FAIR - User contributions [en]

File:1850census2.jpg

2018-10-09T17:23:50Z

David Keller: David Keller uploaded a new version of File:1850census2.jpg

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T06:08:50Z

David Keller: /* Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South */

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,

Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,

Std = the standard deviation of age gaps,

Teen = the % of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||'''14-16'''
|-
| Joseph Smith|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T06:01:36Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps,
Teen = the % of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||'''14-16'''
|-
| Joseph Smith|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T05:58:01Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps,
Teen = the % of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||'''14-16'''
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T05:56:22Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps,
Teen = the % of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||"'14-16'"
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T05:51:39Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps,
Teen = the % of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||"<=16"
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2018-01-13T00:42:14Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps, roughly 17% of marriage couples will have an age gap larger than Mean+Std for a given row,
Teen % = the percentage of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teens'''||"<=16"
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%||9.1%
|-
| USA || || 9.9|| 6.3 || 16%||2.4%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 8.8 || 6.1 || 11%||1.0%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 9.4 || 6.1 || 13%||1.3%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 10.1 || 6.1 || 15%||2.1%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 10.0 || 6.4 || 19%||1.6%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 10.9 || 6.7 || 23%||4.4%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 11.1 || 6.3 || 23%||2.3%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 11.9 || 6.4 || 31%||6.4%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 8.5 || 6.1 || 12%||4.8%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2017-12-29T21:01:05Z

David Keller: /* Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful" */

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages. FairMormon volunteers quantify early Mormon marriage statistics and compare them with that of their non-Mormon contemporaries. Many charts, graphs, and citations of academic literature have have been provided for readers to draw their own conclusions.}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

N = the number of marriages that meet the selection criteria,
Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps, roughly 17% of marriage couples will have an age gap larger than Mean+Std for a given row,
Teen % = the percentage of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''N''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teen %'''
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 33 || 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%
|-
| USA || || 4601 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 16%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 564 || 8.4 || 6.0 || 7%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 1189 || 9.0 || 6.2 || 12%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 1181 || 10.0 || 6.0 || 15%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 230 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 15%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 520 || 10.5 || 6.6 || 21%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 447 || 11.0 || 6.4 || 24%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 250 || 11.9 || 6.3 || 33%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 220 || 8.6 || 5.9 || 13%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2017-12-29T20:43:14Z

David Keller: /* Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year" */

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|By definition, middle age is currently considered to be between 45 and 65 years old, which excludes the martyred prophet. Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s. From the perspective of the IPUMS 1850 bride cohort, 4.8% of all matched husbands were 15+ years older and 1.5% were 20+ years older. These numbers aren't significantly different for 16-years-old brides (the earliest age for which IPUMS's algorithm matches couples with 15+ year age differentials) at the same milestones (15+, 5.0%) and (20+,1.4%), respectively. Community marriage norms regarding age differentials and minors in the mid-19th century were dramatically different than they are today. }}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages.
}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

N = the number of marriages that meet the selection criteria,
Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps, roughly 17% of marriage couples will have an age gap larger than Mean+Std for a given row,
Teen % = the percentage of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''N''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teen %'''
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 33 || 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%
|-
| USA || || 4601 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 16%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 564 || 8.4 || 6.0 || 7%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 1189 || 9.0 || 6.2 || 12%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 1181 || 10.0 || 6.0 || 15%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 230 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 15%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 520 || 10.5 || 6.6 || 21%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 447 || 11.0 || 6.4 || 24%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 250 || 11.9 || 6.3 || 33%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 220 || 8.6 || 5.9 || 13%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2017-09-03T07:49:49Z

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s.
}}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages.
}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a record of all marriages in the year prior to the 1850 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

N = the number of marriages that meet the selection criteria,
Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps, roughly 17% of marriage couples will have an age gap larger than Mean+Std for a given row,
Teen % = the percentage of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''N''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teen %'''
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 33 || 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%
|-
| USA || || 4601 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 16%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 564 || 8.4 || 6.0 || 7%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 1189 || 9.0 || 6.2 || 12%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 1181 || 10.0 || 6.0 || 15%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 230 || 9.7 || 6.2 || 15%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 520 || 10.5 || 6.6 || 21%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 447 || 11.0 || 6.4 || 24%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 250 || 11.9 || 6.3 || 33%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 220 || 8.6 || 5.9 || 13%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2017-08-30T07:06:59Z

