Because Mormons hype the Book of Mormon and its alleged power I would guess to the average non-Mormon they’re under the impression that it offers some kind of amazingly potent and life-changing transcendent experience if you will just pick it up and read its amazing, astounding transformative words. To Experience the Book of Mormon directly for yourself without outside Mormon influence or pressure. Pretty sure that’s in Mosiah somewhere.— Steven Jackson (@ We can To discover first hand how much of the Book of Mormon has been plagiarized from the Bible. >>17162161 Grew up mormon. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Since this isn’t an attack on them or their religion, it also builds trusting relationships with Mormons. The Book of Mormon makes a clear distinction between men and angels. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason…, The Mormon Bible is rather stupid and tiresome to read, but there is nothing vicious in its teachings. This post begins with a couple dubious conclusions, that 1. the chiasmus in the BoM are statistically demonstrable, and 2. that it is evidence for antiquity. The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Some LDS members have balked at the musical’s depiction of their faith, pointing out the church’s humanitarian efforts and accomplishments. In fact, over the course of the year, we all had stories about how the fact that we were in this group and committed to reading the Book of Mormon from cover-to-cover had given us an added level of credibility in the eyes of our Mormon friends and family. The Book of Mormon is currently projected to reopen on 12 July 2021.For more information, read here. So given all that, I can think of no better way to process and respond to this most hyped of all Latter Day Saint scripture – and the book that has always represented Joseph Smith’s prophetic credential than to read it for yourself. As it’s done in the past, the Mormon church appears to have sponsored an advertisement in the musical’s program aimed at reminding theater-goers about the actual Book of Mormon. His teachings are the central reason for this sacred Book. The candid, blunt, even brutal discussion of the narrative of the Book of Mormon in the TOYBOM group was (and is) in a word, hilarious. No, and’s. In my study I found over 87 references to women. And as such, Christ was neither created nor procreated. I appreciated the insert of some modern culture references like Jeopardy at [3:23]. The Book of Mormon answers this question in Alma 12:21-27 by teaching us that “ if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable”. Indeed, in its role of restoring plain and precious biblical truths that had been lost, while adding scores of new truths about Jesus Christ and preparing the way for the complete restoration of his gospel and the triumphant day of his millennial return, the Book of Mormon may be considered the most remarkable and important religious text ever given to the world” (Christ and the New Covenant [1997], 9–10). The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. 8. As the show’s synopsis details: “Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected.”. That is, you’re speaking out of ignorance. So in the end I couldn’t agree more with Mormon Apostle, soon to be LdS Church President, Ezra Taft Benson when he said: “We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. It’s a pretty simple answer. After all, ripping something out of context and then contorting it into something completely else isn’t unknown or unheard of in this world, is it? Summary and conclusion: I saved the best reason for last in that list on purpose: Gaining Street Cred with Mormons is by far the most important reason why an outsider to Mormonism – any outsider to Mormonism – should read the Book of Mormon. No, it’s not logical. Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Pretty much everything you expect to see in a religious text. 4). I'm a lifelong Mormon, straight, male, and not a feminist. Here’s how the Bonneville Communications website described HeartSell back in 2015 before it got exposed and they went underground with it: The now-defunct Bonneville Communications webpage that contained the above verbiage. The Tony Award-winning musical opened on Tuesday at Salt Lake City’s George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Theater ― in the heart of the country’s largest Mormon population. Need I say more about this? Pretty sure that’s in Mosiah somewhere.” He’s right, the Book of Mormon says when you are down 13 with 18 mins left in the game you go for 1 instead of 2. Christians very rightly get upset with Atheists who criticize the Bible but who have never actually read it – if it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander. Most of those references were to groups of women, like wives, daughters, children meaning that there are hundred and hundreds of women mentioned within in the pages of the Book of Mormon! Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. To discover things that can be used in debate settings. Mesoamerica, Heartland, Baja, Hemispherical, Costa Rica, and even Malaysia have been suggested as models for Book of Mormon geography. The Book of Mormon states that man was created by the power of God’s word not procreated by spirit parents. Our unique strength is the ability to touch the hearts and minds of our audiences, evoking first feeling, then thought and, finally, action. (Jerry Benson, “The Mormon Testimony: ‘I Testify to You…’“ (caps in original)). The Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus is Eternal God. All we need to do is read it and declare it! “We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true. (“AFFECTING CHANGE BY REACHING THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF OUR AUDIENCES”, Bonneville International website, 2016-02-19). If you don’t have one before you start reading it, you will by the time you’re done. We made it easy for you to exercise your right to vote! If false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deep-laid impositions ever planned upon the world, calculated to deceive and ruin millions who will sinc… The Book of Mormon states that God is a Spirit. Candidly, even most True Believing Mormons don’t get past 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon (for reasons that we often discuss in the group but I’ll spare you here). It looks like this channel Living Scriptures plans to have content for this special year of the D&C (Doctrine & Covenants). This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 4. And trust me, if you do, you will learn a lot and have a lot of fun getting through what is surely one of the worse pieces of English literature ever published. You are beginning to receive YOUR OWN TESTIMONY of the truthfulness of this message.” (Page A-3, No. This is the #1 reason group to read the Book of Mormon cover-to-cover. This summer's been extra busy but I had a little time on my hands over the weekend. It’s actually pretty interesting at times and hilarious at other times. Why ©2021 Verizon Media. Reading this incredibly dull and boring work of badly written 19th Century religious fiction without the burden of Mormon emotional grooming and manipulation will immunize you against these tactics. See also “Ensign”, November 1984, p.8), Indeed, all you have to do is read it to know that, “these things are not true.” (Mormon 10:4), The landing page for “The One Year BOM: Non-Mormons Reading Through the Book of Mormon in a Year” (aka “TOYBOM”) Facebook group. Steinberg, who spent part of his youth in an Orthodox Jewish seminary, does not appear to I'm not sure what just happened here. The Book of Mormon states that God created via nothing but His word – that is. Experiencing this dreadfully boring, ridiculously absurd book requires a good sense of humor. Tap here to turn on desktop notifications to get the news sent straight to you. NO LESS THAN 84 DIFFERENT TIMES in the series of missionary lessons given to “Mr. Left: the title page of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, via the Joseph Smith Papers Project. So how do you close this one? If you haven’t read it, in Mormon eyes, you simply don’t have Street Cred. Screenshot of a poll posted in a Mormon Debate group on Facebook on January 6th, 2020. 4). 5. and Mrs. Brown, what you are FEELING right now is the Spirit of the Lord testifying to you that we are teaching you the truth. The book was written by many On the second point, most people who haven’t actually read the Book of Mormon typically don’t understand that the Book of Mormon doesn’t teach modern Mormonism. 9. in a Year (aka ‘TOYBOM’)” and its mission and goal is to get Non-Mormons reading the Book of Mormon in a year as a group so they can openly and honestly discuss it without any Mormon interference, umbrage, or offense. For example, consider this summary header for 1 Nephi 20: “The Lord reveals His purposes to Israel—Israel has been chosen in the furnace of affliction and is to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. The goal was to quietly, objectively, civilly, and dispassionately consider the Book of Mormon devoid of any of such partisan Latter Day Saint encumbrances. A Mormon kid moves to South Park and it's up to Stan to kick his ass. If you doubt me, just pick it up and read it, it’s about as threatening as having to sit through a really, really bad religious play that was written, produced, and performed by a bunch of Junior High Sunday School students whose favorite filler line is, “it came to pass.”. The Book of Mormon is so poorly written, plodding, dull, and downright boring that its only real potency is in its ability to put the reader to sleep. The Lost Book of Mormon, is not a book I would otherwise have considered reading, as I'm not really interested in the subject, which is The Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421. Join us, click here to put in an Add Request. With 12 unique hand lettered designs of favorite Book of Mormon verses, these downloadable sheets slip perfectly into your Book of Mormon The exterior of the Kansas City Temple, as seen from a distance. The Book of Mormon repeatedly condemns the type of secret oaths and combinations that are found in the current Latter-day Saint Temple Endowment ceremony in the strongest terms. Ask God if these things are not true, Moro. Just consider these words from an official, correlated LdS Church manual in this regard: The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) stated, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was 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” (History of the Church, 4:461; Book of Mormon introduction). To gain an understanding of the Biblical doctrines that disprove both the Book of Mormon and Mormonism. The humor and camaraderie in the group was the only thing that kept many of us going in those moments (and trust me there were many of them, it was a constant topic of discussion) when it would have been a lot easier to throw in the towel and move on with our lives. Sign up for membership to become a founding member and help shape HuffPost's next chapter, Inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple. There are fascinating evidences with regard to these models, but I'd just like Just read the book and you’ll see it for yourself. The Book of Mormon discredits key points of the First Vision. 