What scriptures might challenge the view of a limited geography and the nephites not being alone on the continent or other issues regarding dna. How to prove that the book of mormon is true quora. That is among the most securely established facts in latterday saint history. If the book of mormon is true, then joseph smith was a prophet. John clark of the new world archaeological foundation has compiled a list of sixty items mentioned in the book of mormon. Supporters of the book of mormon claim it uses chiasmusa figure of speech utilizing inverted parallelismand claim it is evidence to support the books ancient origin. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand. For example, a 2014 study indicates that as much as onethird of native american dna may have originated anciently in europe or west asia. Another group came much earlier, when god confounded the tongues at the tower of babel. The list includes items such as steel swords, barley, cement, thrones, and literacy. A journal of latterday saint faith and scholarship.
In this article, we will provide some background on this issue focusing on the scientific issues, followed by a point by point response to various statements made in the essay about the book of mormon. Its early account of jerusalem just before the babylonian captivity gains in plausibility as research continues to accumulate. Book of mormon evidences mormonism, the mormon church. There have been unofficial stabs at linking a few sites to book of mormon stories, such as the socalled lehis cave and the tree of life stone. Book of mormon evidence the mormon church, mormonism. However, the book of mormon has been scientifically proven to be false which means joseph smith was a gross liar and received no revelation from god. Oct 911, 2014 at the utah valley university uccu event center, orem, utah. The book is used by nearly thirteen million individuals who read it along with the holy bible, believing that both were written by prophets and contain the words of god.
This is another in my series of article on challenging questions that missionaries will likely face. Critics have argued that the book of mormon cannot be true because joseph smiths claims about the book of mormon s translation seem unbelievable, but this new video seeks to put these criticisms to rest. Part of this criticism is based on the assumptions made by members of the church when they assumed that all inhabitants of the americas before columbus were descendants of the people in the book of mormon. The content of the book of mormon may be the most convincing evidence for its claim as a historical record and divine scripture. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The book of mormon contains accounts by many different people, mostly prophets, over a thousand years, harmonized and abridged into a whole narrative by a father and son, mormon and moroni, who lived around 400 ad. The book of mormon makes a handful of references to horses existing on the american continents in these ancient times. For the evidence which supports the claims made in this video, as well as a fairly comprehensive sampling of the available research on this topic, click the following link. Nothing shall be withheld, which was divided into two, one hour lectures. The scientific legacy of a quest to prove the book of mormon. Donors interested in supporting this work can do so through book of mormon central. Suzanne wang is currently reading it jan 12, the book of zelph.
Join the th semiannual international book of mormon evidence conference by the firm foundation. I have watched more than 20 hours of wayne may book of mormon lecture videos and conversed with both wayne may and rod meldrum in person. The term is used throughout the book of mormon to describe the religious, political, and cultural traditions of the group of. Mormonism is there any archaeological evidence for the. Responding to critical claims regarding the book of mormon and dna evidence. The book of mormon purports to give an account of two civilizations formed by families who migrated to the americas. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. To avoid this, cancel and sign in to youtube on your computer. If we had a mesoamerican inscription which mentioned a book of mormon king, with a date and historical context that matched the date and context for the book of mormon, would that be objective evidence in favor of the historicity of the book of mormon. If the book is accurate, archaeologists would expect to find numerous pieces of hard evidence in central america that confirm the presence of these societies. The little book of book of mormon evidences by john hilton iii. Archaeological and historical evidence where did the book. Contrary to the claims of our critics, there are impressive findings that make it difficult to explain away the book of mormon as a nineteenthcentury.
Native american writings are potentially strong evidence that the occurrences described in the book of mormon actually happened. But ultimately god requires faith, and is most likely making it intentionally difficult to prove the book of mormon is true, secularly. Archaeological evidence of the book of mormon latterday. The resurrected savior, jesus christ, really did visit the book of mormon people in the americas. The plates, the translation, and the witnesses for a brief period in the late 1820s, the prophet joseph smith did indeed possess the gold plates.