David Keller: /* Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful" */

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s.
}}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages.
}}
===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===
Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that
<blockquote> "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> </blockquote>

Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (refuting the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Evidence supports that Mormon males in their upper 30s, including Joseph Smith, did not marry teens at a rate significantly higher than their near contemporaries on the frontier or in the South===

Since Joseph Smith's averaged 36.5 years at the time of his 33 plural marriages, a groom cohort aged 34.0 to 38.99 is the best match. The IPUMS database has a 10% sampling of all marriages of less than a year old taken from the 1880 census, which is used for convenience. In the following table, the column headers are used:

N = the number of marriages that meet the selection criteria,
Place = regions of the USA surveyed. Joseph Smith's marriages and the total of all regions are used as a baseline of comparison,
States = a list of states belonging to each region,
Mean = the average age gap between grooms (34-38) and their brides of all ages,
Std = the standard deviation of age gaps, roughly 17% of marriage couples will have an age gap larger than Mean+Std for a given row,
Teen % = the percentage of teenage brides the groom cohorts wed as a fraction of all their brides.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| '''Place''' || '''States''' || '''N''' || '''mean''' || '''std''' || '''Teen %'''
|-
| Joseph Smith || OH IL MO|| 33 || 6.7 || 12.5 || 30%
|-
| USA || || 512 || 10 || 6.5 || 19%
|-
| New England || NH ME VT CT MA RI || 39 || 7.1 || 7.7 || 9%
|-
| Mid Atlantic || NY PA NJ || 72 || 8.1 || 5.9 || 7%
|-
| NE Central || OH MI IN WI IL || 118 || 9.4 || 5.3 || 10%
|-
| NW Central || MN IA MO ND SD NE KS || 70 || 10.9 || 5.9 || 20%
|-
| S. Atlantic || DE MD VA NC SC GA FL WV DC || 75 || 10.2 || 5.6 || 18%
|-
| SE Central || AL MS TN KY || 60 || 11.2 || 6.4 || 22%
|-
| SW Central || OK AR LA TX || 62 || 12 || 6.8 || 46%
|-
| West || AZ CO ID UT NM MT WY NV OR WA CA HI AK || 20 || 14.3 || 5.8 || 55%
|}

<blockquote>[I]t is easy to see why criticism of the ages involved in Joseph’s marriages has only gained traction recently. Average age differences between husband and wife have also changed dramatically since the mid 19 century. Using IPUMS data, Rolf and Ferrie charted the fall of the age gap from 4.55 years in 1850 to 2.30 years in 2000 after peaking at 4.96 in 1870. They also found the western frontier had an average gap that was two years higher than elsewhere between 1850 and 1880.
In the 19th century teenage brides very seldomly married someone near their own age. The average age gap for the mid-teens was typically 2-3 years higher than the overall average. Typically men would court across the entire eligible age spectrum younger than themselves and the economic stability of older men could make them competitive. ...
While on average Joseph Smith married older women than his 1880 peers, his wives’ ages were more spread out. Though his percentage of teenage brides (30%) was slightly higher than a reasonable estimate for his peers in 1840s Illinois (20%), it was far from being historically high. One might wonder if America could have met its manifest destiny without adapting marital practices on the frontier.<ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Karen Rolf and Joseph Ferrie, “The May-December relationship since 1850: Age homogamy in the U.S.” Working Paper (September, 2008).</ref></blockquote>

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball

2017-08-30T04:16:13Z

David Keller: /* The age of menarche in America in 1840 has a normal distribution close to a mean of 15.2 years and a standard deviation of 1.85 */

{{FairMormon}}
<onlyinclude>
==Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?==
===It is claimed by critics that the average age of menarche in 1840 was 16.4 years and that therefore Helen Mar Kimball was prepubescent when she was sealed to Joseph Smith at age 14===

Critics of Mormonism claim that Helen Mar Kimball was prepubescent at at 14 at the time that she was sealed to Joseph Smith, and that this is therefore evidence that Joseph was a pedophile. Pedophila describes a sexual attraction to prepubescent children. However, there is no evidence that Helen ever cohabited with or had sexual relations with Joseph - in fact, she continued to live with her parents after the sealing.

