{"chapter_no":"3","chapter_title":"Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, Part II","book_id":"5","book_name":"Truth Management","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"729","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":12,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 3<\/p>

Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, Part II<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

The impossibility of three great milestone events occurring in the world as a result of a hoax or
an innocent mistake: a heavenly vision proclaimed publicly in 1820 by a young boy<\/i>;<\/i> the coming forth of
very sophisticated volumes of new scripture <\/i>in 1830<\/i>,<\/i> and over the subsequent years;<\/i> and the great
achievements of the Church of Jesus Christ <\/i>of Latter-day Saints<\/i> o<\/i>ver many generations<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Now, to introduce the core argument—the simple logic that establishes the truthfulness of
Joseph Smith's testimony. It is based on probability, reason, and common sense.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Here is what we have (the IEH acronym is short for Important Event of History):<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(IEH1) The public claim of a fourteen-year-old boy in 1820 of a very unique heavenly
vision.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(IEH2) The coming forth of new, very sophisticated volumes of scripture (The Book of
Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price) in 1830, and over the
subsequent years, with eleven men provided to the world as additional witnesses beyond Joseph
himself.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(IEH3) The overwhelming success of a worldwide church and organization more than
190 years later that sets the standard of excellence for all other religious and secular institutions
of the world to follow.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

If you look at these three things together with the benefit of hindsight, when does
common sense start to take over in one's analysis of fact? In looking at the complete picture of
the Church up to today, it seems not just unlikely, but virtually impossible that all of this came
together as part of a fraudulent scheme or a misguided adventure of a fourteen-year-old boy from
Palmyra, New York of the early 1800s. The power of God is the only rational explanation.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Pay close attention to the follow-on relationship of IEH2 to IEH1. All of this discussion
of heavenly visions by the young Joseph Smith came about ten years BEFORE the Book of
Mormon was published, and long BEFORE the revelations that now comprise the Doctrine and
Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price were published to the world. Think about the timing of all
of this for a moment. A young teenager who had purposely made up a story like this, and who
had gone into the public eye with it in 1820 to fool people and aggrandize himself, would have
had an incredibly difficult time following it up years later by manufacturing something of the <\/p>

magnitude and complexity of the Book of Mormon and the other two volumes of scriptures. The
probability of something like that happening would seem to be pretty small. Critics of the Church
almost always forget this simple fact––the supporting relationship of key events on the timeline
of Joseph Smith's testimony. IEH2 provides a strong testimony in support of IEH1, and IEH3
provides a strong testimony in support of both IEH1 and IEH2. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

And with respect once again to the Book of Mormon alone, for a fourteen-year-old boy to
declare he had seen a vision of God is one thing, but then, seven years later in 1827, to somehow
assemble and start managing a very complex \"Book of Mormon\" fraud team comprised of
himself, his wife, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris—any one of whom could have pulled the
plug on such a scheme at any point and gone public with what was really going on (Martin
Harris's wife, in fact, had hoped to do just that)—that is surely quite ridiculous. Yet, as some
would have you believe, the members of this talented team all worked hard together over a very
stressful couple of years inventing Book of Mormon stories, historical settings, character names
and personalities, sophisticated new doctrines, and so forth—doctrines perhaps considered
wrongheaded on their face in relation to mainstream Christian views of the day, but numerous
enough, deep enough, and internally consistent enough to continually fool many millions of
persons over the next two centuries, including countless scholars and highly educated persons
with advanced college degrees<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Other Theories of the Book of Mormon's Origin<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

Or it's possible the team received some help. One alternative theory of the Book of
Mormon's origin was that Sidney Rigdon, not content with preaching in his own congregation
and all the related responsibilities he had in Ohio, suddenly became aware of, and very interested
in the goings-on in, an obscure little farmhouse many miles away in another state. Therefore, one
evening in the spring of 1829 (or perhaps earlier or later, the actual date, time, and travel method
are undocumented), he quietly boarded a red-eye flight and arrived at the Harmony,
Pennsylvania airport with the stolen Spaulding <\/i>manuscript in his possession. With the
manuscript in hand, and as one having a strong knowledge of the Bible and a good many years of
religious experience behind him, he was ready to get this struggling fraud project finally off the
ground. <\/p>

