The history of Mormons, more accurately known as the Latter-day Saints, has faced numerous challenges, including controversies surrounding its founder, doctrinal inconsistencies, and attempts to present a sanitized version of its past. This pattern of historical revisionism has provided ample fuel for its critics, highlighting numerous credibility gaps and inconsistencies. Since its inception, the faith has grappled with criticism in its pursuit of relevance in religious and intellectual circles. When faced with scrutiny, followers often adopt a defensive stance, engaging in theological arguments that may come across as rigid and self-righteous, contrasting with the generally optimistic culture they embody. Additionally, the community employs social influence tactics to maintain conformity among members, promoting a sense of dependence, obedience, and loyalty to established norms, which often revolve more around lifestyle choices than strict religious orthodoxy.
It will be noted that LDS luminaries have invited an examination of their faith…
“The Book of Mormon can and should be tested. It invites criticism.”
– LDS Apologist and Historian, Hugh Nibley, 1988
Well, we have nothing to hide. Our history is an open book.
They may find what they are looking for, but the fact is
the history of the Church is clear and open
and leads to faith and strength and virtues.
– Gordon B. Hinckley, Deseret News, Dec.25, 2005
If a faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are
afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak.
– George A. Smith, Journal of Discourses, Volume 14, Pg. 216
I think a full, free talk is frequently of great use; we want nothing
secret nor underhanded, and I for one want no association with things
that cannot be talked about and will not bear investigation.
– John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, Volume 20, Pg. 264
Convince us of our errors of Doctrine, if we have any, by reason,
by logical arguments, or by the Word of God and we will ever
be grateful for the information and you will ever have the
pleasing reflections that you have been instruments
in the hands of God of redeeming your fellow beings.
– Orson Pratt, The Seer, pg. 15
On the opposite side of the coin represented by these statements, Latter-day Saints are particularly sensitive to criticism regarding the authenticity of The Book of Mormon for several reasons deeply ingrained in their religious beliefs and cultural identity.
Firstly, The Book of Mormon is considered by Latter-day Saints to be scripture on par with the Bible, believed to be a sacred and divinely inspired record of ancient American prophets. Therefore, any questioning of its authenticity can be perceived as an attack on the foundation of their faith.
Secondly, the narrative of The Book of Mormon is intricately woven into the historical and spiritual narrative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its teachings and stories are revered and form the basis of many religious practices and beliefs within the faith community. Criticism of its authenticity can thus challenge the entire religious framework upon which Latter-day Saint doctrine and identity are built.
Moreover, the founding story of The Book of Mormon’s translation by Joseph Smith is central to the origin story of the LDS Church. Any doubts about the book’s origins or the credibility of Joseph Smith as a prophet can shake the faith of believers and potentially undermine their confidence in the entire religious tradition.
Additionally, there’s often a strong emotional attachment to The Book of Mormon among Latter-day Saints, as many have grown up with its teachings and have found comfort, guidance, and spiritual enlightenment within its pages. Criticism of its authenticity can feel like a personal affront to their cherished beliefs and experiences.
Overall, the sensitivity of Latter-day Saints to criticism of The Book of Mormon’s authenticity is rooted in the book’s central role in their religious faith, cultural identity, and personal spirituality.
Wikipedia: “Criticism of the Book of Mormon.”
The origins, authenticity, and historicity of the Book of Mormon have been subject to considerable criticism from scholars and skeptics since it was first published in 1830. The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421.
Mainstream scholarship concludes the Book of Mormon is not of ancient origin. The book is considered a creation by Smith and possibly one or more others, drawing on material and ideas from the contemporary 19th-century environment rather than translating an ancient record. Many scholars point to the fact that no evidence of a reformed Egyptian language has ever been discovered. The content found within the book has also been questioned. Scholars have pointed out a number of anachronisms within the text, and general archaeological or genetic evidence has not supported the book’s statements about the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The text has also undergone many revisions with some significant changes, which critics argue have notably altered its meaning, and see as a rebuttal of its divine origins.
The Book of Mormon’s content has faced scrutiny from scholars and researchers, particularly regarding its historical accuracy and consistency with archaeological and genetic evidence. Church members are taught that the (BOM) is scripture and contains a historical record of the inhabitants of the Americas from about 2200 BC to 420 AD.
