I really didn’t find much of interest to me in
1 Nephi 5. Overall, this chapter of the Book of Mormon just seems to be telling more of the story, and I really don’t see any kind of doctrine that would be out of line with either the Bible or Mormon theology. In that case, I’ll leave it alone. If I find something later, maybe I’ll come back to it, but I’m not going to bother with things that I don’t have a problem with.
I had one small issue with
chapter 6, however. In verse 3, Nephi points out the fact that he’s running out of room for writing and he desires to focus on the things of God. If his space is so limited, however, why is he later able to copy 17 chapters from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible into his book?
1 Nephi 20-21 and 2 Nephi 7-8, 12-24, and 27 are all almost word-for-word copies of entire chapters of Isaiah in the King James Version. Why did he have to copy these on such limited space if his people already had the words of Isaiah? Couldn’t they have been contained in other copies of the scriptures rather than repeated in a place where Nephi wished to use his limited space to share what the Lord had imparted to him?
My next observation was in
chapter 7, where in verses 1-2, we find the “Lord” speaking to Lehi again and telling him to send Nephi and his brothers back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family so that Nephi and his brethren can take the Ishmaelite women as wives. Forgive me for being too picky, but I guess that to a Christian who believes in an all-knowing (omniscient) God, this one keeps forgetting the details. He has to send Nephi and his brothers back to Jerusalem
twice for things forgotten: first for the plates that were being kept by Laban which contained the family genealogy, and this time, basically, for women so the men could marry. Psalm 147.5 tells us: ”Great is our Lord, and of great power:
his understanding is inifinite.” (italics mine) Likewise, Jesus’ disciples declared of Him, ”Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.” (John 16.30) We find further confirmation of this in
Colossians 2.2-3, and even other Mormon scriptures testify that God knows everything (see
2 Nephi 2.24; 9.20; Words of Mormon 1.7; Alma 26.35; Mormon 8.17; Moroni 7.22; Doctrine and Covenants 38.1-2; 88.6, 41; Moses 1.6; etc.) Once again, it seems that the god guiding Nephi is neither the God of Christianity,
nor the god of Mormonism, which begs the question: who is this god?
My next two observations come in
chapter 12. I first noticed verse 9, which says: ”And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel.” When I look at the footnotes in the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon, I see that this is supposed to be between 600 and 592
B.C. If this supposedly happened around 600 years before Christ ever lived on Earth, how is Nephi to remember the twelve apostles, whom Christ brought about?
Another problem in chapter 12 is found in verse 16, where the angel who is speaking to Nephi tells Nephi to “[b]ehold the fountain of filthy water which [his] father saw….” This is just a minor observation really, but if Lehi went to the trouble to put all the detail he did into the retelling of his dream, why did he leave out the fact that the fountain was filthy, especially when it bears such great significance in the meaning of the vision? If we go back and read Lehi’s account to Nephi in
chapter 8, there is absolutely no mention whatsoever of the fountain being filthy.
Next we come to
chapter 13, where Nephi is having a vision, and this vision is of a church set up on the earth “which is most abominable above all other churches….” (v. 5) which bears a remarkeable resemblance in the description Nephi gives to the Roman Catholic Church (vv. 4-9, 25-29, 32, 34). Mixed in are some other thoughts, one of which I found to be very interesting. Verse 15 is in a part of Nephi’s vision in which he sees the “Lord’s” true church being established on the earth, and he says, “And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” I must admit, I find this verse to be shocking! How can Mormons hold to this passage of the Book of Mormon and still claim that they do not believe in racism? No where in the Bible do we find any similar teachings which would confirm that God’s people have a certain skin color which is more beautiful than another! Instead, we find just the opposite. Romans 10.12 says: ”For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.” Likewise, Galatians 3.28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” There is no room for racism in the true Gospel of Jesus. There is, however, plenty of room for
anyone who will come unto Him! Once again, we see ample evidence that the god of the Book of Mormon is
not the God of the Bible!
