Difficult Questions for Mormons

The Interactive Bible ^

[delacoert]

1. Why did the angel take Nephi Plates back to heaven? Do they not belong with man? Would not their existence prove once for all that Mormonism is truth? God allowed the Jews to carry the 10 commandments for several centuries in their original physical form, written by the finger of God Himself!
2. "Will you, as a Mormon, please read the Bible cover to cover and ask God to reveal to you that it contains all of God's message to man and that parts are not lost or altered and that the Book of Mormon is false?"
3. If the original 1830 Book of Mormon was inspired than why were there so many errors and changes and additions and deletions, when compared to current editions?
4. How can we be assured that the translation of the B of M into French or any other language is correct? Only the English translation is claimed to be inspired!
5. How do you account for the stunning parallels in both content and order between the B of M and the View of the Hebrews, by Ethan Smith? Published in 1823 (7 years before the B of M) less than 100 miles from the Joseph Smith's parents home.
6. Mormon Article of Faith #8: "We Believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Why do you only add the phrase, "as far as it is translated correctly" to describe the Bible and not after the book of Mormon when in fact there are far more translating errors in the Book of Mormon than the Bible?
7. If the Book of Mormon is true, then why has the Mormon church changed it? Examples are: 1 Nephi 11:21; 19:20; 20:1 and Alma 29:4. Compare these with the original Book of Mormon. (Gerald and Sandra Tanner have counted 3913 changes in the book of Mormon, excluding punctuation changes.)
8. How did Joseph Smith carry home the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, and how did the witnesses lift them so easily? (They weighed about 230 lbs. Gold, with a density of 19.3 weighs 1204.7 lbs. per cubic foot. The plates were 7" x 8" by about 6". See Articles of Faith, by Talmage, page 262, 34^th ed.)
9. If Moroni devoutly practiced the Mormon Gospel, why is he an angel now rather than a God? (Doc. & Cov. 132:17,37)
10. Why do Mormons emphasize part of the Word of Wisdom and ignore the part forbidding the eating of meat except in winter, cold or famine? (Doc. & Cov. 89:12,13).
11. When Christ died, did darkness cover the land for three days or for three hours? (Luke 23:44 and 3 Nephi 8:19, 23).
12. Joseph Smith said that there are men living on the moon who dress like Quakers and live to be nearly 1000 years old. Since he was wrong about the moon, is it safe to trust him regarding the way to Heaven? (The Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 3, pages 263-264. See repreint in Mormonism --Shadow or Reality? by Jerald and Sandra Tanner, page 4.)
13. Joseph Smith prepared fourteen Articles of Faith. Why has the original No. 11 been omitted? (Joseph Smith Begins His Work, Vol. 2, three pages after page 160, among the photos.)
14. Why did the Nauvoo House not stand forever and ever? (Doc. & Cov. 124:56-60).
15. How can a man who is not a descendant of Aaron hold the Aaronic Priesthood? (Numbers 16:40; Heb. 7:13,14).
16. Since Mormonism teaches that only God the Father had a physical body at the time Adam was created, why did God say, "Let us make man in OUR image"? Why didn't He say, "Let us make man in MY image?" (Gen. 1:26).
17. If Jesus was conceived as a result of a physical union between God and Mary, how was Jesus born of a virgin? (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 1, page 50).
18. How did Nephi with a few men on a new continent build a temple like Solomon's while Solomon needed 163,300 workmen and seven years to build his temple? (1 Kings 5:13-18 and 2 Nephi 5:15-17).
19. Why was Joseph Smith still preaching against polygamy in October 1843 after he got his revelation in July 1843 commanding the practice of polygamy? (Doc. & Cov. 132; and History of the Church Vol. 6, page 46, or Teachings of the Prophet, page 324).
20. God rejected the fig leaf aprons which Adam and Eve made (Gen. 3:21). Why do Mormons memorialize the fall by using fig leaf aprons in the secret temple ceremonies?
21. How do you explain the fact that 2 Nephi 16:2 is copied from an older version of the KJV of the Bible in Isa 6:2? This is proven because this older KJV (the mistake is corrected in current versions) made a rare gramatical error by using the incorrect plural form of "seraphims" rather than "seraphim".

[panzerkamphwageneinz]

Popcorn’s hot, coke’s in hand.....

Let’s see what the cultists (who otherwise are very nice) have to say about their very polite blasphemy.....

What about all of the battles with Iron implements and elephants and other nonsense that is in the book?

Popcorn is good.....

