Adam and Eve Saved the Environment

[PeterPriesthood]

You certainly won't get the truth from The Book of Mormon. That silly-assed 'history' is disproven. It's a non-starter.

Heh, I have some theories about the Book of Mormon and its formation, but I certainly believe that the teachings within it come from God.

There are records that state how Joseph Smith Jr. was able to recount to his family and friends amazing details about the history of the American Indians, and this was all before he became a prophet and translated the Book of Mormon. My working theory is that he either made up these stories, since they don't match what we know of the history of Native Americans, or he was told these stories by the Angel Moroni (or was it Nephi? Heh, more on that later if you want to know) and then embellished them a bit. He was an amazing orator and story-teller to begin with, so it's no surprise that he could produce a work such as the Book of Mormon.

What's interesting to note is how detached the Doctrinal Teachings contained within this book are from the story elements written in it. I believe these teachings do come from God, and they do well to supplement what we know of Christian theology from the Middle East.

I will not say that Book of Mormon is completely false, but Joseph Smith, as a man, definitely had his flaws. As Richard Bushman puts it, he is a rough stone rolling (love his book about JS Jr.!). I enjoy the stories from it, though the method of delivery is a bit dated (17th Century text is hard to trudge through). The doctrines contained within are what's really important. I believe there is some evidence to show how Christ really did visit the Native Americans after his resurrection, though it's hard to believe that he actually quoted the Gospel of Matthew to them, since it hadn't been written by the time he visited those people

It'll be interesting to give my opinions! By the way, I'm glad you got away from the Baptists; they're a worse cult than us Mormons!

No, only the Scientologists are worse than the Mormons. Or sillier, at any rate.

They're also evil. We're only slightly bushwhacked compared to them, yes.