 <\/p>

But there is also a second theory. Oliver Cowdery, who, after five minutes of reading,
was probably not impressed with Solomon Spaulding's writings, urged the team to use instead
View of the Hebrews<\/i> by Ethan Smith as the foundation for the scheme. A dispute between Oliver
and Sidney over the matter may have ensued, requiring Joseph to intervene. The logical decision
by Joseph was probably to make use of not just one, but both the Spalding <\/i>m<\/i>anuscript<\/i> and View
of the Hebrews<\/i> together in the project to settle the dispute. The convergence of these two absurd
theories and the source material therefrom, as fraught with problems as they both individually
are, at least would have given the fraud team a larger inventory of names, locations, and general
storylines to draw from. Combining the two books and theories together also offers skeptics the
widest possible targeting of a shotgun approach when shooting wildly. And that is important,
because if one were to attend Sunday School class in any one of the 30,000 Latter-day Saint
wards throughout the world every Sunday, it would be obvious that the fantastic gospel lessons <\/p>

being taught from the Book of Mormon are clearly not derived from View of the Hebrews<\/i> or any
written works authored by Solomon Spaulding. <\/p>

 <\/p>

We could also look at The Late War<\/i> by Gilbert J. Hunt, assuming that Joseph or any
member of his fraud team had any particular knowledge of it––a fairly big assumption that all by
itself might disqualify the theory. In fact, what one sees here in this book is basically an example
of what the Book of Mormon would have looked like had it actually been some kind of
fraudulent work. That’s not to discredit Gilbert Hunt’s book at all. His was an interesting effort
to tell the story of the War of 1812 using biblical style. But his book clearly demonstrates what
manufactured biblical verse from the early nineteenth century looks and feels like. Rather than
prove the Book of Mormon to be a fraud, it shows us just the opposite. One just needs to browse
and compare the two books for a few minutes to see the difference. <\/p>

 <\/p>

We do, however, agree with some critics who say that Joseph Smith was a genius, but his
genius was in humility, faith, and wisdom. This genius led him to seek the truth of God through
prayer as a fourteen-year-old boy, something he did long before any of these new books of the
restoration of the gospel were introduced to the world.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Mark Twain was a great American, but his analysis of the Book of Mormon was
superficial at best. It's almost sad to read his commentary. Here are just a few of the important
and fascinating bullet points any educated (or uneducated) book reader will easily find when
reading through the Book of Mormon text for the first time: <\/p>

 <\/p>

(1) The life mission and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His teachings of the gospel to
the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. <\/p>

 <\/p>

(2) The importance to the gospel of revelation, miracles, and the gifts of the Spirit, and
more complete definitions and specific examples of the same.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(3) That a government leader or religious leader should strive to labor with his own hands
as much as possible to not burden the people for his financial support. In the cases of King
Mosiah and King Benjamin, it is very likely that there have been no better examples in the
history of mankind of how one should lead others in government, other than the example of
Christ Himself.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(4) The wearing of costly apparel as an outward sign of social class––being lifted up in
the pride of one's eyes and esteeming oneself as being better than others.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(5) The bad example of those who profess to belong to the Church of God becoming a
stumbling block to those who don't.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(6) The value to society of \"goodly parents,\" the keeping of historical records to pass
down to future generations, and the keeping of a spiritual record of the people separate from the
main historical records for future generations, as well as for those who will live in the latter days.<\/p>

(7) The means by which individuals, families, and entire nations can achieve success in
life––\"If you keep the commandments of God, you will prosper in the land.\"<\/p>

 <\/p>

(8) There is opposition in all things.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(9) There is a period of time between death and the resurrection.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(10) The destructiveness of pride to one's character and personal well-being.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(11) Duty to country, basic rights, and freedom proclaimed (fighting against those of high
birth or stature in society), and the Title of Liberty being raised to inspire the people. <\/p>

 <\/p>

(12) The decline of civilization when there is general wickedness and the people fall
away from truth and light.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(13) Secret combinations (a particularly evil subset of wickedness) will ultimately
destroy governments and even entire civilizations.<\/p>

 <\/p>

(14) Truth comes to one by sincerely asking the Lord through prayer. <\/p>

 <\/p>

These profound and very important topics and principles of the book, as well as many
others, were all largely missed by Mark Twain and other persons who have read the book in a
similar overly-technical, drive-by manner. They claw at it from the outside, seeking to find
something in their reading that justifies their opposition to the Church or to organized religion in
general—reading the Book of Mormon the same way they read the Bible—but they are not able
to actually see and feel anything in their souls. The book is filled with inspiring sentences that
are punctuated by the Spirit and intended to lead men to Christ. To somehow compare the words
of the Book of Mormon (other than direct quotes of prophets from the brass plates, like Isaiah)
with those found in the Bible, and then consider them as some kind of copy and paste plagiarism,
is to deny common sense and the Spirit of God both at the same time<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