[svcw]

If you get a reply that is beyond “you bigot, you hater, bla bla bla..........” ping me. Oh ya, PD obligatory cut and paste unofficial lds sources doesn’t count as a real reply.

[McBuff]

Your Honor, Council is badgering the witness. . .Christianity is proved by the life, not the lip. . . nor by flippant lie detector tests. If we show more love we would be more persuasive for Christ.

[annieokie]

I too anxiously await the ANSWERS, lol.

You did a good job in those questions.

Oh, for those who have ears and fail to hear, or eyes who fail to see.

WAITING!!!!!

[delacoert]

John 21:15-17 (King James Version)

 

 ¹⁵So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

 ¹⁶He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

 ¹⁷He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

[delacoert]

asking questions is so unloving.

[MHGinTN]

You could have included the Smithian use of ‘Lucifer’ in the passage supposedly quoted directly from Isaiah 14, which only got in Isaiah via Jerome’s Latin translation of the tanakh and then the King Jmaes scholars using the copies subsequent to that translational choice of a Latin name.

[MHGinTN]

To some who want us all to just get along it is loving your neighbor to allow someone to feed them poison. If the poster persists in the folly, perhaps I should post some of the poison the new adherents to mormonism are not fed until after they’ve been properly herded along the broad road and are nearing the wide gate. Do ya think the poster would even recognize the poison?

[Paragon Defender]

Seekers of truth,

If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.

They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.  

They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.

Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.

You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.

Sometimes they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.

After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.

The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.

Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:

http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/

Now you will likely notice the "you never address our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.

Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you?

Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.

I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

[Bean Counter]

[blasater1960]

asking questions is so unloving.

How about answering this question.

Luke 11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

( 12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.” Matt11:13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Jesus says that Elijah the prophet is John the Baptist, his cousin. But John the Baptist says he is not Elijah.

John1: 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

So who is telling the truth? Jesus or John? And if Jesus was right...why didnt John "restore all things"? He did not restore all things.

[Safrguns]

Pick a biblical prophet... any author... Paul... Peter... John... Choose any one man who had a significant role in the writing and or compilation of the bible and imagine if they were to be wiped from existence along with anything they contributed (via inspiration from God), and Christianity would still exist. The bible would still exist. The Gospel itself would remain unchanged.

Not true with Mormonism... for if you wipe Joseph Smith from the face of history, Mormonism would go with it. (no doubt to be replaced with some other cult of Christianity) Nevertheless, the truth of Mormonism rests solely upon the existence of a single man.

That should be evidence enough that it is NOT from God.
Because God always confirms His truth through multiple sources.

How many authors are contained within the Bible?

How many authors in the book of Mormon?

Mormonism is a fraud... straight from the spirit of the anti-christ himself.

[nando9]

Yawn.

I’ve been lurking for quite a while and I just can’t quite get why people here think they are doing good by posting stuff like this. Sorry for assuming, but it sure seems like it’s more about the posters’ own egos than helping any poor deluded Mormons. Self-congratulation usually ends with only one set of hands clapping.

Erecting a tired out echo chamber for Mormon bashers every couple of days must get old at some point.

[MHGinTN]

Seekers of Truth, here's a link to a series of videos which will reveal the truth ... about Mormonism.

[MHGinTN]

You might get a kick out of the link ...

[MHGinTN]

No, n00b, warning of impending doom that enthralls those captured by Momronism or endangered by Momronism lies doesn’t get ‘old’. But reading posts from stealth posters like yourself does get a bit tiresome. If you ever become Born Again, the family name and the Identity of the God of Creation will be of interest to you. The God of Christianity is not the same god as that of Mormonism. Would you like a few quotes from the founders of Mormonism which define the Momronism god and the Mormonism jesus? ... Even a non-Christian could discern the difference very easily.

[McBuff]

A loving heart and asking questions are unrelated. One can ask a question with a loving heart and one can ask a question with derision in their heart.

[Safrguns]

I’ve been lurking for quite a while and I just can’t quite get why people here think they are doing good by posting stuff like this. Sorry for assuming, but it sure seems like it’s more about the posters’ own egos than helping any poor deluded Mormons.

Well, a good portion of those taking a stand against mormonism here are ex-mormons themselves. I'm sure they'll be the first to tell you it's not worth walking miles or years in their shoes to find out the truth. The ones they are helping are those who are not caught up in the lie yet, or are looking for a way out of it... and I doubt you would ever see them post their appreciation considering what they've gone through.

[MHGinTN]

Y’all might find this video series useful ...