If we continue on in this chapter, we come back to some more discussion of the great and abominable church I already mentioned, but this one adds a little bit more to the first part: apostasy. It “foretells” the Great Apostasy on which the whole claim of Mormonism builds its foundation. Verses 26-29, 32, and 34 tell us about how the great and abominable church will take many plain and precious truths and, basically, drive them out of the rest of the earth. While this is a very important claim for the LDS Church to maintain if it wishes to maintain its membership, it’s also clear that other scripture, whether Christian or Mormon, actually denies it. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 16.18: ”And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (italics mine) He also tells us in Matthew 5.18: ”For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Further, we find Mormon scripture contradicting itself once again. In
3 Nephi 28.4-9, we see the Jesus of Mormonism promising three Nephites that they will never taste of death until he returns, and in
Doctrine and Covenants 7.1-3, we find Joseph Smith having a “revelation” telling him that John the Revelator was promised the same thing. If this is so, there could never have been a total apostasy on the earth from Christ’s true church. After all, we see in v. 9 of the passage in 3 Nephi that the whole reason the Nephites wanted to stay behind was “for [they] have desired that [they] might bring the souls of men unto [him]….” How can there be a total apostasy when Jesus has three missionaries left on the earth at all times, no matter what, until his return? It doesn’t make sense. Further teaching on this in the Bible is found in
Psalm 33.11 and Matthew 24.35; more LDS Scripture that teaches this doctrine is found in
2 Nephi 9.16; Doctrine and Covenants 1.38; and Joseph Smith-Matthew 1.35. These passages all clearly blow the doctrine of a total apostasy right out of the water.
I next had a couple one-word observations in
chapter 16. The first came in verse 13, where a place is referred to as “Shazer.” I looked at the footnote, and it points out that the word is Hebrew for “twisting, intertwining.” Curious as to how accurate this was, I did an Internet search for the word “Shazer,” and found that there are no instances of such a place known outside the Book of Mormon. If this is the only instance of the word that is found, how do we know that it’s Hebrew or what it could possibly mean? The simple fact of the matter is, we don’t. This is just another case of the LDS leadership trying desperately to find external corroboration for the Book of Mormon which simply isn’t there.
On the same note, verse 34 of the same chapter mentions a place called “Nahom.” Once again, there’s no concrete evidence that such a place exists. In addition to that, the footnote of the LDS edition of the Book of Mormon points out that it’s “Hebrew” and “probably ‘consolation,’ from verb naham, ‘be sorry, console onseself’.” The presence of the word “probably” in the footnote only confirms that whoever wrote these footnotes is only speculating, as none of the so-called “historical” events or places of the Book of Mormon can be verified externally.
My next point comes in chapter 17, where Nephi points out the biblical story of the Israelites who had rebelled against God in
Numbers 21.4-9. I find his account of the story very interesting since in verse 41 Nephi says that, “He sent fiery flying serpents among them….” After going back and reading the passage in Numbers again, I’m having trouble figuring out where is was Nephi learned that the serpents were
flying? I have to admit, if they were, this would have probably become the topic of a pretty bad B-movie by now that people just sit at home and watch, laughing hysterically…right up there with
The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Indeed, for a great prophet of God chosen to succeed his father, Nephi really doesn’t seem to grasp hold of the details of the scriptures very well.
Next we come upon
chapter 18 of a prophet who doesn’t have a great track record so far, and we see Nephi showing his ignorance of yet another doctrine of the Mormon gospel…and this one’s huge: it pertains to the eternal salvation of mankind. Finally, Nephi and his family are all on a ship to head to what is now considered part of the Americas. The word “Americas” isn’t used, but it’s well known today that this is where the story takes us, and while sailing across the ocean, Lehi and Sariah, now getting very old, are so upset by the disobedience of their two oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel, that their old bodies just can’t handle it anymore. Nephi points out that “they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their grey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow into a watery grave.” (v. 18) Most would look at this and say
What’s wrong with that? We die and we go to meet God! and I would agree with them (so long as “we” is referring to Christians). Mormon theology does not, however, agree with the point made in this passage. According to the theology of the LDS Church, our spirits go to the spirit world after death, not to meet God, so how could Nephi possibly think that’s where his parents were going? In
Doctrine and Covenants 138, Joseph F. Smith, 6th President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, points out in verses 11-24 and 53-60 that the dead go on to a spirit world after their life on earth. He points out that after his death, Christ went to minister to the spirits who were righteous and set them free from the bondage of their sins. After this, the righteous spirits were sent to spirit prison, where those were not righteous during their lives were being held. The spirits of the righteous started teaching the Gospel to the spirits in prison, and those who accept the message are released from spirit prison and allowed to join the spirits of the righteous after a faithful living Mormon is baptized by proxy on behalf of those in spirit prison in and LDS temple. Only once Christ has come back and the final judgment is made will anyone ever go to meet God, and this will only be those who have done all they can since joining the LDS Church, thus attaining the Celestial Kingdom of Heaven (see
Doctrine and Covenants 76.92-96). If this is truly what happens to the dead when they die, how could Nephi not have known? Also, for those who are Christians reading this blog, please take note that I know “Nephi’s” conjecture agrees more with the Bible than does the Doctrine and Covenants, but I will touch more on the issues within the Doctrine and Covenants when I get to it.
