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Contradictions and Problems in the Book of Mormon
By David Cox
[mor02] v1r ©2005 www.coxtracts.com
This tract can be freely reproduced for non-profit use.
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12 Essential Mormon Doctrines not found in the Book of Mormon.
If the Book of Mormon is the “most correct of all the books on the planet” as they claim, then why does it not contain these essential Mormon doctrines of the Mormon church?
1. The Organization of the Church
2. The Aaronic priesthood.
3. The Plurality of the gods
4. God is an exalted human being.
5. Men can become gods.
6. The three levels of glory.
7. The Doctrine of the plurality of wives.
8. Celestial Marriages.
9. The Baptism for the dead.
10. The Word of Wisdom.
11. The Doctrine of the preexistence of souls.
12. Eternal progression.
After all is said and done, one has to accept the Bible as the maximum authority in our lives. If we accept the book of Mormon as our authority, this would contradict the Bible, because both cannot be true. The Bible is inspired (without any error) and correct, and we see this reality when we read it, but the Book of Mormon only pretends to be inspired and is full of errors and contradictions.
Contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible
*BOM (Book of Mormon)
The Jaredites had their own language before the Tower of Babel? “Yes Ester 1:34-35 BOM, but “no” according to Gen 11:1.
Who was Melquisedec? He was king under his father (Alma 13:18) but the Bible says he had no genealogy, he was “without father” (Heb 7:3).
Who were ordained by God to be priests? The tribe of Manasses BOM, but Bible says the Levis (Num 3:9-10).
Did they use the firstborn for the sacrifice? According to BOM (Mosiah 2:3) yes, but the Bible says it was prohibited, instead they were designated for the priest’s personal use (Ex 13:2, 12; 22:29-30; Num 3:13; 18:15-18; 2Sam 24:24).
Did they kill all the sons of Zedekiah? Bible, yes Jer 39:6. BOM no Heleman 6:10 and 8:21.
The Temple – The faithful in the BOM operated several temples at the same time, but God commanded Israel to build only one single temple because they had only 1 God (Deu 12:5; 13-14; 16:5-6), and this unique temple had to be built in Jerusalem (Zion) (1Ki 8:44, 48; 11:13, 32, 36; 14:21; 2Ki 21:7; 23:27; 1Ch 28:4; 2Ch 6:6; 7:12, 16; Psa 78:68-69; Isa 18:7.
What is missing in the Mormon Temple and their priesthood – laver of bronze occurs 13 times in the Bible and never in the BOM, the incense 121 times, the ark of the covenant 48x, the altar 23 times, and the Day of Atonement 21x.
Synagogues. BOM uses the word “synagogue” 25 times as if it was well known. According to BOM the people in America (Mormons) are spoken of as using synagogues (600 B.C.), but that would have been totally before the synagogue system or even the need of synagogues (it was supposed before the captivity). Archaeology indicates that the system began about 200 years before Christ.
Speaking before their time – 1 Nephi 22:15 cites Malachi 4:1. How can they quote Malachi before Malachi existed?
Where was Jesus born? Bethlehem Mat 2:1, 8, but Alma 7:10 says Jerusalem.
When Jesus died, the sky was darkened for 3 hours or 3 days? Luke 23:44 says 3 hours, but Helaman 14:17-27 says 3 days.
When was the first use of the word “Christian”? In Antioch around 50 A.D (Acts 11:26) or in 73 BC (Alma 46:5, 13, 17).
When did they first know the gospel? Through Paul (Eph 3:3-7; Col 1:26; 1Pet 1:1-12; Rom 16:25-26) or 545 BC (2 Nephi 25:19; 26:12; 30:2; 31:17).
When did they know that the name “Jesus” was the Messiah? In the Bible, this name was first announced to Mary in Luke 1:31, but Alma 19:29 has a woman calling on Lord “Jesus” in 90 B.C.
When did the Holy Spirit come? Luke 24:49 and Acts 2:14 say on the day of Pentecost, but 2 Nephi 31:12-13 places it at 545 B.C.
When did the church begin? Mat 16:18; and Acts 2:47 place it after the ministry of Jesus Christ, but Mosiah 18:17 puts it at 147 B.C. Why did Jesus enter the temple and synagogues when the church was already in existence having services elsewhere? ¿Why did God reveal the Messiah to the Jews in the temple then? This makes no sense if we try to take the BOM as inspired.
Is our Bible corrupt? A Nephite prophet (1Nephi 13:26-28) said (600 B.C.) that “many clear and precious parts” of the Bible have been removed. But Jesus said that the heavens and the earth would disappear before the Word of God would be (Mark 13:31; Mat 5:18). Moreover, “Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3 550 B.C.) is a word of Greek origin 1500 years after this use by the supposed Nephite prophet in 600 B.C., and the BOM supposedly is of Egyptian origin, that were a people that did not know nor use books (codices) but rather papyrus.
Do children sin? Yes according to Psa 51:5; Rom 3:23) but the BOM says no (Moroni 8:8).
Did Jesus ascend directly to heaven or did he visit America? 3 Nephi 11:8-10 says he visited America first, but Acts 2:34-35 says that he ascended to heaven to wait at the Father’s side until he returns in the air to the Mount of Olives as the disciples saw him go up.
Conclusions: Because of these contradictions and errors, we see the book of Mormon is not inspired and contradicts the Bible. Moreover it seems that the BOM used words and concepts from a later time frame that obviously nobody would have understood because they were not yet in use. In general it also cites exactly the wording of the King James Bible in English for large segments of the BOM.
