Basic Tenets of Belief:
- Trinitarian belief in God – God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
- Men will be punished for their own sins, not for Adam’s transgression.
- Through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
- First principles and ordinances of the Gospel
- Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
- Repentance
- Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins
- Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost
- A man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
- Belief in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
- Belief in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
- Belief that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon is also believed to be the word of God.
- Belief in all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and belief that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
- Belief in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the Earth; and that the Earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
- Claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
- Belief in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
- Belief in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. Follow the admonition of Paul—believe all things, hope all things, have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, they seek after these things.
From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia ( I have taken from Wikipedia, and modified for ease of reading for purposes of this blog. I have removed the foot notes, but you can find them all here: Book of Mormon)
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. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written
by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.
According to Smith's account and the
book's narrative, the Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise
unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian" engraved on golden plates. Smith said that the last prophet
to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni,
buried it in a hill in present-day New York, then returned to earth in 1827 as an angel, revealing the location of the book to
Smith, and instructing him to translate it into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days. Critics state
that it was fabricated by Smith, drawing on material and ideas from modern
works rather than translating an ancient record.
The Book of Mormon has a number of original
and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve, the nature of the Atonement, eschatology, redemption from physical and
spiritual death, and the organization of the latter-day
church. The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus
Christian the Americas shortly after his resurrection.
The Book of Mormon is the earliest of
the unique writings of the Latter Day Saint movement, the denominations of which typically regard the text
primarily as scripture, and secondarily as a historical record of God's
dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. The Book of Mormon is divided into
smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in
most versions, divided into chapters and verses. It is written in English very
similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible, and has since been fully
or partially translated into 108 languages.
A page from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, covering 1 Nephi 4:38- 5:14
Origin
According to Joseph Smith, when he was
seventeen years of age an angel of God named Moroni appeared to him and said that a collection of ancient
writings, engraved on golden plates by ancient prophets, was buried in a nearby hill in present-day Wayne County, New
York. The writings were said to describe a people whom God had led
from Jerusalem to the Western hemisphere 600 years before Jesus’ birth.
According to the narrative, Moroni was the last prophet among these people and
had buried the record, which God had promised to bring forth in the latter
days. Smith stated this vision occurred on the evening of September 21, 1823;
and that on the following day, via divine guidance he located the burial
location of the plates on this hill (called "Cumorah" by the angel);
was instructed by Moroni to meet him at the same hill on September 22 of the
following year to receive further instructions; and that in four years from
this date the time would arrive for "bringing them forth", i.e.,
translating them. Smith's description of these events recounts that he was
allowed to take the plates on September 22, 1827, exactly four years from that
date, and was directed to translate them into English.
Accounts of the way in which Smith
dictated the Book of Mormon vary. Smith himself implied that he read the plates
directly using spectacles prepared for the purpose of translating. Other accounts variously state that he
used one or more seer stones placed in a top hat.
Both the special spectacles and the seer stone were at
times referred to as the "Urim and
Thummim".
During the translating process itself, Smith sometimes
divided himself from his scribe with a blanket between them. Additionally, the plates were not
always present during the translating process, and when present, they were
always covered up.
Smith's first published description of
the plates said the plates "had the appearance of gold". They were
described by Martin Harris,
one of Smith's early scribes, as "fastened together in the shape of a book
by wires." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates
"reformed Egyptian". A portion of the text on the plates was
also "sealed" according to
his account, so its content was not included in the Book of Mormon.
In addition to Smith's account
regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they personally saw the golden
plates and, in some cases, handled them. Their written testimonies are known as
the Testimony of Three Witnesses and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses. These statements are published as part
of the introductory pages to the Book of Mormon.
Smith enlisted the help of his
neighbor, Martin Harris (one of the Three Witnesses), who later
mortgaged his farm to underwrite the printing of the Book of Mormon, as a
scribe during his initial work on the text. In 1828, Harris, prompted by his
wife, Lucy, repeatedly requested
that Smith lend him the current pages that had been translated. Smith
reluctantly acceded to Harris's requests. Lucy Harris is thought to have stolen
the first 116 pages.
After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate,
and that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith
repented. Smith later stated that God allowed him to resume translation,
but directed that he begin translating another part of the plates. In 1829,
with the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, work on
the Book of Mormon recommenced, and was completed in a short period (April–June
1829).
Smith said that he then returned the plates to Moroni
upon the publication of the book. The Book of Mormon went on sale at the
bookstore of E. B. Grandin in Palmyra, New York on March 26, 1830. Today the building in which the Book of
Mormon was first published and sold is known as the Book of
Mormon Historic Publication Site.