In fact, they may provide striking evidence that the books translation in the 19th. Is there evidence for the authenticity of the book of mormon. Dna evidence and the book of mormon conclusive proof. Given the sparse nature of the mesoamerican data, and the uncertainties of the pronunciation of maya glyphs 1500 years ago, the akishukix connection is as good as we can expect to find. Archaeological evidences discovered since the coming forth of the book of mormon and the facts of history point toward the accuracy of many details of its historic account. Book of mormon evidence compiled from video interviews done in 2014, 2016 and 2017. The book of mormon and dna evidence jump to subtopic. One group of families came from jerusalem in 600 bc and afterward separated into two nations, known as the nephites and the lamanites. Dont expect proof for any religion or matter of faith, but yes, there are many issues that support the concept that the book of mormon is of ancient origin and not a silly fraud by joseph smith. New evidence for horses in america book of mormon central. Our first 2020 event will be april 9, 10, and 11th at the mountain america exposition center at 9575 s state st in sandy, ut 84070 this will be the firm foundation expo featuring the 25th international book of mormon evidence conference.
There are also some powerful evidences for the book of mormon, including important correlations from the book of mormon text to mesoamerica and hebrew language and customs. Evidence for nephis bountiful, journal of book of mormon studies, 71 1998. Book of mormon central has created a video to introduce readers to this body of research and to highlight some of the compelling geographic evidence that if offers. I was also privileged to assist at the booth of my editor, boyd tuttle, of legends library. Mar 27, 2016 book of mormon articles and videos conspiracy to assassinate joseph smith straight from the protocols of the learned elders of zion theosis authentic ancient christian doctrine restored by god through joseph smith. According to the church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormon church, the book of mormon is a divinely inspired revelation that is complimentary to the bible. In my byu class on native american history, they didnt even mention anything about the book of mormon and they taught the standard archaeological model of mesoamerica. Evidence related to the author of the book mormon believers identify joseph smith as a humble, uneducated, devout young man who grew up in an environment of. We have found too much evidence in mesoamerica of a civilization that looks nothing like the nephites or lamanites for that model to be viable. The best way to judge the book of mormon may be to read it for yourself, comparing it to the bible and gauging the spirit that piggybacks on its words. The accounts related to zelph are used as evidence by some book of mormon scholars to suggest that the lehites inhabited the entire north american continent as proposed by the hemispheric geographical model, rather than merely portions of central america as suggested by the. Book of mormon evidences, part 3 presents further evidence supporting the book of mormon as an ancient document. For many years, critics have challenged the veracity of a religious text called the book of mormon.
City, excavated in izapa in 2014, nwafs original map of its mounds and. Smith claimed the angel moroni, a prophet in the book of mormon. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, as the mormon church is formally. They report on a recent radiocarbon test of a horse bone found in mexico, dated to ca.
Today we will talk about some common criticisms of the book of mormon around archaeological evidence that some say proves or disproves the truthfulness of the book of mormon. Book of mormon translation evidence book of mormon. The very surprising language of the book of mormon. So there is also archaeological evidence that supports the truthfulness of the book of mormon. It represents the existence in a mesoamerican inscription of a book of mormon king with broad parallels in name, date, title and function. Mar 14, 2020 you can convince god to send the golden plates back down to earth again, then you can take them to a panel of mesoamerican archaeologists and allow them to examine them at length, performing every scientific test on them that they can think of. Think about it for a moment both rely on the simple proposition of rejecting all science and fact and then replacing it with personal belief. Watch book of mormon centrals new video on one of the best examples of archaeological evidence we have for the book of mormon. April 2526, 2014 at the scera xango grand theatre, orem, utah. Oct 07, 2017 the second installment in book of mormon centrals evidence video series tackles the translation of the book of mormon.
Bill mckeever shows how science is not a friend to the book of mormon story. The fact is proven with final and irrefutable evidence that joseph smith wrote the fictitious tale in the early 19th century and founded the lds church what he falsely claimed was revelation from god. There is an abundance of historical and archaeological evidence that supports the scriptural historical events as recorded in the book of mormon. For example, evidence to support the claim by mormons that native americans are. The book of mormon, like the bible, contains a record of gods dealings with a part of the house of israel.