11. Pretty Study Sheets are the perfect way to enhance your scriptures and scripture study! (click to zoom). The results were both surprising and expected, but that’s all I’ll say about that for now. If you have even a basic, working knowledge of the Bible these contradictions pop out at you all the time as you’re reading the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City-based writer Nish Weiseth attended a performance of the musical Wednesday night and tweeted a photo of the good-humored ad. Jaredite Barges anyone?). Psychologists tell us that humor is a coping mechanism and suffice to say, good coping mechanisms are required to read from 1 Nephi 1:1 to Moroni 10:34 in a year. Again, doubt me? Just read the book and you earn the right. ( Log Out / Mormon Apostle Orson Pratt wrote in 1851, “The Book of Mormon claims to be a divinely inspired record. Rather, the Book of Mormon teaches 19th Century American Restorationism in a way that’s generally aligned with historic mainstream Protestant Christian orthodoxy. Stated plainly, the Mormon dogma that the Book of Mormon doesn’t contradict the Bible is ridiculous to the point of absurdity. To gain the “Street Cred” of actually having read the Book of Mormon from cover-to-cover. But when Stan and his dad meet their new Mormon neighbors, they become fascinated with how genuinely nice they are. About 588–570 B.C.”. Anyone who’s met or talked with the Missionaries or a Mormon friend in regard to the Book of Mormon will know exactly what I’m talking about here. It’s so far and wide in the Book of Mormon that without reading it, it’s impossible to understand just how much the Book of Mormon, directly and indirectly, plagiarizes from the King James Version of the Bible. No, it’s not rational, and it is fallacious but it is also an escape hatch. About a month into the first year of reading I could see a lot of value in non-Mormons reading the Book of Mormon based both on my own direct experience as well as the comments that the group was making as we went along. At Bonneville Communications, our ability to touch the hearts and minds of audiences makes us an essential resource for organizations with vital messages. And there’s nothing Mormons love more than an escape hatch, is there? Read the Book of Mormon. The show sets the missionaries up at “goofy” and “clueless,” and generally underprepared for the realities of the world. Written by the creators of the cult TV hit South Park, The Book of Mormon has been playing in the West End at the Prince of Wales Theatre since 2013. since 2013. 3. Despite all that, I instantly liked Joanna Brooks after seeing her on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart and reading the introduction to The Book of Mormon Girl Stories from an American Faith.. Book of Mormon Reading Challenge Schedule Here's a great chart that shows you how much to read each day in order to read the entire Book of Mormon starting on June 9th and finishing by August 7th. I have even had non-Mormon Evangelical Christians tell me that they would never read it out of fear of being deceived by powerful demonic forces leaping forth from its pages and latching onto their face like something from an Alien movie – yes, I’m exaggerating that for effect, but it’s not too far off! Beggars sharing the bread that they've so freely and graciously received, compiled by Fred W. Anson and “Team TOYBOM”. The Book of Mormon is not a replacement or substitute for the Holy Bible but Such as the places where the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible (as mentioned above), modern Mormonism, the Book of Mormon itself (the internal contradictions are really something to behold! For more than 30 years, our creative professionals have designed public service and direct response messages for national nonprofit organizations such as the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Boy Scouts of America, National Hospice Foundation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and The Salvation Army. Within the Book of Mormon itself evidences are provided which attest to its truthfulness. We call this uniquely powerful brand of creative “HeartSell”® – strategic emotional advertising that stimulates response.” It can be fun watching Mormons squirm as they have to give an account for their own scripture once you’re empowered like this. Trust me, this survey was a litmus test that was driven by an agenda. So this was sort of this conundrum that we like to talk about — we think what they believe is really, really ridiculous, and yet they seem like pretty happy people."