The Book of Mormon is a record of God's dealings with the people who lived in the ancient Americas. Prophets of the Lord engraved the original records on gold plates. On September 22, 1827, an angel named Moroni—the last Book of Mormon prophet—delivered these records to the Prophet Joseph Smith. By the gift and power of God, the Prophet Joseph translated the record into English.
Taken from http://www.lds.org
...the mormons continue to believe that god will still reveal his truths and that revelation is not closed...thus to joseph smith revelations were given...the present day lds church upholds the status of joseph smith as a true prophet...as with all religion ( including the foilies of science, etc. ) there are infusions of human understanding in interpreting the true law....from time to time, later scholars and teachers are able ( from the distance of both time and study ) to discern where human discernment has
mis-interpreted something...this does not make the original prophet or the basic revelation unworthy...it makes it a continuing work..as we, as humans are a continuing work...it is a better life..that of the mormon way..than most...( i am not mormon )...so those of you who laugh...go laugh..laugh..it is your loss not to see the beauty in the amish, the mennonites, the mormon, the orthodox jew, the pacific muslim, the charitable catholic ( it was the catholic sisters who helped the cholera victions of new york city in the outbreaks of the 1830's and 1840's ..at the risk of death when other denomiations would not help )., etc...so, if you wish to know something of the mormons look at their own website...
Originally posted by DoctorScribblesWhy don't you ask Joseph Smith? I hear he wrote it. Oh, yea, I forgot, he's dead. Nevermind!!
What exactly is the Book of Mormon? Did Jesus write it? Is it a Gospel, like the Book of Matthew? Is it more or less fantastical than The Lord of the Rings?
Edit: How about asking Romney, you know the presidential candidate? I hear he's a Mormon.
Originally posted by DoctorScribblesThe Book of Mormon was an unpublished romantic fanatsy written by a retired pastor (if memory serves), one Sterling Spaulding. His idea was to embellish history using fictional devices, part of which included an explanation for the perplexing mounds found in the landscape of the northern states of America. He thought it would be intriguing to consider what became of the lost tribes of Israel and, one thing led to another, he wound up with an epic-like convoluted mass of conjecture.
What exactly is the Book of Mormon? Did Jesus write it? Is it a Gospel, like the Book of Matthew? Is it more or less fantastical than The Lord of the Rings?
The manuscript sat for several years in a publishing house where one Joseph Smith was employed as a janitor. You are free to connect the remaining dots...
...you state that you are relying on best memory at the time of the post...that is fair...but in the 1820-1830's what could have been known about the mounds in illinois and ohio ( only really deciherable as stylized
monuments from the air )...and since joseph smith was a farm boy of 14
in upstate new york ( very rural farm area ) it is unlikely that he was a janitor...also i looked in wikipedia and used google ( spelling sterling spaulding and sterling spalding ) and there were no entries...if you can recall a little more i would be interested in following up on this but i cannot
undermine a widely held and productive religion based on vaguely recalled hearsay...or shall we shrug off the bhudda as a fat guy with too much time on his hands, abraham, the father of three world religions as a wine drinking polygamist with an ego to match the size of a camel ?...
Originally posted by whodeyWell, he's dead, but he had lots of witnesses who are all listed in the book, so it must be true. Curiously, they are all called Smith.
Why don't you ask Joseph Smith? I hear he wrote it. Oh, yea, I forgot, he's dead. Nevermind!!
My father got the book with some difficulties - apparently they aren't allowed to sell it to unbelievers (so you have to believe first, then you are allowed to find out what you believe in). I didn't read much in it, but I remember there was a story in which they used a compass before it was invented. With God, anything is possible.
..you can find the book of mormon at any used book store...the present view of the nephites, jaredite tribes in the americas is that they landed in what modern people call nicaruagua-guatemala region, circa 600 b.c., after
sailing west over the atlantic ( of course )...modern dna search for semitic bloodlines in the present meso-american populations have found some dna but one cannot tell if that is from jewish sailors and migrants since the 16th
century or before...2500 years of birthing would make it very difficult to find semitic traces in what started as a population of 20 or so to what has been over time cycled millions..
Originally posted by reinfeldTry Solomon Spaulding.
...you state that you are relying on best memory at the time of the post...that is fair...but in the 1820-1830's what could have been known about the mounds in illinois and ohio ( only really deciherable as stylized
monuments from the air )...and since joseph smith was a farm boy of 14
in upstate new york ( very rural farm area ) it is unlikely that he wa ...[text shortened]... ree world religions as a wine drinking polygamist with an ego to match the size of a camel ?...
but i cannot undermine a widely held and productive religion based on vaguely recalled hearsay...
The contributions from people associated with the Mormon religion are staggering, both on a national and world scale. Their place in history is assured, and rightly so.
However, that wasn't the issue in question. When you research the above name, you'll find all manner of debate as to his significance. The Mormons will tell you the matter is solved, despite the contemporary claims of people in close relation to the man. Even to this day, the matter is debated by two divergent groups: those with a vested interest in the falsity of the claim and those outside of Mormonism without any vested interest, one way or another.
And, by the way, Abraham was all that you described. Nothing to hide, there.
Originally posted by NordlysYou can buy the Bible in any bookstore in Pennsylvania free of sales tax.
My father got the book with some difficulties - apparently they aren't allowed to sell it to unbelievers (so you have to believe first, then you are allowed to find out what you believe in). I didn't read much in it, but I remember there was a story in which they used a compass before it was invented. With God, anything is possible.
But, if you want to buy the Book of Mormon or the Koran, you have to pay sales tax.
You can get a Book of Mormon free by calling a toll-free number...any one can get one.
Originally posted by DoctorScribblesi worked with a guy in the 80s who wanted to convert me to LDS and it went something like this: Joe Smith asked God which, of all the denominations out there, was the correct one. The angel Moroni then appeared to Smith and showed him these golden tablets, the Book of Mormon. He and a relative set about transcribing/translaying them. Sadly, Moroni did not leave the tablets for the Smithsonian to inspect.
What exactly is the Book of Mormon? Did Jesus write it? Is it a Gospel, like the Book of Matthew? Is it more or less fantastical than The Lord of the Rings?
Originally posted by reinfeldacross dimension is cool with me--I just think it would have been in Smith's best interest to show those tablets to a FEW other people, at least. seems mighty convenient that they were "reburied"
..the tablets were reburied at hill cumorah as directed...history reports that
the inventor of the sewing machine, elias howe, had a dream and on waking from the dream he sat down and drew out the device...knowledge across
dimension is well known to history...
...they were shown to about 10 men...at about 3 to 4 at a time, for a period of several weeks and the "translation" was done with a person writing down what joseph smith interpreted...some of the interpreting was done ( it is said ) with joseph smith putting his head down into his upturned hat and "seeing" the words to be translated ( the number of words in the book of mormon in english greatly exceed what could have been on the plates so the book of mormon is not a literal translation of the plates per se but rather the plates are a vehicle to entertain a more complete understanding thru insight is what i would fathom was the method )...affidavits to exist of those who saw the plates...they of course could not read the odd markings...a study of the language form has been done on the book ( at brigham young, a private lds university ) and the academic community is of the opinion that it took about 14 authors to write the book of mormon so joeph smith was interpreting 14 such writers..).