Fairmormon faithful answers to criticisms of the lds church. Farms fair shields mormon apologetics farms and fair and shields apologize for the book of mormon and the book of abraham. Early book of mormon apologetics one of the earliest apologetic defenses of the book of mormon was orson pratts divine authenticity of the book of mormon 1850. It is also accepted as scripture by the reorganized church of jesus christ of latter day saints and dozens of other lds splinter sects note 1 the other books considered to be scripture by the lds church are. In that sense, their approach is legerdemain and baitandswitch. Find out about its teachings of men becoming gods, temples, the book of mormon, and joseph smith. It also includes the book of mormon bom which joseph smith declared is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book teachings of the prophet joseph smith, p. Because its members are somewhat isolated from mainstream scholarship, many. Because its members are somewhat isolated from mainstream scholarship, many critics feel. Joseph probably wasnt speaking as a prophet when he said that. Posts dedicated to events or current trends in mainstream media dealing with topics about the lds church and other general announcements of interest. Nov 10, 2012 the crowning event in the book of mormon is the ministry of jesus christ among the nephite people. Ballet and the book of mormon practicing for perfection.
The book of mormons miraculous origins make it impossible to dismiss by anyone who examines it with any degree of seriousness. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Jun, 2019 then there are what i would call good book of mormon apologetics. Yeah sure, just as soon as mormon apologetics admit that the book of abraham is a fraudyour getting close to doing sobut come on just come clean and admit it. Simon southerton during my trip behind the zion curtain i became more familiar with the dominant lines of defense in response to the dna evidence challenging the book of mormon. Matt roper and paul fields did a study on book of mormon wordprint patterns, ie computer statistical analysis of word pattern to determine authorship and other attributes of the book. How the mormon religion became a dominant force in politics, entertainment, and pop culture slightly imperfect stephen mansfield worthy publishing 2012 hardcover. Van dyke and loyd ericson, both of utah valley university, apologetics is a compilation of essays that draws from the wide spectrum of latterday saint positions on apologetics.
Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient evidence. Popular mormon apologetics staking claims on christian. I do testify that the uncut sheets of the complete first edition of the book of mormon have been reproduced in its original unchanged condition. When they say they saw and heard god, they saw and heard god. Apologetics, published by greg kofford books, comes into play.
Good book of mormon apologetics complexity of the text in terms of characters, geographical setting, time span, intertextuality within itself. Aug 11, 2015 in my booklet on mormonism, i cite primarily from the mormon standard works e. Apologists write defensively, and view their polemical responses to criticism as a battle for their faith. Mormonvoices defending the restored gospel of jesus christ. The book of mormon reinstates all authentic modes of religious awareness. I have sifted through his over 11,000 words and i am dismayed that peterson completely misses the entire point of my letter to the ces director.
Fairmormon is stronger than ever, while we have a new crop of apologists at book of mormon central. Ever since joining the lds church at the age of 16, ive spent countless hours explaining, sharing and defending the gospel of jesus christ. An immediate response from many of them is that it is a word with negative connotationsthat people are apologizing for the church. According to pratt, if, after a rigid examination, it be found an imposition. And if all that wasnt enough, after clarifying in such strong terms who the bom is about, joseph declares that it is most most correct book on earth, and says. Contemporary book of mormon apologetics really began with two lengthy series of articles from 1950 to 1952 by nibley on the book of mormon, published in 1952 as the book lehi in the desert and the world of the jaredites.
The book of mormon shows joseph smith to be a false prophet last night on the streets of manti, i had an interesting discussion with a man about his beliefs and the book of mormon. While their position within mormon studies is debated, mormon apologetics have a tradition dating back to parley p. Dec 04, 2017 the book of mormon predicts that the lamanites american indians would soon change to white skin colour. Jun 09, 2009 summary the mormon organization farms is producing the most widely read and seemingly scholarly defenses of the book of mormon and joseph smith available in mormonism today. See thomas finleys critique in the anthology the new mormon challenge of how the book of mormon uses this phrase. A zombies reflections on that mormon apologists reflections. Jun 09, 2009 apologetics is not just an evangelical christian venture.
The book of mormons missionary message to a 21stcentury. How the mormon religion became a dominant force in politics, entertainment, and pop culture slightly imperfect stephen mansfield worthy publishing 2012. The book of mormon purports to be an inspired and accurate translation of an ancient historical narrative covering more than a thousand years. Please add your farms or fair story or comments in the box below. Just a logic point, here, im not commenting on the dna issues. In the words of latterday saints president wilford c. Thus the lds contends that the book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. The book of mormon people speakwrite hebrew and some form of egyptian. Summary the mormon organization farms is producing the most widely read and seemingly scholarly defenses of the book of mormon and joseph smith available in mormonism today. Beginning apologetics is one of the best tools ive ever encountered for dealing with mormons and jehovahs witnesses mormons and jehovahs witnesses are the two most aggressive doortodoor religion peddlers out there. When the interpreter, fairmormon, or book of mormon central focuses on these things, im always a big fan. Apologetics is not just an evangelical christian venture. The word apologist is often seen by members who are just learning about the issues found on mormonthink.
The amount of scholarship in mormon studies increased after world war ii. James walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of. Jesus established his church in the americas by appointing apostles and prophets just as he had in israel. The book of mormon predicts that the lamanites american indians would soon change to white skin colour. The past several years have seen a rise in the production and sophistication of mormon apologetics, which has included books written on a popular level that are in some ways the mormon equivalent of josh mcdowells evidence that demands a verdict. Tracing ancient threads in the book of moses, september 1819. How to answer jehovahs witnesses and mormons paperback september 1, 2014. Join us for this 20,000 foot view of mormon apologetics. Second, the critics do not deal with the issues arising from the book of abraham that latterday saints care about. So, i feel what is important is to concentrate on the simple message of the gospel, which teaches us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves and to love god with all our heart, mind and soul. A divine catalyst the book of mormons missionary message to a 21stcentury world. The resulting volume reads unevenly, as many anthologies dobut here, that patchiness is amplified by the polemic subtext of the book. Today, mormons use the book of mormon in much the same way that christians use and study the bible. James walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of mormon.
Lds, mormon, ex mormon, latterday saints, apologetics, truth, bible, joseph smith, mormonism. If the events it records did not happen, and if it is actually modern rather than ancient in origin, then the book of mormon cannot be the word of god. These insertions were perpetuated by the author of the book of mormon in 3 nephi. There follows a lengthy discussion of considering the mormon doctrine of the burning in the bosom. The remnant of book of mormon peoples are the indians that now inhabit this country encyclopedia of jss teachings, deseret book, p. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient. Aikido master finds peace through the book of mormon. Book of mormon central have done various blog posts and videos that promoted what they saw as very impressive results of this study. Book of mormon errors apologetics worthy christian forums. He was older, in his sixties, and he had been studying the book fervently. Perspectives on mormon theology apologetics, edited by blair g. James walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of mormon defend apologetics conference 2017 january 5, 2017.
After a few warmup posts last month here, here, and here, its time to get serious about apologetics. The book of mormon shows joseph smith to be a false. Whether you a single data point have the fathers dna or not is not an example that addresses the fathers question of how much dna is in the 11th generation a large set of data points. The book of mormon is one of four books accepted and promoted by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds the mormon church as scripture. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of lds doctrine, belief and practice. The dishonesty of mormon apologetics on facts are the.
In this training session we coinsider the main contents of the book of mormon and its origin. The churchs official website also links to various apologetic individuals and groups. Birch argues that it should be a part of mormon studies, as long as apologetic authors concede that their arguments are objective and subject to academic debate. Mormon scholars are divided on whether or not apologetics should be considered part of mormon studies. Smith once called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion smith, 1902, 4. But prophets are not mystics in this extreme sense. Van dyke and loyd isao ericson, greg kofford books.
Sep 17, 2017 this is where the new volume perspectives on mormon theology. Many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a white and delightsome people. I actually got a text message from an exmormon this morning saying he had listened to this podcast and, surprisingly, that he felt there was enough evidence to go either way on the book of mormon. Alma 5 and the book of mormons plagiarism of the new testament. Stresses the importance of the trinity, salvation by grace not works, and more. Jan 05, 2017 james walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of mormon defend apologetics conference 2017 january 5, 2017. Praying about the book of mormon mormons believe that if you read the book of mormon and then pray and ask god whether or not it is true, you will receive a testimony from the holy spirit verifying its truth. Covers the mormon view of the bible, the book of mormon origins. May 15, 2017 the dishonesty of mormon apologetics on facts are the problem obfuscation is the strategy. Radio free mormon is joined by bill reel for this indepth discussion of elder tad callisters recent video, a case for the book of mormon. Updated 122395 includes the smithsonian letter on the book of mormon.
This is where the new volume perspectives on mormon theology. The organization focuses primarily on a defense of the book of mormon as a historical document. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. This volume in the perspectives on mormon theology series is an exploration of mormon apologeticsor the defense of faith. But for me, it isnt so much an eitheror proposition as it is bothand. The fact that this phrase occurs almost twenty times more often in the book of mormon than it does in the bible should be expected if the former were just an improvised dictation and not divinely inspired writing. The book of mormon claims to be an additional revelation to jesus christ. They worship the old testament god, follow the law of moses, and even preach and worship christ both before and after his ministry. They are as busy as bees with this mission impossible task. Greg kofford books just published perspectives on mormon theology.
In the introduction of the book of mormon, smith states that it is the record of gods dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the americas, which also contains the fullness of the everlasting. The book is a collection of essays by a variety of lds scholars giving their informed view of the development and current state of. The resulting volume reads unevenly, as many anthologies dobut here, that patchiness is amplified by the. Dark skinned mormon indians have never become lightened due to their holdin. Peterson affectionately known as tapir dan by some for his theory that book of mormon horses could instead be deer or tapirs presented his reflections on that letter to a ces director. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. The book of mormon s most spectacular recorded event was a postresurrection appearance of jesus christ himself among the nephite people 3 nephi 11. Ten prophets in the book of mormon, as robertss own notebook records, encountered the living god in vision. The book of mormon gives very specific details about its characters culture, religion, politics, flora and fauna, etc. If it is true, then joseph smith is true and so is mormonism. The crowning event in the book of mormon is the ministry of jesus christ among the nephite people. Adam and eve and their posterity through noah lived in missouri andor near abouts in america.
He talks about lds apologetics how lds members defend the book of abraham. Meantime, the church history dept is fully publishing the joseph smith papers, and the lds church itself now has a bunch of very forthright gospel. Apologetics gathers together fifteen essays on the role of apologetics in mormonism, each of which can be loosely sorted according to whether its author promotes or critiques the apologetic project. The 10 most important things you can say to a mormon by ron rhodes.
The state of mormon apologetics general discussions. Mormonism, also known as the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, claims to be the restoration of the true gospel and a revelation of the true god. The ark took noah and his family to the old world at the time of the flood. Bad book of mormon apologetics lds church is true blog. The book of mormons most spectacular recorded event was a postresurrection appearance of jesus christ himself among the nephite people 3 nephi 11. Find out about its teachings of men becoming gods, temples, the book of mormon, and joseph smith who claimed to have seen god the father. Lds, mormon, exmormon, latterday saints, apologetics, truth, bible, joseph smith, mormonism. Nibleys method was essentially a comparative approach, ransacking ancient literature far and wide for parallels to the.