One area of contention revolves around anachronisms (covered extensively at MormonThink.com) present in the text. Anachronisms are elements within the book that appear to be out of their proper historical context. For instance, critics have pointed out references to domesticated animals like horses, cattle, and sheep, which were not believed to have existed in pre-Columbian America during the periods described in the Book of Mormon. Similarly, the presence of metalworking, advanced weaponry, and use of the wheel in ancient American civilizations described in the book are not supported by archaeological findings from that era.
Furthermore, the genetic evidence about the ancestry of indigenous peoples in the Americas contradicts certain claims made in the Book of Mormon. The text suggests that Native Americans are descendants of Israelites who migrated to the Americas thousands of years ago. However, DNA studies have shown that Native American populations have genetic markers consistent with Asian ancestry, indicating migration from Siberia across the Bering land bridge tens of thousands of years ago.
Another point of concern is the significant number of editing corrections made to the Book of Mormon since its initial publication in 1830. Over the years, approximately 4,000 changes have been made to the text, ranging from minor grammatical adjustments to more substantial alterations affecting doctrine and narrative consistency. These corrections have raised questions about the reliability and infallibility of the original translation and transcription processes.
These criticisms and discrepancies have fueled debates and discussions both within and outside the Latter-day Saint community regarding the historical accuracy and authenticity of the Book of Mormon. While believers interpret these challenges through a lens of faith and spiritual conviction, skeptics often view them as evidence against the book’s claims of ancient origins and divine inspiration.
What is The Book of Mormon?
The narrative depicted in the Book of Mormon traces the lineage of Lehi, described as a righteous figure during the time of the prophet Jeremiah, who embarked on a journey from Jerusalem to the Americas alongside his family. The Book of Mormon is structured into chapters attributed to various authors who purportedly documented the history of Lehi’s descendants. These descendants primarily consisted of two groups: the Nephites and the Lamanites, both of whom established complex civilizations and engaged in extensive conflicts with each other, often resulting in large-scale warfare.
A pivotal moment in the narrative occurs in 3rd Nephi, where Jesus is said to have appeared to the Nephites shortly after his Resurrection, delivering teachings and spreading the gospel among them.
The book concludes with the account of Moroni, the sole survivor of a final battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites in the fifth century. According to the narrative, the Lamanites eventually became the ancestors of modern Native Americans. Moroni, before his passing, is depicted as safeguarding the golden plates containing the historical records of his people, which he buried on a hillside. Subsequently, Moroni is portrayed as a celestial being who later directed Joseph Smith to the location of these plates, which were eventually discovered in upstate New York.
Despite the intriguing narrative, skepticism arises due to the absence of a consensus within the Mormon community regarding the geographical locations of the events described in the Book of Mormon. The lack of a definitive map outlining these locations adds to the uncertainties surrounding the historical authenticity of the narrative, prompting some to question its factual basis.
MormonThink – a group that presents information concerning little-known and troubling
aspects of Church history and doctrine as comprehensively as possible.
There are dozens of creators and contributors to the MormonThink website, and many of us live in Utah. All of us have been active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have held positions ranging from Gospel Doctrine teacher, YW President, Bishop, CES instructor, Stake President, YM President, Bishopric Counselor, etc. Some of us have written faith-promoting articles published in the Ensign and other Church publications. Most of us have served missions and almost all of us have been married in the temple. We’re just ordinary people with a deep interest in learning accurate Church history and doctrine.
Summary of Criticism – MormonThink.com
The Book of Mormon can best be understood when viewed as a product of 19th century religious innovation, set in the context of speculative frontier Native American lore. The book’s religious themes were the common issues being debated in Joseph Smith’s time in frontier America and the text is reflective of this burgeoning of religious ingenuity.
The Book of Mormon has no doctrinal highlights that could be considered ‘breakthroughs’ and in fact, the text is not reflective of the Modern LDS Church from a doctrinal standpoint. Rather, the text borrows heavily from the King James Bible, has many textual and thematic parallels with 19th century itinerant preaching that was rampant in Joseph Smith’s area, and burdened with pedantic writing style, polarized (one-dimensional) characters and repetitive simplistic plots and themes.
