Smith once called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion smith, 1902, 4. How to answer jehovahs witnesses and mormons frank chacon, jim burnham on. Donate to fairmormon register for the fairmormon conference, august 57. What the bible says about the baptist church what the bible says about the catholic church what the bible says about the church of christ what the bible says about the lutheran church what the bible says about the mormon church. Persuasive themes in historical apologetics august 8, 2019 fairness for all but a growing unfairness for many august 8, 2019. Apr 10, 2020 once again, the book of mormon fails the test of truth. One of the most frequent requests we receive at apologetics press comes from pulpit preachers, youth ministers, and others who are searching for brief, pungent, tothepoint articles dealing with various aspects of christian apologetics and christian evidences that would be appropriate for reprinting in publications like church bulletins, youth magazines, etc. An overview of mormon apologetics and neo apologetics mormon stories october 12, 2017 apologetics, church history, joseph smith 32 comments. A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing.
But i guess that is sort of what selfidentified mormon apologists do. Worshiping the earth march 31, 2020 doctor advises threatening suicide to get transgender treatment for kids march 4, 2020. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. When bad publicity about him was printed, he destroyed the printing press, was arrested, and later was murdered in his jail by an angry mob in 1844. This volume in the perspectives on mormon theology series is an exploration of mormon apologeticsor the defense of faith. Consider, for example, fourth generation mormon grant palmers 2002 book titled an insiders view of mormon origins. The author of the book of mormon obviously had before him a copy of the king james bible, and simply copied many sections directly from it though it is claimed that the book of mormon was actually written from 600 to 421 b. Apologetic and critical assumptions about book of mormon historicity.
What the bible says about the mormon church apologeticspress. Since its very beginning, various latterday saints have sought to utilize evidence and reason to actively promote or defend beliefs and claims within the mormon tradition. 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. In the past, these research articles have been available only by purchasing them through our annual catalog. Presses outside of utah started to publish more books in mormon studies. It is said to contain the fullness of the everlasting gospel. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. As such, the book of mormon is one of a relatively few number of books in the world that are considered holy scripture. Observe the conversation between ammon and king lamoni. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of honest mormons have discovered that this claim simply is not true. Apologetics, published by greg kofford books, comes into play. Born into mormonism, converted to evangelical christianity and now have freed myself from the trappings of reli guy e. The word apologist is often seen by members who are just learning about the issues found on mormonthink.
Additionally, the book of mormon is in opposition to current mormon theology. 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. James walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of mormon. This article is the first installment in a twopart critique of the book of mormon. 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. While their position within mormon studies is debated, mormon apologetics. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient.
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. Apologetics press is a site that focuses on christian apologetics. This volume in the perspectives on mormon theology series is an exploration of mormon apologetics or the defense of faith. I suspect the reason the book of mormon has this view of faith and knowledge is. The quran, the book of mormon, the hindu vedas, the buddhist. The resulting volume reads unevenly, as many anthologies dobut here, that patchiness is amplified by the. Apologetics press is a nonprofit, taxexempt organization dedicated to the defense of new testament christianity. In an official publication of the lds latterday saints, 31 conditions are identified as necessary in order to produce an inspired book.
In a mormon world that made more sense, lds living would publish the worthy commentary at the link, it would be widely shared, and fairmormon, bom central and mormon interpreter would publicly embrace the challenge to move toward a new apologetic praxis. Can a person simply pick whatever church he or she enjoys the most. Jan 05, 2017 james walker, witnessing to mormons with the book of mormon defend apologetics conference 2017 january 5, 2017. Sep 17, 2017 this is where the new volume perspectives on mormon theology. It lacks the marks of inspiration that characterize the bible. 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.
Jul 06, 2017 mormon apologetics reached new levels of sophistication as believers trained in fields such as neareastern languages and culture, history, and philosophy began to utilize their knowledge and. 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. Apologetics press is a nonprofit, taxexempt organization dedicated to the defense of new. These insertions were perpetuated by the author of the book of mormon in 3 nephi. 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. Apologetics press the book of mormon and the ancient evidence. Apologetics press can the book of mormon pass the test. The very first line in the introduction to the mormons revered text states. Apologetics book of mormon doubt faith crisis lds mormon mormon apologetics mormon matters neoapologetics 804805. Apologetics press the bible versus the book of mormon. In addition to our two monthly journals, books, tracts, article reprints, video tapes, audio tapes, and other items, apologetics press also has produced a number of research articles by different authors on a variety of topics.
