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Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/The Foundation for LDS Scholarship
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Response to "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship"
About this work
The Foundation for LDS Scholarship is an online scholarship application site whose purpose is "Promoting critical thinking and scholarly discussion of LDS topics." The site offers $500 scholarships to students who plan to attend "major Utah colleges and universities." In order to apply for a scholarship, applicants must select two of the four writing prompts offered and submit a one to three page essay responding to each of the selected prompts. Each of the writing prompts are worded in such a way as to presume the falsity of Latter-day Saint teachings and beliefs. The four prompts (as of August 2017) are the following:
- Writing Prompt #1: Is the lack of archaeological evidence supporting the claims of the Book of Mormon an issue about which Mormons should be concerned?
- Writing Prompt #2: Should Mormons be alarmed about the fact that Joseph Smith's translation of the hieroglyphics shown in the Book of Abraham differs completely from the translation made by Egyptian scholars? And should they be concerned by the evidence that Abraham couldn't possibly have written them "in his own hand" as claimed in the Pearl of Great Price?
- Writing Prompt #3: If LDS teachings run counter to what a church member's conscience tells them is right, what is the best course of action for that church member to take?
- Writing Prompt #4: Is the warm feeling that a person might get in their heart when they test Moroni's promise a sufficient basis for believing the claims of the LDS church? Is the fact that Mormons are wonderful people a sufficient reason for ignoring the evidence that the LDS church isn't what it says it is? Do Mormons who doubt Joseph Smith's claims need to give up their intellectual integrity if they choose to remain members of the church?
The site's authors, who remain anonymous, reveal their attitude on the "About Us" page:
If it's true that some members are dependent on the Church to give their lives meaning then that's a deplorable condition which is Church's fault, not something for which the Church deserves credit. Those people need to stand up, look around, and see that life is full of meaning and purpose that has no connection whatsoever to the Church. People are far better off when they take responsibility for themselves to find purpose and meaning to life, rather than turning over control of their lives to someone else.
The web site (as of 28 August 2017) contains numerous typographical errors, heavily utilizes links to anti-Mormon websites such as MormonThink, IRR and cesletter.com (with a few token links to pro-LDS sites), and displays a very superficial knowledge of the topics that it addresses. The site has the general appearance and tone of something that was concocted by the inhabitants of a popular online ex-Mormon forum.
The following links respond to individual claims contained in the following document:
- "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship" (ldsscholarship.org) (Accessed August 2017)
Response to claims made by "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship"
Jump to Subtopic:
- Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 1"
- Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 2"
- Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 3"
- Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 4"
Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 1"
Summary: The authors of the website ask the following question:
Writing Prompt 1: Is the lack of archaeological evidence supporting the claims of the Book of Mormon an issue about which Mormons should be concerned?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Response to claim: "When archaeologists visit locations described by scriptures such as the Bible, Quran, Torah, Bhagavad Gita and others, they find evidence verifying that the historical claims of those texts are true"
- Response to claim: "Archaeologists who have searched throughout North, Central, and South America do not find evidence supporting the historical claims of the Book of Mormon"
- Response to claim: "when scientists analyze the DNA of native Americans and study their languages, they do not see the patterns that would be expected if those people's ancestors came from the Middle East"
- Response to claim: "LDS leaders have made bold statements about the Book of Mormon being 'the most correct of any book on Earth'"
Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 2"
Summary: The authors of the website ask the following question:
Writing Prompt 2: Should Mormons be alarmed about the fact that Joseph Smith's translation of the hieroglyphics shown in the Book of Abraham differs completely from the translation made by Egyptian scholars? And should they be concerned by the evidence that Abraham couldn't possibly have written them "in his own hand" as claimed in the Pearl of Great Price?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Response to claim: "Images of the original papyri from which the book was translated are even shown in the Pearl of Great Price alongside Joseph Smith’s translation of the symbols in those images"
- Response to claim: "When these scholars translate the hieroglyphics shown in the pages of the Pearl of Great Price what they get is totally different from the translations made by Joseph Smith"
- Response to claim: "Joseph Smith's claim that the papyrus from which he translated the book was written by Abraham's own hand"
Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 3"
Summary: The authors of the website ask the following question:
Writing Prompt 3: If LDS teachings run counter to what a church member's conscience tells them is right, what is the best course of action for that church member to take?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Response to claim: "According to Mormon doctrine, women will spend eternity on the side lines serving their priesthood-holding husband and raising his spiritual children"
- Response to claim: "the LDS church refused for almost two hundred years to release any information about Joseph Smith's multiple wives"
- Response to claim: " the church even excommunicated members who talked openly about his wives, church leaders recently acknowledged that the claims for which they excommunicated people were actually true"
- Response to claim: "Black people were prohibited from receiving the priesthood until 1978 and the reason given was that they had not been "valiant" during their pre-mortal lives"
Response to claims made in "The Foundation for LDS Scholarship: Writing Prompt 4"
Summary: The authors of the website ask the following question:
Writing Prompt 4: Is the warm feeling that a person might get in their heart when they test Moroni's promise a sufficient basis for believing the claims of the LDS church? Is the fact that Mormons are wonderful people a sufficient reason for ignoring the evidence that the LDS church isn't what it says it is? Do Mormons who doubt Joseph Smith's claims need to give up their intellectual integrity if they choose to remain members of the church?
Jump to Subtopic:
- Response to claim: "Some Mormons say that their testimony is based on the warm feeling they get in their hearts when they test Moroni's promise"
- Response to claim: "members of other churches also report getting the very same warm feeling in their hearts when they pray to their Gods asking if their churches are true"
Notes