Book of Mormon?

Question

Do antagonists to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints really believe that a 14 year old uneducated farm boy decided to make up a cult, and wrote the Book of Mormon?

For anyone who's actually opened the book, it'd take one heck of a genius to make that up. And for what profit to him?

Answer 1

Something as perfect as the Book of mormon can only come from God and I don't give a dime for what other people think.

Answer 2

It is interesting how old rumors pop up again and again.

Yes, Joseph Smith did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Yes, Joseph Smith did receive a visit from the Angel Moroni.

Yes, Joseph Smith did translate the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God.

And, no, he did not plagiarize the Book of Mormon. Look at the timeperiod that he lived in. There was a lot that was not then known about Hebrew. At the time, no one had ever heard of chiasmus. It was not until the 1930's that anyone discovered it in the Bible! How could Joseph Smith write in chiasmus if he did not know it even existed.

The Spaulding manuscript, that Joseph is said to have plagiarized, was written, but not published , 20 years before the Book of Mormon was published. The manuscript was in Conneaut, Ohio, Joseph was in Palmyra, New York. The manuscript was eventually published in 1885, long after the Book of Mormon had been written and published. Joseph had no way of knowing about this manuscript, considering the distances involved and the fact he did not know Solomon Spaulding. bears no relationship to the Book of Mormon in either style or content. It is written in modern English and is only about one-sixth the length of the Book of Mormon. The story commences with a group of Romans during the reign of Constantine who were blown off course on their way to Britain and landed in America. In this novel one of the Romans served as the narrator of what the group observed. The major part of the chronicle is the description of two Indian nations who have the Ohio River as a common border. A romance between a prince of one nation and a princess of the other leads to a great war between the two groups which is described in some detail.

If the Church were a cult, it would have fallen apart and disbanded when Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered in Carthage, IL. Instead, we are a recognized religion with over 13 million members all around the world.

Edit:
Joseph Smith was 15 when he had the First Vision.
He was 18 when he was visited by Moroni and learned of the Gold Plates.
At age 22 Joseph received the Gold Plates and began the work of translation.

Answer 3

When you put it like that it does make the notion that we are members of cult seem even more ridiculous than it did before.

To be totally honest - what 14 year old - educated or uneducated would choose a course of action that would make his or her life so much more difficult, that would make them an object of ridicule and that would ultimately lead to their death? Unless of course they were called of God. I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

For those who say that Joseph wrote the Book of Mormon how do they explain the fact that studies have shown that it has something like 17 different styles of writing, and that a person, any person, even when trying can not produce that many different styles in a single work of "fiction".

Answer 4

Most have a very false image or impression of Joseph and won't let it go. It is easier for them to believe that he was after his own gain, power, wealth and sex than to believe he would sacrifice everything to be obedient to God.
The amazing thing is that so many people who profess that God can do anything are very quick to say that God could not give an answer to the humble prayer of a 14 year old boy. Or that God could not have given that same boy the power to translate ancient texts containing scripture without Joseph first having received sufficient education in egyptian or hebrew or theology, etc. In later years, Joseph certainly did not appear to be an uneducated farmboy -- because his Heavenly Father had seen to his education.
Those who seek to find fault, undoubtedly will. Joseph was human, for all that he was called of God at a very early age. He loved to wrestle and stick pull and play with children. He was often found in his shirt-sleeves instead of coat [or even sack-cloth!]. He enjoyed a good joke. He was stubborn and head-strong on occassion.
None of that takes away from the fact that that Joseph was a prophet of God. All those who belittle and mock Joseph risk mocking the God he represents.
Merry Christmas.

Answer 5

The book of Mormon teaches about Christ, Christ's doctrines and principles that people should live by to be closer to god in the same way the bible has done. it was revealed by god through a prophet and prophets of old. to compare it to any other book in this day and age beside the bible is not accurate. In other words, the book of mormon and the bible are true and it's truthfullness cannot be dismissed for the reasons people are giving here.

Answer 6

Yes
I know allot of 14 and 15 year olds that make up lies.
He was probably late getting home from school and had to make up a story about what happened.
Whats really pathetic is so many people still believe the lies.

Do you actually believe you will be a god when you die?
Do you actually believe My God was a man and then became a God?

PLEASE! Question your leaders.

Answer 7

He was not 14 when the Book of Mormon was written. BTW who says Joseph Smith was uneducated? He was 14 when he said that angels came and told him to join none of the churches. It took years, with the help of others, to compose the Book of Mormon.

Answer 8

I dont know how old Joseph Smith was, but that is what happened. He may have told the truth about meeting a being called Moroni, but I am sure it was not an angel of God. There were not golden plates at the onset of this delusion. There was a second set of plates called the kinderhook plates, that was a joke and he fell for it and showed how much of a fraud he really was. He mixed Masonic symbology and traditions with his mysticalized beliefs about god and came up with mormonism.

Satan is not the brother of Jesus.
Jesus is the only begotten.
You believe you are married for all time and eternity, and when you die, you get your own planet and you get to go around and have all the spiritual sex you want producing all these spiritual children populating your own planet.
There is not planet kolab.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. None can go to the Father except through Him.
You baptize for dead people, whatever state a person dies in, that is it. You cannot change their destination by proxy baptism.

should I go on?

Answer 9

Book of Mormon is the word of God, and you will be allot better person if you read it!

Answer 10

Solomon Spalding (1761-1816) is considered by some researchers to be the original author of the Book of Mormon. One aspect not addressed in the research is that Spalding engages in an acceptable practice of the day, namely heavy borrowing and outright plagiarism. This will have implications for the validity of wordprint studies comparing Spalding's manuscript and the Book of Mormon.

http://www.mormonstudies.com/early1.htm

This is just a theory. I just cane upon it while looking for the answer to your question. The article is an interesting read.