The use of the term "pedophilia" by critics in this situation is intended to generate a negative emotional response in the reader. Pedophiles don't advertise their obsession, and they certainly don't discuss marriages with the parents of their intended victims. It was Heber C. Kimball that ''requested'' that this sealing be performed, not Joseph. There is no evidence that Joseph was a pedophile.

===The age of menarche in America in 1840 has a normal distribution close to a mean of 15.2 years and a standard deviation of 1.85===

<blockquote>
European data indicates a long term linear drop, while US data is much more sparse. Using post-1910 data, Wyshak (1983) determined that the average age at menarche was dropping linearly at 3.2 month/decade with a value of 13.1 in 1920. This trend projects to 15.2 in 1840 and 16.3 in 1800. The onset of menarche follows a normal distribution that had a larger spread in the 19th century (σ≈1.7 to 2.0) in Brown (1966) and Laslett (1977). <ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Grace Wyshak "Secular changes in age at menarche in a sample of US women", ''Annals of Human Biology'', 10:1 (1983):75-77; P. E. Brown, “The Age at Menarche,” ''British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine'', 20 (1966):9-14; and Peter Laslett, ''Family life and illicit love in earlier generations'' (1977, New York : Cambridge University Press). </ref>
</blockquote>

Helen Mar Kimball was likely married near the end of the month of May in 1843{{link|url=http://juvenileinstructor.org/from-the-archives-helen-mar-kimball-blessing-and-the-dating-of-her-marriage-to-joseph-smith/}} and was thus approximately 14.8 years old when she married to Joseph Smith. With only the statistics cited above we can conclude that of 40% the young women her age would have already matured and thus in their society be considered marriage eligible. If 40% is taken as an ''a priori'' probability, additional information puts maturity at her first marriage beyond a reasonable doubt using Bayesian methodology.

===Helen and her contemporaries considered her mature for her age===

Helen remembered transitioning from childhood to adulthood over a year before her first marriage as she attended social functions with older teens. Here is quote from on the abruptness of this transition in the past from a graduate course's textbook on child development:

<blockquote>
In industrial societies, as we have mentioned, the concept of adolescence as a period of development is quite recent. Until the early twentieth century, young people were considered children until they left school (often well before age 13), married or got a job, and entered the adult world. By the 1920s, with the establishment of comprehensive high schools to meet the needs of a growing economy and with more families able to support extended formal education for their children, the teenage years had become a distinct period of development (Keller, 1999). In some preindustrial societies, the concept of adolescence still does not exist. The Chippewa, for example, have only two periods of childhood: from birth until the child walks, and from walking to puberty. What we call adolescence is, for them, part of adulthood (Broude, 1995), as was true in societies before industrialization. <ref>
Papalia, D., Martorell, G., & Feldman, R. (2014). ''Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood. In A Child's World: Infancy through Adolescence'' (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.</ref>
</blockquote>

Helen recalls that by March 1842, she "had grown up very fast and my father often took me out with him and for this reason was taken to be older than I was." At these social gatherings, she developed a crush on future husband Horace Whitney. She later married him after Joseph Smith's martyrdom and her 16th birthday and had 12 children with him.

According to Helen:
<blockquote>
Sarah Ann's brother, Horace, who was twenty months her senior, made one of the party but had never dreamed of such a thing as matrimony with me, whom he only remembered in the earliest school days in Kirtland as occupying one of the lowest seats. He becoming enough advanced, soon left the one taught in the red schoolhouse on the flat and attended a higher one on the hill, and through our moving to Missouri and Illinois we lost sight of each other. After the party was over I stopped the rest of the night with Sarah, and as her room and his were adjoining, being only separated by a partition, our talk seemed to disturb him, and he was impolite enough to tell us of it, and request us to stop and let him go to sleep, which was proof enough that he had never thought of me only as the green school girl that I was, or he would certainly have submitted gracefully (as lovers always should) to be made a martyr of.<br>—Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, 1828-1896, Autobiography (c. 1839-1846), "Life Incidents," ''Woman's Exponent'' 9-10 (1880-1882) and "Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo," ''Woman's Exponent'' 11 (1882-83)) {{link|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/HWhitney.html}}
</blockquote>

