Claim: "Joseph Smith was a liar, again and again he lied. Joseph Smith said that there were cities all over America that held many, many people in South and Central America. Not one city has ever been found. Not one crumb, not one remain, and yet in the Bible multitudes of cities have been found just as the Bible said." - Floyd McElveen
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McElveen appears to know very little amount pre-Columbian history. There were cities all over South and Central America filled with people. In fact, Joseph Smith's conception of what pre-Columbian America was like was unusual for his era. When he discovered an 1842 book describing Central American ruins, he was surprised and pleased to have someone from the secular world confirm the Book of Mormon's portrait of pre-Columbian life. When the Book of Mormon was published, Amerindians were perceived as being generally without "high culture," writing, cities, and other trappings of "advanced civilization."
McElveen's complaint about the status of Book of Mormon vs. Bible archaeology is simply a rehash of DVD material presented earlier. (See here for responses.)
LDS Mesoamerican scholar John Clark has presented numerous "direct hits" for the Book of Mormon that were unknown when the Book of Mormon was published.
However, McElveen and associates have either misrepresented or "lied" "again and again" over the course of the video.
To read more:
- John E. Clark, "'Archaeology, Relics, and Book of Mormon Belief'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/2 (2005). [38–49] link
- Book of Mormon and Biblical archaeology
- Daniel C. Peterson, "Mounting Evidence for the Book of Mormon," Ensign 30/1 (January 2000): 18.off-site
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Claim: "Joseph Smith was a complete deceiver. He deceived people into believing that he had a revelation from God when he did not. The Book of Abraham has been proven false and Joseph Smith along with it. The DNA evidence showed he was false about what he said that the Lamanites and then the Indians descended from Israel—from the Jews. It was proven that they did not. He lied about that. He was a liar from the very beginning." - Floyd McElveen
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The DVD participants apparently believe that they can merely make claims, and have them be accepted. All of these issues have already been addressed, and remain false.
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Claim: "Do you want to know truth about who God is and how to know Him and how to be with Him forever? Then listen to this book, which is free of error because God can’t lie. He makes no mistakes." - Dr. John Whitcomb
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Claim: "It’s a question of what the truth is. It’s a question of what the evidence is. It’s a question of, did a man come along 1800 years into the history of Christianity and totally revise what Christianity says and what the Bible says? And that’s what we believe Joseph Smith did." - Dr. Phil Roberts, President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
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It matters very little what Dr. Roberts, the Baptist Theological Seminary, or the other critics "think" Joseph Smith did. What matters is what Joseph claimed to do, and what the Latter-day Saints believe he did.
Joseph did not claim to "revise" Christianity, or alter what the Bible says. He claimed to restore Christianity to a purer state. LDS doctrine does not alter Biblical doctrines, but it does offer a different interpretation of the Biblical data. Dr. Roberts and his fellows are so utterly convinced that their view is the correct one that they seem unable to even conceive that someone might legitimately interpret the Bible differently.
Yet, Dr. Roberts' Baptist denomination is hardly younger than Joseph Smith's denomination, with historical roots in the 17th century at the earliest. Are we to instead believe that someone could reform Christianity without prophetic authority? Either Christianity persisted, uncontaminated, from the days of the apostles, or it was corrupted. If it became corrupted, by what authority did Dr. Roberts' denomination correct it? And, how can a neutral observer know if that authority is legitimate? The Bible certainly doesn't confer a divine mantle on the Baptists (or anyone else). Since we've been told that a witness of the Holy Spirit is off-limits, the critics have painted themselves into a corner.
[needs work]
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Claim: "I would greatly encourage any Mormon or any person who is thinking about Mormonism to examine objectively the life of Joseph Smith, the reliability and the teachings of the Book of Mormon over against the Jesus of the New Testament and the reliability of the Bible and its truthfulness." - Dr. Phil Roberts, President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
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ANSWER
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Claim: "There is a tremendous amount of respect that I have for them and their dedication and how hard they are seeking and the burden that they are willing to carry in their impossible attempt to live up to their impossible gospel demands." - Joel Kramer, Director, Living Hope Ministries
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The reader is invited to consider just how much "respect" the Latter-day Saints and their faith have experienced from Mr. Kramer and his ministry.
Mr. Kramer again presumes to speak for the Latter-day Saints—they do not consider the demands which a merciful Christ puts upon them to be "impossible," or even onerous. As Jesus taught, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11꞉30).
Distorted ideas about the Latter-day Saints' views on salvation have already been addressed here.
