The Miracle of the Book of Mormon!

One criticism that is sometimes made of the Book of Mormon is that it “plagiarizes” the Bible! The reference is to the lengthy quotes from Isaiah given in the books of 1 & 2 Nephi. A total of 17 chapters of Isaiah are quoted directly in the Book of Mormon. Chapters 2–14 of Isaiah are quoted consecutively in one block in 2 Nephi, comprising chapters 12–24 of that book; and chapters 48–49 and 50–51 of Isaiah are also quoted in one block in 1 Nephi chapters 20–21, and in 2 Nephi chapters 7–8, respectively (as well as other smaller quotes given elsewhere). To the casual observer these passages appear to be verbatim quotes from the KJV—hence the accusation of “plagiarism!” These quotes, however, are not what they appear to be. There are several factors involved in that accusation that need to be dealt with separately. Firstly, there is nothing strange or unusual about scripture quoting scripture, and there is plenty of it found in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. In the OT, most of the books of Kings and Chronicles are repetitions; and in the NT, most of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) are likewise repetitions. A Google search for duplicate verses in the Bible will provide many interesting examples. A search for the synoptic gospels would likewise produce interesting results. In the Book of Mormon about 7% of the text are quotations from the Bible, which is not all that great. The rest is original material. If quoting scripture within scripture is “plagiarism,” then the Bible is the bigger “plagiarizer” of the two. That is the first point.

The second point is that the biblical quotes found in the Book of Mormon are not what they appear to be. They are not verbatim quotes. They may appear to be, if looked at superficially, because they make use of the same vocabulary, style, and idiomatic language as the KJV; but that is deceptive. There are significant variations. To illustrate, I will quote selected verses from just chapter 2 of Isaiah as quoted in the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 12), and highlight the variations as compared to the KJV. All additions are printed in bold italics, and deletions in red and struck through:

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.

6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
. . .

9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore forgive them him not.

10 O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.

11 And it shall come to pass that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be soon cometh upon all nations, yea, upon every one; that is yea, upon the proud and lofty, and upon every one that who is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.

13 And Yea, and the day of the Lord shall come upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that for they are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,

14 And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills, that and upon all the nations which are lifted up, and upon every people;

15 And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall;

16 And upon all the ships of the sea, and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
. . .

19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them, and for the glory of his majesty shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they he hath made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for the fear of the Lord shall come upon them, and for the glory majesty of his majesty glory shall smite them, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

These are very significant variations. In no way can they be described as verbatim quotes from the KJV. I am sure the critics will now say that Joseph Smith merely copied the text of the KJV, and made changes to it! The answer to that is, firstly, Joseph Smith would have had to be very clever to be able to make the kind of changes that he did, and to do it in such a short space of time. He would have had to be a literary genius, which he wasn’t. The verbal closeness to the text of the KJV of the unchanged portions, however, require further explanation. The question that arises here is, if Joseph Smith was clever enough to copy the text of the KJV, and then to make the kind of variations in it that he did; it would have been a lot easier for him to just rewrite the whole text, expressed in his own words, and thus avoid the charge of “copying from the KJV” altogether. Why did he choose to do it the harder way, rather than the easier way, which would have had the added advantage of escaping the accusation of “copying from the KJV?”

Another question that the critics don’t attempt to answer is, Why would Joseph Smith want to quote such lengthy and extensive passages from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon anyway (thus exposing himself to such an accusation), unless they were indeed part of the original Book of Mormon manuscript? The rest of the Book of Mormon is a perfectly coherent narrative, without the massive interruption of those lengthy Isaiah quotes. If the Book of Mormon was a fabricated story, that would have been a very illogical thing for a fabricator to want to do. And what is the real reason for the close verbal connection between the unchanged portions of the Isaiah quotes to the KJV? Luckily there is an answer to that question as well. The answer is, the same as the reason for the verbal closeness observed between the KJV and its precursors, such as the Bishops Bible or the Geneva Bible etc.—It is because they are all extremely literal translations; and they also make use of the same vocabulary and idiomatic language; which explains the verbal closeness that exists between them.

