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Rewriting the Book of Mormon

 This last year we studied the Book of Mormon as a family. I also read the Book of Mormon on my own. As part of my study I decided to summarize each verse I read and write it down in a notebook, trying to use different words than the ones in the book. It was actually a great way to study and really kept me focused. It can be very easy to let your mind wander when you're just reading. But when I had to write down a summary, I really had to focus. It also didn't take as long to do as you might expect.

So what's my opinion of the Book of Mormon after spending not quite a year reading and rewriting it? My opinion is that the book is what Joseph Smith said it was--a translation of ancient records. I don't think ANYONE could have made it up, let alone Joseph Smith who had very little formal education--three years to be exact. His wife said, "Joseph Smith could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon."



I recently read an article that gave the following arguments in favor of the Book of Mormon:

1. Writing ancient history on metal plates was a real things, unknown in 1829.

2.  Modern computer wordprint studies, called stylometry, have established that there were at least 22 different authors in the Book of Mormon.

3. While the Book of Mormon quotes from the Bible, over 93% of the book is original.

4. According to well-documented sources, Joseph Smith translated 500+ pages in 70 days using no notes or outside sources.

5. The first draft was the only draft.

6. There were many claims about ancient America made in the Book of Mormon that seemed absurd in 1830 but since have been proved including the presence of horses and barley.

7. The Book of Mormon has a very complex plot covering 2600 years and 3 different peoples, including a complex geography. But 200 years of scrutiny has not shown any contradictions or inconsistencies.

8. The Book of Mormon contains many Hebrew word plays including parallelisms and other evidences of being translated from Hebrew. It wasn't until 1967 that chiasmus was found in it, later acknowledged by Hebrew scholars from all over. 

9. Geographical details of the route Lehi took from Jerusalem to the Red Sea were completely unknown to Joseph Smith in 1829 but have since been validated as detailed in the Book of Mormon.

10. The Book of Mormon details Christ's visit to his other sheep in the Western Hemisphere which was a crazy idea in 1829, but since that time, many different legends and accounts have talked about a white and bearded god with superpowers visiting this area around the time of Christ.

More important than all these scholarly arguments are the fruits of the Book of Mormon. It leads people to do good and to be better. When I read the Book of Mormon, I am reminded of the kind of person I need to become. Here is one of my favorite verses:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their aweakness. I bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my cgrace is sufficient for all men that dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make eweak things become strong unto them.

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