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Book of Mormon
FairMormon Answers Wiki Table of Contents
Jump to Subtopic:
- Book of Mormon basics
- Translation of the Book of Mormon
- The relationship between Joseph Smith's seer stone and the Urim and Thummim
- Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
- Publication of the Book of Mormon
- Secular authorship theories for the Book of Mormon
- B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon plagiarism accusations
- Language used in the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon textual changes
- Completeness of the Book of Mormon
- Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
- Anthropology and the Book of Mormon
- Anachronisms claimed to exist in the Book of Mormon
- Doctrinal issues related to the Book of Mormon
- Nephi's killing of Laban in the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon Geography
- Historicity of the Book of Mormon
- Lamanites in the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
- Truthfulness of the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon basics
Summary: What is the Book of Mormon? This article orients new readers to the nature and content of this volume of scripture.Jump to Subtopic:
Translation of the Book of Mormon
Summary: What do we know about the method used to translate the Book of Mormon? Were the plates sometimes not in the room while Joseph was translating them? It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."Jump to Subtopic:
- Book of Mormon Translation method
- Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon translation was performed by the "gift and power of God"
- The lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript
- The Anthon transcript
- Eyewitness descriptions of the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated
- The weight of the Book of Mormon "gold plates"
- Book of Mormon translation timeframe
- Modification of the italicized text in Book of Mormon Biblical passages
- Artistic depictions of the Book of Mormon translation
- Location of the plates during translation
- Relationship of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible to the Book of Mormon
The relationship between Joseph Smith's seer stone and the Urim and Thummim
Summary: Joseph Smith used the Nephite Interpreters as well as his own seer stone (both of which were later referred to as "Urim and Thummim") to translate the Book of Mormon.Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Smith's use of seer stones as a youth
- The "Urim and Thummim" used by Joseph Smith to translate the "gold plates"
- Joseph Smith used the same "rock in hat" seer stone for translating that he used for "money digging"
- Statements regarding instruments used by Joseph Smith to translate or receive revelation
Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
Summary: The world was not left with Joseph Smith's testimony alone. The Book of Mormon provided multiple official and unofficial witnesses who corroborated aspects of Joseph's account. Critics have long tried to dismiss or destroy the witnesses' witness. This page links to subpages which discuss various attacks in detail.Jump to Subtopic:
- Reliability of the Book of Mormon witnesses
- Skepticism of the Book of Mormon witnesses
- The literal nature of the experiences of the Book of Mormon witnesses
- Did a Book of Mormon witnesses say that they only saw and handled the plates covered by a cloth or "tow frock"?
- None of the Book of Mormon witnesses ever recanted their testimony
- Did the Three and Eight Witnesses to the Book of Mormon place their signatures on their testimonies?
- Witnesses reaffirmed published statements in the Book of Mormon
- Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"
- Oliver Cowdery joined the Methodists after leaving the Church
- David Whitmer said that God told him to "leave the Latter Day Saints"
- Martin Harris and his search for truth
- Martin Harris' "Eye of Faith" and "Spiritual Eye" statements
- Eyewitness descriptions of the gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated
- Book of Mormon Translation method
- The Eight Witnesses and their experience viewing the "gold" plates
- Other Book of Mormon witnesses
- Comparison of the Strangite witnesses to the Book of Mormon witnesses
- Book of Mormon witnesses: Statements
- The Book of Mormon witnesses knew they would be ridiculed and not believed
- Witnesses persisted even in the face of persecution or death
Publication of the Book of Mormon
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- Book of Mormon authorship
- The attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright in Canada
- The printing of the Book of Mormon
Authorship theories for the Book of Mormon
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- An overview of secular authorship theories for the Book of Mormon
- The Spalding Theory of Book of Mormon authorship
- The View of the Hebrews theory of Book of Mormon authorship
- Theories that the Book of Mormon essentially "wrote itself" with no help from Joseph Smith
- Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory related to the story of Moroni's visit
- Critical theories that Sidney Rigdon was a Book of Mormon author or co-conspirator
- Book of Mormon authorship
B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon
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Book of Mormon plagiarism accusations
Summary: Joseph Smith is often accused of creating the Book of Mormon by plagiarizing various contemporary sources such as the Spalding Manuscript or Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews.Jump to Subtopic:
- The Spalding Theory of Book of Mormon authorship
- The View of the Hebrews theory of Book of Mormon authorship
- The Book of Mormon and the Apocrypha
- The Book of Mormon contains passages from the King James Bible
- 19th century influences alleged to have been a factor in the production of the Book of Mormon
- Did Joseph Smith obtain the names Cumorah and Moroni from a map of the Comoros Islands?
