Discrepancies in the book of mormon

It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was published 6 years later in 1829. Many people believe the mormon church is simply a denomination or group within christianity. The book of mormon critical text project the book of mormon. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from. The egyptian language was a very corrupt language from idol. An anachronism is when an authors writing contains something from a future time period which couldnt realistically be in the time period theyve written it into. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible. Interestingly, oliver cowdery, scribe, and later witness of the book of mormon, lived in poultney for 22 years until 1825. The book of mormon contradicts itself and the bible. Cowderys stepmother and three of his sisters were members of ethan smiths congregation. God is a spirit is said in some places where god has a body is said in others. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The book of mormon is historically inaccurate and disagrees with archaeology. Jun 10, 2009 the book of mormon contains passages taken from the kjv, down to the italicized words that were added by the translators for clarity.

The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. However, the word coins was only added to the chapter heading of alma 11 much later, and the text of the book of mormon. A comparison of biblical and book of mormon isaiah texts by h. Lds teach that everyone preexisted we all exist eternally. In the mormon book doctrine and covenants, a collection of gods socalled revelations to joseph smith, god the father has a body of flesh.

Apr 26, 2011 why so many discrepancies between the book of mormon and the bible. There are many serious objections to the claim of joseph smith and the lds church that the book of mormon is divinely inspired latterday. The second statement of joseph smith which sheds some light on the importance of this type of work is also found in history of the church. When mormon missionaries properly called latter day saints or simply lds come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the book of mormon and tell you about its author, joseph smith. These include endowments, celestial marriage, and specific tithing.

There are also contradictions within the book of mormon itself. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct. Clearly, the smithsonian is no longer willing to claim discrepancies exist between the book of mormon and the current state of american archaeology though this is in all likelihood a product of controversyavoidance rather than john l. The book of mormon uses the term chariot many times and in many different time periods which shows that the bom peoples used the concept of the wheel. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. Finally, whereas the book of mormon has people wearing the name christian in about 73 b. Professor threatened for exposing contradictions in the book of. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates.

Professor royal skousen has spent more than twenty five years meticulously researching the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon, revealing discrepancies and making a case for the type of translation the book of mormon is. Deceptively discredits the vast libraries of study on book of mormon theology by lds professionals. Harris promised to guard the pages and show them only to certain family members, but. The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. At first, smith taught the extreme unity between the father and the son so that the father was the son and the son was the father. Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. Ces letter mismatches verses here is how the sermon on the mount compares between the kjv bible and book of mormon. Barney, the joseph smith translation and ancient texts of the bible, dialogue. An anachronism is when an authors writing contains something from a future time period which couldnt realistically be in the time period theyve written it. Feb 10, 2010 thus, within the book of mormon, there are passages that appear to contradict other passages but really it is all a matter of understanding with a spiritual perspective. Lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad.

Below are just some of the contradictions weve found between the bible and the book of mormon. Book of mormon the book of mormon is filled with many contradictions. The spiritual text that forms the basis of mormonism, in the last edition edited by its founder, joseph smith, jr. Latterday saint scripturesupposed contradictions fairmormon. Lost manuscript of the book of mormon in june 1828, joseph smith reluctantly allowed his scribe martin harris to borrow 116 pages of the original book of mormon manuscript. However, a close look at its key book, the book of mormon, reveals many concerning contradictions between its teachings and the bible. The mormon story is that the nephite military commander and prophet moroni buried a history of his people, written on gold plates, in the hill cumorah in ad 421. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. Man is not permitted to add to or diminish ought from the word of god. Thus, taken as a whole, there are no substantive contradictions or discrepancies. Taming bible discrepancies christian research institute. On the contrary, not only is the belief that god is a spirit affirmed at alma 31.

Kneel for communion 1 the manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of christ unto the church and they administered it according to the commandments of christ wherefore we know that the manner. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the holy. Thus, it is not the major discrepancies and inconstancies that plague the history and origin of the book of mormon, nor is it the insurmountable problems with the book of mormon internally and externally, but it is the god that the mormons embrace that condemns them. God dwells in the heart is mentioned where god does not dwell in the heart is said in other places. Thus, within the book of mormon, there are passages that appear to contradict other passages but really it is all a matter of understanding with a spiritual perspective. Smith, they will say, translated the book of mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in new york in the early 1800s. The disagreement between the book of mormon and what scripture reveals concerning the lost tribes is another illustration of discrepancies between mormon teaching and the bible. Not only is the book of mormon superfluous, it stands condemned as another gospel galatians 1. If his joseph smiths claims and declarations were built upon fraud and deceit, there would appear many errors and contradictions, which would be easy to detect. Sperry, literary problems in the book of mormon involving 1 corinthians 12, and other new testament books, journal of book of mormon studies 41 1995.

Online access to the book of mormon critical text project by royal skousen. What are the inconsistencies in the book of mormon. Why so many discrepancies between the book of mormon and the bible. The book of mormon includes mistranslated biblical passages that were later changed in joseph smiths translation of the bible. Only scrupulous attention to the earliest written manuscripts of the book of mormon can uncover such discrepancies. One of the biggest inconsistencies is that not even jesus and god in the book of mormon know theyre supposed to be two totally separate and distinct. For example, horses, cattle, sheep, and swine werent roaming between 2500 bc and 400 ad, as claimed. Joseph smith had different purposes in mind when bringing forth the book of mormon and the joseph smith translation. Why are there discrepancies between translations in. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Contradictions between the bible and book of mormon life. These should have already been given to the lord as tithing. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of.