Interesting quotes from joseph smith, the founder of mormonism. It will not be touted in mainstream media nor in institutions who are controlled. What are the key differences between mormonism and christianity. 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 gospel. Youll find reasoning from the scriptures with the mormons a valuable guide to responding to mormons with confidence.
If it is true, then joseph smith is true and so is mormonism. The sites editors compile topics related to christianity, throw out the ones that dont agree with them, and makes the ones that do look trustworthy. It suggests starting with a preset conclusion in mind around which one bends facts and evidence to conform to the said conclusion. Tracing ancient threads in the book of moses, september 1819. The book of mormon fails every attempt to evaluate it objectively. Apologetics press article book of mormon notes how deep. Serious study of the book of mormon by latterday saints is flourishing today as never. Nibleys method was essentially a comparative approach, ransacking ancient literature far and wide for parallels to the. It is certainly not the intention, either of apologetics press or the. Apologetics press article, book of mormon, contradictions between the bible and the book of mormon, critique of the bible versus the book of mormon by er, darkness at the crucifixion of jesus, evidence that the book of mormon is fiction, grego, my critique of the bible versus the book of mormon. These plates were supposedly written 1,400 years ago and detailed the history of the jewish nephites from 600 b.
Good and bad apologetics by common consent, a mormon blog. Mormon studies is the interdisciplinary academic study of the beliefs, practices, history and. Similar to the insecure person who hangs around the rich and famous for the sole reason of establishing himself, the book of mormon has attempted to make a. The book of mormon mistakenly has jesus including peters appended comments as if they were part of moses words in deuteronomy.
The great majority of books which disprove mormonism lds use arguments. As for the difference between good and bad apologetics, i see the term apologetics in and of itself of having a negative connotation. Along with the apologetics press web site, i frequently recommend the apologetics information on. Obviously, the mormons have attempted to give credence to their scripture by comparing it to the bible. Apologetics press seems to be written from a fundamentalist point of view, as they hold that there are no biblical contradictions. Despite the teaching of proxy baptism in doctrine and covenants, the book of mormon forcefully teaches that the eternal destiny of those who reject the truth while in the body is. In addition, the very content of the book of mormon makes it impossible to accept it as divine revelation. But this is only half of the problem on this point. In apologetics, christianity, cult ministry, joseph smith, lds church, mormonism, podcast, the book of mormon by sdapologetics april 18, 2016 part 2 of a 3 part podcast on mormonism with another member of the sd apologetics group, austin brummer. The bible and the book of mormon cannot both contain the fullness of the everlasting gospel as mormons claim, for they are contradictory. The churchs official website also links to various apologetic individuals and groups. There are a number of words and phrases in the book of mormon that are anachronistictheir.
Any religion centered on a scriptural foundation stands or falls on the accuracy of its sacred text. Fairmormon faithful answers to criticisms of the lds church. 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. The four million members of the church of jesus christ of latter daysaints mormons claim that it is. He claimed three years later an angel, named moroni, paid him a. Similar to the insecure person who hangs around the rich and famous for the sole reason of establishing himself, the book of mormon has attempted to make a name for itself by cozying up to the bible. 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.
Mormon scholars are divided on whether or not apologetics should be considered part of mormon studies. Use the worlds largest database of faithful answers to critical. 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. What the bible says about the mormon church by dave miller ph.
These, and other such questions, often weigh on the minds of sincere religious people. The book of mormon claims to be a translation of ancient writing on gold plates. An immediate response from many of them is that it is a word with negative connotationsthat people are apologizing for the church. The book of mormon was first published in 1830 and considered to be another testament of jesus christ. 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. Fairmormon provides faithful answers to criticisms of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Lds apologetics and the battle for mormon history christian. The book of mormon actually contradicts later mormon revelation, in that it affirmed in 1830 the biblical doctrine of the oneness of god in three persons, i. Even the book of mormon s subtitle another testament of jesus christemp. 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. Smiths divinely ordained duty was to restore the one true church. Press, knopf, and the university of oklahoma press published books on. Having armed ourselves with a measure of information concerning apologetics, we must kindly engage unbelievers and nonchristians in discussions.
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