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Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine & Covenants 14-17 “Stand as a Witness”

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by Dan Peterson

The witnesses of the Book of Mormon pose a real obstacle to any honest person who wishes to dismiss the claims of the Restoration.

Let me first briefly summarize who the official witnesses were and what they claimed to have seen, and then explain why I believe them to represent a significant challenge to disbelief:

The Eight Witnesses—Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith, Sr., Hyrum Smith, and Samuel Harrison Smith—not only saw but “hefted” the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated and turned their leaves.  They did so under quite ordinary and mundane circumstances, in broad daylight.

The Three Witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, Martin Harris, and David Whitmer—not only saw the plates but were shown them by an angel in a blaze of light, as well as hearing the voice of God declare them to have been “translated by the gift and power of God.”  Moreover, in addition to the plates themselves, they saw a variety of other exotic objects, such as the Urim and Thummim, the Liahona, and the Sword of Laban. [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week 8 – Doctrine & Covenants 14-17 “Stand as a Witness”

Come Follow Me Week 6 – Doctrine and Covenants 10-11 (additional post)

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by Brant Gardner

Section 10 is a new beginning for Joseph Smith. The loss of almost everything that had been translated created a crisis. Doctrine and Covenants 10:2 describes the aftermath of the loss: “And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your mind became darkened.” After what must have been a spiritual feast during the translation, the loss became much more that just the words that were written. The gift itself was lost. The ability to respond to the divine light was lost to darkness. Joseph lived under that weighty cloud for nearly three months.

Section 10 provides a declaration of forgiveness, and this part might have been received in the summer of 1829. With the ability to translate restored, Joseph and Oliver began translating. They started with the small amount of work that had been retained, and continued to the end of Moroni. The rest of section 10 deals with the problem of continuing the translation, of finding a new beginning for what they had translated of Mormon’s record.

Right after the Lord tells Joseph that he may translate again, he is offered sober advice for the remainder of the task, if not for the remainder of his life: “Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end. Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (D&C 10:4–5). [Read more…] about Come Follow Me Week 6 – Doctrine and Covenants 10-11 (additional post)

FAIR Voice Podcast #19: Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

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In a preview to the next episode on the Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, Hanna provides background information as well as sharing a favorite General Conference talk and answering your submitted questions. Please submit your questions for Hanna to [email protected].

Hanna Seariac

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

FAIR Voice Podcast #18: Sunday Special on Historicity of Book of Mormon, cont.

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In today’s episode of FAIR Voice, Hanna talks about the imperative for historicity of Book of Mormon and about the necessity of a spiritual witness. Next episode will cover the witnesses of the Book Mormon (those of the 3 and the 8 witnesses) and we will soon talk about General Conference, the Bible, and other exciting topics. Remember the Q&A segment that just started– submit any questions for Hanna to [email protected].

Hanna Seariac

Hanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and good ice cream.

FAIR Voice Podcast #17: Jasmin and Neal Rappleye

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Jasmin and Neal Rappleye of Book of Mormon Central join Hanna for an exciting conversation about Book of Mormon historicity.

Jasmin is the Web Architect and Content Manager for Book of Mormon Central. She administrates all the web properties of Book of Mormon Central and provides computer support for our users. She also serves as their chief Graphic Designer and the Peer Review Coordinator for the publication of KnoWhys. She enjoys creating new ways to visualize the Book of Mormon, and enjoys managing Book of Mormon’s volunteers.

She graduated magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Ancient Near Eastern Studies. At Book of Mormon Central, she gets to combine her passion for religion in antiquity with her visual and technical skills. She enjoys creating new ways for users to digitally interact with the study of the Book of Mormon.

Neal Rappleye has been doing on going research on the Book of Mormon for several years. His work has been published by Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, FairMormon, the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, LDS.net, and Meridian Magazine. He presented at the 2014 and 2016 Book of Mormon Lands Conferences, and is the co-recipiant of the 2013 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award from FairMormon. He maintains a personal blog, Studio et Quoque Fide (By Study and Also By Faith), http://www.studioetquoquefide.com/.

As a Research Project Manager for Book of Mormon Central, Neal selects, writes, and reviews content for KnoWhys, and oversees the production of the accompanying social media products.

As Operations Manager, Neal oversees the daily tasks and operations of the Book of Mormon Central staff.

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.

FAIR Voice Podcast #10: Polygamy and 1 Corinthians 13

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Polygamy is a difficult concept for many to grasp, but Hanna dives into the Hebrew Bible and the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint’s to understand polygamy in a way that shows how it was not just acceptable– it was ordained and good for the time. She unapologetically explains how God consecrates everything for our good and how polygamy made sense for the time. She, then, dives into 1 Corinthians 13 and expresses love for the idea of love.

Hanna SeariacHanna Seariac is a MA student in Greek and Latin at Brigham Young University. She is writing a book on the history of the priesthood and another one that responds systematically to anti-LDS literature. She works as a research assistant on a biblical commentary and as a producer on a news show. She values Jesus Christ, family, friends, hiking, baking, and really good ice cream.

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 15

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Part 15: Jacob – Words of Mormon and conclusion

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This is the last part of the series. We hope it has helped the reader to appreciate the complexity and consistency of the Book of Mormon. We will consider some more examples from the short books on the small plates of Nephi and then wrap it all up with some final remarks.

116. Jacob 1:18 and 2 Nephi 5:26 — “priests and teachers”

In Jacob 1:18, Jacob mentions that he and his brother Joseph have been consecrated priests: [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 15

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 14

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Part 14: 1 Nephi 10 – 2 Nephi 31

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This part covers the rest of 1 Nephi and all of 2 Nephi. You will notice that there is quite a big leap from 2 Nephi 5 to 26. This is the largest gap in this series and primarily due to most of the chapters between being quotes directly from Isaiah. Except for this gap, you may notice from the arc graph that there are no other really large gaps, indicating that internally consistent details are found frequently all throughout the Book of Mormon.

107. 1 Nephi 10:5 and 1 Nephi 11:27 — “Redeemer of the world”

As Nephi is describing what he saw in vision, he writes: [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 14

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 13

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Part 13: Ether 11 – 1 Nephi 3

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This part covers the rest of Ether, the Book of Moroni and some of 1 Nephi. After Joseph Smith had dictated to the end of Moroni, he went on to dictate 1 Nephi from the small plates.

98. Ether 11:6, Mosiah 8:8, Mosiah 21:26, Alma 22:30, and Omni 1:22 — “Dry Bones”

There were prophets in the days of Shiblom, found in Ether 11:4-6. We find a very subtle example of internal consistency in the fulfillment of one of their prophecies: [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 13

A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 12

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Part 12: Ether 1-7

The introduction to this series on internal consistency in the Book of Mormon is found in part 1 here.

This part covers the Book of Ether. The history of the Jaredite plates have already resulted in references from other books to Ether (see items 21 and 44 in previous parts of this series). This part contains more examples of links to other books as well as perhaps the most complex example of internal consistency (item 95).

94. Ether 1:3 and Mosiah 28:17 — the contents of the Jaredite record 

In Ether 1:3, Moroni tells us that the first part of the Jaredite record “speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower.” This was also described in Mosiah 28:17 [Read more…] about A Detailed Look at Internally Consistent References in the Book of Mormon Text, Part 12