns" (Act 3, Scene 1).9 The similarity in the two passages is undeniable.

Then there is the the strange event in the Book of Mormon where Nephi is ordered by the "Spirit" to kill his uncle. This is uncannily similar to the scene in "Hamlet" where Hamlet's father's ghost appears to him and orders him to kill his uncle (Act 1, Scene 5)10 The primary difference between the two is that the "ghost" that appeared to Hamlet with these orders becomes the "Spirit" in the Book of Mormon; in fact, none other than the "Holy Spirit" (I Nephi 4:10-12; 1:110-113).

Interestingly enough, righteous Nephi is much more easily convinced that this is actually the will of God than is Hamlet. Not only does Nephi show no remorse after killing his drunken uncle, but he apparently cuts off his head without getting any blood on his uncle's clothes, for he is able to undress him, put his uncle's clothes on himself, and then impersonate him. Since the normal-sized person has about five quarts of blood in his body, this is a miracle in itself.

Nephi then proceeds to deceive his uncle's servant, steal the sacred brass plates, kidnap the servant, and take both them and him to America. The justification for these actions is explained very simply by the "Spirit:" Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief" (I Nephi 4:13; 1:114-115).

This rationale strangely echoes the prophecy of the high priest as to why Jesus should be put to death in John 11:49-50: "Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not." Thus the importance of Laban's death is perversely placed on a similar plane as Jesus", even though Nephi violates several of the ten commandments while bringing it about (Ex. 20:13, 15, 17). This and similar types of distortion of Biblical phraseology and theology are found throughout the Book of Mormon.

Critics have also long wondered why the French word "adieu" appears in the Book of Mormon, when it was supposed to have been translated from the golden plates into English.(Jacob 7:27; 5:48).11 This expression is very common throughout Shakespeare's writings.

Answer 2

Jospeh Smith could not have written the Book of Mormon. He had only two years' formal schooling, and yet in less than three months he dictated it to his scribes. I can't read it that fast. Furthermore, when resuming the translation he never asked "Where were we?" or "Could you read that last bit back to me?"

The book has stood up to the rigours of intensive study for over one hundred years. Each of the authors has a distinctive style. Nephi, for example, comes across as quite pompous and wordy. I have a degree in English literature and I enjoy seeing how different people added to the record in their own style. Analysts have looked into the "wordprints" and been able to tell much about the writers from these. Mostly, that it was not written by a single man, and certainly not as late as the nineteenth century.

The book is extremely complex. The Church publishes a Book of Mormon timeline to help readers since the "action" often jumps from one area to another, then back again, then elsewhere, and yet the continuity is such that you will see that scholars have been able to identify the year each section takes place. (Bottom right hand corner of each page.) I write novels, and even with detailed notes, the aid of a computer an editor and several proofreaders, continuity is a nightmare.

The book is full of names of Hebrew origin which are not found in the Bible and phrases which are styled in Egyptian form. An American farm boy could not have known anything about this.

Finally, why would anyone make it up? Joseph Smith couldn't have done it as a money-making venture, because the church wasn't out of debt for several decades after his death, and his friend lost his farm paying for the Book to be printed. Joseph was tarred and feathered, persecuted and ultimately killed for his faith, and HE KNEW THAT THIS PERSECUTION WOULD HAPPEN. Why would he choose to translate such a book, when he knew that he could expect himself and his followers to be attacked even almost two hundred years later?

It's a beautiful book. A little hard going in places (I get bored with the endless battles) but there are places where the sheer depth just takes my breath away. King Benjamin's speech to his people at the beginning of Mosiah is amazing, he was obviously such a wonderful and wise King. Just reading the books of Mosiah and Alma were all it took to convince me that this was a book of Holy Scripture. And I prayed about it, of course, and the answer I was given confirmed what my head had already told me.

If God says it is true, then how can man claim otherwise?

Answer 3

The Book of Mormon has the ultimate proof of authenticity...
An answer from God after sincere prayer. Could any other source be truly trusted?

Proof of the Book of Mormon is a personal spiritual endeavor; it is between God and you. So read it and pray about it.

It's just a book, so what is there to fear...

Answer 4

There is no DEFINITIVE proof the Book of Mormon is true. I have a decent background on the teachings of the church and there are scriptures we use to explain things which we believe is true. Yes we may not believe the same things as everyone else, but as with all religions, the basis for the "truth" is the faith of it's membership. Not all people convert and in my opinion, it really is a matter of preference. I dislike that my religion says they are the only "correct" religion. Realistically what this whole big religion debate comes down to is, Do you believe in God, and Do you have a Relationship with him?

Answer 5

None. The proof for that is found in the history relating to the "Ossian Chronicles" by James MacPherson and in the "Curiosities of American Literature 1792 edition" by Disraeli. In there, it says that the notion of getting messages found in the ground from older civilizations that these people translated is "getting old". Listed there are some 30 people who have done it to that point.

