Reasonable doubts about Mormonism
"A man is accepted into the church for what he believes -- and cast out of it for what he knows."
Mark Twain
honest answers
"I'd rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that shouldn't be questioned."
Richard Feynman
Finding honest and transparent information about the Mormon Church in Germany or in German is not that easy.
On the one hand, the church is trying very hard to control the flow of information to members and investigators (try calling up even a halfway critical page on the church's WiFi), on the other hand, it is actively trying to suppress critical information on the Internet by search engines are literally spammed.
Other critical sites, such as mormonen.de, were taken over by the Mormons in court proceedings.
But in times of social media and the like, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Mormons to withhold information from their members. Young people in particular are informed more quickly today about the Mormon Church and its machinations. However, there are still many out there who B. claim thatVideos of temple ceremonieswould only be fake. Often they have to experience the sad experience themselves.
The Importance of "Reasonable Doubt"
In considering the evidence to support the truth of a claim, it has long been customary to set a standard for how much evidence is enough. It's very rare that a claim can ever be proven with 100% certainty, so we usually settle for less. But how much less? For any subject where the consequences are so serious that they can affect life (as with a criminal charge), the general guideline is that the evidence should be of sufficient strength that there is no "reasonable doubt" about it. So surely any religious claim that (if true) obliges us to change our lives, to follow a certain path, to follow certain rules, and requires us to give our time, energy, and finances should be , are supported by convincing evidence that all of their claims are beyond reasonable doubt.
Do Mormon claims fail this test? Are there "reasonable doubts" about Mormon claims? Yes. As I began to compile this list of "reasonable doubts," I thought it would take a considerable amount of time and that it would contain a few dozen items. It only took a short time and as you can see it is a very long list.
This is a listing of the absurdities, anomalies, inconsistencies, contradictions, false claims, distortions, and impossibilities in Mormon claims, and each item should lead a thinking, open-hearted person to doubt Mormonism. Remember that Mormonism does not claim to be partially or mostly correct, but that all of it is true. And remember that under the rules of "reasonable doubt" used in court as evidence, if there is any reasonable doubt, the case is deemed not proven. (See the parable"The Great Ship".)
The items are listed in no particular order. Although some points may seem insignificant, the overall effect is not. Some points seem to repeat themselves. For example, several points contain the story of Joseph Smith's "First Vision." However, different topics are listed about the same claim and each raises a different doubt.
Used abbreviations:
L&B _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194 Doctrine and Covenants
KP _cc781905-5cde- 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Köstliche Perle
Reasonable doubts about Mormon claims
1. In the first "History of the Church," written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1832, there is no mention of Joseph Smith's "First Vision" (when God the Father and Jesus appeared and told him that all churches of the time were a would be "abominations"), although Church leaders today insist that this vision is the foundation and beginning of Mormonism.
2. Mormons believe that Adam and Eve were the first human beings on earth. This contradicts all scientific evidence showing that humans existed for many thousands of years before the recorded time of Adam.
3. BH Roberts, a General Authority of the Church until his death in 1833, studied the Book of Mormon extensively and concluded that Joseph Smith could have written it himself, using the 1825 book 'A View of the Hebrews' from a Protestant clergyman used as a source.
4. Although Mormons claim to be "family oriented," they exclude non-Mormon family members—even parents—from temple marriages because only "worthy" Mormons are permitted to enter a Mormon temple.
5. Mormon women are restricted to a secondary role in the church and family: they are not permitted to hold any priesthood office (necessary to exercise any kind of authority); they are to be obedient to their husbands (or their fathers, if unmarried); her ideal role is to bear children and be a housewife.
6. The Book of Mormon says that wheat and barley were major crops in ancient America. This is wrong. These crops were only known and cultivated in Europe. And the actual main crops of ancient America are not mentioned anywhere in the Book of Mormon: beans, yams, squash, cassava, hot peppers, breadnuts.
