Hello, I’m Danny and I was a Latter-day Saint for 60 years. As you might know – Joseph Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was the most correct book on earth. That is a high bar to set for this book considered to be ancient scripture. I found it fascinating as a former Latter-day Saint to carefully examine the Book of Mormon in determining its truthfulness and authenticity. It has really opened my eyes to the actual origin of its storyline and the doctrine it prescribes. While the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims the Book of Mormon is an ancient record engraved on golden plates and translated by Joseph Smith using a rock in a hat - there are certain challenges with its narrative that I will point out in this video. I am going to do an evaluation of those passages leading up to the most important event recorded in the Book of Mormon. That being - the supposed visitation and appearance of Jesus in the Western Hemisphere, following His resurrection as recorded in the book of 3rd Nephi. I’m going to begin in Chapter 8. Mormon, who is abridging or editing the plates is now going to describe what took place. 3 Nephi 8:5 “And it came to pass in the thirty and fourth year; in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such an one as never had been known in all the land.” That would be 34 AD January 4th. Very specific. 3 Nephi 8:6 “And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide usunder.” The old English word “usunder” or “asunder” means “to break apart.” It is taken directly from Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” This chapter goes on to mention the various catastrophic atmospheric and geological events taking place. 3 Nephi 8:7 “And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.” 3 Nephi 8:8 “And the city of Zarahemla did take fire.” Cities catching fire 3 Nephi 8:9 “And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.” Cities sinking into the sea, drowning their inhabitants 3 Nephi 8:10 “And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain.” Mountains covering cities 3 Nephi 8:11 “And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.” 3 Nephi 8:12 “But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth.” 3 Nephi 8:13 “And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.” 3 Nephi 8:14 “And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate.” 3 Nephi 8:15 “And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were many in them who were slain.” 3 Nephi 8:16 “And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.” 3 Nephi 8:17 “And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.” 3 Nephi 8:18 “And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.” We see here how the New Testament certainly provided the raw material for the Book of Mormon. The parallel in this verse is found in Matthew 27:51 which says at Christ’s crucifixion, “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” The words “rent” and “twain” were old 16th century English terms. “Rent” means torn and “twain” means two. Torn in two. How did those 16th century words get on to the Nephite plates? Hmmm, I think we know! 3 Nephi 8:19 Says that all this physical destruction occurred in the space of about three hours. 3 Nephi 8:20 “And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;” This is similar to the description of one of the ten plagues caused by God through Moses, in Egypt - that of “thick darkness” for three days. Exodus 10:22 “And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days.” This darkness in the Western Hemisphere parallels the account in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44), that darkness covered the land for three hours during Jesus’ crucifixion. This supernatural event signaled divine judgment on sin and marked the moment of Jesus' death. 3 Nephi 8:21-22 The surviving Nephites and Lamanites were unable to generate any light at all. For three days there was absolutely no light – not from candles, torches, campfires, the sun, the moon, nor the stars. They possibly would have had to go without food and water for 72 hours. How could all those men, women, and children have survived that? 3 Nephi 8:23 “And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.” The phrase “for the space of three” is taken from Acts 19:8. 3 Nephi 8:24 “And in one place they were heard to cry; saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zaramemla.” 3 Nephi 8:25 “And in another place they were heard to cry and mourn, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and had not killed and stoned the prophets, and cast them out; then would our mothers and our fair daughters, and our children haven been spared, and not have been buried up in that great city Moronihah. And thus were the howlings of the people great and terrible.” Here, we see that mothers, daughters, and innocent children were buried and killed. Perhaps with the men as collateral damage. 3 Nephi 9:1 It is in this darkness that the people hear a voice. “AND it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:” 3 Nephi 9:2 “Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they have fallen!” The entire Book of Mormon account has been leading up to this grand pinnacle event. As we will clearly see, the Savior Himself claims full responsibility for causing the destruction of 16 specific cities. Resulting in the death of the thousands of men, women, AND innocent children. As I skip through these next verses, listen to the number of times Jesus claims to be the one - who caused all this destruction and death. 3 Nephi 9:3-12 “Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof. And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned. And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them. And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth; Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them. And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them. And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them. And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations. And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them. And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.” Wow! How graphic! Does that sound like the same loving Redeemer, who we read about in the gospels of the New Testament? 3 Nephi 9:13 The voice from heaven tells those who were not destroyed that, the reason He spared them is because they were not as wicked as those that were destroyed. He then invites them to repent. “O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?” He is giving them a choice to repent, or die like their families and friends. 