Posted by T_Laurich #121
My mother was the head of the childrens ward, my father was the cub scout leader and in charge of the young men. I went to every activity under the book.
Sounds like you came from a nice family. The Mormon church is a family, it is like the family of God. All churches are like a family, I'm not sure why that is a problem. Is it harder to pull away from a family than an organization? Is that the problem?
I did watch the video, and from just a wanna-be scholar of the BOM, I would tell the Living Hope Ministries that there search for truth was short and one sided, which means they did not tell the whole truth. The only people interviewed were people that shared their view. Even the so-called LDS scholars are nothing more than anti-Mormon advocates. Google their names and find out about them. Murphy and Wilson are classic shut-your-eyes-and-mouth-to-any-positive-evidence-about-the-BOM type of guys, and give you only the side of the picture that will fill their agenda, and with mockery and haughtiness and a smuggish attitude, they completely ignore updated scholarship that lends light to positive BOM evidence.
If you left the church because of this real bad video of the BOM, you must not have had a very strong testimony in the LDS church to start with, regardless of your good background. I'm sorry that you haven't read anything on the internet that is positive and gives interesting evidence of things in Mesoamerica that exonerates Joseph Smith. He did translate some very interesting pieces of information that critics have laughed at since 1830 when it was published. Many of those laughable items have been found archaeologically and have proven to be the truth. There are others that still have not been found yet. The fact is, only about 5-8% of all the Mayan and Olmec ruins have been excavated. Give it a few more years, and the last few items will be found and proved.
Let me give you a couple of items that critics in 1830-today laughed and still laugh at Joseph for, that has proven to be true:
1) The BOM says that the Jaredites (Olmec) and Lehi's family (Nephites) came to the Americas by ship. This was shear nonsense in 1830. It was shear unadulterated nonsense up to about 10 years ago. Everybody in the sciences knew that man came to the Americas over the Bering Straight when it iced up eons ago. Nobody in their right mind, especially a 22 year old snot-nosed kid from the backwoods of New York would ever think or write anything to the contrary. They would be drumed out of their scientific position in a split second and left for dead on the side of the road. That's just what happened to Joseph Smith, he was laughed to scorn for making up this ship adventure from the other side of the world. How stupid could he be, and he wrote it so everyone could laught louder. Then about 10 years ago, when archaeologists and other scientists had discovered so much evidence to the contrary that they no longer could hold the line, the news broke that North and South America was partially populated by people from the other side of the world that came in ships. The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City has a beautiful tapestry that depicts the first people to populate Mexico (the Olmec peoples) coming out of a ship that came on shore around Veracruz Mexico.
2) Joseph Smith said he found the gold plates in a stone box. What, gold plates, stone box? In 1830 this was monstrously funny. Why would anyone write on metal plates? We have never seen plates of metal, surely this is funny stuff, and that stone box, have you ever seen a stone (ha ha) box? Today, however, stone boxes are found all over Mesoamerica and metal plates of all metals, even gold are being found all over the world and Mesoamerica, unknown in 1830.
Interesting things are read in the BOM, but I would not bet against it. It proves itself, little by little every year. I suspect the reason it has to be this way is that we must have faith and prove our faith, and see our faith grow as more and more ridiculous things that Joseph Smith said come true.
Here's the BOM challenge: If the BOM is true, as Joseph says it is, then we gain a strong second witness (the Bible being the first) that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior of the world and died for us on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
That he was resurrected and stands by the Father in the heavens and now we can look forward to the resurrection also and life everlasting with him.
Secondly, that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of Jesus Christ and was called to restore the Church of Jesus Christ in our Day.
Thirdly, there has been a never-ending line of prophets since 1820 and a never-ending quorum of 12 apostles since 1835. The apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ being the Chief Cornerstone makes up the foundations of the Mormon church.
This is the foundation of the church specified by the Bible in Ephesians 2:20. It now exists again today. Jesus giving information once again to his prophet and the apostles directing the ministry among men again. That is why the Mormon church is the fastest growing world-wide church today.
So the BOM is extremely important to the world, especially the Muslim world. They don't trust the Bible as they should, but here is another companion volume that also testifies in the same way that Jesus is the real Son of God and not just a good man or prophet of God. This volume of scripture comes from 7,000 miles away from Jerusalem, with the same message.
It is interesting to watch a Muslim when I put the Bible in my right hand and the BOM in my left and declare that these 2 people who did not know each other and were separated by 7,000 miles, came up with the same exact message about the Lord Jesus Christ. They both testify that they saw him and know he is real. The Muslims don't know quite how to react. It is almost a frightening moment to them, that something just put a chink in their Muslim armor.
So read and pray and be amazed, the BOM is not going away, and it will just get more and more valuable to the world as the days pass.