Book of mormon evidence part 1the destructions of 3rd nephi in a new world setting. Challenges and perspectives, provides an overview of the issue and discusses some of the complexity involved in the study of ancient animal remains. Based on these physical evidences, the book of mormon could not have been the work of a young man with limited knowledge, such as joseph smith was. The accounts related to zelph are used as evidence by some book of mormon scholars to suggest that the lehites inhabited the entire north american continent as proposed by the hemispheric geographical model, rather than merely portions of central america as suggested by the limited geography model. It also does not have the absurd teachings that we find in the book of mormon. An interesting analysis of some of the physical evidences which show that joseph smith translated the book of mormon by revelation through the power of god. His library research spurred his first hunt for archaeological evidence, in campeche in. Evidence continues to mount that its history occurred in the heartland of north america. Come join in this highly educational and faith building regional conference. Book of mormon index of topics mormonism research ministry. Evidence from the earliest book of mormon manuscripts indicates that its original chapter units were divinely revealed to joseph smith,4 and according to the 1830 edition of the book of mormon, alma 3942 comprised a single, cohesive chapter. Videos you watch may be added to the tvs watch history and influence tv recommendations. What scriptures in the book of mormon affirm the presence of other people in the book of mormon in the new world. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, mormon archaeologists have attempted to find archaeological evidence to support it.
As always, i invite you to study the issues, evaluate what we know and what we dont. First published in 1830, the book of mormon tells of the transoceanic migrations of two ancient near eastern peoples to the americas. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. Upcoming events firm foundation expo featuring the 17th international book of mormon evidence conference dates. All opinions, speakers and presenters represent and express their own individual opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of firm foundation, book of mormon evidence, or its employees, and no information or opinions represent the. The book of mormon is a religious text of the latter day saint movement.
The pioneering research of royal skousen, a professor of english language and linguistics at brigham young university, for example, extending now over nearly three decades, provides arresting evidence that significant portions of the vocabulary of the book of mormon derive from the 1500s and the 1600s, and not, as one might expect, from the 1800s. The evidence appears to point to the fact that the book of mormon is not an ancient historical text, but an 18th century work created by joseph smith. Ancient peoples of israel book of mormon evidence youtube. If playback doesnt begin shortly, try restarting your device.
Book of mormon evidence videos book of mormon evidence in. These are just a few clips about interesting stories and archaeological findings etc. All opinions, speakers and presenters represent and express their own individual opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of firm foundation, book of mormon evidence, or its employees, and no information or opinions represent the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The most recent issue of byu studies quarterly includes an article by wade miller and matt roper with new evidence challenging this view. Book of mormon and dna studies church of jesus christ. When talking to mormons, expect to hear them say, i know the book.
I duly agreed that if you found such a thing, according to those specifications, then. Sep 08, 2016 on january 31, 2014, the lds church published an essay entitled book of mormon and dna studies in the gospel topics series on its official website. These book of mormon experts and performers will present the latest research and findings showing profound new evidences that powerfully support the book of mormon. Book of mormon and dna studies the church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. Mormon traditions that would have us believe the book of mormon took place in the heartland and at new york truly conflict with the book of mormon, believed to be the word of god, so the heartland model is not valid. In order to remove these inherent improbabilities and attempt to salvage the credibility of the book of mormon, a number of modern mormon scholars have proposed several variations of a new approach to book of mormon geography, usually called the limited geography theory. The book of mormon evidence conference was held the second weekend in april. It might be the funniest thing in the world to me when someone tells me with absolute certainty that the book of mormon isnt true after having admitted never actually reading the book themselves. One discovery has received some official attention, a rock altar in the arabian desert engraved with the letters nhm.
These facts establish how plausible it is that the book of mormon really is an artifact of the ancient world. It contains a record of gods dealings with three groups of people who migrated from the near east or west asia to the americas hundreds of years before the arrival of europeans. Jan 11, 2017 book of mormon evidence compiled from video interviews done in 2014, 2016 and 2017. Careful study of the book of mormons vocabulary and grammar suggests that. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. The book of mormon describes migrations of people from the middle east to central america, and further describes some features of their civilizations in the new world. The material below covers the geography of the book of mormon in north america. The first of these peoples, called jaredites, are supposed to have. T he book of mormon is advertized by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints as another testament of jesus christ and specifically of the account of his supposed visit to the american continent the book of mormon, 3 nephi 11. How a mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in mexicoand ended up losing his faith. Much evidence exists to support the claims made by the book of mormon native american evidences of book of mormon contents.