Answer 6

A person called "Brother Hanna" retranslated the Book of Mormon back to its orginal language, Arabic, and this is what he found. He was a non-believer at the time.

1. Jarom 2: "It musts needs be..." This expression, odd and awkward in English, is excellent Arabic grammar. Elsewhere in the book the use of the compound verbs "did eat", "did go", "did smile" again awkward and rarely used in English, are classical and correct grammar in the Semitic languages.

2. Omni 18: "Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory. Brother Hanna indicates that this is a typical custom of his Semitic forebearers to recite their genealogy from memory.

3. Words of Mormon 17: Reference is made here as in other parts of the Book of Mormon, to the "stiffneckedness" of his people. Brother Hanna perceives that this word would be a very unusual word for an American youth, Joseph Smith, to use. An American would likely prefer an adjective such as stubborn or inflexible. But the custom in the Arabic language is to use just such a descriptive adjective. Stiffnecked is an adjective they use in describing an obstinate person.

4. Mosiah 11:8 "King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings and ornamented them with fine work and precious things, including ziff." Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the word "ziff" referred to in this scripture? This word, although in the Book of Mormon, is not contained in dictionaries of the English language. Yet it translates freely back into the Arabic language, for ziff is a special kind of curved sword somewhat like a scimitar which is carried in a sheath and often used for ornamentation as well as for more practical purposes. The discovery of the word "ziff" in the Book of Mormon really excited Brother Hanna.

5. Alma 63:11 Reference is made to Helaman, son of Helaman. Why did not Joseph Smith interpret this as Helaman, Jr., which would have been more logical for him, bearing the same name as his father, Joseph, and being named Joseph Smith, Jr. In Arabic, Brother Hanna explains, there is no word "junior" to cover this circumstance. Their custom is to use the terminology Joseph, son of Joseph; Helaman, son of Helaman, etc.

6. Helaman 1:3 Here reference is made to the contending for the judgment seat. Brother Hanna observes that the use of the term "judgment seat" would be quite strange to an American who might have used a more familiar noun such as governor, president, or ruler. Yet, in Arabic custom, the place of power rests in the judgment seat and whoever occupies that seat, is the authority and power. The authority goes with the seat and not with the office or the person. So, this, in the Semitic languages, connotes the meaning exactly.

7. Helaman 3:14 In this verse, there are a total of eighteen "and"s. Reviewers of the Book of Mormon have, on occasion, been critical of the grammar in such a passage where the use of the word "and" seems so repetitious. Yet Brother Hanna explains that each of the "ands" in this verse is absolutely essential to the meaning, when this verse is expressed in Arabic, for the omission of any "and" would nullify the meaning words.

8. Helaman 3:18-19 Have you wondered why the Book of Mormon cites a numbering system such as this? Do we say "forty and six, forty and seven, forty and eight?" No! Joseph Smith's natural interpretation would more appropriately have been forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight without the "and"s. Brother Hanna excitedly observes that the use of "and" in forty and six" is pecisely correct Arabic. Arabic number, as well as read, from right to left and recite their numbers with the "and" to separate the columns.

Answer 7

There might be some real proof out there, but the reason that most people belive that it is true, is because of the way the feel. You can't prove a feeling!

Answer 8

As one stated, there were those that witnessed the plates which Joseph Smith translated and wrote down statements of the experience. However, as with the Bible, and any holy scripture or document for that matter, there will never be enough scientific or empiracle evidence to convince those of the world. Religion is not of man, but of God. You cannot prove that God exists, but many people know he does. How? I think it's different for everyone. But, for me, it is because God has spoken to me, when I have asked, and he gave me the witness I needed.

Can I deny God? No.

Answer 9

The Book itself, the testimony of the 3 witnesses, the testimony of the 8 witnesses, Witness from the Spirit, an answer from my Heavenly Father...
Faith is the belief for things which are not seen but are hoped for.
Thats enough proof for me. After all, I have asked God if it is true, he would not lead me astray. I received my answer and could never deny what I know.

Answer 10

There's not so much as a shred of evidence to even support the background information (cities, towns, personages, technologies, cultures, battles...) much less the major spiritual claims. (Many of which directly contradict the Bible)

Joseph Smith was a con man (went to court and was convicted of fraud) who presented himself as a prophet. He was a liar.

And his lies formed the foundation of a cult that is completely devoted to imposing those lies on the world.

And the method they use in an attempt to convince others that the lies are true... is that they ask you to pray about it, relying on your feelings. Those who 'want' it to be true...usually end up 'feeling' that it is true.

But apply faith AND reason to the question...and the outcome is very different.

Answer 11

When you are a believer of anything, you don't need proof.