Do you think it was possible for Joseph Smith to write the Book of Mormon?

Question

I would love to hear evidence either way, Thanks!

Answer 1

He did, but not all of it. He used existing ideas that were popular at the time (that Native Americans were descended from the Jews, etc.) and incorporated them into his story.

He also incorporated other ideas from various authors, and from existing knowledge of his time frame to set up other "doctrines" in the church. Joseph Smith was a very intelligent man and a brilliant storyteller, not the ignorant farm boy that the church likes to portray.

The 3000+ changes to the book since its inception (not including spelling and grammatical mistakes) also lend creed to the idea that he wrote it. Call me silly, but I think that the word of God wouldn't need to be changed after a mere 176 years.

Answer 2

It is possible.
What is amzing to note about the so-called "testimony" of ther witnesses, is that Joseph Smith somehow felt it necessary to have a testimony of three witnesses and also a testimony of eight witnesses. When you look at the lists of these "testimonies" you will find literally only five surnames, suggesting at the very least, something fishy.

Three Witnesses:
Oliver Cowdery
David Whitmer
Martin Harris

Eight Witnesses:
Christian Whitmer
Jacob Whitmer
Peter Whitmer, Jun
John Whitmer
Hiram Page
Joseph Smith, Sen
Hyrum Smith
Samuel H. Smith

Answer 3

He was telling this kind of story since he was a child, as evidenced by Luck Mack Smith's diary entries. The book itself drones on incessantly as if it were dictated - which it was. Smith knew the KJV bible inside out, and transliterated that 'type' of wordset into the BoM - including many grammatical errors that a 16th century Englishman would not make, plus the KJV mistranslations. God apparently didn't catch the boo-boos either.

Lastly, the entire concept Smith book relates is a two-dimensional morality play of good vs evil, right vs wrong, and of course, white skin vs dark skin. It contains very anti-Masonic passages, yet Smith himself joined the Masons and married the widow of a murdered ex-Mason. It's also quite autobiographic with Smith himself as Nephi and Moroni, the former shows up all over the book in different guises.

From and engineering aspect, the book is not only absurd, it is not even possible, unless god is a dope. Anyone can pray about it all they want. It's nothing more than 'wishing', or farting in a closet.

Answer 4

Yes, it is possible and he was not the only person an angel came to either. But as Christians or followers of the Bible you must compare even what an Angel says to the Bible to see if it is correct or not; John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
And realize some angels are good and some angels are bad; Acts 12:7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
And some angels are really lying spirits; 1 Kings 22:22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1 Kings 22:23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
2 Chronicles 18:21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
But Paul the writter of the New Testamnet teaches if they preach something different than this Gospel that he preaches let God curse him even if it is an Angel; Galatians 1:8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.Galatians 1:9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Answer 5

YES it was according to a recent history channel documentary. Much of what was stated in the book of Mormon was also preached from pulpits at the time of Joseph Smith's early life.

So he could have heard those sermons being preached. And i don't know where those golden tablets are now.

Answer 6

Anything is possible. Just take a look at the Quran. Both Individuals said that " God" gave them the Book or knowledge to dispense. Yet both books are so diametrical opposed to each other you wonder whats going on here.

In The Bible we Read " For God is [a God], not of disorder, but of peace.( 1 Cor 14:33)

Answer 7

The story I always heard was that it was plagiarized from a "Bible themed" novel written by Solomon Spaulding that went missing from a printer where Smith's friend, Sidney Rigdon, was an apprentice.

But that's just what I've heard. I've never done any original research into it. Nonetheless, since it's a given that God doesn't really exist, and it's too improbable to calculate that he was visited by aliens, the only possible explanation is that Joseph Smith made the whole thing up.

The archaeological record does not lie. And there is no evidence whatsoever that Jews inhabited North America 2,000 years ago.

edit:

Origins of the Book of Mormon

One item I wished to examine at Princeton was a manuscript by one Solomon Spaulding entitled The Manuscript Found. During the early days of the Mormon church, a number of individuals had claimed that the Book of Mormon was a revised plagiarism of a mock-biblical novel written by a Dartmouth-educated former minister — Solomon Spaulding. Spaulding died in 1816 and, the story goes, his novel was stolen or copied by the young minister Sidney Rigdon, who teamed up with Joseph Smith to found a new religion based upon this eloquent document. The Mormons exulted when a Spaulding MSS. came to light in the late nineteenth century and, to their eyes, had no relation to the Book of Mormon, therefore proving the Spaulding theory the baseless invention of anti-Mormons.

I wanted to judge for myself. Princeton had a copy of the MSS. on microfilm. After reading a few pages I knew two things. First, this was not the MSS. of the Book of Mormon. Second, the author of the Book of Mormon wrote this MSS. Characters, plot, structure, style, names and religious content all paralleled the Book of Mormon. As one Hardy boys mystery is similar to another, so Spaulding's The Manuscript Found is similar to the Book of Mormon.

One of the devices Joseph Smith employed in "translating" the Book of Mormon hieroglyphics he found on the golden plates delivered to him by the angel Moroni was a peepstone. He placed the oracular rock in a hat, buried his face in the hat, and read the translation written on the peepstone. The peepstone was later preserved as a prophetic relic. According to David Whitmer, one of the three "witnesses" of the golden plates, "God gave to Brother Joseph the gift to see the sentences in English when he looked into the hat in which was placed the stone." In Solomon Spaulding's The Manuscript Found is the following passage: "Hamack then arose and in his hand he held a stone which he pronounced transparent. Through this he could view things present and things to come. Such was the clearness of his sight, when this transparent stone was placed before his eyes. He looked firmly and steadfastly on the stone and raised his prophetic voice."

Answer 8

You mean without divine guidance? Absolutely it was possible and it happened. Joseph Smith was heavily influenced by the King James version of the Bible.

Answer 9

I think there was an incident when one of his scribes hid some pages that were "translated" already and when asked if they should re-translate, Smith's responded that God must not have wanted those to be made public yet. That should go to show that not only did he write it, but has a bad memory too. If it was a divine translation, God would have hooked him up.

And Giovanni Geezus, I've heard that same rumor and would love to know if you have more info on it.

Answer 10

No, he was a fake with a criminal record. He wasnt a real prophet who talked to God directly. He was just a pawn of satan. No evidence of Jesus in the US and no prophesy that talks about any prophet coming. The bible is complete and does not need the book of mormon