I'll go first...
Posted on 11/08/2007 5:23:05 PM PST by Colofornian
The LDS Church has changed a single word in its introduction to the Book of Mormon, a change observers say has serious implications for commonly held LDS beliefs about the ancestry of American Indians.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe founder Joseph Smith unearthed a set of gold plates from a hill in upperstate New York in 1827 and translated the ancient text into English. The account, known as The Book of Mormon, tells the story of two Israelite civilizations living in the New World. One derived from a single family who fled from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and eventually splintered into two groups, known as the Nephites and Lamanites.
The book's current introduction, added by the late LDS apostle, Bruce R. McConkie in 1981, includes this statement: "After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians."
The new version, seen first in Doubleday's revised edition, reads, "After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians."
LDS leaders instructed Doubleday to make the change, said senior editor Andrew Corbin, so it "would be in accordance with future editions the church is printing."
The change "takes into account details of Book of Mormon demography which are not known," LDS spokesman Mark Tuttle said Wednesday.
It also steps into the middle of a raging debate about the book's historical claims.
Many Mormons, including several church presidents, have taught that the Americas were largely inhabited by Book of Mormon peoples. In 1971, Church President Spencer W. Kimball said that Lehi, the family patriarch, was "the ancestor of all of the Indian and Mestizo tribes in North and South and Central America and in the islands of the sea."
After testing the DNA of more than 12,000 Indians, though, most researchers have concluded that the continent's early inhabitants came from Asia across the Bering Strait.
With this change, the LDS Church is "conceding that mainstream scientific theories about the colonization of the Americas have significant elements of truth in them," said Simon Southerton, a former Mormon and author of Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church.
"DNA has revealed very clearly how closely related American Indians are to their Siberian ancestors, " Southerton said in an e-mail from his home in Canberra, Australia. "The Lamanites are invisible, not principal ancestors."
LDS scholars, however, dispute the notion that DNA evidence eliminates the possibility of Lamanites. They call it "oversimplification" of the research.
On the church's official Web site, lds.org, it says, "Nothing in the Book of Mormon precludes migration into the Americas by peoples of Asiatic origin. The scientific issues relating to DNA, however, are numerous and complex."
Mormon researcher John M. Butler and DNA expert further argues that "careful examination and demographic analysis of the Book of Mormon record in terms of population growth and the number of people described implies that other groups were likely present in the promised land when Lehi's family arrived, and these groups may have genetically mixed with the Nephites, Lamanites, and other groups. Events related in the Book of Mormon likely took place in a limited region, leaving plenty of room for other Native American peoples to have existed."
In recent years, many LDS scholars have come to share Butler's belief in what is known as the "limited geography" theory. By this view, the Nephites and Lamanites restricted their activities to portions of Central America, which would explain their absence from the general American Indian genetics.
Kevin Barney, a Mormon lawyer and independent researcher in Chicago, welcomes the introduction's word change.
"I have always felt free to disavow the language of the [Book of Mormon's] introduction, footnotes and dictionary, which are not part of the canonical scripture," said Barney, on the board of FAIR, a Mormon apologist group. "These things can change as the scholarship progresses and our understanding enlarges. This suggests to me that someone on the church's scripture committee is paying attention to the discussion."
What’s YOUR problem? I have never found you willing to argue the issue, merely willing to smear the Prophet Joseph Smith. Think about it, if all you can do is smear a dead man, you can’t argue very much.
Elsie, you are very frustrating. If you really want to argue doctrine instead of calling names and other immature actions, let’s do it. I fear nothing you have to say. Feel free to cite any little old verse your heart or preacher desires and we can fight a scripture war if you wish, although at this moment I now claim the right to cite LDS Standard works at any time and for any reason.
There will be no more warnings.
Guys, I think we have to do the group hug thing...
Last time I checked we thankfully were living in 2007 and not under the taxing authority of 0003.
Giving to the Lord might be looked on by some as a tax. How sad. I think you are mistaking the early apostles for communists. They tried to have all things in common too, but when it's of man and not of God, then it is and will always be a fraud of the real intent of God. Please don't confuse the socialist intent of Hillary with the spiritual intent of Peter.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1923110/posts?page=208#208
That is abundance. But it's not the reason we should do it. That reason by it'self is a selfish one. We should do it because He asks us. If the Lord also promises to save us at his coming for said obedience and faith, fine by me. It’s in the Lord’s hands.
Kudos to you though, sounds like you are doing some good things!
Nice try at revising your own scripture. It clearly states that those who don’t pay their full 10% are damned and will burn like stubble. It’s hard to get any clearer than that (whether you think you are blessed or not).
Like two-billion dollar malls?
This is another exxample of things that those who hate the church just can't understand. The Church owns many businesses. And they are run independently of the Church, they may have boards accountibe for their actions to the Church, but no commingling of funds. I work for a LDS owned company. My salary, benefits, bonuses, etc. are based on the business I work in, and are in no way connected to tithing funds. The malls of downtown SLC, properties owned by the Church are being rebuilt. The economy of SLC has gone downhill in a major way, and it effects those coming to temple square and sournding church properties. It's a good thing, a very good thing IMO. IF they let the run down decrepit buildings remain, no doubt you would accuse the Church of not looking after the city, not taking care of their own properties, laziness, etc. But that's just a guess...
23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.Mal. 4: 1
24 For after today cometh the burning—this is speaking after the manner of the Lord—for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon.
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.Tithing is a promise not to be burned, but not paying is not a promise to be burned. for that you also have to look at the proud, and wickedly factors, the assumption is that if 6you are paying your tithes righteously, you are neither proud nor wicked. argue that all you want, but don't say that we say all non tithe payers will be burned at his coming for that is not what we are saying or you could not argue with us about it, for we would be saying it, Whew
What the heck is that “6” doing in there, oh well,
6 = “”
Quick, we need another group hug....
I'm pretty sure the RM warned about the personal attacks, but since this is old, and I'm playing catch up, I won't hold it against you. It's pretty common wording though from you, please refrain.
Now, on to the subject... Of course Ananias and Sapphira lied! That is obvious. So did Peter about the Christ. God didn't kill him though, did he? He was made the head of His church. In fact, he revealed to Peter that he would kill Sapphira. It's much more than a lie, it's a breaking of covenants.
But, you do make an excelled point as to the necessity of works. Ananias and Sapphira were believing Christians, and yet God held them accountable for their actions. Thanks for pointing that out.
The "all things in common" was practiced by the saints, and all that believed practiced together. I believe that Christ himself set the example here in Matthew:
Matthew 19:21
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
The LDS believe that not only did the early Jerusalem Christians have all things in common, but so did the Nephites, after Christ's appearance to them in the new world. We also believe the residents of the City of Enoch also had all things in common. The early LDS church also tried it, and in some aspects, it was successful, but it ultimately failed due to the pride, which we all have. In a perfect world, as I suspect will happen during the millennial reign of Christ, we will love each other more than ourselves, and practice "all things in common" once again.
Cheers.
“I’m playing catch up, I won’t hold it against you. It’s pretty common wording though from you, please refrain.” And since you are a protected species at FR, I will not even try to answer further.
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