Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Kingdom of the Cults (Revised)/Index


A work by author: Walter Martin, Hank Hanegraaff (editor)

Index to claims made in The Kingdom of the Cults (Revised edition)

This is an index of claims made in this work with links to corresponding responses within the FAIRwiki. An effort has been made to provide the author's original sources where possible. This index only treats the section of the book dealing with Mormonism.

Page Claim Response Author's sources

179
  •  Author's quote: [I]n keeping with the acceleration of cult propoganda everywhere, the Mormons have around 50,000 "missionaries" active today
  • Author's opinion

180
  • The book claims that Latter-day Saints are cautioned against the use of "caffeine-bearing drinks, such as Coca-Cola."
  • No source provided.

181
  • Tithing is claimed to be one-tenth of gross income.
  • No source provided.

181, n3
  • Utah "shows that rates of divorce, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, and suicide are above the national average and climbing."
  • No source provided.

182
  •  Author's quote: Mormons…flourish a pseudo-mastery of Scripture before the uninformed Christian's dazzled eyes and confuse him, sometimes beyond description.
  • Author's opinion

182
  • The book refers to the "young and boastful Joseph Smith…"
  • No source provided.

182
  • It is claimed that Joseph Smith's statement that "no man knows my history" resulted in "endless suspicion by Mormon historians and non-Mormons" who began researching it.
  • This claim is absurd. The history of the Church has been of intense interest to historians since the Church was formed.
  • No source provided.

182
  • Joseph Smith practiced "occult peep-stone seeking."
  • No source provided.

182
  • Joseph Smith practices "treasure digging."
  • No source provided.

182
  • Joseph Smith committed "adultery before the polygamy prophecy."
  • No source provided.

182
  • Joseph Smith proclaimed that the Book of Mormon "is the most correct of any book on earth."
  • No source provided.

182
  • Joseph Smith said "I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam…"
  • History of the Church, 6:408-409

183
  • According to D. Michael Quinn, Joseph Smith Sr. was a "mystic" and a treasure digger.

183
  • Joseph Smith Jr. was "interested in treasure seeking even after he became president of the LDS Church.

183
  • D. Michael Quinn was excommunicated "after refusing to keep silent about his unflattering research."

184
  • Brigham Young wanted to suppress Lucy Mack Smith's history because it had "many mistakes."
  • Millennial Star, 17:297-298, personal letter dated January 31, 1885.

184
  •  Author's quote: It is interesting to observe that Smith could not have been too much moved by the heavenly vision, for he shortly took up once again the habit of digging for treasure along with his father and brother, who were determined to unearth treasure by means of 'peep stones,' 'divining rods,' or just plain digging.
  • No source provided

184
  • Joseph is claimed to have gone "on record as denying that he had ever been a money-digger."
  • Joseph Smith, History, 1:55

184
  • Joseph "took part in and personally supervised numerous treasure-digging expeditions" and "claimed supernatural powers."
  • The claim relies upon a hostile source Gleanings by the Way (1842) , written by the Rev. John A. Clark. There are no sources provided for Clark's statements, although it is likely that he relies upon the Hurlbut affidavits:

"...Jo Smith, who has since been the chief prophet of the Mormons, and was one of the most prominent ostensible actors in the first scenes of this drama, belonged to a very shiftless family near Palmyra. They lived a sort of vagrant life, and were principally known as money-diggers. Jo from a boy appeared dull and utterly destitute of genius; but his father claimed for him a sort of second sight, a power to look into the depths of the earth, and discover where its precious treasures were hid. Consequently long before the idea of a GOLDEN BIBLE entered their minds, in their excursions for money-digging, which I believe usually occurred at night, that they might conceal from others the knowledge of the place where they struck upon treasures, Jo used to be usually their guide, putting into a hat a peculiar stone he had through which he looked to decide where they should begin to dig.

  • Rev. John A. Clark, Gleanings by the Way, (Philadelphia: W.J. and J.K. Simon; New York: Robert Carter, 1842), 225 off-site

184
  • A hearing 1826 ruled that Joseph was "guilty of money-digging."

186
  • The angel Moroni was originally identified as Nephi.
  • 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price.
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism—Shadow or Reality?, 5th edition, (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1987), 136.
  • Times and Seasons, vol. 3, 753

186
  •  Author's quote: This unfortunate crossing up of the divine communication system was later remedied by thoughful Mormon scribes who have exercised great care to ferret out all the historical and factual blunders not readily explainable in the writings of Smith...

