When I was at Laughlin AFB, in Del Rio by golly Texas, I met one of the supposedly best authorities on Mormonism. He was a retired USAF E-9. It was his opinion that ole Joe Smith was a teller of tall tales, and concocted this whole Book of Mormon thing, as just a story, with the hope of selling it, to make money, and it got away from him and a new religion began. If that is true, and it may very well be, I would say that is a classic example of people having itching ears. If this doctrine did not come from God, then I have an idea where it DID come from.
Research Scientology!
Hubbard; science fiction writer, started it!
How about Kwanza??
that kind of sounds like the origin of the protestant denominations...make up things as you go along, eliminate books from the Bible that do not follow your particular belief track, accept certain Scriptures any deny those that you can't explain, have each participant kind of make up his/her own pathway to salvation, deny the entire history of Christianity up until the time that you decide what is right and what is wrong.....yup, Mormanism and Protestantism have a lot in common.....do it my way, it is new and exciting....