Jesus also wrestled with his critics and so must his servants do likewise. The day will come, sooner or later, when everyone will know who the servants of Christ are, and those who aren't.
- No miracle stories of Mormonism happened as described in church lesson literature (Checked with primary sources.)
This is a blanket statement, and a bold one, too. Of course, atheists don’t believe that any miracles happened as described in the New Testament, either. But how would they know? To them, Jesus wasn’t born of a virgin, there were no appearances of Gabriel, Jesus didn’t change water into wine, did not heal people, did not see Moses and Elias on the mount of transfiguration and was most definitely not resurrected following his death. He also did not show himself for 40 days afterwards.
- No prophecies of Mormonism with general application have ever happened (Check them all!). Many personal prophecies were either easily fulfilled (you will go on a mission—said by the person who can send them on one - or you will have a child (doh - most people do) and so on) or simply forgotten and brushed aside when they didn't occur.
None of the prophecies? How about the prophecy on war, which foretold the great Civil War and the wars which would follow? Every aspect of that prophecy was fulfilled, including the part that read, “and after that, war will be poured out on all nations.” Prior to the first and second world wars, world wars were unknown. As for births and so forth, again, you don’t know whereof you speak. Parley P. Pratt’s wife couldn’t bear children, but she was given a blessing and had a child. There were numerous such prophecies and blessings. But since there’s no God, there are no prophecies, and no miraculous healings.
But perhaps the greatest prophecies that came to pass of a “general application” were those in the Book of Mormon. If it was a hoax and a fraud, then Joseph Smith must have been making all those prophecies about himself. And making prophecies in 1830 and then fulfilling them are two very different things. In short, they were very ambitious prophecies and there were hundreds of ways for them to be frustrated. And in 1836, Moses appeared in the Kirtland Temple and conferred upon Smith and Oliver Cowdery the authoritative priesthood keys for the gathering of Judah to the lands of its inheritance. In the 1840s, apostle Orson Hyde was sent to the Holy Land to exercise those keys and start the Jews returning to Jerusalem and surrounding lands. Then, in the 1870s, the Jews began migrating to Israel in increasing numbers, due in large part not only to Elder Hyde, but Theodor Herschel, the “first” Zionist. Again, after nearly two thousand years of the Diaspora, or dispersion, the Jews fulfilled prophecy. There are so many prophecies that were made, not only by Smith, but by other apostles and prophets, that it illustrates that Joseph Smith was by no means a one-man band.
The Jehovah's Witnesses had determined by their earliest beginnings that Judah was never going to be restored to the lands of its inheritance. So they did some quick rewriting and discovered that they, as “spiritual Israel,” were the ones who were to be gathered. And it wasn’t Judah, but they, who would be attacked in the Battle of Armageddon.
Isaiah writes concerning the gathering of Judah and a latter-day prophet who would be an ensign to the gentiles and would gather the Jews:
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people.... And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isa. 11:11-12)
This is one of the scriptures that Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith when he appeared to him that night in his room. Later revelations also indicate that Smith is the fulfillment of this “root of Jesse” prophecy, and that he was a descendent of David, through Jesse. As far as I know, he’s the only claimant to the title, and since Judah is being restored to their lands and the times of the gentiles are in full sway, if it’s not Joseph Smith, then who is this root of Jesse? Again, there are numerous prophecies that were fulfilled, including the saints going on to gather in the Rocky Mountains. So your claim is simply untrue.
- No archaeology agrees with Mormon claims and almost all directly contradicts it (DNA proves no American Indian ancestry from Middle East, no animals of types mentioned in BoM native to Americas, No evidence of million man battles or sprawling huge civilisations matching BoM civilisations, flora and fauna not native to SA mentioned, native flora and fauna not mentioned and incorrect or anachronous technology such as glass windows, chariots, steel, concrete, silk etc.
Again, completely wrong. You just haven’t read the historic records and most recent developments in the Mesoamerican research projects now underway. Recent evidence even suggests the existence of pre-Columbian horses. I’ve been to Mexico and have stood on large, flat cement streets and been in cement buildings. I don’t know of any “glass windows” mentioned in the Book of Mormon, and the only one I know who’s made that charge is Walter Martin, so you’re betraying your sources. Recent DNA research in Mesoamerica has even suggested Middle East origins. I suggest you keep current on the research and to stop trying to force round pegs into square holes.
- BoM contains various source material available to Joseph Smith and indicating human origin (Map of Cumoros Island with capital Moroni—key names in BoM, many names of places lifted from local towns, Indian place names and geographical regions, Swedenborgian spiritual philosophy, superstition and magic elements—treasure digging, seerstones, divining rods, rituals to collect buried artifacts, masonry, direct lifts from several books of the day (I can provide several hundred direct and paraphrased quotes from books of the day if needed—mind boggling) most notably the bible (lifts including known errors and puzzlingly things he corrected in his later bible 'translation'.)
It’s ironic that you bring up the Comoros (not “Cumoros”) Islands’ names when you completely discount Nahom being in the exact area Nephi said it was and that it was a burial site, when Nephi said it was where they buried Ishmael. (It wasn’t discovered to be a burial place until the mid-90s). You also discount the other numerous instances where Nephi’s account is meticulously correct, when there was no way he could have known about it in 1830. And, BTW, this is almost zero chance that Joseph Smith could have known about those island names. Moroni (pronounced Muruni) did not become the capital of the islands until 1876 and many maps of Joseph Smith’s day didn’t even show Comoros on maps, whether in the U.S. or Europe. And those that did didn’t even show Moroni!)
- Joseph made several translation claims that failed (Greek Psalter, Kinderhook Plates and now we have a fragment of the original Book of Abraham papyrus, the Book of Abraham)
I’ve already gone into the Book of Abraham in some detail, and as far as the Kinderhook Plates are concerned, Joseph Smith left no written claims about them, nor did he attempt to produce a “translation.” In fact, he showed almost no interest in them whatsoever. But this was not the case with the Book of Abraham papyrus. For more info on these items, see this apologetic review.
- Joseph committed several horrendous social abuses (cornering married and single women in back rooms, telling them that an angel had commanded them to marry him, if they would submit they and several generations would be guaranteed Celestialisation and if they rejected him they and those same generations would damned ), he had an affair with a 14 year old (culturally not that 'bad' but still unacceptable)....
It would be impossible for Joseph Smith to be both a prophet and a reprobate. We also know the least of these issues than any other in Smith’s ministry. The infamous 14-year old was Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Elder Heber J. Grant, one of Mormonism’s most gifted prophets. In LDS doctrine, people are bound by families throughout the eternities. Elder Kimball very much wanted his family to be bound to Smith’s family in the world to come. The only way this could happen is that his daughter be sealed to Joseph Smith. Helen was thus sealed to Smith and resided in the room above the printing office. There is NO evidence that Joseph ever considered this anything more than a familial bond, and there is no evidence it was ever consummated.
Helen lived to be a ripe old age in Utah and wrote a book about her father and her life. She never indicated that anything improper or untoward ever happened between her and Joseph.
There was also the case in which Elder Hyde made a long, arduous journey to the Holy Land to dedicate it for the return of the Jews. Just before he left, his wife married Joseph and was cared for by him in his absence. Upon his return, months later, his wife remarried him and later bore Elder Hyde a son. The bottom line, is that we can’t depend on the church’s enemies to give us detailed information regarding Smith’s alleged infidelities.
It was Brigham Young who stated, “ Every time you kick Mormonism you kick it upstairs; you never kick it downstairs. The Lord Almighty so orders it.”
Instead of only reading anti-Mormon sites, try reading the other side.