===Joseph was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball at her father's request===

Joseph was indeed sealed to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball, and it was at her father's request. According to Helen:
<blockquote>
My father was the first to introduce it to me, which had a similar effect to a sudden shock of a small earthquake. When he found (after the first outburst of displeasure for supposed injury) that I received it meekly, he took the first opportunity to introduce Sarah Ann [Whitney] to me as Joseph's wife.<br>—Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, 1828-1896, Autobiography (c. 1839-1846), "Life Incidents," ''Woman's Exponent'' 9-10 (1880-1882) and "Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo," ''Woman's Exponent'' 11 (1882-83)) {{link|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/HWhitney.html}}
</blockquote>

===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===

Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (termed the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Helen continued to live with her parents after the sealing, and then married someone else and had children with them after Joseph's death===

Helen continued to live with her parents after the sealing. After Joseph's death, Helen was married and had children.

Unlike today, it was acceptable to be sealed to one person for eternity while being married for time to another person. It is not known if this was the case with Helen, however.

===There is no evidence whatsoever that Helen's marriage to Joseph was ever consummated===

There is, despite the critics' insinuations, no evidence that Helen Mar Kimball's marriage was consummated. (Consummation would not have been inappropriate, since this was a marriage, but the critics are too anxious to find problems where no evidence for such exists. Helen did have some disappointments—these mostly revolved around being less free to participate in parties and socials, not at being physically joined to an older husband.

But, Helen later saw her youthful displeasure as inappropriate and insisted that she had been protected and blessed by being a plural wife, even though she did not know it at the time.

===Helen spoke out on the subject later in her life===

Helen ought to allowed to speak for herself:

<blockquote>
I did not try to conceal the fact of its having been a trial, but confessed that it had been one of the severest of my life; but that it had also proven one of the greatest of blessings. I could truly say it had done the most towards making me a Saint and a free woman, in every sense of the word; and I knew many others who could say the same, and to whom it had proven one of the greatest boons--a "blessing in disguise." <ref>Helen Mar Kimball, ''Why We Practice Plural Marriage'', 23-24 cited in Andrus, ''Doctrines of the Kingdom''.</ref>
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
[[Category:The Changing World of Mormonism]]

[[es:Pregunta: ¿El matrimonio de Joseph Smith a 14 años de edad, Helen Mar Kimball era indicativo de "pedofilia"?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Era o casamento de Joseph Smith com a moça de 14 anos Helen Mar Kimball uma indicação de "pedofilia"?]]

Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball

2017-08-26T20:26:45Z

David Keller: /* Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"? */

{{FairMormon}}
<onlyinclude>
==Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?==
===It is claimed by critics of the Church that Helen Mar Kimball expected her marriage to Joseph not to include physical relations but that it actually did===

The use of the term "pedophilia" by critics is intended to generate a negative emotional response in the reader. Pedophila describes a sexual attraction to prepubescent children. There is no evidence that Helen ever cohabited with or had sexual relations with Joseph. Pedophiles don't advertise their obsession, and they certainly don't discuss marriages with the parents of their intended victims. It was Heber C. Kimball that ''requested'' that this sealing be performed, not Joseph. There is no evidence that Joseph was a pedophile.

===It is claimed by critics that the average age of menarche in 1840 was 16.4 years and that therefore Helen Mar Kimball was prepubescent when she married at age 14.===

===The age of menarche in America in 1840 has a normal distribution close to a mean of 15.2 years and a standard deviation of 1.85===

<blockquote>
European data indicates a long term linear drop, while US data is much more sparse. Using post-1910 data, Wyshak (1983) determined that the average age at menarche was dropping linearly at 3.2 month/decade with a value of 13.1 in 1920. This trend projects to 15.2 in 1840 and 16.3 in 1800. The onset of menarche follows a normal distribution that had a larger spread in the 19th century (σ≈1.7 to 2.0) in Brown (1966) and Laslett (1977). <ref>Craig L. Foster, David Keller, and Gregory L. Smith, “The Age of Joseph Smith’s Plural Wives in Social and Demographic Context,” in Bringhurst and Foster, eds., ''The Persistence of Polygamy'', 152–83. The authors cite Grace Wyshak "Secular changes in age at menarche in a sample of US women", ''Annals of Human Biology'', 10:1 (1983):75-77; P. E. Brown, “The Age at Menarche,” ''British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine'', 20 (1966):9-14; and Peter Laslett, ''Family life and illicit love in earlier generations'' (1977, New York : Cambridge University Press). </ref>
</blockquote>

