New Witness for Christ in America 1:200-201; “That errors of grammar and faults in diction do exist in the Book of Mormon (and more especially and abundantly in the first edition) must be conceded…The errors are constitutional in their character; they are of the web and woof of the style, and not such errors as may be classed as typographical. Indeed, the first edition of the Book of Mormon is singularly free from typographical errors.” – Francis W. Kirkham, reprinted from B.H. Roberts’, Defense of the Faith and the Saints 1:281
Exodus 20:16; “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
My mother-in-law was an antiques dealer and traveled all over the States looking for new treasures she could sell in her stores down in southern California. Even after she closed her stores her love for antiques never waned so whenever she was here visiting we’d watch a program on television called Antiques Roadshow. I still watch that program and often wonder what she’d think of the items people bring in for appraisals and last night while watching the show I couldn’t turn away when they said they were airing from Boise, Idaho.
One man who owns an 1830 BoM took his beloved possession in to be appraised and the antiques dealer told him it was worth $75K, but worth much more than that to the man and his family who’d owned it since 1833.
The man said he and his family still use the book in their family study time and I wondered what he must think when he studies it and then reads the same passage in a modern version because they’re clearly not the same. What does he tell his kids?
Later in the program another gentleman came in with a couple of ghoulish looking clay figures he said that he’d purchased for $500 from archaeologists down in South or Central America.
He told the appraiser that archaeology experts at BYU had appraised those years earlier for over $5,000. The appraiser on the program told him they’re junk and made for tourists; their total worth was no more than $10-15. At that point I wasn’t sure who to feel sorrier for; the owner of the 1830 BoM or the owner of the fake artifacts.
I learned from my mother-in-law the key component in assessing the worth of something is homework. You have to know your subject matter and you have to take the time to learn both the good and bad about it. Rule number two is ask for others’ expertise. There is always someone out there that knows more than you do so be humble enough to seek them out. Aside from the Bible and God Himself nothing is completely good. Something can look worth a lot of money and end up being like those fake clay figures.
Homework is what the body of Christ is lacking today. Dr. Walter Martin once said “the cults are the unpaid bills of the body of Christ” and his assessment reminds me of the bible my husband carried around with him as a child. His grandmother gave him a leather-bound KJV when he was very young and she placed little stickers of gold crosses in the front cover.
While he took it with him to the Lutheran church he attended as a child he hadn’t stopped to think about those crosses or read his bible before he joined Mormonism and got tricked into believing the false assessment of God from someone who claimed to know all about Him.
Sadly, no one from the local Lutheran church he attended took time to give him a call and see how life was going for him and the cults are always waiting in the shadows to love bomb their targets and draw them in. They’re ready to give you all the attention you want.
It’s hard to know who’s giving you a true assessment if you haven’t done your homework. More than half of the converts the Church brings in are from someone who belongs to another church.
The Mormon historians who are experts on their religion have obviously admitted the BoM is faulty and it’s not because of the printer. Don’t you owe it to yourself to know the truth so you can make a clear assessment?
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