The Book’s historical claims have not withstood the rigorous scrutiny of the archaeological, biological, historical and linguistic disciplines and continued study of the history of ancient America further establishes the implausibility of the claims of the Book of Mormon. Further more, for a purportedly pre-Christian text, the book is entirely too Christian. The text repeatedly has main characters quoting New Testament passages and citing details about the story of Christ long before the time of Jesus or the writing of the New Testament with such specificity and clarity as to betray knowledge after the fact – knowledge available to Joseph Smith through the King James Bible.
The above items are just a fraction of the problems with the BOM. There are so many other things not mentioned on this site such as how You find “Aaron” and “Levi” in the Book of Ether, but the Jaredites did not speak Hebrew – their language was not “confounded” and they left the Tower speaking, presumably, “pure Adamic” around 2200 BC. But the Hebrew language did not develop until several centuries later.
The manner in which the text was dictated belies the book’s folk magic roots and cannot be considered a translated text in the conventional sense of the term. The manner by which the book came about can best be described as dictated, divined or, as some critics suggest, a product of the collaborative efforts of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon.
As with any religious text, the Book of Mormon can be accepted as the founding document of the faith(s) that espouse it, but neither its claims, nor the claims of its proponents should be taken at literal face value given the existing understanding of ancient American history. It is, at best, religious fiction and, at worst, a fraud.
Why trust us?
Bias, no matter what the topic or position, is unavoidable. So why should you trust MormonThink? Our contributors are in a unique position as people who, whether active or inactive, are fully aware that some of the history taught in the Church is radically different from the actual historical record. We value truth above all else whether or not it supports what we have always believed. We believe in complete honesty, so we do not sugar-coat facts. We think that complete transparency is best for members.
In order to make well-reasoned, informed decisions, truth-seekers should look at all sides of an issue. To that end we link to many critics and many devout websites in each section. Currently we have over 300 pro-LDS website links and book references. We are continuously updating our references as we find stronger arguments supporting each side.
Among the many subjects discussed at MormonThink.com…
Translation of the Book of Mormon
LDS critics maintain that the Church has credibility issues since they taught for 180 years that Joseph translated the BOM using the Nephite Interpreters known as the Urim and Thummim[4] buried with the gold plates in the stone box although they knew that’s not the way it happened. The Church did not transparently and consistently teach how the translation actually occurred. Critics believe members have a right to know the actual history of the Church and that the Church was not forthcoming on that history. They also believe it is important they teach the actual history to investigators before joining the Church.
Book of Mormon Problems
LDS critics maintain that the BOM is a work of fiction created in the 19th century. Critics do not accept that the BOM relates an actual history of real people who came to the Americas and were steel-smelting, chariot-driving, Christ-worshipping, temple-building people multiplying into millions, yet left absolutely no trace of their existence. No archaeological, linguistic, genetic or any other evidence of Hebrew culture in the Americas has ever been found to support the existence of such a people portrayed in the BOM.
Could Joseph Smith have written the Book of Mormon?
This page addresses some additional concerns. First, translation of the Book of Mormon did not take place in less than three months; it spanned a time period of over a year and Joseph may have been working on the text for years before the date reported as when he started. Second, the “most correct of any book on earth” has undergone more than 3,000 textual and grammatical corrections. Some of these corrections included significant changes in doctrine. Third, a large portion of the Book of Mormon simply quotes the Bible, including translation errors unique to the King James Version. Fourth, stories in the Book of Mormon directly parallel stories from Joseph’s life, such as his father’s dream of the tree of life when Joseph was five years old. Fifth, the Book of Mormon is no more complicated than other works of fiction, such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and related works. Finally, the ideas in the Book of Mormon bear strong parallels to ideas popular in New England at the time and several other books. Sixth, Joseph may have had help.
Joseph Smith’s First Vision
Was this a real, physical event? Or was this a vision in the same sense that Lehi saw a vision of the tree of life, in a dream? The first written version of the account by Joseph was not given until 12 years after it supposedly took place. When he first penned the account, Joseph only mentioned one person visiting him, which is no small detail to be mistaken about. There are now known at least nine different accounts relating the First Vision with varying degrees of changes and circumstances. If this vision was so important, why are there discrepancies?