Critics of the Book of Mormon state
that it was fabricated by Smith and that he drew material and ideas
from various modern works rather than translating an ancient record. Works that
have been suggested as sources include the King James Bible, The Wonders of
Nature, View of the Hebrews, and an unpublished manuscript written bySolomon Spalding.
For certain adherents of the Latter Day
Saint movement, unresolved issues of the book's historical
authenticity and the lack of conclusive archaeological evidence have led them to adopt a
compromise position that the Book of Mormon may be the creation of Smith, but
that it was nevertheless created through divine inspiration. The
position of most members of the Latter Day Saint movement and the official
position of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is that the book is an
actual and accurate historical record.
Title
Smith stated that the title page, and
presumably the actual title of the 1830 edition, came from the translation of
"the very last leaf" of the golden plates, and was written by the
prophet–historian Moroni. The title page states that the purpose
of the Book of Mormon is "to [show] unto the remnant of the house of
Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers;...and also to
the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal
God, manifesting himself unto all nations."
Account
The book of Mormon is an account of the events during Mormon's
life. Mormon is said to have received the charge of taking care of the records
that had been hidden, once he was old enough. The book includes an account of
the wars, Mormon's leading of portions of the Nephite army, and his retrieving
and caring for the records. Mormon is eventually killed after having handed
down the records to his son Moroni.
According to the text, Moroni then made
an abridgment (called the Book of Ether) of a record from a previous
people called the Jaredites. The account describes a group of
families led from the Tower of Babel to the Americas, headed by a man named Jared and his brother. The Jaredite civilization is presented as existing
on the American continent beginning about 2500 BC, —long
before Lehi's family arrived in 600 BC—and as being much larger and more
developed. The dating in the text is only an approximation.
The Book of Moroni then details the final destruction of
the Nephites and the idolatrous state of the remaining society. It mentions a few spiritual insights
and some important doctrinal teachings, then closes with Moroni's testimony and an invitation to pray to God for a confirmation of the
truthfulness of the account.
Doctrinal and philosophical teachings
The Book of Mormon contains doctrinal
and philosophical teachings on a wide range of topics, from basic themes of Christianity and Judaism
to political
and ideological teachings. Jesus is mentioned every 1.7 verses and is referred
to by one hundred different names.
Jesus
Stated on the title page, the Book of
Mormon's central purpose is for the "convincing of the Jew and Gentile
that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all
nations."
The book describes Jesus, prior to his
birth, as a spirit "without flesh and blood", although with a spirit
"body" that looked similar to how Jesus would appear during his
physical life.
Jesus is described as "the Father and the Son". He is said to be:
"God himself [who] shall come down
among the children of men, and shall redeem his people...[b]eing the Father and
the Son — the Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the
Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son — and they are one
God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth."
Teachings about political theology
The book delves into political theology within a Christian or Jewish context.
Among these themes are American
exceptionalism. According to the book, the Americas are portrayed as
a "land of promise", the world's most exceptional land of the time. The book states that any
righteous society possessing the land would be protected, whereas if they
became wicked they would be destroyed and replaced with a more righteous
civilization.
On the issue of war and violence, the
book teaches that war is justified for people to "defend themselves
against their enemies". However they were never to "give an
offense," or to "raise their sword ... except it were to preserve
their lives."
The book points out monarchy as an
ideal form of government, but only when the monarch is righteous.
The book supports notions of economic
justice, achieved through voluntary donation of "substance, every man
according to that which he had, to the poor." In one case, all the citizens held
their property in common.
Historical
authenticity
The archaeological, historical and
scientific communities are generally skeptical about the claims of the Book of
Mormon. Critics of such tend to focus on four main areas:
·
The lack of correlation between locations described in
the Book of Mormon and American archaeological sites.
·
References to animals, plants, metals and technologies in
the Book of Mormon that archaeological or scientific studies have found no
evidence of in post-Pleistocene, pre-Columbian America, frequently referred to as anachronisms. Items typically listed include cattle, horses,
asses, oxen,
sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheat, steel,
brass, chains, iron, scimitars, and chariots.
·
The lack of linguistic connection between any Native
American languages and Near Eastern languages.
Most adherents of the Latter Day Saint
movement consider the Book of Mormon to generally be a historically accurate
account. Within the Latter Day Saint movement
there are several apologetic groups that seek to reconcile the
discrepancies in diverse ways. Among these apologetic groups, much work has
been published by Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS), and Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR), attempting to defend the Book
of Mormon as a literal history, countering arguments critical of its historical
authenticity, or reconciling historical and scientific evidence with the text.
One of the more common recent arguments is the limited geography
model, which conjectures that the people of the Book of Mormon
covered only a limited geographical region in either Mesoamerica, South America, or the Great Lakes area. The LDS Church continues to declare
that science can support the Book of Mormon.
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