Instead of pointing away conspiracy, as do the alleged discrepancies of the bible. Critics claim that book of mormon references to nephite coins is an anachronism, as coins were not used either in ancient america or israel during lehis day. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. The book of mormon critical text project the book of. The first concern to consider is its declaration that the book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. But to achieve exaltation or godhood it is available only to mormons who obey the teachings specific to the book of mormon.

The book of mormons testimony concerning christ disagrees with the bible. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Discrepancy in time between zedekiah and jesus birth, 1 nephi 1. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from godif false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deeplaid impositions ever palmed upon the world.

Church members believe that the book of mormon is more correct than the bible because the bible was the result of a multiplegeneration translation process and the book of mormon was not. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts. The only other logical answer for the discrepancies which are found therein is that it the book of mormon is of a human origin, not a divine one. Twelve beliefs the mormon church might not want you to know about. Oct 05, 2012 joseph smith translated the book of mormon from gold plates. Can you list all the discrepancies between the bible and the. Twelve beliefs the mormon church might not want you to. Contradictions in the book, of mormon truth magazine. The book of mormon claims that a group of people called the jaredites moved to america from the middle east about the time of the tower of babel. Joseph smith translated the book of mormon from gold plates. Contrary to the bible, the book of mormon claims that one son of king zedekiah escaped destruction and came to the americas. We also believe the book of mormon to be the word of god.

Joseph smith had different purposes in mind when bringing forth the book of mormon. Although most of these discrepancies stem from inadvertent errors in copying and typesetting the text, the yale edition contains about 600 corrections that have never appeared in any standard edition of the book of mormon, and about 250 of them affect the texts meaning. 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. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way. Here we find reflected the popular trinity doctrine of the churches of christendom, which churches joseph smith considered to be wrong.

If we compare the historical, prophetical, and doctrinal parts of the book of mormon with the great truths of science and nature, we find no contradictionsno absurditiesnothing unreasonable. Lehi and his party obviously had knowledge of the wheel. Paul did not write this epistle for another 600 years after nephis death. They also ignore the fact that both the book of mormon and jst bible claim that jesus gave the sermon on the mount only to close disciples rather than the general public, a stunning parallel between the book of mormon and jst bible that we do not see in the ordinary bible. Scourge had been used before in the book of mormon nine times up to mosiahand even though that was translated afterwards, it lends that the book of lehi might have contained it, so it might have just been assumed that was the word.

The book of mormon is one of the most influential, as well as controversial, religious documents in american history, and is regarded as sacred scripture by followers around the world, including members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, the fourthlargest. The bible, the book of mormon, and continuing revelation duration. As you can easily see, the book of mormon states that jesus was born in jerusalem while the. The most apparent contradiction in the book is listed as follows. Book of mormon textual discrepancy between the book. In the 1st edition of the book of mormon, 2 nephi 11. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The book of mormon claims that jesuss atonement provided for the immortality for all people. Contradictions in lds scriptures pdf version click here one god. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,9 changes made in the book of mormon from the time it was first published in 1830. As stated on page 441 speculation about book of mormon geography moronis america in an effort to explain the discrepancy between the enumerated small population and the large population implied by having wars and building a temple, proponents of a. At first, smith taught the extreme unity between the father and the son so that the.

Apologetics press the bible versus the book of mormon. Cbs, book of mormon llc, the harry fox agency, warner chappell. The book of mormon is supposed to be the account of the nephite leader who was called mormon as he wrote concerning their culture, civilization, and appearance of jesus to the americas. The book of mormon vs the bible christian research institute.

A stray drop of ink and a quirk of nineteenthcentury penmanship make the difference between retain that wrong and repair that wrong. Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church, said. The book of mormon claims that the nephites were keeping the law of moses. Gives more focus to a phony frame that attacks the mormon church.

As has been welldocumented elsewhere, there are serious discrepancies between the record of history in the americas and the claims of the book of mormon. Three simple ways to show contradictions in the mormon belief of. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion. Jun 14, 2006 list all the discrepancies between the bible and the book of mormon. Did the book of mormon witnesses contradict their testimony. Mormon leaders insist that there are no contradictions in mormonism. Does the book of mormon contradict joseph smiths translation.

Josephs plagiarism in book of mormon and other revelations. These book of mormon verses should match the inspired jst version instead of the incorrect kjv version that joseph later fixed. Apr 15, 2020 we do compare the book of mormon and the bible. Top discrepancies between the holy book of mormon and the mormon church. Professor royal skousen has spent more than twenty five years meticulously researching the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon, revealing discrepancies and making a case for the type of translation the book.

The lds make specific claims that can be factchecked against reality. I also like how nephi felt it necessary to define messiah for his people. Runnels sent a letter to church leaders asking for their official answers to questions raised by the discrepancies between the book. The e book of mormon misses that by potential of countless thousand miles and almost one hundred years in having believers in christ noted as christians in seventy 3 b. A fundamental principle of truth is that it does not contradict itself. The book of mormons witness of jesus christ disagrees with the biblical witness of christ. Why are there discrepancies between translations in the book of mormon, king james bible and the joseph smith translation of the bible. However, the nephites broke the law of moses by using the first of the flocks for burnt offerings. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The claims made by the book of mormon mention specific tools, technologies, crops, and animals that simply didnt exist in those regions at the times stated.