What is missing in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament, but also in the New
Testament, is a prophet historian like Mormon having all the writings of the other prophets and
apostles before him, organzing, commenting, summarizing, omitting some books entirely while
leaving other books intact and in their fulness. This is one of the key reasons why the Book of
Mormon is better. It was edited by a prophet of God and not a king-appointed commission of
men doing the best they could with no direct revelation capability of their own<\/span>. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Furthermore, the Book of Mormon provides clarity in the basic doctrines of Christ, a
clarity lacking in many verses of the Old and New Testaments which, even when properly
translated, have created problems of conflicting interpretations among the many Christian
churches of the earth for centuries. The whole purpose of the Bible is that all men might come to
know God and, thereby, bring forth the fruits of charity in their lives and enter the gate to eternal
life. In planning for the restoration in the latter days, the Lord was fully aware of this need for
simplicity of gospel truths. Thus, the true genius of the Book of Mormon is in its plainness of
speech.<\/p>

 <\/p>

What is also missing in the Bible that has plagued the Judeo-Christian world for
thousands of years is a simple definition of the nature of God, and also of the Godhead. A few
words of clarification like this found in Doctrine and Covenants Section 130 would have greatly
enhanced the world's understanding of God all these many years:<\/p>

 <\/p>

The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy
Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy
Ghost could not dwell in us.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

What are the basic values taught by the Book of Mormon? Answer: The best values ever
taught in the history of the world. Good, traditional Christian values are found in every page, just
as one might expect from reading a second testament of Jesus Christ.<\/p>

 <\/p>

What is the general feel of the Book of Mormon as one reads it? The feel is one of
obvious authenticity and not of a fabricated work created to deceive men. There is peace and
goodness and soberness throughout all of its pages. It's a serious book, exhorting men and
women to love the traditional Judeo-Christian God of human history with all of their hearts, to
repent, to be baptized, to keep His commandments, and to remain faithful until the end of their
lives. <\/p>

 <\/p>

One reading the Book of Mormon will also quickly realize that it has the feel of men who
speak with authority, and this authority in their writings is natural, not something forced or
manufactured artificially to create effect. The only concern of these men is for your eternal
welfare, as well as for the welfare of those they were called upon to preside over during their
earthly ministries. Having authority from God, they don't care what it is that you currently
believe in your life. They present the truth for you to reconcile yourself to, and to hopefully be
changed in reaction to. Authority from God, plainness in the doctrine of Christ, and the power
and testimony of the Spirit––what a wonderful mixture for the reader!<\/p>

 <\/p>

It's also very easy for us as Latter-day Saints to read the Book of Mormon, as well as the
other Latter-day Saint scriptures, and then go to the Bible and feel right at home with the
teachings and principles found there. We may struggle to reconcile the Bible with the doctrine
and teachings of the thousands of other Christian churches that exist in the world today, but not
with our own doctrine and teachings. The description of God the Father sitting on His throne in
heaven; His Son, Jesus Christ, sitting or standing nearby at His right hand; and both the
personage and gift of the Holy Ghost, are clearly the literal Godhead in operation we find
referenced everywhere in the Old and New Testaments. Thus, we find the Bible to be a perfect
fit with our beliefs, and with the principles found in the other volumes of modern scriptures that
we have grown up with and enjoy. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Book of Mormon-reading Latter-day Saints will also feel right at home living in America
and other freedom-loving countries of the world, with their systems of laws and legacies of
freedom. This stands in contrast with many living in other parts of the world who belong to <\/p>

religions that see the separation of church and state not as a blessing, and not as a basic freedom
that must be fought and died for, but as an evil that one should fight against.<\/p>

 <\/p>

We could have taken the twenty best writers of the nineteenth century (Mark Twain could
be among them), gathered them into a single room in upstate New York in 1827, given them
copies of View of the Hebrews<\/i>, all of Solomon Spalding's writings, the Bible, and any other book
or books in print at the time, but they still would not have been able to create anything remotely
close to the Book of Mormon that came off the presses to the world for the first time in 1830.
Collectively as a group, they would have been able to do amazing things, creating impressive
writings and novels, but not anything with the power and majesty of the Book of Mormon. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Even the inspired writers who are greatly admired and referenced repeatedly by the
author throughout this book––Victor Hugo (Les Miserables<\/i>), Charles Dickens (A Christmas
Carol<\/i>), and Lew Wallace (Ben Hur<\/i>)––could not have written the Book of Mormon<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