Contradictions within itself
But not only does the BOM contradict the Bible, it even contradicts itself. According to Joseph Smith’s story, Moroni was the last of the Nephite priests. How is it then that Joseph Smith also was an existing Nephite priest? The mother of Joseph Smith ordered their genealogy traced back 5 generations, and they were from England, not North American natives. In Alma 37:38 (73 B.C.) it speaks of people using a compass for navigation but this instrument was not invented until 1100 A.D. In 1 Nephi 18:25 (589 B.C.) it speaks of horses, burros, bulls and cows, sheep, and pigs in America. But these animals were not known until after the Spaniards had introduced them around 1400s (and even then, they never introduced elephants into North America). The book of Ether (2200 B.C.) spoke of elephants in America, but they are not native to America nor is there any record that they were introduced at that time (even today they are only found in zoos).
The BOM uses the abbreviation “etcetera” 6 times and this was invented in the 19th century. In Jacob 7:27, the modern French word “adieu” occurs 2000 years before it was invented. In Jacob 3:11 and Mosiah 29:14 the word “faculty” appears. This word is from 1000 years after when the BOM supposedly was written. 2 Nephi 29:3 (550 B.C. even uses the word “Bible.” In 2 Nephi 31:13 (and other places) the BOM uses the word “Ghost” (phantom) for the word “Spirit”. This is an idiosyncrasy in the English language that began 100 years after the time the BOM was supposedly written. In 3 Nephi 9:18, they use the terms “alpha” and “omega” (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet) which are Greek words that passed without translation into the English language. So what are these Greek letters doing in a supposedly Egyptian document? Moreover Greek was not a language that was known world wide until the time of Alexander the Great, but he hadn’t yet conquered the world when Lehi supposedly went to America. Why was this then unknown Greek expression being used in this time period? In Mosiah 21:28, it speaks of King Benjamin alive, but 15 chapters before this he died. This was corrected by the Mormon Church in recent editions, but how can they still claim Joseph Smith’s vision and translation is inspired then? In Alma 5:48 it says “the Son of the only begotten of the Father.” If Jesus was the only Son of God the Father, then why does the Mormon Church teach that Satan is Jesus’ brother (also they teach all humans and angels are equally Jesus’ brothers)?
The Book of Mormon against its own Doctrine
The Mormon Church has had some great changes in doctrine after the publications of the BOM. Below are comparisons from the BOM (where they agree with the Bible), but in which the Mormon Church of today denies as their doctrine.
THERE IS ONLY 1 GOD Mosaih 15:1, 5; Alma 11:28; 2 Nephi 31:21; Alma 11:27-39, 44; Mormon 7:7; 3 Nephi 11:27, but LDS teaches a plurality of gods DAC 121:32; 132:18-20, 37.
GOD IS A SPIRIT Alma 18:26-28; 22:8-11, but in DAC 130: 22 it teaches that God has a physical body.
GOD DWELLS IN THE HEART Alma 34:36, but again DACV 130:3 says no.
GOD DOES NOT CHANGE Mormon 9:9, 19; Moroni 8:18; Alma 41:8. LDS says, God was at some time before a normal human like any human today.
THE TRINITY Alma 11:44; Mosiah 15:5; 2 Nephi 31:21. Today LDS says there are 3 gods.
JESUS CHRIST – Is God 2 Nephi 10:3; Mosiah 16:15; Born of a Virgin Alma 7:10; Created everything 3 Nephi 9:15; We pray to him 3 Nephi 19:18; is called God 3 Nephi 19:18. These are all denied today by LDS.
GOD CANNOT LIE – Ether 3:12; Enoch 6; 2 Nephi 9:34; but according to the PGP The Book of Abraham 2:22-25, God commanded Abraham to lie.
CONDEMNATION OF POLYGAMY. Jacob 1:15; 2:23, 24, 27, 31; 3:5; Mosiah 11:2, 4; Ether 10:5,7, but DAC 132:1; 37-39, 61, absolutely commands Polygamy in order to be saved..
ONLY CORRUPT CHURCHES PROMISE PARDON FOR MONEY Mormon 8:32; but in DAC 64:23 says that the members that don’t tithe will burn. Isn’t this doing the same thing that the BOM condemns?
ETERNAL HELL – Jacob 3:11; 6:10; 2 Nephi 19:16; 28:21-23; 1 Nephi 28:22; Mosiah 16:11; 27:31; Alma 41:4-8; 42:16 but DAC 76:43; 76:70-112 teaches universalism (all will go to heaven, some alter the rest).
THE HOLY SPIRIT will indwell man (Alma 18:35; He is God Alma 18.28. These are denied by LDS today.
THE WORD OF GOD cannot be changed Alma 41:8; but in DAC 56:4-5 says it can.
MAN WAS NOT PRE-EXISTENT Jacob 4:9; Alma 18:28, 34-36, but DAC 93:23, 29-33; PGP The Book of Abraham 3:18; 3:21-23 says all men existed in God the Father’s mansion before their birth.
THE FINALITY OF DEATH Mosiah 2:36-39; Alma 34:32-35 but DAC 76:106-112; 88:99 says there exists another opportunity to be saved after death.
PAGANS ARE SAVED WITHOUT BAPTISM Moroni 8:22-23; 2 Nephi 9:25-26; Mosiah 15:24-27; but DAC 128:5, 17-18 teaches that it is necessary for salvation.
HUMAN REDEMPTION THROUGH the Lord Alma 1:4; Christ Alma 22:13; Jesus Christ, Mormon 9:12; God Mosiah 13:32, the Creator 2 Nephi 9:5. Today LDS says that salvation is through Joseph Smith and the LDS church.
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