Is the Book of Mormon True?

Book of Mormon Introduction

“ We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God , the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true . Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

(See Moroni 10: 3-5 .)

Introduction

In this lesson we will take an honest and sincere look at the Book of Mormon

Truth has nothing to hide and everything to ‘set free’.

All Christians should embrace the opportunity to study with our Mormon neighbors.

Introduction

We shall ask two pertinent questions regarding the Book of Mormon:

This lesson: Is it historically accurate?

Next lesson: Is it doctrinally sound?

HISTORICITY Refers to the historical authenticity of a… PERSON

EVENT

PLACE

Historicity of the Books

Historicity of the Bible

Names

Places

Events

Pilate Stone (found 1961) Cp. Lk. 3:1 Line One: TIBERIEUM,, Line Two: (PON) TIUS Line Three: (PRAEF) ECTUS IUDA (EAE)

Names

Places

Events

Nebuchadnezzar Jer. 39:3 “ Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris , Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.”

Names

Places

Events

Josephus : one of many external manuscripts about Jesus

Names

Places

Events

Jerusalem

Names

Places

Events

“ Most if not all places described in the Bible not only existed then but also exist today - and continue to play a part in religion and politics.” Places & Cities of the Bible: Profiles of Places & Cities in the Bible

Names

Places

Events

Cyrus Cylinder Jews given permission to return to Jerusalem.

Historicity of the Book of Mormon

Names

Places

Events

No substantiated archaeological evidence exists for Mormon, Moroni or the ruins of the peoples known as the Jaredites, Nephites, or Laminites.

Names

Places

Events

“ Zarahemla was once a great city located somewhere on what is know as the American continent. Probably it was located in or near what is now called Chiapas, Mexico…. This map illustrates the current view of most Book of Mormon scholars on the probable location of the Land of Zarahemla and other Book of Mormon sites” ( Where is Zarahemla ? ).

“ Although Mormons believe Zarahemla to be an actual city that once existed on earth, nobody can say with any certainty where. Numerous Mormon scholars have come up with theories but none has been adopted by the church as correct” ( Wikipedia )

Historicity of Cumorah? Mormon researchers have debated whether the hill discussed in the Book of Mormon is the same as the drumlin in New York or whether it was located somewhere in Mesoamerica or elsewhere . Given the information provided in the text of the Book of Mormon itself, it seems reasonable to conclude that the latter is named in honor of the former, perhaps by Moroni in memory of his slain Nephite brethren. Mainstream scholars have not expressed opinions on the matter because there is generally no mainstream academic support for the historicity of the Book of Mormon.

Names

Places

Events

“ Of the numerous proposed external Book of Mormon geographies, none has been positively and unambiguously confirmed by archaeology.” Book of MormonGeography(John E. Clark)

Names

Places

Events

There has been discussion within the Latter Day Saint movement about whether the hill in New York is the same as the place mentioned in the Book of Mormon, or if the hill in New York was only given the same name in order to honor it as the hiding place of the plates when Smith found them. The LDS Church has not conducted any on-site archaeological research at the New York hill. ( Wikipedia )

Throughout the Book of Mormon we read of such features as "The Narrow Neck of Land" which was a days and a half's journey (roughly 30 miles) separating two great seas. We read much of the Hill Onidah, the Hill Ramah, and the city of the City of Angola— all place names in the land of Joseph Smith's youth. We read, in the Book of Mormon of the Land of Desolation named for a warrior named Teancum who helped General Moroni fight in the Land of Desolation. In Smith's era, an Indian Chief named Tecumseh fought and died near the narrow neck of land helping the British in the War of 1812. Today the Canadian city Techumseh (near the narrow neck of land) is named after him…There are more than two dozen Book of Mormon names that are the same as or nearly the same as modern geographical locations.

An anachronism

(from the Greek " ανά ", "against", and " χρόνος ", "time")

is anything that is temporally incongruous in the time period it has been placed in—that is, it appears in a temporal context in which it seems sufficiently out of place as to be peculiar, incomprehensible or impossible.

Anachronism

Anachronisms Found in Book of Mormon

Animals

Speech

Translation

Many others

1 Nephi 18:25

North America had no cows, oxen, asses, horses or goats in 600 B.C. – colonial times .

Animals

Speech

Translation

Many others

Jacob 7:27 And I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave…Brethren, adieu. ( setting approx. 600 B.C. )

The French language did not exist until 700 A.D. (The Mormon Scrapbook, p. 21)

Animals

Speech

Translation

Many others

The setting of certain passages was 600 B.C. (with no contact with the “Old World”) yet are contain with Greek words.

Alpha, Omega (3 Nephi 9:18); Christ (2 Nephi 25:14); Christians (Alma 46:13)

Animals

Speech

Translation

Many others

For a more thorough listing see “A Biologist looks at the Book of Mormon” by Dr. Thomas Key .

Is it Historically Accurate?

From just a small and initial sampling every person, place, thing, event has not been affirmed.

While faith does not rest in man’s historical findings, such findings are natural and in abundance in the Bible, yet completely silent in the Book of Mormon.