How to Book of Mormon is Not Like the Bible

Meridian Magazine ^ | Grant Hardy

[Colofornian]

Quite reasonably, the current “Introduction” to the Book of Mormon begins, “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible.”...

Yet...we are likely to point out some significant differences as well...

...The Bible is more of a library than a single book, and there are tremendous differences in genre...

At first glance, the contents of the Book of Mormon appear to be similarly diverse...On closer inspection... the Book of Mormon turns to be entirely narrative. The whole book takes the form of a story told by narrators...but we know who is responsible for every word in the Book of Mormon. It’s either Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, or Moroni (plus a few minor authors...). This means that the Book of Mormon, as a whole, is a much more integrated and deliberately constructed volume than the Bible.

...the Book of Mormon operates by very different literary principles than the Bible. Consider the characteristics of Old Testament narrators as described by Shimon Bar-Efrat, formerly of Hebrew University at Jerusalem:

“The narrator in most biblical narratives appears to be omniscient”

“Biblical narrators do not usually mention themselves”

“Biblical narrators [generally] make no reference to their activity in writing the narratives”

“The narrators do not...address their audience directly”

“Outside the books of Kings there are very few instances in which the narrator passes judgment”

How many of these statements are true of the Book of Mormon? None of them.

Nephi, Jacob, Mormon, and Moroni are...often...participants in the stories...They interrupt their narratives regularly to tell us about their lives, their testimonies, and their desires. They worry about their “weakness in writing” (Eth. 12:23, 40; cf. 2 Ne. 33:1, 4). And they do not hesitate to address readers directly to explain their intentions,...editorial techniques,...emotional responses to...events...

[svcw]

Brigham Young was a great murder, thief, adulterer, thug, liar man.

[svcw]

There is much written about this battalion by lds.

On 16 July 1846 some 543 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion

Apparently By needed money from the feds to migrate west, so he said he would get a battalion together for the Mexican/American War if the feds would give him what he wanted.

[SZonian]

If given a choice to believe the word of God or their church, they’ll choose the church almost everytime.

Of course, mormons really don’t have a choice now do they?

With JS throwing the Bible into the gutter with the “...as long as it’s translated correctly” statement that Sandy believes from the mormon AoF (aka CREED) they are left with little to no independent choice.

[colorcountry]

My church group is being displaced and we desperately need to find a new building.

[SZonian]

"From a 2004 Lds publication, True to the Faith: A Gospel Reference, p. 46: "The ONLY members of the Church who wear the symbol of the cross are Latter-day Saint chaplains, who wear it on their military uniforms to show that they are Christian chaplains."

The best I can find on this is that for the military, it's a convenience thing. It places the mormon chaplains into a faith "category", such as Protestants, Catholics and Messianic Jews.

[Vendome]

Sandra:
I rarely go to any “anti” sites. I understand their motivation and objective.

I went to independent sites such as the Monterey Historical and California.

They just do not mention any affiliation.

http://www.californiahistoricalsociety.org
https://www.sandiegohistory.org/links/oldtown.htm
http://www.mchsmuseum.com/montereyadobes.html
http://calbricks.netfirms.com/brickhistory.html
http://www.historicmonterey.org/?p=first_brick_house
http://calbricks.netfirms.com/brickhistory.html
http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Monterey_State_Historic_Park

I only asked because my family has been masons, carpenters and millrights forever. I’m not but that’s because I like making lots of money and don’t care to do it with my hands and a tool.

Also, I was aware of the Gallant building because I love history and tend to walk around a lot, so as to discover curiosities one doesn’t find on a visitor brochure.

I also just plain love California and it’s rich history.

My post was not to deny Mormons had built a Fired Brick, a technology learned from the Romans and employed mainly on the East Coast but, rather to find out if Gallant was indeed a Mormon.

I already knew about San Diego.

In any case, I don’t view these buildings as Mormon accomplishments but as men who came to San Diego, as part of the Mormon Brigade and had a knowledge that was employable.

If you know that Gallant was a Mormon I would find it interesting and I would think as a Mormon you may have access to that information.

I will be with about 250 Mormons this weekend celebrating the birthday of my dear friend, who turns 100 on Tues, the 6th.

Her family history is steeped in LDS and one of her grandaughters is named after Kimball, who counseled her father on his intent to marry her mother.

So I will ask them, as they too are very much into history.

Sorry you couldn’t answer an earnest question without resorting to look elsewhere.

Truly not helpful and rubs my A.D.D. the wrong way.

[Vendome]

It was exactly that. These men in the Brigade or Battalion were desperate for work and they absolutely petitioned for wages in trade for their enlistment and work.

I got no problem with that.

[Godzilla]

His leadership helped to settle the West.

Tell that to the Faucher party.