187, n10
  • "Reformed Egyptian" has never been seen by any "leading Egyptologist.

188
  • The book claims that Sidney Rigdon "virtually challenged the whole state to do pitched battle with the 'Saints'" and as a result they were "subsequently persecuted and expelled."
  • Partially true. Sidney did indeed make an inflammatory speech. This did not, however, initiate persecution against the Latter-day Saints. Sidney's speech was prompted by the persecution that the Saints had experienced so far, including his own tar and feather experience and the expulsion of the Saints from Independence, Missouri.

189
  •  Author's quote: [I]n Kirtland, Nauvoo, Jackson County, etc., the Mormons had a chance to win converts to Smith's religion because they were strangers and the character of the prophet was unknown in those areas.

189-190
  • It is claimed that Eber D. Howe "did tremendous research during Joseph's lifetime" on Joseph's character, and that Joseph "never dared to answer Howe's charges."

190
  • Latter-day Saints "pretend" that Howe's work was the result of a "revengeful vendetta of one Dr. Philastus Hurlbut." The "fact" that stories published by Howe were "publicly circulated previous to Hurlbut's excommunication" is claimed to be "incontestable."

190
  • It is claimed that there are "no contemporary pro-Mormon statements from reliable and informed sources who knew the Smith family and Joseph intimately."

190
  • John C. Bennett, one of Josephs "former assistants" is claimed to have "boldly exposed the practice of polygamy in Nauvoo."

191
  •  Author's quote: "Each succeeding president of the Mormon Church claims...an infallible prophetic succession."

191-192
  • Brigham Young and the Mountain Meadows massacre.

193
  •  Author's quote: [T]he god of Mormonism elevates "white" races as supreme and has demeaned African-Americans and Native Americans as "unrighteous."
  • No citation provided.

193
  • The Book of Mormon describes the "Native-American" curse as a "skin of blackness."

194
  • Editions of the Book of Mormon printed after 1981 changed the word "white" to "pure" in order to "delete" "racist overtones."

194
  • Brigham Young made degrading comments about race in the Journal of Discourses.

194
  • The Urim and Thummim were "supernatural spectacles."
  • The Urim and Thummin were never described in the Bible, nor in Church history as being "supernatural."

194
  • The first edition of the Book of Mormon listed Joseph Smith as "author and proprietor."
  • It should also be noted that the following page in the 1830 Book of Mormon describes how Joseph translated the plates, and clearly states that he is a "translator."
  • Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon copyright

195
  •  Author's quote: The conflicting methods Smith used for translating the Book of Mormon leaves little doubt that the story changed often through its progressive history.
  • The author wishes to contrast the story of the translation using the Urim and Thummim with the use of a seer stone placed in a hat. In reality, both methods are believed to have been employed and the timeline documenting their use is consistent.
  • Book of Mormon translation method
  • David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 12.
  • Deseret News Church Section, September 20, 1969, 32.
  • Emma Smith, The Saint's Herald, 310.

197
  • Charles Anthon claimed that he never told Martin Harris that the translation of the characters from the gold plates was correct.
  • Letter from Charles Anthono to E.D. Howe, Feb. 17, 1834.

199
  • Nobody has found "the slightest trace" of a language known as "reformed Egyptian."
  • Author's opinion.

200
  • The book claims that archaeological evidence refutes the Book of Mormon.
  • Author's opinion.

200
  • The Smithsonian Institution has refuted Book of Mormon archaeological claims.
  • Smithsonian statement.

201
  • The author states that "elephants never existed on this continent."
  • Actually, Mastodons and Mammoths did exist on the American continent. The question is whether or not they existed into the Jaredite timeframe before they were hunted to extinction in the Americas. Note the the only mention of elephants in the Book of Mormon relates to the earlier Jaredite civilization.
  • Book of Mormon anachronisms/Animals
  • Author's opinion.

201
  • The book claims that the metals described in the Book of Mormon "have never been found in any of the areas of contemporary civilizations of the New World."
  • Author's opinion.

201
  • BYU professor Thomas Stuart Ferguson called Book of Mormon geography "fictional."
  • Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Ferguson's Manuscript Unveiled, 1988.

202
  • "Mormon theology" claims that Native Americans are "descendants of the Lamanites" and that they are "of the Semitic race."
  • W.C. Boyd, The Contributions of Genetics to Anthropology.
  • Bentley Glass.

