Question for LDS?

Question

If the Book of Mormon is as reliable as the Bible, how come there arent any Maps or Biography sections in them? Like the study Bible's provide.

cadisney... So are you admitting there is no proven evidence? Geographical, historical, etc. Didnt Joeseph Smith say the Hill of Cumorah where the battle of the Lamanites and the Nephites took place in New York?

moonman I would think it would be important. For intstance in Ezekiel 38 that prophesy is unfolding today. And if it werent for maps and locations we wouldnt know what it was talking about. Why would God keep locations in the Bible but hide the one's in the Book of Mormon? The Bible says he is not a God of confusion! 1 Cor 14:33

sunnyann... ya whatever. I garantee you if there was any proof of geographiclal evidence the lds church would have it pasted on billboards on the freeways.

jack-cop God is not a God of confusion. There are all kinds of people,places, and things, that back up the proof of the Bible. There are still tribes that trace back to the old testiment. There are a lot of things that the lds church tries to kling to, but the absolute truth is. There is absolutly NOTHING of scientific, historical, geographical proof of any kind that backs up the book of mormon. Look up what the word baptism means in the Greek. Read Psalms for musical instraments. Most of the atheist's will come around to the truth. What scares me is all the false religions like mormonism, JW's, muslims, etc..these people believe there is a God, but they believe in a false god. The Bible makes it very clear, there are no second chances, ONCE TO DIE THEN THE JUDGMENT.

Answer 1

I don't recall anywhere in the Bible where it says "I the lord God shall provide you with geopolitical maps". The biblical maps were added by scholars in recent years and not by the original authors of the Bible.

When Cortes and other conquistadors conquered the Americas they burned entire libraries of the Mayans and the Aztecs. Think that would have shed some light on anything? Do you realize that the LARGEST of all central American ruins has yet to be excavated? (El Mirador in the Peten of Northern Guatemala). There are several ancient languages that we have not yet learned to decipher. Additionally, many of the native Americans were nomadic at the time of Columbus. Any written language they may have had no longer existed.

For years we didn't know where the ancient city of Babylon was. Does that mean the stories in the Bible about Babylon were not true before it was discovered?

When the Book of Mormon was written there was very little supporting evidence of it and some contradictory evidence based on contemporary knowledge. However, as the years have passed, that "contradictory evidence" has become supporting evidence.

For years the Book of Mormon was mocked because it talks of horses. Everyone "knew" that the Spanish brought the first horses...........until they found horse skeletons that dated to Book of Mormon times.

In recent years they've discovered a form of elaborate ancient poetry used to make key points known as a chiasmus. They show up in the Bible, in ancient records,.......and in the Book of Mormon.

Cities have been found sunk deep in the water in Lake Atitlan, off of Belize, and off of Cuba. We found them once we started flying and diving. .....How could Joseph Smith have known about those?????

As for the Hill cumorah....

We know that there were "wagon-loads" of plates that were under the control of Mormon. He moved these to the place of the final battle of the Book of Mormon. My personal belief (not the teaching of the church) is that this was somewhere in Central or Southern Mexico. Mormoni then carried the plates to upstate New York and deposited them in another hill that he also called cumorah (almost like a title for a hill where they kept records).

Just as visiting the modern city of Jerusalem doesn't automatically instill a testimony of the truthfulness of the Bible, nor would visiting Zerehemla do the same for the Book of Mormon.

Truth and faith come from the Lord, not maps.

We invite all men and women to:

-Learn about our basic teachings
-Read the Book of Mormon with a sincere heart
-Pray to the Lord and ask him if the Book of Mormon is scripture, written by ancient prophets, and if Joseph Smith was chosen to be a prophet. Do this humbly, sincerely, and with faith, and the lord will answer your prayer.

Isn't this a very "Christian" approach???

Answer 2

Bible has been extremely researched and defined in terms of where prophets and Christ went to. Book of Mormon has not been studied as extensively as to specific locations. There is also not a lot in the book of mormon to specify the exact locations like there are in the Bible.


No I am saying that archeologically the area of the Bible has been extensively studied. This is not true of the americas. I am also saying that in the book of mormon the names of places referred to have all long since passed and no longer exist so that its hard to create maps for them. In the Bible many of the cities and places mentioned still do exist and maps of the area existed at the time, as well. This is not the case for the americas.



I didnt even look at who was asking this question, lol. Did your church recently get out and and motivate you to go and annoy the mormons once again.

Answer 3

Just a comment on "God is not a God of confusion." You can not name one verse in the Bible that demonstrates the proper method of baptism. You can not point to one verse that says weather musical instruments are allow during worship service. Yet, there are mainstream churches that preach differences. And, you want to worry about maps in The Book of Mormon! It's people like you that give the atheists ammo for the fights. Christianity can't agree between themselves what the Bible says. How is anyone going to convince someone else there is a God?

Answer 4

I have the LDS edition quad - King James Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, and there are certainly maps in my edition. AND photographs AND facsimilies AND a huge topical guide (Bibliography/study aid) AND an excellent dictionary explaining all the scriptural terms, people, etc.

These things are not in the free version of the Book of Mormon the Missionaries give out because they take up so much space, and they need to keep printing costs down. Plus most people investigating the church don't want all this. But most people who join the church then buy the leather-bound posh version, and that has all this stuff in it.

Answer 5

Why does it matter? We don't really know for sure where it takes place in America, but there is relevant evidence scattered around Central America that suggests that the Book of Mormon could be true. Does the fact that the Bible has maps that explain it make the religious aspects any more true or does it simply help you to understand it better?

Answer 6

The maps and biography section of most modern day Bibles did not come with the original texts. They have, curiously, "been added unto" (catch the irony ?) the Bible by contemporary scholars.

With the Book of Mormon, likewise there were no original maps connected with them. Modern day scholars have attempted to speculate on the locations. However, the exact locations do not add or detract from the text and teachings of the scriptural words. The message of the Book of Mormon lies in its word s of Christ, and not from its location. It is another testament of Christ.

Answer 7

Everyone on here has provided some excellent answers to the question. I must agree in particular that the Book of Mormon is a record of the people and their dealings which includes the crowning point (Jesus arriving in the Americas).

Answer 8

I suspect that the reason there are no maps or biographical sections in the Book of Mormon is that many LDS feel that maps aren't what the Book of Mormon is about. The Book of Mormon is about confirming what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ.

Answer 9

Wow Snowflake. I've spotted you love to flig plenty of accusations, while you absolutely have not performed your study. In reaction to the query, nonetheless...they are high-quality humans :)

Answer 10

I fail to see how the amount of supplementary, extra-scriptural material determines a book of scripture's validity. Perhaps you could explain your question better?

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