No biblical scholar––not ten of them, and not a hundred of them––could have created the
Book of Mormon. It is a significant upgrade from the King James Bible in both power and
plainness of the teachings of Christ, just as the New Testament is a significant upgrade to the Old
Testament. Biblical scholars, whether of the period of Sidney Rigdon or of today, lack the spirit
of revelation needed to refocus, sharpen, and expand upon the words of the Bible to create a
book from scratch at this level. Nothing like it had been published before, other than the Bible
itself, and nothing like it has been published since, other than the Doctrine and Covenants and
the Pearl of Great Price. There is not a book in print today that compares to it except the Bible. It
is a spiritual work of art. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Joseph Smith himself did not have the ability to write the Book of Mormon. Neither did
Oliver Cowdery, Emma Smith, Martin Harris nor Sidney Rigdon. One just needs to read through
the book fully a time or two to realize this. <\/p>

 <\/p>

We could provide many, but here are four examples of how a simple read and review of a
few verses of the Book of Mormon shows obvious sophistication. <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

A first example: <\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Many members of the Church have probably realized––to their astonishment––that the
word \"happiness\" does not occur in the King James Bible at all, either in the Old Testament or
the New Testament. But it occurs in twenty-six verses of the Book of Mormon. So, with respect
to verses, stories, and teachings involving this particular word at least, there was no copy and
paste operation going on from the Bible.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

\"Happiness!\" What a fantastic word to be referenced throughout a volume of new
scripture claiming to contain the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! And what an important
word to be found, unfortunately, missing from the Bible. But it's not just the fact that the word
\"happiness\" is used in the Book of Mormon, or the frequency of its use. The amazing part is
HOW it is used. These happen to be some of the most important, powerful, and beautiful verses
of the book.<\/p>

<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Here are seventeen verses using \"happiness\" to enjoy––<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(1) Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be
restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. <\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>2<\/i>) But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance,
because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the
Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>3<\/i>) Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be
the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(4<\/i>) For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in
the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness
nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one;
wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death,
nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>5<\/i>) And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no
righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>6<\/i>) Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which
also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which
was as eternal also as the life of the soul.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(7<\/i>) But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that
there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in
happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth,
and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged
according to their works.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>8<\/i>) Now, there are some that have understood that this state of happiness and this state of
misery of the soul, before the resurrection, was a first resurrection. Yea, I admit it may be termed
a resurrection, the raising of the spirit or the soul and their consignation to happiness or misery,
according to the words which have been spoken.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>9<\/i>) And in one year were thousands and tens of thousands of souls sent to the eternal
world, that they might reap their rewards according to their works, whether they were good or
whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which
they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(10<\/i>) While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they
rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they
are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

<\/p>

<\/span><\/p>

(<\/i>11<\/i>) The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good
according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(12)<\/i> And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>13<\/i>) Now behold, it was not expedient that man should be reclaimed from this temporal
death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(<\/i>14<\/i>) But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever—yea, that
happiness which is prepared for the saints.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(1<\/i>5<\/i>) And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all
things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised
to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of
God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on
the other—<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(16<\/i>) But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your
salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have
sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for
happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is
in our great and Eternal Head.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

(1<\/i>7<\/i>) And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state
of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both
temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that
thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember
that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.<\/i><\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

As you can see, the word \"happiness\" was not arbitrarily used in these verses to simply
fill space in a book pretending to be something it is not. The fulness, the power, and the majesty
of the gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly on display. Only men filled with the spirit of revelation
and prophecy could speak or write words such as these.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

A second example:<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Compare 3rd Nephi 12:48 to Matthew 5:48. Any good Sunday School teacher in the
Church will be well familiar with these two verses and the subtle difference.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

New Testament version: Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Book of Mormon version: Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your
Father who is in heaven is perfect<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>

<\/p>

<\/span><\/p>

The key difference here is that Christ, who has now taken the sins of the whole world
upon himself, who has now completed His work in mortality, and who is appearing in
resurrected form to the remaining Nephites and Lamanites of the Western hemisphere, now
proclaims himself as perfect as well. A change to the sermon that is significant given the new
circumstances.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