[Utah Binger]

Historic Preservation is Important

Many people ask us why we returned to Utah after 35 years. The answer is that if we had not obtained this important historic property it might have been destroyed or worse yet obtained by BYU. Our passion for the art and the artist drove us to make this huge change in our lives. In my time on this earth we have sold over three hundred of his paintings throughout the country. We were the dealers for Edith Hamlin, Maynard's widow, for 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She had fond memories of the people of Orderville and Mount Carmel.

The question about coming back to live in their midst gives us an opportunity to educate lots of backward thinking people how to get over their "in the world but not of the world" mentality and it helps us that we are totally aware of the culture. Now after twelve fruitful years, our leading by example has started to be noticed. Especially in the last month during the Zion park closure where we took the lead in getting things changed.

Utah folks take so much of its beauty for granted and that is a shame.

[svcw]

Utah folks take so much of its beauty for granted and that is a shame.

There is much breath taking beauty there. God is good.

[restornu]

Yikes with that kind of thinking the boogieman is going to get you...

Just stop and think where such thoughts are conjured up from
fear is not of the Lord.

How terrible some LDS might offer you some green jello!

If you think living in Utah is reff try living in Williamburg,NY!

Everything is Kosher closed on Saturday and they can be very territorial and have on occacions gotten physicial.

If you are male and you want to get along in Williamsburg you really should consider dreadlocks.

Hasidic Williamsburg
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2010)

Further information: Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
Williamsburg is inhabited by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, most belonging to the Satmar Hasidic court. Satmar is among the fastest-growing communities in the world, as its families have a very high number of children. According to the principal of the Satmar United Talmudical Academy and Beis Rochel Schools, the Satmar Rav Joel Teitelbaum, founded his day school in 1947 with seven boys, and girls’ day school in 1947 with a dozen girls. Bolstered by the children of Holocaust survivors who settled in New York over the next decade, the Satmar Williamsburg school had 700 girls and 700 boys in their schools twelve years later in 1959. The school is composed almost exclusively of Satmar chassidim, with other chassidic groups in Williamsburg forming their own school networks. In 1974, there were 3,500 students (until age 18) in New York’s Satmar institutions - an increase of two and a half times in fifteen years. In 1998, some 25,000 students were spread throughout various Satmar schools in the greater New York area (including Kiryas Joel, Monsey, and Williamsburg). To date there are over 60,000 Satmar hasidim living in Williamsburg as the community continues building apartments on the fringe of Williamsburg, and has reclaimed housing in areas once considered blighted real estate. The community has considerable political clout in New York.[28]

The Satmar community of Williamsburg typically celebrates eight to ten sholom zochors (male births), and the same number of female births, each week. Each year the community celebrates between 300 and 400 weddings. Satmar hasidim study almost exclusively in Yiddish in their schools. Of the nearly 200,000 Satmar adherents worldwide, over 70,000 live in Williamsburg, over 30,000 live in Kiryas Joel, 20,000 in Borough Park, and another few thousand in Monsey.

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Hasidic+Williamsburg&src=IE-SearchBox&first=11&FORM=PORE

[reaganaut]

he had me write a letter saying “Sorry I missed you blah, blah, blah.”

- - - -
ROFL!!!

[svcw]

Hasidic Jews DO NOT wear dreadlocks..........what a totally ignorant statement to imply that they do.

[Tennessee Nana]

Brigham Young was a great man. His leadership helped to settle the West.
___________________________________________

Kid History Lesson #2

The Colt and the Winchester helped settle the West...

Was Briggy Young a Pony Express Rider ???

Dont recall one with that name...

[Tennessee Nana]

And No matter how much you loathe Christians, you cannot erase or change history to suit yourself.

[Tennessee Nana]

Just how did Jesus "lose" His Bride ???

[svcw]

Since you are talking to lds should you rephrase your question to "how did jesus lose his brideS"?

(Ok, I know its bad, slap me.) (I grow weary of lds distortions of the Word of God, Salvation and Glory)

[Tennessee Nana]

I think Briggy Yojung demanded $10,000 from the US government...

But the ewives and children of the men who volunteered to go didnt see a penny of it...

Briggy had fancy dodads for his many concubines to buy...

The men went off to the war but never did see the enemy...

and thinking Briggy Young would make good on his promise to give the money to their families...

It was Youngs idea to “hold” the money...

What the men didnt know is that Briggy Young was a thief...and held the bag...(and we know how that verse goes)

And got much more out of the US government than he told them they would be paid...

The US government, the rairoad comppanies, the hand cart companies, his own followers...

Briggy Young used and abused and cheated them all...

Pancho Villa could have taken lessons from the brigard Briggy Young...

Charles Manson went to prison for doing much less than Briggy Young did ...and often against his own followers...

Madoff got in trouble...Young carved himself out his own kingdom...

Judas and Young...but Judas didnt have all the girlfriends...

and so on...

[Saundra Duffy]

Visit San Diego “Old Town” some day.