3 Nephi 9:14 “Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you and whosoever will come, him I will receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.” 3 Nephi 9:15 Now, the Savior introduces Himself as the voice in the dark. “Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God, I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name.” The phrase “I am in the Father, and the Father in me” is taken directly from John 14:10. Again, another plagiarism from the New Testament. 3 Nephi 9:18 He says in the first half of this verse, “I am the light and the life of the world. He is quoting from John 9:5, which has not yet been written in 34 AD. Then, in the second half of this verse He says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” Do you recognize the huge problem with that statement? The Nephites and Lamanites would have no knowledge what “Alpha and Omega” meant, other than the sentence ending with “the beginning and the end.” They were the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and “Alpha and Omega” would not be found in any authentic ancient text from the Americas. “Alpha and Omega” are the English spellings of Greek words found in the Bible. Since the Book of Mormon was not written in Greek, but Reformed Egyptian, why were these words used? Those people would never have heard them before. The simple fact is, they were copied from the King James Bible. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” is a direct quote from Revelation 22:13. Another blatant plagiarism. 3 Nephi 10:1-2 While the voice was speaking to them, the people had ceased lamenting and howling. Suddenly, there was complete silence that lasted for many hours. And it was still completely dark. 3 Nephi 10:3 “And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear, and did witness of it saying:” Now see if you recognize the following passage from the New Testament. 3 Nephi 10:4 “O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.” This metaphor is nearly identical to the one in Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” But, in this case - the Nephite and Lamanite “chickens” would not gather, so He had to kill them. Would those Nephites and Lamanites even know what “chickens” were? Archaeological and genetic evidence suggests chickens may have reached South America only a century before Christopher Columbus arrived. Somewhere around 1375 AD. Long after this event recorded in the Book of Mormon. So, we have another major anachronism and plagiarism. 3 Nephi 10:5-6 Jesus repeats this refrain two more times, inviting those who survived this mass killing to repent and return to Him. But if they do not repent, then He will have to destroy them also. This Book of Mormon Jesus is out for blood and vengeance. This Jesus does not reflect the forgiving Savior who from His cross prayed to the Father in Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” 3 Nephi 10:8 After the people heard these words, they went back weeping and howling again over their dead family and friends - who Jesus had just slaughtered. 3 Nephi 10:9 Mormon continues, “And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.” 3 Nephi 10:10 “And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.” They joyfully thanked the Lord for not killing them like He did so many of their families and friends. They suddenly switched from grieving to, praising. 3 Nephi 10:11 “And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.” 3 Nephi 10:12 “And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared.” That unique phrase “the blood of the saints” is found only in Revelation 17:6. Must I say - another plagiarism. 3 Nephi 10:13 Then speaking of the more righteous part, “And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and of darkness. 3 Nephi 10:14 “And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.” You have, to understand that according to the Book of Mormon - Jesus had to kill these people in these horrific ways or else these Book of Mormon scriptures would not be properly fulfilled. The phrase “whoso readeth, let him understand” is plagiarized directly from Matthew 24:15. Okay, now! We run into what I consider to be a problematic contradiction for the Book of Mormon. Listen as I read this verse and see if you can identify it. 3 Nephi 10:18 “And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them.“ Did you catch it? There seems to be some confusion as to the timing of the Savior’s visit to the Nephites and Lamanites. Here it tells us that “in the ending of the thirty and fourth year” Christ appeared to them. But, according to 3 Nephi 8:5 which we read earlier - the destruction and three days of darkness began “in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month.” But here in Verse 18, Mormon says that the visit came “soon after the ascension of Christ.” So, which is it? Did He appear right after His ascension into heaven in the first month of the year, or not until the end of the year? Either this verse 18 is wrong, or 3 Nephi 8:5 is wrong. Who made the mistake? Mormon the abridger, or Joseph Smith the author? 3 Nephi 10:19 Mormon concludes this chapter with an abrupt ending. Speaking of Jesus, “Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them; and an account of his ministry shall be given hereafter. Therefore, for this time I make an end of my sayings.” The appearance of the resurrected Jesus to the righteous Nephite and Lamanite survivors is recorded in chapters 11 through 26 of 3 Nephi. It is the most extensive section of the book which is devoted to recounting what happened in the first two days of Jesus’ three-day appearance amongst the Nephites. I close this video with the big announcement in 3 Nephi 11:10 “Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.” Like most believing Latter-day Saints, I didn’t see a problem with calling Himself, “Jesus Christ.” Not until I realized His Aramaic/Hebrew name and title was really, “Yeshua Mashiach.” The anglicized English name and title, Jesus Christ, didn’t come along until the 16th century, when the alphabet added the letter “J.” So, how did “Jesus Christ” get onto the gold plates in 34 AD., or even as early as 2200 BC. in the book of Ether. I hope by pointing out these plagiarisms, anachronisms, and contradictions in just these few chapters - you realize that the Book of Mormon is nothing more than a 19th century text, written by someone with access to the King James Bible. Specifically, Joseph Smith Jr. If you like this video, find more on You Tube or at TalkingtoMormons.com. God Bless!
Danny's Weekly Word