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Claim: "Virtually every verse I quote in scripture is [given to my congregation] because you need to go home and check me out. You need to see what the Bible has to say not what John says, not what Joseph says, not what anybody says but God. What does God say about these issues? You need to check these things out. It is your soul—your eternal soul—that is on the line and there is no reset button at the judgment. There is no finger pointing: ‘But he misled me.’ You have an obligation for the sake of your soul as well as to be able to share the truth with your family, people you love, to check out what God’s word has to say on these issues and not what somebody else had to say and the answers are found only in the word of God which is the Bible." - John McCartney, Pastor, First Baptist Church of Tooele, Utah.
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ANSWER
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Claim: "What I’ve discovered is when you counter Mormon theology with biblical fact and you back them up into a corner they most always go back to, ‘Well I’ve experienced a testimony.’" - Roger Oakland, President, Understand the Times
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The reader is invited to consider whether any reply to any of the so-called "facts" presented by the Search for the Truth DVD have been answered with "Well, we at FAIR have a testimony."
Members of FAIR do have testimonies, but there are legitimate Biblical and historical answers to all the questions posed by the critics. No member can answer every objection from a hostile critic, especially one who is so convinced that their interpretation of the Bible is the only way in which a honest, Christian, God-fearing person could understand the text. But, an individual's inability to answer to the satisfaction of self-appointed "Christian" judges says nothing about the merits of any position.
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ANSWER
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Claim: "...when you ask them, ‘Well what do you mean by “the testimony?” Is that the burning in the bosom?’ They say, ‘Yes, of course, and you too could have the experience of the burning in the bosom all you need to do is ask God if what Joseph Smith said is true.’ Now isn’t this amazing? To stake your eternal life based on some kind of a feeling, a subjective feeling? Where would you find that in the scriptures? Absolutely nowhere." - Roger Oakland, President, Understand the Times
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ANSWER
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Claim: "My faith that I will be spending eternity in heaven with Jesus Christ is dependent upon understanding who He is and what He’s done. The shed blood of Jesus Christ, His life was sacrificed upon the cross, His blood was shed, He died, He is resurrected—He lives today. And if I would believe in Him and who He is and what He’s done and acknowledge who I am and what I’ve done and ask for forgiveness then I can spend eternity with him. It has nothing to do with a burning in the bosom." - Roger Oakland, President, Understand the Times
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ANSWER
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Claim: "All you have to do is believe in Christ and be saved and confess it and then that’s it." - Tim Howard (Former Mormon)
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ANSWER
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Claim: "It don’t have to be I’ve got to join this Church and then on top of that I’ve got to pay my tithing to get a Temple recommend and then I’ve got to have a Temple recommend to get into the Temple and then I’ve got to go to the Temple so that I can live with God so that I can become a God so that I can go have a planet to not be with God. It just don’t make sense." - Tim Howard (Former Mormon)
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ANSWER
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Claim: "Why would you trust Joseph Smith over the Bible?" - Sandra Tanner, President, Utah Lighthouse Ministry
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ANSWER
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Claim: "What is the criteria for testing a prophet? Let’s look at that and I would hope the person would then be able to see Joseph Smith doesn’t deserve the honor and recognition that they’ve always given to him. He doesn’t measure up against what God said in the Bible." - Sandra Tanner, President, Utah Lighthouse Ministry
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ANSWER
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Claim: "You know, I thought to myself I’m teaching these kids, let alone my own kids, this song about a prophet that I don’t even believe is true." - Karen Howard (Former Mormon)
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This is a bizarre objection. Ms. Howard was teaching her children something she didn't believe? No parent ought to teach children things that they don't believe are true. However, that Ms. Howard did so is no fault of the Church's. The Church constantly emphasizes the necessity of knowing for oneself if one is following the path approved by God.
Ms. Howard's belief or disbelief says nothing about the truth or falsehood of any belief.
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Claim: "My heart, to see that people could know the truth because Jesus said if you know the truth the truth will set you free." - Scott Gallantin, Pastor, Calvary Chapel
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If the truth is all that is necessary to set us free (and Latter-day Saints believe that it is), why has Pastor Gallantin chosen to lend his name to a DVD that distorts and lies about the faith of the Latter-day Saints? Why does he not present all the facts, or refuse to associate with those who will not?
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Claim: "And I’m sure that if you do that if you truly seek Him out in the Bible I’m sure that Jesus would begin to speak to you and you would know the truth." - Scott Gallantin, Pastor, Calvary Chapel
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How does Pastor Gallantin know that Jesus does not speak to the Latter-day Saints as they read the Bible. (According to a Christian research group, a Latter-day Saint is statistically more likely to read the Bible during the week
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