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CONTENT:
*Faults of men
At Jerusalem?
Changes & corrections?
Contradictions with Bible?
Doctrine of Trinity in B of M?
Elephants?
Honey bees?
Horses?
King James English
Olive Trees in vineyards?
One God?
*FAULTS OF MEN: First off, the Book of Mormon itself never claims to be without any error. Quite the contrary. While the teachings and principles in the Book of Mormon are indeed inspired of God and true, the record was compiled and written down by imperfect men in imperfect languages and then translated into the imperfect, ever-changing languages of our day. Various writers of the Book of Mormon clearly spoke of the weaknesses and of the imperfections of their writing, though, at the same time, declaring that the teaches are inspired and of God. Here below are some of those passages:
1 Nephi 19:6 I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.
2 Nephi 33:4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.
Ether 12:23-27 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them; And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them. Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words. And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Mormon 8:12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.
Mormon 9:31-33 Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been. And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech. And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.
Moroni 8:17-1And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire. And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten—let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord. For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his wages be.
AT JERUSALEM?: Alma 7:10 reads, "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers". Some have claimed that this passage is false since, as we read in Matt. 2:1, "Jesus was born in Bethlehem", not Jerusalem. However, as one LDS scholar explains, "The town of Bethlehem is in the "land of Jerusalem. In fact, Bethlehem is only 5 miles south of Jerusalem: definitely "in the land," especially from the perspective of Alma, a continent away. Even locals considered Hebron, twenty five miles from Bethlehem, to be in the "land of Jerusalem." This is, in reality, another literary evidence for the Book of Mormon. While a forger would likely overlook this detail and include Bethlehem as the commonly-understood birthplace of Jesus, the ancient authors of the Book of Mormon use an authentic term to describe the Savior's birthplace". In modern language, it would be like saying that you live in the "Phoenix area" when you actually live in the city of Mesa Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. For more information on this subject see, the fairmormon link below:
CHANGES & CORRECTIONS?: Critics often point out that there have been thousands of changes made to the Book of Mormon since the original translation by scribes. However, almost all of those changes were additions of punctuation (for there was virtually no punctuation recorded on the original translation) or spelling typos. There were just a few substantial changes were made by Joseph and others to clarify meaning. Here below are the most substantial changes. As can be seen, these changes are easily clarifications or simple errors that could have originated at any time in the process (whether at the time that the phrases were originally engraven on plates all the way through the printing process). More can be read about these and other changes at the links below:
"the Son of" added to 1 Nephi 11:18; 1 Nephi 11:21, 1 Nephi 11:32, and 1 Nephi 13:40.
"or out of the waters of baptism" added to 1 Nephi 20:1.
"White" changed to "Pure" in 2 Nephi 30:6.
"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" in Mosiah 21:28 and Ether 4:1.
"Words missing in Alma 32:30"[3] Alma 32:30-31
CONTRADICTIONS WITH BIBLE?: XXXX
DOCTRINE OF TRINITY IN BOOK OF MORMON?: Some critics of the LDS faith have claimed that the Book of Mormon teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, which is that the Father, Son and Spirit are three separate beings that exist in the same one God being (which Trinity doctrine indeed contracts the LDS doctrine that Father, Son and Spirit are separate beings and separate Gods). They claim this because of passages that use language such as, "the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God". That confusions is perhaps understandable at first glance, but what those critics likely don't realize is that this say same "they are one" language is consistently used throughout the Bible to describe metaphorical unity (unity in purpose, love etc.) between separate beings. Below (in BLUE) are the "they are one (or one God)" Book of Mormon passages, and below those (in GREEN) are scripture passages that clearly use the "they are one" language to express metaphorical unity between separate beings. From this passages, we see that this phrase "they are one" was understood in their ancient language and culture to refer to unity amongst separate beings. When we apply that ancient meaning and use of this language to the Godhead, then we conclude that the Father, Son and Spirit are separate beings that are perfectly unified in deed, word, purpose etc. Not only does show that the Book of Mormon teaches that the Father, Son and Spirit are separate beings, but it also shows us that the Bible passages that use this language in reference to the Godhead (ex. "I and my Father are one" etc.) are also teaching the Father, Son and Spirit are separate beings that are metaphorically "one".