Helen Mar Kimball was likely married near the end of the month of May in 1843{{link|url=http://juvenileinstructor.org/from-the-archives-helen-mar-kimball-blessing-and-the-dating-of-her-marriage-to-joseph-smith/}} and was thus approximately 14.8 years old when she married to Joseph Smith. With only the statistics cited above we can conclude that of 40% the young women her age would have already matured and thus in their society be considered marriage eligible. If 40% is taken as an ''a priori'' probability, additional information puts maturity at her first marriage beyond a reasonable doubt using Bayesian methodology.

===Helen and her contemporaries considered her mature for her age===

Helen remembered transitioning from childhood to adulthood over a year before her first marriage as she attended social functions with older teens. Here is quote from on the abruptness of this transition in the past from a graduate course's textbook on child development:

<blockquote>
In industrial societies, as we have mentioned, the concept of adolescence as a period of development is quite recent. Until the early twentieth century, young people were considered children until they left school (often well before age 13), married or got a job, and entered the adult world. By the 1920s, with the establishment of comprehensive high schools to meet the needs of a growing economy and with more families able to support extended formal education for their children, the teenage years had become a distinct period of development (Keller, 1999). In some preindustrial societies, the concept of adolescence still does not exist. The Chippewa, for example, have only two periods of childhood: from birth until the child walks, and from walking to puberty. What we call adolescence is, for them, part of adulthood (Broude, 1995), as was true in societies before industrialization. <ref>
Papalia, D., Martorell, G., & Feldman, R. (2014). ''Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood. In A Child's World: Infancy through Adolescence'' (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.</ref>
</blockquote>

Helen recalls that by March 1842, she "had grown up very fast and my father often took me out with him and for this reason was taken to be older than I was." At these social gatherings, she developed a crush on future husband Horace Whitney. She later married him after Joseph Smith's martyrdom and her 16th birthday and had 12 children with him.

According to Helen:
<blockquote>
Sarah Ann's brother, Horace, who was twenty months her senior, made one of the party but had never dreamed of such a thing as matrimony with me, whom he only remembered in the earliest school days in Kirtland as occupying one of the lowest seats. He becoming enough advanced, soon left the one taught in the red schoolhouse on the flat and attended a higher one on the hill, and through our moving to Missouri and Illinois we lost sight of each other. After the party was over I stopped the rest of the night with Sarah, and as her room and his were adjoining, being only separated by a partition, our talk seemed to disturb him, and he was impolite enough to tell us of it, and request us to stop and let him go to sleep, which was proof enough that he had never thought of me only as the green school girl that I was, or he would certainly have submitted gracefully (as lovers always should) to be made a martyr of.<br>—Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, 1828-1896, Autobiography (c. 1839-1846), "Life Incidents," ''Woman's Exponent'' 9-10 (1880-1882) and "Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo," ''Woman's Exponent'' 11 (1882-83)) {{link|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/HWhitney.html}}
</blockquote>

===Joseph was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball at her father's request===

Joseph was indeed sealed to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball, and it was at her father's request. According to Helen:
<blockquote>
My father was the first to introduce it to me, which had a similar effect to a sudden shock of a small earthquake. When he found (after the first outburst of displeasure for supposed injury) that I received it meekly, he took the first opportunity to introduce Sarah Ann [Whitney] to me as Joseph's wife.<br>—Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, 1828-1896, Autobiography (c. 1839-1846), "Life Incidents," ''Woman's Exponent'' 9-10 (1880-1882) and "Scenes and Incidents in Nauvoo," ''Woman's Exponent'' 11 (1882-83)) {{link|url=http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/HWhitney.html}}
</blockquote>

===Evidence supports that Mormon teens did not marry until they had reached maturity.===