This is the kind of attention to detail (of which there are so many!) that a more modern,
multimillion-dollar fraud team, one comprised of twenty or thirty full-time creative writers
working together on the same floor of a corporate office building, might demonstrate in their
book writing, but probably not a small budget three- or four-man fraud team of the late 1820s––a
team with limited talent, knowledge, and resources working feverishly to get some kind of
foundation book printed and out the door quickly to launch their false religion and enjoy all of
the “benefits” that it entails.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

A third example:<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

There is the reference to sheep of another fold in John 10:16, which is then expounded
upon in the Book of Mormon in 3rd Nephi 15––missionaries and most members of the Church
know both of these scriptures very well. To pull this one verse out from the New Testament, and
then to have the resurrected Christ expound upon it in such a profound way––building a doctrinal
foundation for the coming forth of the Book of Mormon itself––seems much more than just one
man's (or one fraud group's) genius. It makes everything fit together nicely, as if it were a link
between the two books provided by God Himself (which it was) that was thought out from the
beginning. This is more attention to detail that just doesn't fit the narrative that critics of the
Church and of the Book of Mormon want us to believe.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

A fourth example:<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Read the beautiful Psalm of Nephi––2nd Nephi Chapter 4: 15-35––and then ponder
seriously what you find there. How could someone just snap their fingers and come up with
something like this? It's slightly more beautiful and slightly more powerful than what your
typical criminal conspiracist/plagiarist could come up with. In fact, the fraud-team writer
assigned to 2nd Nephi, after having put down on paper powerful and glorious words like these,
and then having stopped for a moment to read them, might have felt the desire to bow down
before his creator and repent of his sins right then and there, causing him to resign from the
project and abandon his evil design to undermine mainstream Christianity. In fact, the message
of repentance and faith in Christ found throughout the Book of Mormon is so powerful that it
would have probably brought some or all of the fraud team members to repent of their sins very
early on in the process, with the result being that the sinful act of bringing a fraudulent book to
press would never happened in the first place<\/span>.<\/p>

 <\/p>

No man or woman, and no group of men or women, large or small, who lived in the
nineteenth century, were capable of manufacturing this book. The only rational explanation to
explain the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is the one testified to by Joseph Smith––it
came from God. The Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price volumes make this
rational explanation all the more obvious.<\/p>

 <\/p>

And if, in fact, Joseph would have conceived of an idea to create a fraudulent book to
deceive the world in support of his first vision testimony, wouldn't it have been far easier to take
credit for writing all of the words himself as the prophet? Why even bother with so many
different prophets, authors, and storylines? It was an approach taken that complicated the project
unnecessarily, increasing the risk of errors and the possibility, ultimately, of the fraud being
discovered.<\/p>

 <\/p>

One really has to admit the impossibility of a team comprised of Joseph Smith, Emma
Smith, Oliver Cowdery and/or Sidney Rigdon, given the obvious limitations of technology in
that era and the small size of their team (accepting that Sidney Rigdon was even there at all,
which is an absurd assumption), creating a fraud upon the world of this magnitude and then
holding it together without a leak all of their lives. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Any way you look at it, whether created from scratch or composed using made-up
doctrine and a sprinkling of ideas and storylines from various sources, everyone must agree that
the \"Book of Mormon fraud team\" did impressive and even miraculous work. Just read 3rd
Nephi chapters eleven through twenty-eight or the entire books of Mosiah and Alma; read 2nd
Nephi chapters two, four, nine, and twenty-five through thirty-three; read Moroni chapter seven
or chapter ten, Helaman chapter five, Ether chapters one to four, Jacob chapters four and five, or
otherwise select pretty much any chapter in the book at random to see how well they did.<\/p>

 <\/p>

But that’s not all––a second “Doctrine and Covenants fraud team” was assembled along
the way, and they did an equally impressive job creating the D&C. See these sections: 1, 6, 8, 9,
10, 46, 76, 87 (Word of Wisdom and its obvious health benefits ahead of its time), 88, 93, 107,
121, 122, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, just to name a few.<\/p>