2 Nephi 32:18-21 Ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son... if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life... this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
Alma 11:38-44 Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth... Every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Note: This passage also speaks of the Jesus being both the Son and the Father. While this language can naturally be confusing, at first glance, when we apply context, we see that Christ's fatherhood here is referring to his role as the Creator of the universe, not of our spirits ("he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth").
3 Nephi 11:27 Verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
3 Nephi 11:36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.
1 Cor. 3:6-8 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase… Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
1 Cor. 6:16 Know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body?
1 Cor. 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit
1 Cor. 10:17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread
1 Cor. 12:12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
1 Cor. 12:20 But now are they many members, yet but one body
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
2 Chron. 30:22 The hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king
Acts 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul
Eccl. 3:19 As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath
Ezek. 11:9 I will give them one heart
Ezek. 37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand
Ezek. 37:22 And I will make them one nation… they shall be no more two nations
Gal. 3:28 Ye are all one in Christ
Gen. 11:6 Behold, the people is one
Gen. 2:24 [Husband]… cleave unto wife… they shall be one flesh
Jer. 32:39 I will give them one heart, and one way
Philip. 1:27 Stand fast with one spirit, with one mind striving together
Rom. 12:5 We, being many, are one body in Christ
ELEPHANTS? XXX
https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Book_of_Mormon/Animals/Elephants
HONEY BEES?: XXX
HORSES?: The Book of Mormon mentions that "horses" were on the American continent during the Book of Mormon time period (600 BC to 421 AD). Critics say that this cannot be since we have yet to find archeological evidence to support this. A few points to consider: First, there are many beliefs that people hold for which we do not have archeological evidence. Christians & Jews believe the Bible account that the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians (and the story of Moses' exodus) even though we have not yet found have historical/archeological evidence to support that story. Scientists believe that man evolved gradually from apes even though they have not yet found strong archeological evidence of such. Therefore, one explanation for the lack of horse remains that can be linked to this period is simply that we have not yet found the remains that are there. Other fact to consider is that we have actually found horse remains here on this contient, but the periods to which those remains correspond is in question. The estimated ranges of periods that scientists present are clearly loose estimates as those ranges often span thousands of years. For example, Wikipedia estimates that horses disappeared from the American continent "between 10,000 and 7,600 years ago" (a range of 2,400 years). Another likely possibility is that the term "horse" likely refers to a horse-like animal (not the horses that we know of today). The Hebrew word for "horse" for example ("sus") simply means "leaping", and there were many types of leaping animals in the Americas during the Book of Mormon time frame. For more information, see the following articles at fairmormon.org:
https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/horses-in-the-book-of-mormon
KING JAMES ENGLISH?: XXX
OLIVE TREES IN VINEYARDS?: The Allegory of the Olive Trees in Jacob 5 compares the growing of olive trees to the scattering and gathering of Israel. However, the allegories refers to the area as a "vineyard" multiple times. Some critics have claimed that this is a clear error since vineyards produce grapes, not olives. That seems like a very understandable criticism since the common understanding of vineyards is indeed that they produce grapes. However, it appears that the Book of Mormon contains so much more than a "common understanding", for a quick google search produces the farming article below that is taken from a non-religious site. The article explains the following: "Olive trees have been planted in and around vineyards for thousands of years... Olive trees were planted in and around vineyards throughout the ancient world along the shores of the sea that gave the warm, dry climate of the area its name. Mediterranean Europe and Eurasia enjoyed long, warm, dry growing seasons and vineyards and olive groves provided two staples of the local diet -- wine and olive oil. The tradition of planting olive trees and grapes in the same area was part of an approach to farming -- known as “coltura promiscua” or polyculture that mixed crops together in fields. The traditional mix of olives and grapes was brought to the New World by Europeans who established the American wine industry in the 19th century."
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