Scholars that study fertility often divide large samples into cohorts which are 5 years wide based on birth year or marriage age . In contrast to what some critics claim, the marriage cohort of 15-19 year olds has been shown at times to be more fertile than the 20-24 cohort. The authors of one study found that "Unlike most other reported natural-fertility populations, period fertility rates for married Mormon women aged 15-19 are higher between 1870 and 1894 than those for married women in their 20s. Women aged 15-19 in 1870-74 would have been born in the 1850s when 55.8 percent were married before their 20th birthday; thus, this cannot be treated as an insignificant group." And also "In addition, the median interval between marriage and birth of the first child is consistently about one year for all age-at-marriage groups." <ref>Mineau, G. P., L. L. Bean, and M. Skolnick 1979 “Mormon demographic history, II: The family life cycle and natural fertility.” Population Studies 33, 3:429–446.</ref> Another study disproved that younger marital age (15-19) resulted in a higher infant mortality rate due to the mother not being fully mature (termed the "biological-insufficiency hypothesis.") <ref>Bean, L., Mineau, G., & Anderton, D. (1992). ''High-Risk Childbearing: Fertility and Infant Mortality on the American Frontier''. Social Science History, 16(3), 337-363.</ref>

===Helen continued to live with her parents after the sealing, and then married someone else and had children with them after Joseph's death===

Helen continued to live with her parents after the sealing. After Joseph's death, Helen was married and had children.

Unlike today, it was acceptable to be sealed to one person for eternity while being married for time to another person. It is not known if this was the case with Helen, however.

===There is no evidence whatsoever that Helen's marriage to Joseph was ever consummated===

There is, despite the critics' insinuations, no evidence that Helen Mar Kimball's marriage was consummated. (Consummation would not have been inappropriate, since this was a marriage, but the critics are too anxious to find problems where no evidence for such exists. Helen did have some disappointments—these mostly revolved around being less free to participate in parties and socials, not at being physically joined to an older husband.

But, Helen later saw her youthful displeasure as inappropriate and insisted that she had been protected and blessed by being a plural wife, even though she did not know it at the time.

===Helen spoke out on the subject later in her life===

Helen ought to allowed to speak for herself:

<blockquote>
I did not try to conceal the fact of its having been a trial, but confessed that it had been one of the severest of my life; but that it had also proven one of the greatest of blessings. I could truly say it had done the most towards making me a Saint and a free woman, in every sense of the word; and I knew many others who could say the same, and to whom it had proven one of the greatest boons--a "blessing in disguise." <ref>Helen Mar Kimball, ''Why We Practice Plural Marriage'', 23-24 cited in Andrus, ''Doctrines of the Kingdom''.</ref>
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
[[Category:The Changing World of Mormonism]]

[[es:Pregunta: ¿El matrimonio de Joseph Smith a 14 años de edad, Helen Mar Kimball era indicativo de "pedofilia"?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Era o casamento de Joseph Smith com a moça de 14 anos Helen Mar Kimball uma indicação de "pedofilia"?]]

Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter

2017-08-26T16:38:31Z

David Keller: /* Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile" */

{{FairMormon}}
{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|T=[[../|A Letter to an Apostle]]
|A=Paul A. Douglas

}}

<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/A Letter to an Apostle/The Letter
|H=Response to claims made in "''A Letter to an Apostle'': The Letter"
|S=This section responds to claims made in the actual letter which was sent to President Uchtdorf's office.
|L1=Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"
|L2=Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"
|L3=Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"
|L4=Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"
|L5=Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"
|L6=Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"
|L7=Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"
|L8=Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"
|L9=Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"
|L10=Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"
|L11=Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"

|L13=Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"
|L14=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
|L15=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"
|L16=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
|L17=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
|L18=Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"
|L19=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"
|L20=Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"
|L21=Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
|L22=Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"
|L23=Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"
|L24=Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
|L25=Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
|L26=Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"
|L27=Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"
|L28=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"
|L29=Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"
|L30=Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"
|L31=Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"
|L32=Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"
|L33=Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"
|L34=Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"=Response to claim:
|L35=Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"
|L36=Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
|L37=Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"
|L38=Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"
|L39=Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"
|L40=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"
|L41=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"
|L42=Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"
|L43=Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"
|L44=Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"
|L45=Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"
|L46=Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"
|L47=Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"
|L48=Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"
|L49=Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"
|L50=Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"
|L51=Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
|L52=Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"
|L53=Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"

|L55=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"
|L56=Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"
|L57=Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: "The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The dearth of any archaeological, anthropological or linguistic evidence of the Book of Mormon chronicles
}}
{{propaganda|Simply repeating assertions by ex-Mormons and critics of the Church that there is no evidence of the Book of Mormon does not make their assertions true. Those that look for such evidence can find it.
}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Archaeology}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anthropology}}

