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<\/a>(Image from LDS.org)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Every once in a while, I encounter the claim from some former member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints<\/a> that leaders of the Church are quietly, gradually, stealthily moving Latter-day Saints toward acceptance of the notion that the Book of Mormon is merely \u201cinspired\u201d fiction of some sort. \u00a0Perhaps an allegory. \u00a0A parable.<\/p>\n Church leaders are being forced in this direction \u2014 so the reasoning typically goes \u2014 not only by the alleged lack of any and all evidence for the Book of Mormon\u2019s historicity but by the steadily constricting noose of evidence against<\/em> the Book\u2019s historical authenticity.<\/p>\n I confess that I simply don\u2019t see what such folks claim to be seeing. \u00a0I don\u2019t believe that decisive proof<\/em> exists of the historicity of the Book of Mormon narrative, but I do believe that there is good evidence<\/em> that strongly suggests the factual authenticity of the narrative contained in the Book. \u00a0In fact, in dramatic contrast to the claim that lethal indicators of the Book\u2019s supposedly fictional character are mounting rapidly and disastrously, I actually think that the Book of Mormon is in a stronger position now, as regards its historicity, than at any prior time since its appearance in the late 1820s and its first publication in English in 1830.<\/p>\n Moreover, I see absolutely no evidence that the Church and its leaders are subtly laying the groundwork for eventual abandonment of the claim that there were real Nephites, Lamanites, Mulekites, and Jaredites. \u00a0Absolutely none. \u00a0They aren\u2019t moving in any way discernible to me in the direction, on this point, of the Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).<\/p>\n Some who push the idea point in support of it to remarks that President Russell M. Nelson gave in 2016 to a group of new mission presidents and their wives. \u00a0Among other things, he observed to them that \u201cthe Book of Mormon is not a book of history, although there is some history in it.\u201d \u00a0Says one recent critic, \u201cThat is a damning admission.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s nothing of the sort.<\/p>\n Here is a quotation from a contemporary report of the meeting at which President Nelson spoke, \u201cThe Book of Mormon is a \u2018miraculous miracle,\u2019 says President Russell M. Nelson at 2016 Seminar for New Mission Presidents\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some things the Book of Mormon is not,\u201d President Nelson said. \u201cIt is not a textbook of history, although some history is found within its pages. It is not a definitive work on ancient American agriculture or politics. It is not a record of all former inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere, but only of particular groups of people.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Was he really saying that the Book of Mormon isn\u2019t historical? \u00a0Not at all. \u00a0And, candidly, I think it a completely bone-headed misreading of his remarks \u2014 overeager, maybe, perhaps even disingenuous \u2014 to suggest that he was.<\/em><\/p>\n I think that I\u2019ve established a pretty consistent public record as a believer in the genuine antiquity of the Book of Mormon, and as an advocate of that view of it. \u00a0But I could say, and indeed have<\/em> said, precisely the same thing about the Book of Mormon that President Nelson said in 2016. \u00a0It isn\u2019t merely \u201ca textbook of history\u201d \u2014 in the manner of, say, Emily Nussbaum\u2019s Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV<\/em>, or Woosung Kang\u2019s Korean History Made Easy<\/em>, or Anton Powell\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Athens and Sparta: Constructing Greek Political and Social History from 478 BC<\/em> \u2014<\/span>\u00a0although it definitely employs<\/em> history, which it presents as true<\/em> history, as a vehicle for its genuine purpose:<\/p>\n Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever\u2014And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus<\/span><\/span> is the Christ<\/span><\/span>, the Eternal God<\/span><\/span>, manifesting himself unto all nations. (Title Page of the Book of Mormon)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Neither Cue the Sun! <\/em>nor Korean History Made Easy<\/em> nor <\/span>Athens and Sparta<\/em> expects or demands a moral or spiritual commitment from its readers. \u00a0But the Book of Mormon calls for precisely such commitment. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t exist merely to recount facts or to satisfy curiosity. \u00a0I doubt that the most obvious or urgent question posed by a reading of Emily Nussbaum\u2019s book, or Woosung Kang\u2019s, or Anton Powell\u2019s is \u201cWhat should I do now?\u201d \u00a0But that is mostly definitely the most pressing question that faces readers of the Book of Mormon:<\/span><\/p>\n And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. . . .<\/p>\n And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God; and the Lord God will say unto you: Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead, yea, even as one speaking out of the dust? . . .<\/p>\n And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true.<\/p>\n And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing. . . .<\/p>\n Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. . . .<\/p>\n And now I bid unto all, farewell. I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, until my spirit and body shall again reunite, and I am brought forth triumphant through the air, to meet you before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge of both quick and dead. Amen. (Moroni 10:4, 27, 29-30, 32, 34)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Book of Mormon isn\u2019t merely a history any more than the four New Testament gospels are \u201conly\u201d history. \u00a0In his \u201cNew Translation\u201d of the Bible, the Prophet Joseph Smith insightfully and significantly retitled Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the \u201cTestimony<\/em> of Matthew,\u201d the \u201cTestimony<\/em> of Mark,\u201d the \u201cTestimony<\/em> of Luke,\u201d and the \u201cTestimony<\/em> of John.\u201d \u00a0And that is exactly what they are. \u00a0Historical, yes. \u00a0But not merely<\/em> history. \u00a0When Sister Jones or Brother Smith shares a personal experience with a remarkable answer to prayer or with a time of great spiritual challenge, he or she isn\u2019t merely passing on autobiographical details. \u00a0There is a spiritual point to the narrative. \u00a0Just as there is in the Gospel of John:<\/p>\n And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:<\/span><\/p>\n But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. \u00a0(John 20:30-31)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n John\u2019s goal wasn\u2019t to record all of the facts about an interesting historical personality. \u00a0Indeed, there is scarcely anything in John or in any of the canonical Gospels about Jesus\u2019s infancy, childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood. \u00a0There is very little biographical material in John\u2019s Gospel prior to the three years of Christ\u2019s mortal ministry; the final week of Jesus\u2019s life takes up approximately forty percent of John\u2019s text. \u00a0He included the history that he needed to fulfill the purpose of his writing, which wasn\u2019t to satisfy mere historical curiosity. \u00a0Here is the very last verse of the Gospel of John:<\/p>\n And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. \u00a0(John 31:25)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Also from the Deseret News<\/em>:\u00a0\u201cSuperman and the secular longing for a Savior:\u00a0The Jewish creators of Superman were not focused on Jesus. So why has this superhero become so widely embraced as a Christ-like symbol?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n My grandmother was Norwegian, but she emigrated to North Dakota at about eighteen years of age for largely economic reasons and she remained a Lutheran throughout her entire life. \u00a0Still, I was interested to see this: \u201cLatter-day Saints in Norway Honour Pioneer Legacy and Mark 200 Years of Norwegian Emigration:\u00a0Church members participate in national events honouring the historic 1825 voyage of the sloop \u2018Restauration\u2019 and its lasting legacy for Norway and the Church\u201d<\/a>\u00a0 I love Norway, and I\u2019ve traveled a fair amount there.<\/p>\n<\/a>