The KJV is an extremely literal (i.e. word for word), almost mechanical translation. It is so literal that it is possible to convert it back into Hebrew, and arrive at something that is nearly identical with the original manuscript. In some older Hebrew grammar books such exercises are given, and provided that the student knows the rules the exercise is not difficult to perform. That is how they believed scripture translation should be done in those days, in order to avoid any chance of a “private interpretation” by the translator entering into the text. And I believe that they were right. Now extremely literal translations usually turn out to be wooden, dull, and uninteresting. The genius of the KJV is that it is able to combine extreme literalness with a high degree of literary excellence. This, however, was not accomplished all at once; it evolved. It has a 200 year history behind it. It was a gradual, evolutionary process, going back as far as Coverdale, Tyndale, and beyond. With each iteration it keeps getting better and better, until in the KJV it reaches the pinnacle of its perfection so that very little change is needed to improve upon it. It developed alongside the development of the English language itself. It reached perfection at a time when the English language itself reached perfection as a vehicles for literary expression. That explains the close verbal connection that exists between the KJV and its earlier precursors. This also explains the close verbal connection of the biblical passages quoted in the Book of Mormon with the KJV; because the Book of Mormon is also translated in the same way. It is a literal (word for word) translation like the KJV—which is also a confirmation of its miraculous origin. The Book of Mormon is a miracle. It is a miracle not only because Joseph Smith who translated it could neither read Egyptian nor write English; but also because in it within 80 days he achieved the same degree of literary perfection that took the translators of the KJV 200 years to accomplish; and he left far fewer imperfections remaining in it. Those who criticize the language of the Book of Mormon don’t know what they are doing. The language, style, composition, and diction of the Book of Mormon is a supernatural work of art of unparalleled beauty, literary merit, and excellence. It is a literary masterpiece, like the KJV—only better! Joseph Smith in a million years could not have produced the Book of Mormon out of his own intellect, ingenuity, or imagination. There is no man on earth in fact who could have, no matter how great his skills or accomplishments. It is a miracle from start to finish.

The Book of Mormon should be the easiest book on earth to translate into perfect biblical Hebrew, provided the right man is chosen for the job, and he knows how to go about it. The “right man for the job” would be someone who is not only an accomplished Hebrew scholar; but also has a special interest in the KJV. For the remainder of this post I am going to demonstrate the above by quoting four verses of Isaiah already quoted, first as they appear in the Book of Mormon, then in the KJV, followed by the earlier translations so they can be compared, which illustrates what I have said above. Here they are:

Book of Mormon 1830:

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord; yea, come, for ye have all gone astray, every one to his wicked ways.

6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
. . .

9 And the mean man boweth not down, and the great man humbleth himself not, therefore forgive them him not.

10 O ye wicked ones, enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty shall smite thee.

King James Bible 1769:

5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
. . .

9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.

King James Bible 1611:

5 O house of Iacob, come yee, and let vs walke in the light of the Lord.

6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Iacob; because they be replenished from the East, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselues in the children of strangers.
. . .

9 And the meane man boweth downe, and the great man humbleth himselfe; therefore forgiue them not.

10 Enter into the rocke, and hide thee in the dust, for feare of the Lord, and for the glory of his Maiestie.

Bishops Bible 1568:

5 Come ye O house of Iacob, and let vs walke in the lyght of the Lorde

6 For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Iacob, because they be replenished with euils from the east, and with sorcerers lyke the Philistines, and in straunge children they thynke them selues to haue enough
. . .

9 There kneeleth the man, there falleth the man downe before them: therfore forgeue them not

10 Get thee into the rocke, and hyde thee in the grounde for feare of the Lorde, and for the glorie of his maiestie

Geneva Bible 1560:

5 O house of Iaakob, come ye, and let vs walke in the Lawe of the Lord.

6 Surely thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Iaakob, because they are full of the East maners, and are sorcerers as the Philistims, and abound with strange children.
. . .

9 And a man bowed himselfe, and a man humbled himselfe: therefore spare them not.

10 Enter into the rocke, and hide thee in the dust from before the feare of the Lord, and from the glory of his maiestie.

The Great Bible 1539:

5 Come ye (O house of Iacob) let vs walcke in the lyght of the Lorde.

6 But thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Iacob, because they go farre beyonde the east contreys in Sorceryes (whom they haue as the Philistines had) and in straunge chyldren they thinke them selues to haue ynough.
. . .

9 There kneleth the man, there falleth the man downe before them, but thou (o Lorde) wilt not leaue them vnpunished.

10 And therfore get the in to some rock, and hyde the in the grounde for feare of the Lord, and for the glory of his magestye:

Matthew’s Bible 1537:

5 It is to the that I crye (O house of Iacob) vp, let vs walck in the lyghte of the Lorde,

6 But thou art scatered abroade with thy people (O house of Iacob) for ye go farre beyonde youre fathers, whether it be in Sorcerers (whome ye haue as the Phylystynes had) or in calkers of mens byrthes, whereof ye haue to manye.
. . .

9 There kneleth the man there falleth the man doune before them, so that thou canste not brynge hym a waye from thence.

10 And therfore get the soone into some rock, & hyde the in the grounde from the sighte of the fearful iudge, & from the glorye of his mageste:

Coverdale Bible 1535:

5 It is to the that I crie (o house of Iacob) vp, let us walke in the light of the LORDE.

6 But thou art scatred abrode with thy people (o house of Iacob) for ye go farre beyonde yor fathers, whether it be in Sorcerers) whom ye haue as the phylistynes had) or in calkers of mens byrthes, wherof ye haue to many.
. . .

9 There kneleth the man, there falleth the man downe before them, so yt thou canst not bringe him awaye from thence.

10 And therfore get ye soone in to some rock, vnd hyde the in the grounde from the sight of the fearful iudge, and from ye glory of his Magestie.

Wycliffe Bible 1382:

5 Come ye, the hous of Jacob, and go we in the liyt of the Lord.

6 Forsothe thou hast cast awei thi puple, the hous of Jacob, for thei ben fillid as sum tyme bifore; and thei hadden false dyuynouris bi the chiteryng of briddis, as Filisteis, and thei cleuyden to alien children.
. . .

9 and a man bowide hymsilf, and a man of ful age was maad low. Therfor foryyue thou not to hem.

10 Entre thou, puple of Juda, in to a stoon, be thou hid in a diche in erthe, fro the face of the drede of the Lord, and fro the glorie of his mageste.

So who is now plagiarizing from whom? By the look of things, it is the KJV which is plagiarizing from its precursors, rather than the Book of Mormon from the KJV. The KJV is a lot closer to its precursors than the Book of Mormon is to the KJV. The truth of course is that none of them are plagiarizing. The reason for their verbal closeness is as mentioned above. It is because they are all very literal translations, which is equally true of the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is the secret of success of restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is its greatest conversion tool. It is what converts people to the LDS Church more than anything else. It is the reason why the restored Church is progressing and expanding, while mainstream Christianity is shrinking and declining. It is an authentic book of ancient scripture, miraculously translated into superb English by the gift and power of God, to which the Holy Ghost bears witness. It is a powerful witness to the restoration of the gospel; and God’s special means of the gathering of his “elect,” and of conversion to his restored Church in the last days. It is the “marvellous work and a wonder” prophesied of in Isaiah 29:14. It causes the “wisdom of the wise to perish,” and the “understanding of the prudent to be hid”. It is the means of the gathering of God’s elect in the last days, for the elect will “hear his voice,” and “harden not their hearts” (Heb. 3:15; 4:7).

The Book of Mormon also being indeed the word of God, complements the Bible, and therefore facilitates the correction of many doctrinal and theological errors made by Christians in the past on which the Bible has lacked sufficient clarity. I have already demonstrated its ability to do that in several previous posts in my blog. People don’t even need to become Latter-day Saints to be able to benefit from, or make use of the Book of Mormon for that purpose. But they do need to recognize it for what it is, and be able to study it in faith, otherwise it won’t profit them.

And by the way, for the benefit of those who may be interested in making a more complete comparison of all the biblical quotes in the Book of Mormon with the KJV, and observing the differences, there are various software tools that enable you to do that. Most word processors, both commercial and free, also have the capability of comparing two different versions of a document, and showing the differences.
____________________

P. S. A word about the italicized words in the KJV, and how they are treated in the Book of Mormon version is also instructive. The KJV, as stated earlier, is an extremely literal (i.e. word for word) translation, because that is how they felt at that time was the best way of preserving the integrity of the original text. Now because of the grammatical differences between the two languages, an absolutely literal translation, without any variations, would not make sense in English. Some changes would need to be made (and occasionally some words added), to enable it to make sense in English. For example in Semitic languages, like Hebrew or Arabic, the link verb “to be” doesn’t exist. If you wanted to say, “I am happy,” you would say, “I happy”. If you wanted to say, “I was happy,” you would still say, “I happy”! If you wanted to say, “I shall be happy,” you would again say, “I happy”! The correct meaning and tense would be understood by the context, word inflection, and by other grammatical nuances of the text. Now if you wanted to translate such phrases into English, the words “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “shall be” etc. would have to be added for it to make sense in English. The translators of the KJV were so meticulous in preserving the integrity of the original text (by a literal translation), that they decided to print all added words and phrases in italics, so that the reader would have no difficulty ascertaining which words were added, and which words were a literal translation of the original text. The way the Book of Mormon treats those passages is instructive, and further indicates the miraculous origin of the book. Sometimes those italicized words were retained, sometimes omitted, and sometimes changed. To illustrate, I will quote one verse of Isaiah from the above passage (Isaiah 2), first as it appears in the KJV, highlighting the italicized word, followed by its alternative treatment in the Book of Mormon: KJV, Isaiah 2: 6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. In that verse the word “are” is printed in the KJV in italics, meaning that it did not exist in the original Hebrew, but was added by the translators in order to make the English translation grammatically correct. That is how the translators felt was the most appropriate reading of the original text, as rendered into English. But notice how the Book of Mormon quote resolves the same problem: BOM, 2 Nephi 12: 6 Therefore, O Lord, thou hast forsaken thy people, the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are hearken unto soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. The Book of Mormon text contains additional words which may suggest possible manuscript variations; but there is no question that “hearken unto” is a more meaningful substitute for “are” in the above text. The KJV rendering suggests that all the Israelites (and all the Philistines) had become “soothsayers,” which is not a reasonable assumption. “hearken unto” is a more meaningful alternative to “are” in the above text. The Book of Mormon version is a better translation than the KJV—and of course, Joseph Smith figured all of that out by himself in just 80 days!
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Postscript added 17 June 2020.

Theological Entertainment!

I have been much amused and entertained lately by watching exchanges taking place on YouTube between Dr. Jordan B. Cooper (Lutheran), and Dr. Leighton Flowers (non-Calvinist) about their respective theological beliefs. The exchanges seem to have begun with Dr. Cooper posting a video message in which he criticises Leighton Flowers for being a Pelagian! To this Flowers gives a couple of video responses denying the accusation; to which Cooper again replies by restating the accusation! The exchanges can be seen here:

https://youtu.be/qwgxbiUS9xY

https://youtu.be/hNj3nuKYd20

https://youtu.be/TzslGsHPCfI

https://youtu.be/ciiP37xUYEw

https://youtu.be/sREZYX171sE

https://youtu.be/Yn567CKLTes
https://youtu.be/qaluwlmLccw

I have a solution to the impasse. Instead of throwing labels around, why not define clearly, in biblical terms, what each side’s theological position is, and how they compare? Throwing around labels can be interpreted as an exercise in hostility, rather than a sincere engagement in theological understanding.

I am neither a Lutheran nor a Calvinist; but I have an issue with Lutheranism which I don’t have with Calvinism. Calvinism has a very clear and well-defined theology. You know exactly what it teaches. It doesn’t leave you in any doubts about that. It may be wrong (and it is); but it doesn’t leave you in any doubts about what it is—so you can make up your mind whether you agree with it or disagree. The same cannot be said of Lutheranism. Nobody seems to know exactly how it distinguishes itself from other Protestant traditions theologically. Is becoming a Lutheran merely adopting a new cultural tradition, and becoming part of a new congregation; or does it entail a change in one’s theological thinking as well? If so, what is that theological difference, and on what scriptural basis is it framed?

If someone was a Calvinist, and wanted to become a Lutheran, what would he have to stop believing as a Calvinist, and start believing as a Lutheran (on scriptural grounds), in order to become a Lutheran? Or if someone was a Lutheran, and wanted to become a Calvinist, what would he have to stop believing as a Lutheran, and start believing as a Calvinist (on scriptural grounds), in order to become a Calvinist? Nobody seems to know for sure. There are ambiguous answers to that question, but not clear ones. I have searched the Internet, including Dr. Cooper’s own videos, for a clear answer to that question, and so far found none.

He has a video on his site titled: “Why Is Lutheran Theology Unknown Among Christians,” which can be seen here. The answer to that question is, Because nobody knows for sure what it is! I know exactly what Calvinist theology is—and therefore can decide whether to agree with it or not. The same cannot be said of Lutheran theology. So I think Dr. Jordan Cooper would be doing himself a special favor by defining clearly what his (Lutheran) theological position is, and how it is distinguished from other Protestant traditions (notably Calvinism), and on what authoritative basis, before throwing pejorative labels at others, who at least seem able to articulate their theological positions better and more clearly than he seems able to do.

I found another interesting video, an interview with Dr. Cooper in which he identifies himself as a convert from Calvinism to Lutheranism; but he seems to have a hard time articulating the theological distinction between the two. The most central, distinguishing feature of Calvinism is predestination and justification by faith alone; and everything else (i.e. TULIP) follows logically from that. And as far as I know, it was Martin Luther who first came up with that theological foundation rather than John Calvin. It is Luther who gets the credit for introducing that theology into Protestantism. Calvin got that idea from him. And everything else, including TULIP, follows logically from that. Luther laid the foundation, and Calvin built upon it, and carried it to its logical conclusion. So it seems that Calvinism vs. Lutheranism is a distinction without a difference. The only difference between them seems to be that Calvinism is more honest about its theology than Lutheranism is. Calvinists are not scared to go where the foundational premises leads them to; whereas Lutherans want to keep the foundational premises (without which they couldn’t exist), but don’t like to look down the abyss where it logically leads to.

If you start with “predestination” and “justification by faith alone,” then “TULIP” becomes the inevitable consequence. It is the only logical conclusion. There is no way to escape the conclusion from the given premises. The only way to escape the conclusion, is to ditch the premises upon which it is based—both of which are heretical and false—and both of which are foundational to both Lutheranism and Calvinism. If you eliminate predestination and justification by faith alone from either Calvinism or Lutheranism, both religions would cease to exist. Both religions would vaporize and disappear into oblivion. It is foundational to either religion. The only difference between them is that Calvinists are honest about where it logically and theologically leads to, whereas Lutherans are not.

Charismatic vs. Cessationist Debate

I came across the above interesting debate between Dr. Michael Brown, a Charismatic Pentecostal who believes in a continuation of the miraculous gifts mentioned in the Bible, such as the gifts of tongues, healing, prophecy etc.; and Sam Waldron, who is a “cessationist,” meaning that he believes in a cessation of such gifts after the days of the Apostles. There is an interesting Wikipedia article on the subject which can be seen here. After watching the video, I found that while they were both presenting good scriptural arguments for their side of the debate, neither side was convincing to the other, because they were talking past each other by ignoring a third option presented in the Bible, but which, if acknowledged, would undermine each of their respective theological positions.

Both sides are right on some aspects of their arguments, while being wrong on others. On the one hand, the Bible does indeed teach a continuation of spiritual gifts. It does not teach cessationism. So Dr. Michael Brown has a valid point on that. Where he goes wrong is that he assumes that just because the Bible does not teach cessationism, it therefore follows that anybody making such claims, such as the Pentecostal Charismatics, must be genuine, which does not logically follow. The Bible also teaches that it is possible to be deceived, or make false claims. Just because the Bible does not teach a cessation of the miraculous gifts, it does not logically follow that the Pentecostal Charismatic claims must be genuine. That is where Dr. Brown errs in his theology.

But on the other hand, Sam Waldron also has a valid point, in arguing that if those gifts were to be continued, then the callings of prophets and Apostles should also be continued; and the canon of scripture should be open, as it was in their time. It does not make logical sense to retain some of the gifts, while claiming the cessation of the others. To be consistent, you either retain all of the gifts, including prophets, Apostles, and an open canon of scripture; or you claim cessation of all of the gifts—not retain the bits you like, and discontinue the ones you don’t. You either keep all the gifts, or discontinue all the gifts. In presenting that argument, Sam Waldron also has a valid point. The mistake that he makes is that he assumes that just because those gifts and callings appear indeed to have ceased among Christians, that they were therefore meant to be discontinued or ceased, which is not a required conclusion.

There is a third option that both sides have missed, because to acknowledge it would undermine both their respective theological positions. The third option is that those spiritual gifts and callings were indeed never meant to be discontinued, like it says in the Bible. The reason why they have been, and are no longer to be found in the Christian churches today (in spite of the false claims or pretenses of the charismatics), is because early Christianity apostatized, and lost the divine, priesthood, and Apostolic authority which it once possessed, which needed to be restored. The Book of Mormon provides us with the right perspective on the subject (punctuation revised):

Mormon 9:

7 And again, I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away; that there are no revelations, nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

8 Behold, I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them.

9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and in him there is no variableness, neither shadow of changing?

10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.

11 But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles; even the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are.

12 Behold, he created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man; and because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man.

13a And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord.
13b Yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed; because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound.
13c And they shall come forth, both small and great; and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them. And then cometh the time that he that is filthy, shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous, shall be righteous still. He that is happy, shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy, shall be unhappy still.

15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles; I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.

16 Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?

17 Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?

18 And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the Apostles.

19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles, and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so, he would cease to be God. And he ceaseth not to be God; and is a God of miracles.

20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men, is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ, it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

22 For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry; yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature;

23 And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

24 And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

25 And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth.

26 And now behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord? Who will despise the children of Christ? Behold, all ye who are despisers of the works of the Lord, for ye shall wonder and perish.

27 O then, despise not, and wonder not; but hearken unto the words of the Lord; and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old; and come unto the Lord with all your heart; and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

28 Be wise in the days of your probation. Strip yourselves of all uncleanness. Ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts; but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.

Moroni 7:

12 Wherefore all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil. For the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually; and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.

13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually. Wherefore everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.

14 Wherefore take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God; or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man that he may know good from evil; wherefore I show unto you the way to judge: for everything which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ, wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God;

17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God; then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil. For after this manner doth the devil work. For he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

18 And now my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge, ye shall also be judged.

19 Wherefore I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

20 And now my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?

21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.

22 For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to everlasting, behold he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing.

23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth that Christ should come.

24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good. And all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good thing come unto them.

25 Wherefore by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.

26 And after that he came, men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth, he spake these words unto our fathers, saying, Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be done unto you.

27 Wherefore my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?

28 For he hath answered the ends of the law; and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing. Wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.

29 And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men.

30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.

31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance; and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

32 And by so doing the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ; that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

33 And Christ hath said, If ye will have faith in me, ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

34 And he hath said, Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

35 And now my beloved brethren, if this be the case, that these things are true which I have spoken unto you—and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day that they are true—and if they are true, has the day of miracles ceased?

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

37 Behold, I say unto you, Nay. For it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. Wherefore if these things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also, and awful is the state of man; for they are as though there had been no redemption made.

39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you; for I judge that ye have faith in Christ, because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him, then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.

These guys have theological degrees and PhDs and God knows what, and have read thousands of books. Too bad they don’t know how much smarter they would be if they studied and took more seriously the Book of Mormon! They don’t even need to become Latter-day Saints, or join the LDS Church! All they need to do is to recognise the book for what it is, and learn great doctrine and theology from it. 😃 In the restored Church of Jesus Christ the canon of scripture is indeed open, and the Book of Mormon is a powerful witness to that claim. It cannot be ignored or sidelined. Denying it, turning a blind eye to it, or making jokes about it will not make it go away.