7. One of the most prized traits in Mormonism is "obedience." This is also a characteristic of cultic sects.
8. Mormon Scripture (L&C 84:86,91) says that true missionaries of God do not rely on their own money or provisions ("bag or bag"), and this will be a test to distinguish them from false missionaries . Modern Mormon missionaries are self-reliant in terms of subsistence, ie, they actually carry 'bags or pouches' with them.”
9. Although Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate ancient documents by the power of God, he was unable to correctly identify the papyri he received from Mr. Chandler as pagan Egyptian funeral scrolls of the time of Christ (as later professional identified by Egyptologists) but proclaimed that they were a book written by the patriarch Abraham 2000 years earlier and from them he "translated" the book of Abraham.
10. The "United Order" was a series of revelations in the 1830's under which Mormons were to turn over all their property to the Church, which would then make the members "stewards" and them "equals." It was based on the apparent practice in the New Testament church that Christians "had all things in common" (Acts 4:32-37). This order was to be "eternal" (L&B 82:20, 104:1). It was short-lived, although the Church tried several times to make it a reality, both in Ohio and in Utah.
11. The Book of Mormon says that the people of ancient America had chariots (wheeled vehicles). The wheel was unknown in ancient America.
12. Mormons believe that God was once a man like us and became God, although many passages in their own scriptures say that God never changes.
13. Mormons emphasize the uniqueness of Joseph Smith's story of his visits from heavenly beings and his wonderful writing of the long, sacred text. But such things, while unusual, are not unique. Other examples of people claiming to have had angelic visitors and produced sacred texts: Ann Lee, Emanuel Swedenborg, James J. Strang, Baha-ullah, Mohammed, John Newbrough, Edgar Cayce, Helen Schucman, Levi H. Dowling, the " Urantia” books and many others.
14. Joseph Smith claimed that he was persecuted in 1820 for telling his "First Vision." There is no contemporary evidence that he was prosecuted for such a story. None of his enemies seem to have known about his claim at the time.
15. The Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 29:3) uses the word "Bible" at a time (about 590 BC) when such a term and such a book did not exist.
16. Mormons waver as to ultimate doctrinal authority between the Bible, the Mormon scriptures, testimonies of earlier Mormon prophets, testimonies of living Mormon prophets, and personal "revelation," depending on what they choose to believe. gives authority. All these sources often contradict each other.
17. The story in the Book of Mormon (Ether 9:31-33) of the snakes rounding up the cattle is an absurd "tall story".
18. Mormons disagree as to exactly where in America the events of the Book of Mormon took place. Some - including many Mormon prophets who are now dead - say throughout North and South America (the hemispheric model); others - including many Church scholars - say a small area in Central America and southern Mexico (the "restricted geographic model "). Recent prophets, who claim to be inspired by God and "know all things," have refused to comment on the subject.
19. The church did not admit the role of church leaders in the 1857 massacre of 120 innocent people at Mountain Meadows until the 150th anniversary of the event, when a church spokesman said the church accepted the role played by "local" Mormons -Church leaders had played in the massacre, "deeply sorry". The Church stressed that this statement should not be construed as an apology.
20. Mormons teach that there are many gods and that humans can become gods, although many passages in the scriptures, both Biblical and Mormon, say there is only one God.
21. The Book of Mormon says that in ancient America the horse was used as a beast of burden or as a draft animal. This is wrong. The ancient Americans had neither beasts of burden nor draft animals, and especially horses. (The Incas domestified llamas, but not until well after the Book of Mormon period.)
22. Brigham Young, said to be a divinely inspired prophet, taught thatAdam actually Godthe father would be This idea is rejected as false by the Church today.
23. Originally, the terms "eternal marriage" and "celestial marriage," as used in L&C 132, meant "plural marriages" as interpreted by nineteenth-century Mormon leaders. Now the Church has changed the meaning so that they do not mean plural marriage, although the terms were introduced in Revelation authorizing polygamy. Today's church maintains that the divine plan for marriage is one man to one woman. But L&C 132 is still Scripture and still authorizes a man to be married to more than one woman at a time.
