M2Cers blames Mormon

M2Cer blames Mormon for not writing more than a hundredth part.

_____

13 And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are particular and very large, concerning them.

14 But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, 

and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, 

and their preaching, and their prophecies, 

and their shipping and their building of ships, 

and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, 

and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, 

and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.

15 But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites.
(Helaman 3:13–15)

1 or 2: Cumorah and seer stones

 

Where to find seer stones

 

SITH as the "best evidence"

I had forgotten about this gem: 

The hat is our strongest evidence of a divine translation through the gift and power of God.

It comes from this post:

Church historians of an earlier era were embarrassed at the image of Joseph Smith with his head buried in his hat. The hat is our strongest evidence of a divine translation through the gift and power of God. Joseph Smith was not consulting reference materials. He was not collaborating with a team of experts. He was reading words that appeared on a stone in the bottom of a hat. The whole thing is simply astonishing and supernatural.

Joseph put his face in a hat to shut out light so the words appearing on his seer stone were easier to read. This is a direct fulfillment of Alma 37:23 interpreted in light of pre-1981 editions of D&C Sections 78, 82 & 104 where Joseph Smith is called "Gazelam."

https://bookofmormonresources.blogspot.com/2015/03/english-in-book-of-mormon.html

Some of us think that what Joseph and Oliver explained is the strongest evidence of divine translation. 

https://www.mobom.org/church-history-issues

But people can believe whatever they want.

If people prefer the Mormonism Unvailed explanation instead of what Joseph and Oliver said... well, that's why we have this blog.

:)

The party

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” - George Orwell, 1984

_____

With the specific assistance of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery wrote a detailed description of Moroni's visit in 1835.

He [Moroni] said this history was written and deposited not far from that place, and that it was our brother’s privilege, if obedient to the commandments of the Lord, to obtain and translate the same by the means of the Urim and Thummim, which were deposited for that purpose with the record.

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/history-1834-1836/68

Responding to ongoing confusion about the translation, Joseph Smith answered the question  in the Elders Journal in 1838.

Question 4th. How, and where did you obtain the Book of Mormon?

Answer. Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the Book of Mormon   was translated, in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, being dead, and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me and told me where they were and gave me directions how to obtain them. I obtained them and the Urim and Thummim with them, by the means of which I translated the plates and thus came the Book of Mormon.

(Elders’ Journal I.3:42 ¶20–43 ¶1)

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/elders-journal-july-1838/11 

https://www.mobom.org/translation-references

Brad Wilcox explains SITH

Some people still haven't seen this, but it's a lot of fun. It explains why so many BYU students are so confused when they eventually learn what Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, John Whitmer, and Martin Harris said.

Many LDS can't understand why these SITH sayers don't follow basic principles of historical analysis. Early statements by the principals are generally more reliable than late statements by people with agendas.

Translating with dinosaur gizzard stone (Gastrolith)

The SITH sayers, such as Royal Skousen and his followers at the Interpreter, prefer the SITH narrative from Mormonism Unvailed over what Joseph and Oliver said.

See https://archive.org/details/mormonismunvaile00howe/page/18/mode/2up

These SITH sayers insist that Joseph and Oliver deliberately misled us all when they taught (repeatedly, and in print) that Joseph translated the plates by means of the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.

E.g., In his latest book, Brother Skousen makes plain this reality: everyone who teaches SITH is also teaching that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery deliberately misled everyone about the origin of the Book of Mormon.

"Joseph Smith’s claim that he used the Urim and Thummim is only partially true; and Oliver Cowdery’s statements that Joseph used the original instrument while he, Oliver, was the scribe appear to be intentionally misleading."

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2024/11/thank-you-royal-skousen.html

Instead, the SITH sayers insist that Joseph read words off of a stone from a dinosaur's gizzard (technically, a gastrolith).

(See my conversation with Grok about this here:

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/origin-of-seer-stone.html

_____

According to them, some dinosaur ate the stone in Wyoming and somehow crossed a couple of thousand miles to New York, where it died, leaving the gastrolith where Joseph Smith could find it while digging in a well.

Okay...

_____

Actual scientists explain the reality about dinosaurs in New York:

Can you find dinosaur bones in New York?

Finding actual dinosaur bones is quite rare in New York. Our state’s geology is primarily comprised of rock layers from the Paleozoic era, which predates the Mesozoic era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

While we’re rich in fossils from the Devonian and Ordovician periods, these are mainly marine fossils like trilobites and brachiopods, not dinosaurs. New York has a significant record of Ice Age mammals and other ancient creatures, though.

https://rockchasing.com/fossils-in-new-york/

Some graphics help explain Royal Skousen's theory: