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Note: Much of the content in this podcast can be found in show participant Ross Anderson’s book Understanding the Book of MormonThe Book of Mormon claims to be an ancient scripture that tells the story of God’s people in the American continent.LDS challenge: “Either the Book of Mormon is what the Prophet Joseph said it is, or this Church and its founder are false, a deception from the first instance onward…Joseph must be accepted either as a prophet of God or else as a charlatan of the first order…” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Christ and the New Covenant,” quoted in Ensign, September 2002, 14)To accept BoM is to accept JS as a prophet, and everything that he stands for.The Book of Mormon claims can be / should be tested. 1 Thess 5:21 “Test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.”Archaeology BoM claims to be an ancient record of American continentFeaturing great cities, people at warArchaeology has failed to unearth any concrete evidence for BoMInscriptional evidence → names carved into stone monumentsExample: Sennacherib / Assyrians = names of Israel’s kingsNo BoM name every foundMaterial remains → walls / foundations of ancient citiesPlenty of ancient cities in America, but none that can be linked to BoMExample: BoM describes its people using gold, silver, iron, brass, copperThe mining, smelting, and casting of metal ores requires special tools / complex processes which leave traces in the archaeological recordScholars generally agree: metallurgy not introduced into America until several centuries after the BoM story endsAnimals → BoM mentions many different kinds of animals: cattle, sheep, goats, horsesNone have been found in any archaeological setting dating to BoM timesUnlike deer, jaguar, peccary, tapir, other native speciesThe horse have never been found depicted in any of 1000s of sample of artNew world archaeology is still a young sciencePerhaps some day some artifact or inscription will be found to validate the BoMBut so far, best LDS apologists can do = create aura of plausibility based on vague similaritiesBy contrast, archaeology has repeatedly demonstrated the reliability of Bible: historically / geographicallyUse of metals as describe in Bible can be verified at many sitesA person can visit the actual cities where Bible describes Jesus or Paul travellingBritish Museum (London)Massive stone panels from ancient Ninevah → cities in Bible are recorded thereEvidence for the reliability of the Bible: “Three Reasons to Trust the Bible” DNATraditional LDS understanding - based on BoM story → native Americans are descended from ancient Jews who left Jerusalem for America around 600 BCThis is what JS taught → the most straightforward way to read the BoM textMainstream science → all native Americans are of Asian originSupported by extensive DNA sampling of American Indian populationsMany current LDS scholars claim that most NA’s are of Asian descentWhile a small subset are of Semitic origin, descended from LehiIdea is = Nephite & Lamanite civilizations described in BoM made up a very small % of total population of New World during BoM timesLDS Church has acknowledged the challenges1981 BoM: identifies Lamanites as “the principle ancestors of the American Indians”2006 BoM: Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians”If BoM peoples were not alone in the Americas, it’s very surprising that BoM never mentions these large populations of other peopleIn fact, no references to other peoples or nations, no accounts of Nephites evangelizing pagans, no polemics vs polytheism, idolatry, etc.LDS Church Gospel Topics Essay: Book of Mormon and DNA StudiesBible PlagiarismBoM contains extensive material in common with the BibleFirst type of shared content = simple repetition or direct quotationIncluding frequent phrases such as “it came to pass” and “verily, verily I say unto you”Second type = interpretive changes to a biblical text2 Nephi 2:18 expands on the biblical account of Eve’s temptation (Gen 3:4-5)Third type = structural parallels to the BibleIncludes literary forms, common motifs, character types, etcConversion of Alma (Mos 27) has many features in common with Paul’s conversion (Acts 9)Point: in many cases, Nephite writers mimic wording from the NTA doc to which they would have had no access.All of this shared content raises the Q: does common material come from independent sources?Or did JS simply copy from the Bible? Case 1 = the Sermon on the MountJesus appears in BoM - apparently in 40 days after resurrection prior to ascensionHis public address in 3 Nephi 12-14 contains much in common with Matt 5-7Case 2 = BoM contains more than 19 complete chapters in common w/IsaiahLehi’s people carried a copy of OT scriptures with them → source of quoted materialSeveral lines of evidence suggest JS derived the Isaiah passages directly from KJV rather than an ancient sourceExample: biblical scholarship has advanced since KJV translationMany passages that were obscure in KJV in JS time are now more clearBut some of the misunderstandings found in the KJV are also found in BoMSuggests a direct relationship between KJV / BoMWould not have been present in BoM’s quotes of Isaiah if the Isaiah text had originated in Lehi’s time, as the story claimsHow would translation problems from KJV find their way into BoM?The extensive content shared between KJV & BoM - and the nature of the parallels - creates strong impression that BoM was produced AFTER the KJVOf course, LDS apologists have answers for all of these objectionsThe question is whether their answers are credibleFor loyal Mormons, the answers are convincing because they already have an existing commitment to the BoMOthers, without that grid, are not convinced that BoM passes the test