24. Joseph Smith claimed that Mormons believe in obeying and supporting the law (Articles of Faith 12), but he consistently ignored the law, as in founding the illegal Kirtland Bank (of which he was convicted and convicted) and his Entry into illegal, bigamistic (polygamistic) relationships.
25. Joseph Smith claimed that he told his family about his "First Vision" in 1820, in which God and Christ told him not to join any of the churches of the time because they were all false. Several family members later joined the Presbyterian Church, however, and Joseph Smith applied for membership in the Methodist Church in 1828, raising doubts as to whether he had had the vision he claimed he had.
26. The Book of Mormon is supposed to be the "word of God" and correctly translated (unlike the Bible, which Mormons believe is the word of God only insofar as it is correctly translated - Articles of Faith 8). But more than 3000 changes and corrections have been made to the text since it was first published. Many were grammatical corrections, but others changed meaning and even doctrine.
27. The earliest accounts of Joseph Smith's angelic visitor in 1823 (who told him about the gold plates) say that the angel's name was "Nephi." Only later was the angel changed to "Moroni." Both are major characters in the Book of Mormon, but they are different and are said to have lived 1,000 years apart.
28. The Book of Mormon teaches that dark skin is a "hated" curse from God for unrighteousness (or the unrighteousness of an ancestor) and that living righteously will cause a person's dark skin to become white and "pleasant." This is scientific nonsense.
29. Some Mormon scriptures say that God has a physical body (eg, D&C 30:22); others say that God is a spirit (Alma 28:26-28).
30. Although the official version of the translation of the gold plates says that Joseph Smith used the "Urim and Thummim" (two stones set in an arch attached to a breastplate) as a means of inspiration, most eyewitnesses say the process that he used the same "seer stone" he had used for many years to hunt for treasure, placing it in his hat and then hiding his face in the hat to block out the light.
31. Until 1978 the Church disfellowshipped from the priesthood and the temple any member who had “Negro” blood. Now the church claims it was never "racist."
32. Mormons teach that the process of becoming God requires emerging from premortal life as the spiritual offspring of God, obtaining a body, and in this life observing all of God's commandments, resurrection with a perfect physical body, and progressing to godhood. No convincing explanation is given as to how the third member of the Godhead (the Holy Spirit) without a physical body can have the position of a god.
33. Brigham Young makes no mention of Joseph Smith's “First Vision” in any of his sermons. In one of his few mentions of Mormonism's visionary beginnings, he claims that God did not appear to Joseph Smith but sent an angel.
34. The Book of Mormon portrays Lehi as a devout Jew, but he is completely ignorant of which tribe he belongs to (1 Nephi 5:14-16). This would be extremely unlikely.
35. The Mormon "endowment" ceremony instituted by Joseph Smith shortly after he was initiated into Freemasonry bore many resemblances to the Masonic initiation ceremony of his day.
36. Although the divinely inspired "Word of Wisdom" (D&B 89:5) condemns wine as harmful, recent research shows that drinking a glass or two daily has health benefits.
37. Many revelations received by Joseph Smith up to 1833 were published in the Book of Commandments that year. They were later republished in L&B, but only after many of them had been heavily revised, even though God had confirmed the original versions as "true."
38. Mormon archaeologists have not been able to conclusively identify any location in the New World as a site mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
39. Many Mormon teachings and practices today are inconsistent with the teachings found in the Book of Mormon.
40. When Mormon leaders announced in 1890 that the practice of plural marriage was ending, it was a lie. Church officials secretly continued to perform plural marriages for about 16 years.
41. The apostle Paul said that a deacon should be married and the head of a household. But most Mormon deacons are 12-14 year old boys.
42. The Book of Mormon says that elephants were useful domestic animals in ancient America (Ether 9:19). This is impossible because there were no elephants in America at that time. It may be that Joseph Smith included elephants in the Book of Mormon because the skeleton of a woolly mammoth was recently found in America, and this has led some people to think that the Native American ancestors were aware of elephants. The mammoth (or mastodon) became extinct approximately 6,000 years before the events of the Book of Mormon.
