Reasons to agree: +3
- It is hard to produce a totally unique, consistent story with solid spiritual beliefs that inspire people.
- The Book of Mormon is very helpful to millions of people.
- The Book of Mormon is relevant today. -1
- The fact that there are many similarities between modern gangs and the Gadianton Robbers contributes to the belief that the Book of Mormon is relevant today.
- Most of the relevant parts in the BOM are copied from the Bible
- Most of the war stories in the BOM have very limited application to modern-day life.
# of reasons to agree: +4
# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: -1
Total: 3
- Smith had lots of help on the BOM. First from his wife. Then Oliver Cowdry
- The BOM is not a totally unique story +13
- Reasons to agree: +1
- There are many similarities between the BOM and View of the Hebrews by Ethan Smith: +13
- Reasons to agree: +12
- both have extensive quotations from the prophecies of Isaiah in the Old Testament;
- Both have the Israelite origin of the American Indian;
- Both have the future gathering of Israel and restoration of the Ten Lost Tribes;
- Both have the peopling of the New World from the Old via a long journey northward, which encountered "seas" of "many waters;"
- Both have a religious motive for the migration;
- Both have the division of the migrants into civilized and uncivilized groups with long wars between them and the eventual
- Both have destruction of the civilized by the uncivilized;
- Both have the assumption that all native peoples were descended from Israelites and their languages from Hebrew;
- Both have the burial of a "lost book" with "yellow leaves;"
- Both have the description of extensive military fortifications with military observatories or "watch towers" overlooking them;
- Both have a change from monarchy to republican forms of government, and
- Both have the preaching of the gospel in ancient America.
- Website that agree: +1
# of reasons to disagree: +2
# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 1 + 12 + 1 = 14
Total: 16
# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: 1 + 12 + 1 = 14
Total: 16
Total Idea Score: 2 - 16 = -14
Anachronisms:
- DNA analysis proves that Native Americans are not descendants of Israel, like the Book of Mormon and LDS Prophets have taught. +7
- The Book of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies for which there is no evidence in pre-Columbian history. +7
- God wouldn’t have changed native American DNA as a way to test our faith with designed implausibility. +5
Value of Concepts in the Book:
- There are lots of good concepts in the Book of Mormon. +3
- There are lots of bad concepts in the Book of Mormon. +3
- The Book of Mormon is racist. +0
- There are fewer deep life improving concepts in the book of Mormon, and more damaging concepts, than the average book of similar length. +3
Origins
- Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon from ancient scriptures with assistance from God. +15
- There are a lot of good explanations for how the book of Mormon was written that don’t involve God. +15
- There are too many historical problems with the book of Mormon to say that it is true or inspired. +12
- The Book of Mormon borrows too much from the Bible. +6
- Joseph Smith did not translate the Book of Mormon from ancient scriptures with assistance from God.
Testimony
- There are a lot of good explanations for how the book of Mormon was written that don’t involve God. +15
- There are so many problems with the Book of Mormon that you should doubt spiritual feeling you think you have when reading it.