==Response to claim: "Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Would we not find some evidence of the battles in which supposedly more than 2 million soldiers died at the Hill Cumorah – bones, swords, armor, even hair
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon text does not support the 110-foot tall hill in New York as being the "Cumorah" described in the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Geography/New World/Hill Cumorah}}

==Response to claim: "Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Is it not disconcerting that virtually every non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist and even some funded by the Mormon Church declare that there is no evidence to support the Book of Mormon narrative?
}}
{{propaganda|Why would a non-Mormon archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist have any interesting in searching for any evidence proving the Book of Mormon? It should be obvious that any archaeologist, anthropologist or linguist interested in the subject would themselves be Mormon.}}

==Response to claim: "Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Thomas Stuart Ferguson...had to admit that, 'you can't set Book of Mormon geography down anywhere - because it is fictional'
}}
{{:Question: Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an archaeologist?}}
{{:Source:Peterson and Roper:FR 16:1:We know of no one who cites Ferguson as an authority, except countercultists}}
{{:Source:Peterson:FR 16:1:makes every effort to portray Ferguson's apparent eventual loss of faith as a failure for 'LDS archaeology'}}

==Response to claim: "how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how can we account for the numerous anachronisms in the Book of Mormon – chariots, horses, goats, wheels, elephants, steel, wheat, etc.?
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Anachronisms}}

==Response to claim: "Why do all recent DNA studies conclusively and without exception indicate that Native Americans are of Siberian/Asiatic and not of Hebrew origin?"==
{{misinformation|DNA evidence cannot be used to either prove or disprove the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Book of Mormon/DNA evidence/Issues identifying ancient DNA}}

==Response to claim: "the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Church quietly made yet another change to the Book of Mormon, in 2006 shortly after the irrefutable DNA results were first published by the scientific community
}}
{{propaganda|How can one claim that the Church "quietly" changed the introduction to the Book of Mormon when they published news of the change in the Church-owned newspaper, the ''Deseret News'' in 2007? From the ''Deseret News'', 8 Nov. 2007:
<blockquote>
''Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction''

A one-word change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the Book of Mormon has re-ignited discussion among some Latter-day Saints about the book's historicity, geography and the descendants of those chronicled within its pages...

[http://www.deseretnews.com/article/695226008/Debate-renewed-with-change-in-Book-of-Mormon-introduction.html Carrie A Moore, "Debate renewed with change in Book of Mormon introduction," ''Deseret News'' (8 Nov. 2007)]
</blockquote>
}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: "2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=2 Nephi 2:22 asserts as does Alma 12:23 24 that there was no death of any kind upon the earth before the “Fall of Adam,” which the D&C indicates was about 6,000 years ago
}}
{{:Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?}}

==Response to claim: "How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do you explain the large volume of material in the Book of Mormon lifted directly from the Bible, and the presence of numerous errors found in the Book of Mormon unique to the 1769 King James edition of the Bible
}}
{{information|Some of the Book of Mormon Isaiah passages generally match the version of Isaiah found in the Bible of the time, however, not all of them do.}}
{{:Question: If the Book of Mormon is an accurate translation, why would it contain translational errors that exist in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Source:Anderson:By the Gift and Power of God:Ensign:September 1977:Joseph Smith may have used a bible during translation}}
{{:Question: Were the Isaiah passages in the Book of Mormon simply plagiarized from the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Why does Isaiah in the Book of Mormon not match the Dead Sea Scrolls?}}
{{:Question: Why are many of the quotes from Isaiah in the Book of Mormon identical to those in the King James Bible?}}
{{:Question: Do academic translators copy translations of other documents to use as a "base text"?}}