Blacks and the Priesthood
It is a historical truth that until 1978, Latter-day Saints’ ecclesiastical policy prohibited black men from being ordained to the priesthood. In that year, a revelation received by the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball reversed this ban. Today, Church leaders rely on scriptural authority to proclaim that all humans, regardless of race or sex, are equal in the eyes of God.
Critics maintain that today’s church leaders hedge and equivocate on the issue, at times making contradictory and misleading statements that belie Church history. For example, historians have identified hundreds of blatantly racist statements made by past Church prophets and leaders, including Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Wilford Woodruff, and John Taylor. In many cases, statements were grounded in scripture. Taken together, critics maintain the historical record reveals a systematic, intentional, deeply entrenched policy of racial discrimination that was based in scripture and endorsed at the highest levels.
The Temple
Within the temple the most important and sacred LDS ordinances are performed. Regardless of a person’s righteousness, without these ordinances, they cannot attain the highest degree of God’s glory in the hereafter. It should be the goal of every member to be worthy of entry into the temple, to receive the ordinances there for themselves, and to return often to do work for the dead. Worthiness for entry includes things such as acknowledging a faith and testimony of the Godhead, the atonement, and the restoration of the gospel; acknowledging sustaining all leaders of the church; living the law of chastity; paying a full tithe; not supporting, affiliating or agreeing with groups whose teachings or practices are contrary to the church’s.
The LDS temple ceremony has many parallels to Masonic rites, and for good reason: Joseph Smith introduced the rites into the LDS temple about two months after becoming a Freemason himself, and fourteen years after his brother Hyrum and (possibly 34 years) after his father both became Freemasons. The rituals taken from Masonry cannot have come from Solomon’s time (as many Mormons believe) as Masonry did not originate until no earlier than the 1600s AD. Although claimed to be sacred and not secret, the rites within the temple have cult-like trappings (until 1990 initiates were required to make a blood-oath) and actually used the phrase “guarded by solemn covenants and obligations of secrecy” within the ceremony. Many members feel that requiring an entrance fee (in the form of tithing) to get to God’s greatest reward is not in keeping with Christ’s atoning sacrifice being a free gift to all.
The Book of Abraham
The Book of Abraham is a book of LDS scripture that Joseph Smith translated from a collection of ancient Egyptian papyri the church purchased. The book contains a narrative about some of Abraham’s life as well as visions he had concerning the pre-mortal life and the creation. The book contains three facsimiles from the original papyri and Joseph Smith’s translations of their images and characters. The Book of Abraham was canonized in 1880 and is part of the Pearl of Great Price. The papyri were believed to have been destroyed until they were rediscovered in 1966.
This 23 minute video is one of the best, most concise and neutral overviews of the Joseph Smith papyri. He gives an excellent summary of the history of the Book of Abraham, the problems and the apologetic explanations. The Joseph Smith Papyri.
LDS critics point out that, since the original Papyri have been examined by both LDS and non-LDS Egyptologists and both groups have indicated clearly that the scrolls are funerary texts that have nothing to do with Abraham or anything mentioned in the LDS scripture, the Book of Abraham cannot have been translated from the scrolls as Joseph Smith claims and is therefore a false book of scripture. Also, since the translations of the facsimiles were taken from copies of the original papyri and each contains such blatant translation errors as listing drawings of women as men and canopic jars as idols, critics reject the claim made by apologists that the Book of Abraham was translated from scrolls that were lost. Even more blatant, is that Joseph identified specific characters on the facsimiles and gave their translations that Egyptologists say are completely in error.
Moving Beyond MormonThink: An Epilogue
If you have read the information we provide on MormonThink, then you may be grappling with one of the following statements:
1. The LDS Church is still true. The issues brought up by the critics are adequately explained by the Church members, LDS apologists and the Church itself. Anything not fully answered is either not that important or I can wait until the next life to find out those answers.
2. I’m confused. I don’t really know what to believe.
3. The LDS Church is false. The evidence brought up by the critics is convincing enough to show that the LDS Church is not what it claims to be. It may have its merits, but the gospel was not restored through Joseph Smith as claimed.Regardless of where you find yourself now, in this section we provide a perspective and set of resources we hope will help you negotiate your relationship with Mormonism in a meaningful, satisfying, and personally rewarding way.