Criticism of Mormonism/Video/Search for the Truth DVD/The Translator

The Translator

Claim: "The Book of Mormon was not translated from the golden plates. According to his scribes the plates were usually either hidden in the woods or covered by a cloth in the room during translation. However, Joseph Smith actually did his translating by looking into a magical peepstone placed into a hat. " The video admits that the scribes believed there were real plates. Many witnesses testified from their own experience that Joseph Smith actually had real golden plates. Joseph's translation method was not a typical one. Most conventional translations take place with the translator reading the source document and then rendering it in a second language. Joseph, however, translated by the gift and power of God (D&C 135꞉3) — he did not know the language on the plates, so looking at the plates while translating wouldn't have done him any good. (Many LDS artists have portrayed Joseph translating by staring intently at the open plates, but this is not correct.) In the translation process Joseph used the Urim and Thummim, and later a seerstone (what the video's producers pejoratively call a "magical peepstone"), to translate the record on the plates. We are not certain exactly how the seerstone worked, but it seems to have provided a means for him to focus and eliminate distractions so he could concentrate more fully on the translation given him by the Holy Spirit. There are numerous Biblical examples of prophets using physical materials to divine God's will; Joseph Smith's experience fits in very well with theirs. To read more: Joseph Smith and seer stones Book of Mormon witnesses Claim: "In 1826, four years before the publication of the Book of Mormon, Joseph was arrested and charged for using his peep stone method to deceive the elderly Josiah Stowell while attempting to locate buried treasure on his farm." The video carefully avoids describing the nature and outcome of this legal proceeding. The producers apparently want the viewers to conclude that Joseph was found guilty in court. In fact, the appearance before the judge was not a trial, it was a hearing. No verdict was rendered upon Joseph; he was simply charged for court costs and the case was not pursued further. Joseph was never convicted of any crime. The video also does not tell its viewers that Josiah Stowell testified for Joseph as a defense witness at this hearing, and did not believe that Joseph had defrauded him at all. Stowell testified of Joseph's claims, "Do I believe it? No, it is not a matter of belief: I positively know it to be true." The charges were brought by Stowell's family members, who appear to have been worried that Josiah would accept Joseph's religious claims. Stowell himself joined the Church founded by Joseph and remained a faithful member to the day of his death. Would the video's authors condemn Paul because he was brought before many courts because of religious persecution? (Acts 23꞉6.) Would they condemn Jesus Christ because he would brought before the highest court in Jerusalem and condemned to death? (Note: the video also mentions the Stowell incident of 1826 in the polygamy section, and does not disclose the facts of the matter there either.) To read more: History of 1826 court appearance Joseph Smith and money digging Claim: "Joseph Smith boasted the bold claim that the Book of Mormon was the most accurate book in existence. If this book was translated by the gift and power of God we must ask the question why have there been thousands of corrections to the Book of Mormon many of which were related to doctrinal and historical issues?" Joseph Smith never said "the Book of Mormon [is] the most accurate book in existence." The video's producers are putting words in his mouth that he did not say or believe. He did say that "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." (History of the Church 4:461.) As the end of his quote clarifies, by "most correct" he meant in principle, teaching, and doctrine. Contrary to what the video claims, the vast majority of modifications to the Book of Mormon text are minor corrections in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Joseph Smith himself made a handful of significant modifications to clarify the meaning of the text, but these do not affect the authenticity of the Book of Mormon in any way. To read more: Book of Mormon textual changes Claim: "The Bible tells us that 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.' (2 Timothy 3꞉16) and that 'Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit' (2 Peter 1꞉21). In other words, God's Spirit directly inspired the prophets to write the scriptures. Biblical revelations never involved occult rituals or objects." The two scriptures the video produces on revelation don't say anything, positive or negative, about the use of physical objects in the revelation process. In fact, there are numerous examples from the scriptures of objects being used to divine the will of God, including the Urim and Thummim (Numbers 27꞉21; 1 Samuel 28꞉6). By referring to this as "involv[ing] occult rituals and objects," the video's producers are trying to win the argument by limiting the process of God's revelation and placing a negative "spin" on how Joseph received it. To read more: Joseph Smith and the occult Claim: Joseph Smith was the only person who could verify that the golden plates existed. Answer #2 To read more: Links Claim: "Initially, Joseph’s witnesses vouched for Joseph and the Golden Plates. But when pressed by the public, Joseph’s witnesses stated that they saw the golden plates through the eyes of faith and never physically saw or handled them." This is one claim from the video where the authors are being deceitful. This claim is false. There are numerous accounts of the witnesses seeing, hefting, turning pages, and feeling the engravings on the plates. One witness, Martin Harris, said he saw them with a "Spiritual eye." But when questioned about that clarified his meaning and reaffirmed the physical nature of his seeing the plates. It was a real as seeing the hand in front of his face. He also complained about having to hold the plates on his lap for an hour and a half and they were heavy. There were three witnesses that saw the plates, and other artifacts, while being visited by an angel. It was a spiritual experience, but they still saw the plates. In contrast, the eight witnesses saw, felt, lifted, and hefted the plates without the spiritual trappings. Still others lifted, moved, felt and leafed through the pages of the plates. To read more: Links Claim: The Book of Mormon contains "another gospel" as described in Galatians 1:8. Answer #2 To read more: Links Claim: Joseph Smith's partial translation of the fraudulent Kinderhook plates shows that he was a fraud. Answer #2 To read more: Church Ensign Article on the Kinderhook Plates off-site

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