The heartland model or heartland theory of book of mormon geography postulates that the events described in the book of mormon took place, primarily, in the heartland of north america among its proposals are that mound builders, including the hopewell and the adena, were among those peoples described in accounts of events in book of mormon books such as alma and. Peterson, mounting evidence for the book of mormon, ensign, january 2000, 19,excerpt. There are a number of words and phrases in the book of mormon that are anachronistictheir. Arizona regional conference, book of mormon evidence series. However, i found john hiltons 90page book jampacked with convincing evidence that the book of mormon is no ordinary book. The book of mormon does fit into what we know of the ancient world. Claims of the book of mormon critically examined from. Helmick 2014, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay. One last topic on the subject of archaeological evidence for the book of mormon that i want to talk about is horses.
The book is used by nearly thirteen million individuals who read it along with the holy bible, believing that both were written by. The book of mormon contains accounts by several different people over a thousand years, harmonized and abridged into a whole narrative by a father and son, mormon and moroni, who lived around 400 ad. Thomas stuart ferguson lay in his hammock, certain that he had found. Genetic attacks on the book of mormon focus on the fact that amerindian dna seems closest to asian dna, and not dna from the middle east or jewish dna. Bill mckeever explains in a conference talk how the book of mormon, if made of gold plates, would have weighed around 200 pounds. While mormon scholars admit valid challenges to mormonism from archaeology and the book of abraham, they say the evidences of mormonisms truthfulness is the book of mormon itself, gods confirmation in your spirit, and the number of changed lives. Introducing the firm foundation expo featuring the 23rd international book of mormon evidence conference. The very surprising language of the book of mormon deseret news. Includes highquality download in mp3, flac and more. Bruce porter book of mormon evidence for america bruce porter, takes the book of mormon and some of the leadership of the lds church and is there evidences that the book of mormon lands took place in north. Archaeological and historical evidence where did the. Explore new book of mormon evidences in americas heartland like never before. Due to the nature of its origin, that would support the.
For addition precolumbian dated horse bones, see miller and roper, animals in the book of mormon, 164. Welch while he was on an lds mission in regensburg, germany, chiasmus or poetic parallelism is a nested ancient hebraic form of explaining an idea, where the ideas are set out in series of statements and then repeated with the first being last. This view, whose most influential proponent is brigham young university archaeologist john l. Archaeological evidence and the book of mormon fairmormon. This page is a continuation of book of mormon evidences, part one and part two. The book of mormon is true, just what it purports to be, and for this testimony i expect to give an account in the day of judgment. But the evidence is so exaggerated that even many mormon scholars disagree. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free bandcamp app. It contains a record of gods dealings with three groups of people who migrated. In contrast to the book of mormon, the bible proves to be historically accurate and internally consistent.
Archaeological evidence and the book of mormon why is there no archaeological evidence for the book of mormon. Truth shall spring forth out of the earth, journal of book of mormon studies, vol. This book brings together the work of ten contemporary scholars who reflect on challenges to the authenticity of the book of mormon in a manner that is rigorous but fair. Various mormon authors have cited evidence that north american moundbuilder cultures were familiar with the elephant. With over 200 fullcolor pages and spectacular photography, this heirloomquality book has become the new.
The article, entitled animals in the book of mormon. Two hundred and twenty gorgeous full color pages filled with more than 500 stunning photos, artwork, maps, charts, artifacts, quotes, scripture and commentary introduce the reader to the rapidly mounting body of evidence that suggests the very real possibility of a north american setting for the events described in the book of mormon. In the paper revisiting sariah at elephantine, neal rappleye, a research project manager here at book of mormon central, explains that scholars have identified a jewish woman named. Book of mormon evidence evaluated mormons in transition. It will be held thur, fri, and sat, april 11th, 2019 at the davis county conference center 1651 n 700 w. New evidence for the book of mormon name sariah 1 nephi 2.
This common query often expresses the questioners incorrect assumptions about archaeological methodologyassumptions usually based the questioners lack of knowledge about a very specialized academic area. Signature books, 1993, 446 pages, hardcover, isbn 1560850175. Investigating the evidence for mormonism in six steps. Fireside which goes over book of mormon evidence as well as subjects like heavenly mother, the trinity and. Geographical issues related to dna and the book of mormon. Key are the videos and the books describing the coverup by the smithsonian institute in the name of manifest destiny, and the wayne may videos describing independent archaeological evidence confirming book of mormon dates and cultures among the cherokee, iroquois, and the algonquian tribes from florida to michigan and from missouri to pennsylvania.