43. Joseph Smith received frequent revelations from visiting angels. For many years no leader of the Church has had visitations from angels. Such a lack of revelation was prophesied as a sign of apostasy. (Micah 3:5-11)
44. Mormons claim that the Temple endowment ceremony was restored by Joseph Smith after being "corrupted" especially by the Freemasons who removed many "plain and precious parts." However, since it was first introduced, the Mormons have continually modified it, deleting many important parts from the original version.
45. L&B says (116, also 78:15 and 107:53-57) that the Garden of Eden was in Missouri, but the Book of Moses (KP, allegedly written by the Prophet Moses, 3:10-16) says that it was near the Euphrates, which to Moses and his audience means the river that is in what is now Iraq.
46. The Book of Mormon claims to be the story of devout Jews in America, but it demonstrates almost no knowledge of Jewish laws and customs (Passover, the Feasts, observance of clean and unclean, etc.).
47. The Book of Mormon says that one must be saved in this life—after death it is too late (Alma 34:32-35). But Mormons spend a great deal of time and effort baptizing dead non-Mormons in vicarious ceremonies so that they may be saved in the afterlife.
48. Joseph Smith secretly “married” more than 30 wives; some of them were teenagers, others were still married to living husbands. He kept many of these love affairs secret from Emma, as well as from the general church membership.
49. The Book of Mormon describes that the people of ancient America domesticated cattle. This is incorrect - the ancient Americans did not have domesticated cattle.
50. The one prayer Jesus commanded His disciples to use (the "Lord's Prayer") is almost never used by Mormons.
51. The “Word of Wisdom” (D&C 89:8) recommends tobacco as a wrap against bruises and sick cattle. In fact, this has no medical basis.
52. The book of Abraham describes Egyptian holy places in Babylon (Abraham 1:8, 20). This is historically wrong.
53. The Church teaches that homosexuality is a personal choice and a sin. This contradicts almost all scientific research on homosexuality.
54. A fundamental teaching of the Book of Mormon is that the American Indians are descendants of the Israelites who lived about 600 B.C. arrived in America. Anthropologists have shown that there are no Hebrew ancestors of the Native Americans, who are rather descendants of emigrants from eastern Asia who came to the Americas at least 15,000 years ago, long before Book of Mormon times.
55. Mormon Scriptures say that God dwells near the star Kolob (Abraham 3:3-10). Mormons are unable to identify this star with any known star.
56. Mormons believe that marriages performed in a Mormon temple are for "time and forever"—that is, the couple will be in the state of marriage in heaven. But Jesus said that this is a misconception - there is no marriage in heaven (Matt. 22:23-30, Mark 12:18-25, Luke 20:27-36).
57. Joseph Smith was said to be a prophet and he made many prophecies, most of which did not come true.
58. Mormons believe that anyone can have the truth of Mormonism confirmed through prayer to God (Moroni 10:4). This is not a reliable means of obtaining information, especially in light of the fact that many other religions make the same claim and are apparently verified as true by the same method.
59. The Book of Mormon (Jacob 2:24) says that God regarded the many wives of David and Solomon as an "abomination." But L&B (132:38-39) says this is wrong.
60. The Mormons claim that their church is modeled after the early church of Jesus' apostles, but there are major differences.
61. The gold plates from which the Book of Mormon was said to have been translated contain the sacred records of devout Jews written in a type of Egyptian, not Hebrew, according to the Book of Mormon. This is extremely unbelievable in view of the attitude of the Jews towards their language and their holiness, and their hatred of all things Egyptian. Also, there is no historical example of Jews keeping sacred and historical records in Egyptian.
62. Mormons literally believe in the biblical story of the great flood. There is no credible evidence that there was such a worldwide flood.
63. Mormons claim that they no longer practice polygamy and that it is no longer Church doctrine. However, L&B still contains the revelations that authorize and command them (sections 132 and 131:1-4), and modern-day Mormon men may, under certain circumstances, be married to more than one woman for the afterlife.