My last point (
whew!) is in
chapter 19. My issue with this chapter comes in verse 2, where Nephi points out that the family genealogy is held in the plates his father wrote on, and therefore he chose not to include them in his own record. I first find myself questioning what led Nephi to take so much time in copying the words of Isaiah if they were already written down if that was the attitude he took with the genealogy his father copies, but that is a minor question in light of the other I have to ask, and this question takes some explaining.
One reading the Book of Mormon for the first time might be reading this and asking what book of Nephi’s father I’m talking about, as there’s no book of Lehi in the Book of Mormon. Mormons are generally very familiar with the story, but those who are new to the movement don’t necessarily know. When Joseph Smith supposedly had the golden plates and was translating them, he used three scribes: 1) his main wife, Emma (and at the time his only wife), 2) Martin Harris, and 3) Oliver Cowdery. Joseph’s method of translating the book, according to official Church-sanctioned literature (although it can be countered in many points), is that Joseph stood separated from his scribe in some way or another and would read the translation from the plates by the assistance of the “Urim and Thummim,” a pair of glasses he found with the plates which showed him the English version of what he was reading in “Reformed Egyptian.” During the time that Martin Harris was working as Joseph’s scribe, Martin was having issues with his wife, as she wouldn’t believe the work Joseph was doing was genuine. In an effort to prove to his wife that the work was real, therefore, Harris asked Joseph Smith to allow him to take the first 116 pages of the manuscript, known as the “Book of Lehi,” home to his wife. Joseph inquired of the “Lord” three times whether or not this was okay. The first two times Martin was told no, but finally “God” allowed it. The first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon haven’t been seen since, and thus we have no Book of Lehi (this story is found in Joseph Smith’s
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, vol. 1, pp. 20-21.) Joseph Smith later received a “revelation” telling him that he must not go back and retranslate the Book of Lehi, as those who possessed the manuscript he had already made were making alterations to it so that once he introduced the Book of Mormon, they could compare the first manuscript with his new one and show discrepancies which they had created (this “revelation” is now
Doctrine and Covenants 10), which brings me back to 1 Nephi 19.2.
So let me make sure I understand this: ”God” tells Nephi to go back to Jerusalem,
kill a man in cold blood, and take back the family genealogy (
1 Nephi 3-4), so Martin Harris can lose the genealogy 2200 years later and it will serve the Church on the earth absolutely no purpose whatsoever? Once again, what kind of omniscient god is this? It may make sense to many, but I think I’ll stick to the God of the Bible, who doesn’t ask me to disobey Him in order to obey Him, and a God who doesn’t have us murder others just to retrieve scriptures that will serve no purpose.
Well, I hope that’s enough for you because I’m finally done with this post! Please share any thoughts you may have with me on it. If you’re not Mormon, my prayer is that this will at least help you learn more about Mormonism and be informed about what they believe. If you are Mormon, please also feel free to contact and share your thoughts with me. I only ask that you do so respectfully, as I have made every effort to be respectful myself. If you perceive any way in which I have been disrespectful toward Mormons here, please feel free to point it out to me, as insulting is the last thing I ever wish to do. Plus, whether you’re Mormon or not, if you would like to talk more to me about what it means to pursue a relationship with the true Jesus of the Bible, the one and only true living Christ, please feel free to contact me about that as well. You may leave a comment here, or e-mail me at tommys.testimony@yahoo.com. God bless, and Happy New Year!