 <\/p>

But then, if it was so well done, maybe the more likely scenario is that the adversary,
Lucifer himself, is the true author of the Book of Mormon? Try to imagine Lucifer and his
angels—a world-class fraud team for any age—putting something like this into play. But then,
think again. Think of just one chapter––Captain Moroni raising the Title of Liberty among the
people. It just doesn't fit the narrative of Lucifer at all. Even as a sprinkling of truth mixed with
error, this chapter risks inspiring the reader with the principles of freedom and self-
determination, thereby offering the devil high risk and little reward. The other chapters in the
book closely follow this pattern. <\/p>

 <\/p>

And if Lucifer's intent in creating the Book of Mormon was to deceive mainstream
Christians and take them away from beliefs based solely on the Bible then, yes, it might serve his
purposes. But in somehow leading them away from the Bible via teachings of \"prophets\" in the
Book of Mormon he, then, in the process, made the mistake of moving them closer to Christ.
That undermines Satan's key objective and is counterproductive—clearly not a good use of his
time. The Book of Mormon would seem to be a low-yield tool of deceit for him, since we have
found that, like the Bible that has been widely available for some time, it is a struggle even to get
people to pick up such books to read in the first place. He can win over souls easier through more
traditional means, having much more effective tools than this to entice and enslave the masses. <\/p>

Lucifer's efforts have consistently been to undermine the Book of Mormon through fraud and
lies of individuals, not to have directly or indirectly participated in its creation.<\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Conclusion<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

To conclude, let us just say that the sincere seeker of truth should simply read the Book
of Mormon and feel its power firsthand. The testimonies of Christ and the warm spirit contained
therein are self-evident. This is not a literary exercise one does as a member of a book club, nor
as opposition research done by a nervous pastor of another church who is worried about losing
members from his congregation, but is a spiritual exercise for any and all persons of the world
who are concerned about their standing before God. It's highly doubtful that Mark Twain
prayerfully sought after the promptings of the Holy Ghost in his reading. Perhaps that is why he
failed so severely in his life with respect to the Book of Mormon, not realizing its paramount
importance to the world. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The Book of Mormon is the greatest volume of scripture the world has ever seen.<\/p>

 <\/p>

It contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and it stands on its own.<\/p>

 <\/p>

It bolsters the Bible, allowing it to reach its full potential as the first testament of Christ.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Along with the restored Church itself, it is the greatest manifestation of Christianity on
earth.<\/p>

 <\/p>

The Book of Mormon was supervised in its publication by the Lord Jesus Christ
personally, just as the writings of past prophets and apostles of the Bible were supervised and
every word written very much known to Him. This publication happened in 1830, and in a spot
not too far away from where, just a few decades earlier, He had also inspired men to establish the
finest country the world has ever seen. The finest country ever established and the finest church
ever established, the one building upon the foundation of the other. These two institutions
coming together on earth at much the same time and in much the same place was not a
coincidence. The restoration of the gospel was planted in a wonderful spot of the Lord's
vineyard... in fact, the finest ever.<\/p>

 <\/p>

And you need only look at how the restored gospel is operating throughout the world
today (IEH3) as a final testimony of its truthfulness. It's a system of excellence... a marvelous
work and a wonder. It represents a level of achievement in human history that enemies and
contemporaries of Joseph Smith had no way of foreseeing at the time. By their fruits you shall
know them. Is there a better run and a more successful organization on earth than the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? If there is one, I'd like to see it, and then, tip my hat to it. I
know of no private business, no government agency, no nonprofit organization, and no other
religion of the world that comes close. We certainly acknowledge the immense good that comes
from other churches and religions, and the important work done every day by praiseworthy
organizations of all kinds across the globe, but this Church and its legacy of greatness is not just
unique, but full of the glory of God from top to bottom. It is the standard by which everything <\/p>

else on earth is measured. We just need it to grow many times larger and have it more fully
established throughout the world so it can have an impact upon more people's lives, if not all.<\/p>

 <\/p>

By simple reasoning alone, and with the advantage of hindsight, there can be no doubt
that Joseph Smith was chosen by Jesus Christ to be a transitional prophet and a great seer for the
world. There is nothing at all like the life and mission of Joseph Smith anywhere else in modern
history. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The power and glory of the Book of Mormon is a priceless treasure buried deep in the
earth that is yet to be discovered by the world. If the scientific community will make a serious
effort to research this inspired book exhaustively, thousands of unbiased researchers and staff
spending years and years of time figuring out where it actually came from before being
published in 1830, they will soon realize that they have in their hands, and before their eyes,
physical evidence of the existence of God.<\/p>"}