Why do Mormons shrug this off?

Question

Here are the similarities between "The View of the Hebrews" and "The Book of Mormon"

extensive quotation from the prophecies of Isaiah in the Old Testament.

the Israelite origin of the American Indian

the future gathering of Israel and restoration of the Ten Lost Tribes

the peopling of the New World from the Old via a long journey northward which encountered "seas" of "many waters"

a religious motive for the migration

the division of the migrants into civilized and uncivilized groups with long wars between them and the eventual destruction of the civilized by the uncivilized

the assumption that all native peoples were descended from Israelites and their languages from Hebrew

the burial of a sacred book

the description of extensive military fortifications with military observatories or "watch towers" overlooking them

a change from monarchy to republican forms of government
the preaching of the gospel in ancient America

When I visited Jeff Lindsays website he basically just said how there are a lot of differences between the two books and the similarities are at best superficial, but of coarse there are differences between the two books, there not the same book. Why does that make it unlikely that it didn’t influence the theme of the Book of Mormon? Why does that make it unlikely that it was just one more of many things that influenced Joseph Smith? Why do Mormons claim the similarities are superficial and non important?

No evidence? That was a bit harsh, I know it can’t be proven.

Answer 1

First off, Jeff Lindsay is a self-proclaimed expert and full-time idiot. The story line in the BoM is simply untrue; a made-up novel (or novella if you remove "And it came to pass..) that can be proven incorrect at every level.

However, that doesn't seem to bother the faithful - the typical response is "No, everything is true, because it's another testament of christ". Not only is the logic absent, but the mindset indoctrination prevents innovative or critical thinking. If Jeff Lindsay is the best they can come up with as "Defender of the Faith", they may as well board the train to the Happy Place.

Just remember - the 'Chiasmus' wasn't just a biblical Hebraism - It's the entire prose structure of "The Cat in the Hat"

Forgive this lengthy edit, but Mormon_4_jesus wrote: "There is absolutely NO evidence that Joseph Smith had even heard of the book, let alone read it."

There’s not library card stating it was ever checked out to him, but the ‘connection points’ are remarkable for their coincidence.

"View of the Hebrews" was published in 1823 and a second edition was published in 1825. The “Book of Mormon” was published in 1830.

"View of the Hebrews" was popularly distributed in the area in which Joseph Smith lived. The author Ethan Smith was the pastor of the Congregational Church in where Oliver Cowdry's family attended between 1821 and 1826.

The Oliver Cowdrey was related to the Joseph Smith family thru Lucy Mack’s side, and Oliver’s great uncle, Jabez Cowdrey, was a ‘country doctor’ in the Sharon VT area. The Smith family did not have an HMO plan, so it’s considerably likely the Cowdreys assisted in the birth of several Smith children, especially with Lucy being his niece.

Ethan Smith visited Palmyra in late 1826 promoting his recently published book. Joseph recently returned here after his arrest in New York for “Glass Looking”.

Josiah Priest's “The Wonders of Nature and Providence”, (1825), which also includes numerous parallels to the “Book of Mormon”, quotes extensively from Ethan Smith's book was available in the local Manchester Rental Library when Joseph Smith was living in Palmyra.

Curiously, in a talk delivered by Elder George Reynolds of the Seventy in 1902: "...remarkable from the fact that [View of the Hebrews] produces such strong evidences in favor of the genuineness of the Book of Mormon. ... [the author] in more than one place, refers to a tradition among the various tribes that in former times they possessed a book of great value, which they had lost, but which would at some time be restored to them. ... This is exactly the story, from the Lamanites standpoint, which the Book of Mormon records."

Answer 2

They ignore it for the SAME reasons that each one of us ignores anything that challenges our 'foundation core/beliefs', 'precious icons' and preconceived notions of what we believe reality to be.

Nothing new about that--they are just being human--just like you and me.

No, this is a good question--and a good point; however just like the Mormons, you may not like the possibility of the other extreme, or alternative answers to your proposition...

...how about that Joseph Smith was the reincarnation of Isaiah...or others...and/or that Isaiah was written by two different 'entities' at two different periods of time...

...and/or that he was able to 'tap into' something referred to as "the oneness principle" where he had access to ALL of the same information?

...He may even been able to read from the Akashic Record?

Maybe everyone who wrote these biblical accounts were, in fact, "copying" (taking from; i.e., memories, etc) from something or some one else that came before them?

My real point is not attempting to provide the right answer or to be right, but to suggest that there may be possibilties and answers to these and other questions--and the need to be open to what might be initially perceived as an 'extreme possiblity'.

Regards,

Answer 3

Joseph Smith's sole influence was satan....he was a 33' freemason and a high ranking, blood drinking warlock in tight with the satanic bloodlines who secretly rule the planet, In fact high level warlock/witches are told to join the mormon church in times of spiritual distress because it's really a cover for devil worshippers! The majority of joe-blow mormons have no idea about this I'm sure, but at the top of the LDS pyramid the god worshipped is lucifer!

Answer 4

uh. simply by fact its extra relaxing to %. on Mormons?! Ive observed that too. incredibly everyone has a narrative.... oh i knew a Mormon who beat his spouse. no person ever mentions a spouse beater 's faith in the event that they have been Lutheran or crocodile worshipers. they only carry lds human beings to an more suitable commonly used i geuss.

Answer 5

There is absolutely NO evidence that Joseph Smith had even heard of the book, let alone read it.

Answer 6

They don't want to deal with the results of this comparison just as they don't want to deal with the Ossian Chronicles and the other books like that.

Answer 7

Wow, those are great questions. I went to a Mormon church with my aunt once and it was like a whole other world from the one I since met and love.

Answer 8

who cares what they think mormons are just a bunch of people in a cult that makes up its beliefs with no backing and changes text to suit them

Answer 9

Why would anyone care? Read a biology book... fill your mind with something that actually matters.

Answer 10

The mormon ruling council has a good thing going: mandatory tithing. Reason enough to continue a cult for the leaders who call all the shots.