An Examination of Mormon Texts

1. An Examination of Mormon Texts Problem Issues to Discuss When Speaking with Mormons Jude 3-4 Galatians 1:6-9

2. Problems with the Book of Mormon • The Book of Mormon cannot be “another testament” because it simply is not true. • The Book of Mormon cannot compare with the Bible because the Book of Mormon cannot possibly be God’s word. • The whole Mormon religion cannot stand because it is based on the false claims of the Book of Mormon. • The Book of Mormoncannot be from God.

3. Problems with the Doctrines and Covenants • The D&C often contradicts itself, other Mormon scriptures, and most importantly, the Bible. • The organization of the Mormon Church does not match the organization of the True Church of Jesus Christ. • Smith is a failed and false prophet and should not be listened to by anyone. • The D&C cannot be from God.

4. First Thessalonians 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”

5. The Pearl of Great Price • It is a collection of writings by Joseph Smith where he claims to “translate” certain texts. • It is one of the canonized scriptures of the Mormon Church. • It contains excerpts from the Book of Mormon, excerpts from the D&C, excerpts from the History of Joseph Smith, the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, and the Articles of Faith.

6. The Pearl of Great Price • The Book of Abraham • “a Translation of some ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt” • Introduction to the Book of Abraham • “The writings of Abraham, when he was in Egypt, written by his own hand on papyrus.” • History of the Church, vol.2, pgs. 235-236, 348-351 • Smith purchased these papyri from Michael H Chandler in Kirtland, Ohio in 1835 for $2400.

7. The Pearl of Great Price • The Book of Abraham • During the Summer and Winter of 1835, Smith claimed to “translate” these papyri. • “I spent the day translating” (Nov. 5, 1835). • Later published in The Times and Seasons in 1842 and called it the Book of Abraham. • It was published with three facsimiles which came from the “Joseph Smith Papyri.”

8. Book of Abraham 1:12 • “And it came to pass that the priests laid violence upon me, that they might slay me also as they did those virgins upon this altar; and that you may have knowledge of this altar, I will refer you to the representation at the commencement of this record.”

9. Book of Abraham 3

10. Book of Abraham 4-5

11. The Pearl of Great Price • After Smith’s death, his widow sold them to a museum in Chicago. • These papyri were thought to be lost after the Chicago Fire of 1871. • They were later found in New York City in 1966 along with the affidavit proving their authenticity. • It is estimated that 1/3 to 4/5 of the original papyri were recovered • (Gee, 2000; Larson 2001).

12. The Pearl of Great Price • Dr. Robert K Ritner • “There’s certainly no reason to believe that this [scroll] should be expanded much beyond the surviving length.” • “I’ve now read the entire document from beginning to end and I’ve made out what one can make out of the poor copy of the final vignette. The most that is missing from this text is simply two columns worth of Egyptian hieratic and possibly a small vignette. But other than that there would be nothing more that would inflate the scroll beyond its current size.”

13. The Pearl of Great Price • The biggest problem with the Book of Abraham is that it is NOT the Book of Abraham. • It is something called a “Book of Breathing,” an Egyptian funerary text. • Every single non-Mormon scholar who has studied the Joseph Smith Papyri unanimously agree that the Book of Abraham in no way, shape, or form comes close to what Smith claimed they said.

14. The Pearl of Great Price • Dr. Robert K Ritner • “I want to be absolutely clear on this. There is simply no justification for the kind of interpretations that appear in facsimile no.1 or facsimile no.3. They are wrong with regard to the hieroglyphs, they are wrong with regard to the gender, they are wrong with regard to the understanding of what the scene actually represents and, where they are used in the body of the text, they are wrong there as well.”

15. The Pearl of Great Price • Dr. Robert K Ritner • “In short, there is no historical validity for the interpretations in that book [the Book of Abraham], none whatsoever.”

16. The Pearl of Great Price • The Articles of Faith • “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit.” • Article of Faith #1 (Ephesians 4:4-6) • “We believe that man will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam’s transgression.” • Article of Faith #2 (Romans 3:23) • “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying honoring, and sustaining the law.” • Article of Faith #12 (Romans 13:1-7)

17. The Pearl of Great Price • Article of Faith #8 • “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” • 2000 years of manuscript evidence for the Bible. • NO manuscript evidence for the Book of Mormon. • Article of Faith #9 • “We believe all God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” • Jude 3-4; Ephesians 3

18. The Pearl of Great Price • Article of Faith #10 • “We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and the restoration of the Ten Tribes, that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent, that Christ will reign personally upon the earth, and that the earth will be renewed and will receive its paradisiacal glory.” • Daniel 9; Revelation 20; Revelation 21:9-27; D&C116; 2 Peter 3:10-12; Matthew 25:31-46

19. The Pearl of Great Price The Pearl of Great Price is not and cannot possibly be from God as Mormonism claims it to be. Therefore, it should be disregarded as being the truth.

20. The Joseph Smith Translation • Article of Faith #8 • “as far as it is translated correctly.” • D&C45 • The Mormon God commanded Smith to properly “translate” the 1611 King James Version of the Bible through a revelatory process into the way it should have been translated.

21. The Joseph Smith Translation • Genesis 50:24-38, JST • “And that seer will I bless, and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall being forth by his hand shall bring my people to salvation.” • Vs.33

22. The Joseph Smith Translation • Mark 15:22 • “And they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, place of the skull” (NKJV). • “And they bring him unto the place called Golgotha, which is, (being interpreted) place of burial” (JST).

23. The Joseph Smith Translation • Galatians 1:6-10 • “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you that what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” • Joseph Smith-History 1:30 ff • Smith claimed that he was visited by the Mormon angel Moroni and, essentially, gave him another gospel.

24. The Joseph Smith Translation • The only canonized portion of the JST is the book of Matthew which is a part of the Pearl of Great Price. • Mainstream Mormons still use the “corrupted” 1611 KJV. • No manuscripts were used for this “translation.” • Everysingle non-Mormon scholar who has examined Smith’s “translation” unanimously agree that there is no textual basis for any of Smith’s “corrections.”

25. Conclusion • The Pearl of Great Price is not and cannot possibly be from God. • The JST is not and cannot possibly be from God. • Therefore, both of them should be disregarded by those seeking the truth. • In fact, all Mormon texts must be completely ignored by anyone seeking the real God, the real Jesus, and the real Truth.