The Book of Mormon couldn't have been written without the help of God.

Reasons to agree: +3

1. It is hard to produce a totally unique, consistent story with solid spiritual beliefs that inspire people.
2. The Book of Mormon is very helpful to millions of people.
3. The Book of Mormon is relevant today. -1
4. 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.

Reasons to agree: -2

1. Most of the relevant parts in the BOM are copied from the Bible
2. Most of the war stories in the BOM have very limited application to modern-day life.

Score:

# of reasons to agree: +4

# of reasons to agree with reasons to agree: -1

Total: 3

Reasons to disagree: -2

1. Smith had lots of help on the BOM. First from his wife. Then Oliver Cowdry 
2. The BOM is not a totally unique story +13
1. Reasons to agree: +1
1. There are many similarities between the BOM and View of the Hebrews by Ethan Smith: +13
1. Reasons to agree: +12


1. both have extensive quotations from the prophecies of Isaiah in the Old Testament; 


2. Both have the Israelite origin of the American Indian; 


3. Both have the future gathering of Israel and restoration of the Ten Lost Tribes; 


4. Both have the peopling of the New World from the Old via a long journey northward, which encountered "seas" of "many waters;" 


5. Both have a religious motive for the migration; 


6. Both have the division of the migrants into civilized and uncivilized groups with long wars between them and the eventual 


7. Both have destruction of the civilized by the uncivilized; 


8. Both have the assumption that all native peoples were descended from Israelites and their languages from Hebrew; 


9. Both have the burial of a "lost book" with "yellow leaves;" 


10. Both have the description of extensive military fortifications with military observatories or "watch towers" overlooking them; 


11. Both have a change from monarchy to republican forms of government, and 


12. Both have the preaching of the gospel in ancient America.




2. Website that agree: +1




1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Book_of_Mormon

Score:

# of reasons to disagree: +2
# 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.

• The LDS church lies about Joseph Smith