- The Book of Mormon and place names from the area around Joseph Smith's home
- Was the Book of Mormon influenced by the language and themes of "The Late War" by Gilbert Hunt?
Language used in the Book of Mormon
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Book of Mormon textual changes
Summary: The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the Book of Mormon text. The majority of these are typographical. Few of the changes are significant. We examine the more noteworthy changes.Jump to Subtopic:
- Reasons for textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published
- "God" changed to "Son of God" in the Book of Mormon
- "White and delightsome" changed to "pure and delightsome"
- "Benjamin" was changed to "Mosiah" in later editions of the Book of Mormon
- Words missing in Alma 32:30
Completeness of the Book of Mormon
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- Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct of any book"
- The Book of Mormon contains the "fulness of the gospel"
- Book of Mormon statements about the practice of polygamy
Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Summary: It is a common claim by critics that there is "absolutely no archaeological evidence" to support the Book of Mormon. When they say "directly" support, they typically mean that they are looking for a direct corroboration, such as the presence of the name "Nephi" or "Zarahemla" in association with ancient American archaeological data. There is plenty of supporting evidence that anthropologically ties the Book of Mormon to ancient America.Jump to Subtopic:
- Biblical archaeology compared to the Book of Mormon
- Archaeology and the Hill Cumorah
- Thomas Stuart Ferguson and "Mormon archaeology"
- Smithsonian statement about the Book of Mormon
- Interpretations of Izapa Stella 5 as a possible representation of Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life
Anthropology and the Book of Mormon
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Anachronisms claimed to exist in the Book of Mormon
Summary: "Anachronism" = out of time; something which is not in its proper historical context. It is claimed that a number of items or concepts in the Book of Mormon are not consistent with what is known about ancient American geography, history, or anthropology. These "errors" used as evidence that the Book of Mormon is a 19th century work rather than an ancient record.Jump to Subtopic:
- What is an "anachronism" and how does it relate to the Book of Mormon?
- Animals or possible animal products referred to in the Book of Mormon
- Alleged biblical anachronisms in the Book of Mormon
- Climate in the Book of Mormon
- Cultural issues in the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon Geography
- Items described in the Book of Mormon
- Language questions related to the Book of Mormon
- Freemasonry and the Book of Mormon
- Materials described in the Book of Mormon
- Plants or fibers in the Book of Mormon
- Population and demographics in the Book of Mormon
- Scientific questions related to the Book of Mormon
- Book of Mormon textual issues
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon
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- Plain and Precious Book of Mormon Doctrines
- The "great and abominable church" referred to in the Book of Mormon
- The Book of Mormon and the nature of God
- The Book of Mormon and priesthood authority
- Book of Mormon temples in New World
Nephi's killing of Laban in the Book of Mormon
Summary: How can Latter-day Saints point to Nephi's killing of Laban as an example of a positive example of a Book of Mormon character? Wasn't this cold-blooded murder? And doesn't this passage then justify the killing of "the wicked" by anyone who feels that God has told them to do so?Jump to Subtopic:
- Ethical considerations related to Nephi's killing of Laban
- Since Nephi beheaded Laban, wouldn't there be a large amount of blood afterward?
Book of Mormon Geography
Summary: The geographical setting of the Book of Mormon has been the subject of serious study and casual speculation since before the book was first published. The Church has been neutral when it comes to issues relating to Book of Mormon geography, as is FairMormon. The articles linked below will describe the various theories and examine the strengths and weaknesses of each.Jump to Subtopic:
- Book of Mormon Old World Geography
- Book of Mormon geography in the New World
- Statements made by Church leaders on the subject of Book of Mormon geography
- Book of Mormon geography models
- Criticisms related to Book of Mormon geography
Historicity of the Book of Mormon
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- Evidence of the historicity of the Book of Mormon
- Matching geographical locations in the Old World with locations described in the Book of Mormon
- The "Valley of Lemuel" in the Book of Mormon
- The Frankincense Trail and the Book of Mormon
- The place "Shazer" in the Book of Mormon
- The name NHM and the "place called Nahom" in the Book of Mormon
- The place called "Bountiful" in the Book of Mormon
- Warfare in the Book of Mormon
- Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon
- Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon
Lamanites in the Book of Mormon
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- Identity of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon
- Are all Native Americans descendants of Lehi?
- Relationship of the Maya and the Olmec to the Lamanites and the Jaredites
- Statements by Church leaders related to the identity of the Lamanites
- Polynesians as descendants of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon
- Statements from Church leaders about Polynesian origins/identity
- The Lamanite curse
The Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
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- Responding to critical claims regarding the Book of Mormon and DNA evidence
- Geographical issues related to DNA and the Book of Mormon
- Identifying ancient DNA related to Book of Mormon people