202
  •  Author's quote: Now, if the Lamanites, as the Book of Mormon claims, were the descendants of Nephi, who was a Jew of the Mediterranean Caucasoid type...
  • The statement is incorrect. The Book of Mormon does not claim that the Lamanites were the descendants of Nephi." Also not considered are the Mulekites, the Jaredites, and the likely presence of people on the continent before Lehi's arrival.
  • Amerindians as Lamanites
  • Author's opinion.

202-203
  • The Book of Mormon was "corrected" without "consulting the missing golden plates."

203
  • The name "Benjamin" was changed to "Mosiah" in Mosiah ꞉21.

203
  • The Book of Mormon plagiarizes the King James Bible.

204
  • Martin Harris is claimed to said that he saw the plates with his "spiritual eyes" rather than his "naked eyes."
  • Recollections of John H. Gilbert, 1892, Typescript, BYU, 5-6.

204
  •  Author's quote: The Mormons are loath to admit that all three of these witnesses later apostatized from the Mormon faith and were described in the most unflattering terms ("counterfeiters, thieves, [and] liars") by their Mormon contemporaries.
  •  The author's claim is false. The fact that the witnesses left the Church is actually taught in Church. The fact that none of them ever denied their testimony that they say the angel and the plates, despite the fact that they all disagreed with Joseph Smith later in their lives when they could have "exposed the fraud" so to speak, makes their testimony even more powerful. New documents, such as the recent William McLellin notebook, continue to provide proof that the witnesses never denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon.

204
  • The book claims that Joseph Smith "wrote prophecies and articles against the character of the witnesses," and that this makes their testimony "suspect."
  • DC 3꞉12
  • Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 3:228. Volume 3 link
  • Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 3:232. Volume 3 link

204
  • Oliver Cowdery is claimed to have denied his testimony in the Times and Seasons.
  • The source is a poem by Eliza Snow, the first part of which reads:

Amazed with wonder! I look round Or prove that Christ was not the Lord
To see most people of our day, Because Peter cursed and swore?
Reject the glorious gospel sound, Or Book of Mormon not his word
Because the simple turn away. Because denied, by Oliver?
Or does it prove there is no time, Or prove, that Joseph Smith is false
Because some watches will not go? Because apostates say tis so?

  • Times and Seasons, 2:482.

204
  • Martin Harris is claimed to have "denied the teaching of Brigham Young" after he was rebaptized.
  • No source provided.

204
  • David Whitmer is claimed to have said that "it was a vision and not an actual visitation by an angelic person."
  • David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, p. 32.

204-205
  • The Book of Mormon contains passages from the King James Bible.

205
  • Some of Christ's words in 3 Nephi are a paraphase of a sermon made by Peter, before Peter had made it. According to the author, 3 Nephi "makes Christ out to be a liar" because Christ "attributes Peter's words to Moses as a direct quotation," while Peter was actually paraphrasing Moses.

205
  • The Book of Mormon is said to "follow an error" in the King James Bible in Isaiah 4꞉5 (2 Nephi 14꞉5). The phrase "For upon all the glory shall be a defense" should actually be "For over all the gloary there will be a canopy."

205
  • The Jaredites are claimed to have "enjoyed glass windows" in their barges.

205
  • The Book of Mormon mentions "steel" and a "compass."




Further reading

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{{To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition}} To learn more box:responses to: 8: The Mormon Proposition edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Benjamin Park}} To learn more about responses to: Benjamin Park edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Colby Townshed}} To learn more about responses to: Colby Townshed edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Dan Vogel}} To learn more about responses to: Dan Vogel edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: George D Smith}} To learn more about responses to: George D Smith edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD}} To learn more about responses to: Jesus Christ-Joseph Smith or Search for the Truth DVD edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: John Dehlin}} To learn more about responses to: John Dehlin edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Jonathan Neville}} To learn more about responses to: Jonathan Neville edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Kurt Van Gorden}} To learn more about responses to: Kurt Van Gorden edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Rod Meldrum}} To learn more about responses to: Rod Meldrum edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Roger I Anderson}} To learn more about responses to: Roger I Anderson edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Ronald V. Huggins}} To learn more about responses to: Ronald V. Huggins edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Sally Denton}} To learn more about responses to: Sally Denton edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Thomas Murphy}} To learn more about responses to: Thomas Murphy edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Todd Compton}} To learn more about responses to: Todd Compton edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Vernal Holley}} To learn more about responses to: Vernal Holley edit
{{To learn more box:responses to: Walter Martin}} To learn more about responses to: Walter Martin edit
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{{To learn more box:responses to: Will Bagley}} To learn more about responses to: Will Bagley edit
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