64. Mormons regard the current President of the Church as a prophet and regard his proclamations as the word of God. According to many cult experts, this is a characteristic of a cultic sect.
65. Many Mormons claim that the reason polygamy was practiced in early Utah is that there were not enough men to be husbands to worthy women. This is historically wrong. Utah census reports for the 19th century show that Utah had a sizeable male surplus.
66. The Book of Mormon (Ether 1:33ff) records the Tower of Babel and the confusion of tongues as historical fact. No linguist accepts the Babel story as a historical event or as the cause of the different languages in the world.
67. Joseph Smith taught that one of the tests of whether a revelation was really of God was its consistency with previous revelation: if it contradicted previous revelation, then it was not of God. Indeed, many of his revelations and the revelations of many of his subsequent prophets have contradicted previous revelations.
68. The Book of Mormon (Book of Ether 6) describes a 344-day ocean voyage by the Jaredites in small submarine-like "boats" with only two vents (one on top and one on the bottom, meaning that only one was usable at a time). These boats contained not only people, but all manner of livestock, and apparently enough food and water so that going ashore was not necessary. This is totally impossible.
69. In the 1980's a master forger by the name of Mark Hofmann was able to sell numerous forged documents to church leaders. The documents were allegedly early writings by prominent Mormons that would cast the church in a bad light. The Church bought them to avoid exposure to the general public. The supposed prophets of God were obviously not warned by God that they would be deceived.
70. In the 1840s, John C. Bennett joined the Church and became Joseph Smith's closest associate. Joseph Smith was not warned by God that Bennett was a scoundrel and adulterer who had left his wife and children.
71. The Book of Mormon describes that ancient Americans fought with steel swords. Neither steel nor metal weapons were known in ancient America.
72. Joseph Smith claimed to have seen in a vision both the prophet Elijah (Elijah) and the prophet Elijah (D&C 27:6-9). He obviously had no idea that these two names in the Bible refer to the same prophet (one is the Hebrew version of the name, the other the Greek).
73. The Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley has said in some interviews for the news media that he does not know much about whether the Church teaches that God was once a man. But this has been a fundamental teaching of the Church for many years. Either Hinckley was woefully ignorant of what his church teaches, or he was lying.(MORE)
74. "Zion's Camp" (the Mormon military expedition sent from Ohio to Missouri to protect the Mormon settlers there) failed utterly, although due toorganized by revelations to Joseph Smith. One of the important factors that caused its failure was that one-third of the army contracted cholera. Joseph Smith was embarrassed and did not know how to deal with this disease, and God did not tell him how to prevent its spread (it would have been prevented if God had told Joseph Smith to boil the drinking water).
75. Mormon Scripture says that the Christian gospel (belief in Jesus Christ, His Atonement, the need for baptism, etc.) was known to Adam and subsequent Old Testament prophets. There is no corroborating evidence about this.
76. The Mormons are unable to give a satisfactory explanation as to why it was so important that the angel preserve and guard the gold plates and that Joseph Smith received them that Joseph Smith did not usually have the plates with him in the same room had to dictate the Book of Mormon text to its scribes.
77. In the official version of Joseph Smith's "First Vision," he states that it occurred in 1820 as a result of a large religious revival movement in the area causing him to wonder which church was the true church. There was no such revival movement in the area between 1817 and 1824. This casts doubt on the overall chronology of events as described by Joseph Smith.
78. Joseph Smith produced an "inspired translation" of the Bible. It was in no sense a translation, but rather his own corrections and additions to the King James translation, and it was prepared without consulting any ancient texts or manuscripts. His changes are not endorsed by any non-Mormon scholar of the Bible text, and indeed he adopted many errors that Bible scholars have since discovered in the King James Version.
79. Church historians are unable to provide contemporary documentation for the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood in that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by the resurrected Peter, James, and John, although the Church claims its supreme precisely because of this event to have power of attorney.
