VI. Historical and Factual Errors

Claims of the book

Actual facts

1. The testimony of the eleven witnesses to the Book of Mormon is treated as a "mythical" experience (81:23).

Eight of the witnesses actually had a normal experience with the plates by "seeing, hefting and handling the plates."

2. No one has unearthed "even one gold plate" (89:35).

Numerous gold plates with ancient writings have been found. The Book of Mormon plates were returned to the Angel Moroni when the translation was complete.

3. Joseph Smith used a seerstone for translating the Book of Mormon and receiving revelations (96:19-35).

Joseph Smith claimed to use the Urim and Thummim, but he did have a seerstone in his possession from earlier years.

4. The 4,000 changes in the Book of Mormon are serious (110:19).

Numerous studies about Book of Mormon changes show them to be minor and logical; and each has a reasonable explanation.

5. The Book of Mormon was based on Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews (111:15).

This theory has been closely examined and much evidence discredits this charge.

6. Joseph Smith plagiarized several books to write the Book of Mormon (112:27).

The authors only mention one book, View of the Hebrews.

7. "It was the 'seer stone' that did it all [in the Book of Mormon translation process]" (96:32).

Joseph Smith emphatically said he translated by "the gift and power of God." There are numerous biblical references to the use of a Urim and Thummim which Joseph Smith had received along with the Book of Mormon plates.

He also had a seer stone in his possession.

8. The witnesses to the Book of Mormon were unstable men (102:13).

Objective studies show just the opposite.

9. An earlier account that an angel had restored the Aaronic Priesthood was changed to John the Baptist (207:1).

John the Baptist was an angel when he came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and so the later account merely indicated who the angel was.

10. "How could the lower Aaronic Priesthood come ahead of the higher Melchizedek Priesthood" the book asks (203:last-206:18).

Just as John the Baptist was the forerunner for Christ in the Bible, he was a forerunner for the restoration. It is logical to have the preparatory priesthood (Aaronic) before the fulness of the priesthood (Melchizedek) was restored.

11. Brigham Young and other Church leaders did not talk about the father and Son appearing to Joseph Smith in the First Vision until the 1900s (219:18-21).

Actually there were various accounts of the First Vision recorded during Joseph Smith's lifetime, the earliest written in 1832. Joseph Smith himself instructed missionaries to preach only the basic first principles. Other writings emphasizing the Father and the Son were available including the 1852 Pearl of Great Price.

12. It "may come as a shock to most Mormons" that there is no definite account of the Melchizedek Priesthood being restored (202:22).

There are accounts, although none give an exact date, as most Church members are aware.

13. "it is difficult to believe that the most important event {the first Vision] in thousands of years and in fact all of human history would have been kept secret for so long" since it was not published until 1842 (215:7).

There is a difference between not publishing an event and keeping it a secret. 1842 was the year Joseph Smith published his first history of any kind. There are now accounts of the First Vision that date to 1832. To have a history of the Church published twelve years after its organization is a short not a long time span, especially under periods of constant harassment.

14. "There is not a word of heavenly visitors" in the recently discovered 1829 letter which Joseph Smith's mother wrote to her sister-in-law (218:1-13).

This primary source is evidence that, ac cording to Mother Smith, God directed Joseph Smith to gold plates.

15. Joseph Smith went to prison because of polygamv (173:19).

Joseph Smith was arrested for inciting riots and this charge was changed to treason just prior to his death. A completely separate earlier pre-trial hearing resulted in the trial for adultery being postponed.

16. Joseph Smith went to prison for denying his [plural marriage] beliefs (173:19).

Joseph Smith was imprisoned illegally without a pre-trial hearing for a felony (treason). There were no charges concerning his beliefs connected with his arrest.

17. "A clandestine tryst" was arranged by Joseph Smith with Sarah Ann Whitney, one of his wives (162:7).

In the full letter Joseph actually invites Sarah's mother and father to come with Sarah so that the "fulness of blessings can be sealed upon our heads."

18. Joseph told Mary Elizabeth Rollins Lightner that she was to be his wife (168:1).

In the full account it also says that the Lightner woman resisted her feelings and refused to marry Joseph Smith until an angel appeared to her and told her to do it.

19. "Seven out of nine LDS presidents lived in plural marriage" (169:9).

Today seven out of thirteen is the accurate figure.

20. The LDS Church now makes "the cornerstone of their fait) [plural marriage] punishable with imprisonment and excommunication" (172:27).

It was the United States government that made plural marriage punishable by a prison sentence. Jesus Christ not plural marriage was and is the cornerstone of LDS faith. The Church does excommunicate polygamists because the Lord has withdrawn the practice.

21. Brigham Young said plural marriage must be practiced i) order to achieve exaltation (34:14).

Brigham Young in the same talk also said that the Lord could stop plural marriage when he wanted to. The Lord did stop it, in 1890.

22. Wilford Woodruff did not de- fend plural marriage; instead, he issued a "Manifesto" to stop it (169:13).

The book never once mentions that the Manifesto was based on a revelation, as claimed by Wilford Woodruff. Previously President Woodruff defended plural marriage.

23. "After his initiation into Masonic mysteries Joseph Smith repudiated and ridiculed the Trinity" and taught that the godhead consisted of separate personages (110:27).

Masonry does not deal with the Trinitarian issue at all. There is no record of Joseph Smith ridiculing the Trinity. His early history, including the account of the First Vision, with God and Christ being separate, was written in 1838 before Joseph's involvement with Masonry.

24. "The gradual theological metamorphosis in Joseph Smith . . . to a polytheist . . . is . . . consistent with the growing Masonic influence upon him" (121:23).

Mormonism comes closer to being henotheistic, not polytheistic. Masonry, with Old Testament roots, is monotheistic. Neither group is polytheistic.

25. As Joseph Smith became involved with the Masons, he offered godhood to his followers (121:23).

Masonry does not offer godhood to its followers. It does encourage a person to strive to attain his/her full potential.

26. Joseph Smith introduced the temple endowment to the Church shortly after becoming a Mason [in 1842J (127:1-3).

Joseph Smith's understanding of the endowment began long before his association with Masonry. See comments with page 127, lines 1-2 in "Detailed and Documented Responses" section.

27. "In Masonry there are two priesthoods: the Aaronic and the Melchizedek. It is therefore not surprising that Mormonism has the same two priesthoods" (201:15).

The LDS Church had two priesthoods long before Joseph Smith's association with Masonry.

28. Joseph Smith was not restoring "a biblical priesthood, but a pagan one preserved within the mystery religions" (128:28).

The author that the book quotes actually said, "Masonry was once a part of a godly priesthood."

29. "Masonry is a Luciferic religion" (129:24).

Masonry does not claim to be a religion. If it were satanic, why would Joseph Smith have to change it, since the book charges Mormonism is satanic?

30. Masonry "determined almost every major doctrine and practice in Mormonism" (131:2).

Patently false.

31. The LDS Temple ceremony is basically Masonic (116 to 131).

Not true. See comments with pages 116-131 in "Detailed and Documented Responses' section.

32. Joseph Smith was tricked into saying the Kinderhook plates were authentic, and later they were shown to be a fraud and this shows that he was a false prophet (99 and 100).

This issue has been thoroughly re- searched and there is no primary evidence Joseph Smith said the Kinderhook plates are authentic, nor that there is much credibility in the statements of those who made contra- dictory charges many years after the incident took place.

33. Mormons think Joseph Smith's experience was unique (103:16).

Latter-day Saints are taught that there were numerous other claims of restoration of true religion in the days of Joseph Smith, but that only Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the fulness of the gospel.

34. "Imprisoned in Liberty Jail, Smith and his men were charged with 'treason, murder, arson, burglary, robbery, larceny and perjury' " (223:15-18).

There is no mention that all charges except treason were the preliminary hearing and was never held.

35. Brigham Young said some LDS apostles believed in reincarnation and denied the Atonement (245:18).

In the same talk Brigham Young severely reprimanded such ideas and those who taught them. One apostle was later excommunicated for teaching that Christ did not bring about the Atonement.

36. "The vast majority of converts to Mormonism are proselytized from Protestant denominations" (11:13).

Although this was once true, most converts in recent years have come from Latin American countries and non-Christian areas of the Far East.

37. "About 25 percent of the missionaries are abandoning their mission" (59:29).

The actual figure is four-tenths of one percent and includes legitimate reasons such as poor health.

38. "There are only two religions in the world: Christianity and Hinduism (paganism)" (60:14).

There are numerous religions not related to Hinduism such as Islam, Judaism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, etc. Some religious groups are also older than Hinduism.

39. To Christians the Bible is "the final authority in everything" (44:7).

There are many Christian groups and this cannot be applied to them all. Most Christians also rely on tradition, and decisions of councils or governing bodies, for their beliefs and practices.

40. Hindus are nonviolent (135:13).

Some are and some are not.

41. "Huge quantities of evidence uncovered by archaeologists [verify] biblical history to the minutest detail" (87:24).

Parts of the Bible are archaeologically verified; others, including evidence of Jesus, are not.

42. "Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, Zoroaster, or whoever, left codes of conduct that they themselves could not live up to, which only condemn both them and their followers" (139:7).

To say that these moral codes condemn their followers is absurd. The teachings of these leaders of world religions certainly gave much positive direction to these children of God.

43. "Millions of Christians have died for their faith down through the centuries—from the Roman coliseums to the gas chambers of Hitler's Germany and the gulags of Russia and China" (172:last).

There certainly have been Christian martyrs, but Hitler had mostly Jews put to death and relatively few of the victims in China were Christians. Most of the deaths today are not because one is a Christian, but for political reasons.

44. The Macumba worshippers in Brazil "wear white costumes almost identical to Mormon temple clothing" (190:13).

Macumbas also use Christian symbols such as the cross and they worship Mother Mary.

45. All occult groups provide godhood (251:6).

They do not all make such claims.

46. Urim and Thummim, laying on of hands, and Melchizedek Priesthood, are all terms used by Mormons and secret revolutionary groups (251:11).

They are found in a few groups, but the Bible speaks of these things numerous times.

47. "In the Judeo-Christian Scriptures three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— comprise the one God " (256:18).

Most Jews and numerous Christians do not believe this. The three-in-one Trinitarian philosophy is not biblical.

48. "In Buddhism there is no God" (256:18).

Some Buddhists worship the historical Buddha; some worship Amida Buddha.

49. " 'Heaven' in Buddhism is Nirvana" (256:18).

Nirvana is not heaven in the Christian sense.

50. "In Hinduism the goal is . . . self-realization" (256:18).

For most Hindus the goal is to become liberated and literally become one with Brahman, which is the opposite of self realization.

51. Cults are being glued together and Mormons will take over (257:7).

There is neither evidence nor logic to support this. Since cults reject Mormonism, how is this possible?