If I could ask them one question about
the Church’s Book of Mormon, Come Follow Me, Lesson 15
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For Apr 13-19, 2020
Mosiah 1-3
If I wanted to encourage thought and try to understand devout believers better, I might ask:
“Isn’t it weird that there are no Lehite written records?”
Things to consider:
- When King Benjamin assembled his people to speak to them before he died, there were so many gathered that, “they could not all hear his words because of the greatness of the multitude; therefore he caused that the words which he spake should be written and sent forth among those that were not under the sound of his voice, that they might also receive his words” (Mosiah 2:8, emphasis added).
- This indicates their writing methods were sophisticated and fast enough to reproduce speeches in a relatively short period of time to have the innumerable persons gathered be taught by the King’s written word. Add to this the extensive commerce depicted in the Book of Mormon and the stated religious purpose to record things of a spiritual nature, and one would expect extensive archaeological samples of Lehite writing.
- That Lehite writings would be extensive is corroborated in Helaman 3:13-15:
- And now there are many records kept of the proceedings of this people, by many of this people, which are particular and very large, concerning them.
- But behold, a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people, yea, the account of the Lamanites and of the Nephites, and their wars, and contentions, and dissensions, and their preaching, and their prophecies, and their shipping and their building of ships, and their building of temples, and of synagogues and their sanctuaries, and their righteousness, and their wickedness, and their murders, and their robbings, and their plundering, and all manner of abominations and whoredoms, cannot be contained in this work.
- But behold, there are many books and many records of every kind, and they have been kept chiefly by the Nephites.
- Yet it’s interesting that none, absolutely none, of this writing of a purportedly very large civilization has ever been found, except for the gold plates Joseph Smith claimed he found, which cannot be examined.
- There was writing in pre-Columbian America, but only in Mesoamerica (Encyclopedia Britannica, “Mesoamerican Writing Systems”).
- But, the Book of Mormon tells us the Lehites wrote in Egyptian, Hebrew, or script derived (reformed) from these (1 Ne 1:2, Mosiah 1:4, Mormon 9:32-33).
- And, there is absolutely no evidence of such languages or derivatives of these languages in pre-Columbian Americas, written or spoken.
- Furthermore, some of the ancient American script has been deciphered (like Maya), and none of it corroborates the Book of Mormon.
If you could ask believers questions about the scriptures for this lesson, what would you ask?
Have fun studying!
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If I could ask them one question, Lesson 15
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