80. The original text of the Book of Mormon was said to have been engraved on metal plates; this was a slow and laborious process. However, the translation is often wordy, repetitive, typical of something that has been dictated.
81. Mormon Scripture says that the earth has (will have) a "temporal existence" of 7000 years (D&C 77:6-7). This contradicts any scientific evidence of the age of the earth.
82. Mormons teach that a rape victim has "lost her chastity"; a woman should fight off her attacker or be killed trying. Thus, young Mormon women are taught that their chastity is worth more than their lives. The result is that a Mormon woman who survives rape is made to feel guilty and thus victimized once more, this time by her church.
83. The Book of Mormon contains many long passages that are almost identical to passages in the King James Version of the Bible, including some of its mistranslations.
84. Mormon Scripture (L&C, introduction) asserts that God would not allow any President of the Church to "lead [them] astray." God would "rather remove [him] from his place" than allow it - probably bringing about his untimely death. Joseph Smith was removed at the height of his power at age 39, when he was accused by many Mormons of misleading the Church with his polygamy teachings, megalomania, and financial schemes. One might assume that God removed "him" and that he was actually misleading the church.
85. The Book of Mormon describes a detailed payment system based on various pieces of gold and silver (Alma 11:4-20). There is no evidence that such a system was ever used in ancient American civilization, whose economy was based entirely on the barter system. The most common currency used by the Mayas and Aztecs was cacao beans, which are not mentioned anywhere in the Book of Mormon.
86. Mormon scholars and prophets disagree as to the location of Hill Cumorah, where two major Book of Mormon battles took place. Some insist it was in Central America or southern Mexico, but others insist it was in New York State. Proponents of the Mexican location cite the impossibility of the New York view. Their opponents cite the fact that Moroni and Joseph Smith specifically identified the New York site.
87. Mormons often receive a “patriarchal blessing” when they are in their 20s. This is a solemn blessing announced by an ordained "patriarch" who tells the person what life has in store for them if they are an obedient Mormon. It also tells the person from which tribe of Israel that person is descended (usually Ephraim or Manasseh). The blessing is recorded and written down for future reference. This is simply a form of divination. Many blessings are vague and very conditional in wording. Those who are more accurate and definite are often not corroborated by events.
88. Many astronomical ideas in the book of Abraham are similar to those in popular scholarly books of Joseph Smith's day and have been proven wrong.
89. The long Book of Mormon passages copied from Isaiah seem to serve no purpose, since God need not have preserved them in the Book of Mormon for Book of Mormon readers (19th-century people)—they were already in accessible to the Bible.
90. In the view of the sexes in Mormonism there are two (male and female). This is no longer considered scientifically correct, as geneticists now recognize that some people are born with sexual characteristics of both sexes, and surgery is necessary to correct such a person's physical body to conform to one sex or the other (See the websiteIntersex Society of North America.). Ifsuch a person is Mormon, they are denied entry into Mormon temples and such are denied the opportunity to attain the highest degree of Mormon heaven.
91. In Mormon theology, "Lucifer" is the revealed name of Satan. Although many Christians also believe this, this idea stems from a mistranslation of the passage in Isaiah (14:12; also Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 24:12), an error that occurred only when Isaiah in the 4th century AD. translated into Latin long after the supposed date on which Nephi wrote.
92. Although Mormon scriptures and Mormon sermons denounce lying, and although Mormon scriptures say that any message not given "in the spirit of truth" is not of God (D&B 50:17-18 and D&B 129:7), Mormon leaders have not hesitated to lie to the membership and the public about their history, doctrine and practices.
93. The Mormon temple ceremony (the "endowment") involves rituals in which participants learn four secret handles ("signs") and four secret passwords (the "names" of the signs) needed to gain entrance into heaven receive. Not only is this notion absurd and unscriptural, but it overlooks the fact that many ex-Mormons learned it as well. The question naturally arises as to whether knowledge of the secret signs and their names is really reasonable or necessary.