==Response to claim: "how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=how is it that some verbatim sections of the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon at a date reported to be some eighty years before the birth of the Savior?
}}
{{:Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s money digging and his arrest, trial and almost certain conviction for being a “glass looker,” imposter and disorderly person by a justice of the peace in Bainbridge, New York, in 1826
}}
{{propaganda|The author implies Joseph's "almost certain conviction" despite the lack of evidence supporting this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: What is Joseph Smith's 1826 Bainbridge "trial" for "glasslooking"?}}
{{:Question: What events resulted in Joseph Smith's 1826 court appearance in Bainbridge?}}
{{:Question: Why was Joseph fined if he wasn't guilty?}}
{{:Source:Highlights in the Prophet's Life:Ensign:June 1994:Tried and acquitted on fanciful charge of being a "disorderly person"}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith found guilty of being a "con man" in 1826?}}


==Response to claim: "How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How can we reconcile Joseph Smith’s numerous false prophecies, with the test of a true prophet as found in Deuteronomy 18?
}}
{{:Question: Does Joseph Smith fail the "prophetic test" found in Deuteronomy 18?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "the US government would be, 'utterly overthrown and wasted'"
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith prophesy that the government would be overthrown and wasted?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "a temple would be built in Missouri within Smith’s generation
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's prophecy that the Independence, Missouri temple "shall be reared in this generation" a failed prophecy?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "all nations would be involved in the American Civil War"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's 1832 prophecy of the Civil War invalid because "war was not brought to all nations" by the Civil War and/or claiming there is "no link" between the Civil War and later conflicts?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's prophecy that "he would find treasure in Salem, Massachusetts"
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith commanded by the Lord to go to Salem, Massachusetts to hunt for treasure in the cellar of a house?}}

==Response to claim: "when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when the Book of Commandments was rewritten as the D&C after apostles apostatized, etc., many revelations were modified and failed prophecies removed
}}
{{misinformation|There is no evidence that "failed prophecies" in the Book of Commandments were removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith’s various and differing first vision accounts
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Accounts}}

==Response to claim: "no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=no one – including Joseph Smith’s family members or the Saints – had ever heard about the First Vision for twelve to twenty-two years after he had said it occurred
}}
{{:Joseph Smith's First Vision/Persecution after the vision}}

==Response to claim: "in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=in the first 'History of the Church,' written by Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith in 1834, why was there no mention of" the First Vision
}}
{{misinformation|This is related to Oliver Cowdery's attempt to write a history of the Church. In the first installment, Oliver set Joseph's age at 14 years and proceeded to describe the events leading up to the First Vision. However, in the second installment a couple of months later, Oliver abruptly changed Joseph's age to 17 and proceeded to describe Moroni's visit. Oliver alluded to events related to the First Vision in the past tense. It would appear that Joseph wasn't ready for Oliver to relate his First Vision experience at that time, despite the fact that Joseph had recorded it in his own hand two years earlier in 1832 and Oliver appeared to have access to that document. (For more information, see [http://www.mormoninterpreter.com/the-cowdery-conundrum-olivers-aborted-attempt-to-describe-joseph-smiths-first-vision-in-1834-and-1835/ Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture, "The Cowdery Conundrum: Oliver’s Aborted Attempt to Describe Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1834 and 1835"]
}}
{{:Question: Did Oliver Cowdery state that Joseph did not know if a "supreme being" existed in 1823?}}
{{:Question: What criticisms are related to Oliver Cowdery's 1834-1835 history of the Church?}}
{{:Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware of the details of the First Vision that were written in Joseph Smith's 1832 history?}}

==Response to claim: "why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why would Joseph Smith have written a Trinitarian view of the Godhead in the first edition of the Book of Mormon?...There is abundant evidence that Joseph’s position on the Godhead changed from the 1829 – 1834 Trinitarian rendition, to the two God version after 1835
}}
{{misinformation|
|mistake=The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view.
|facts=Even before any edits were made, there are plenty of verses in the first edition of the Book of Mormon that support the concept that the Father and the Son are separate entities, just like the Bible does.
}}
{{begging the question|The author starts with the assumption that Joseph held a Trinitarian view, then claims that a reading of the Book of Mormon leads to this conclusion.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?}}
{{:Question: What changes were made to the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: "the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the Book of Mormon claims to be the story of religious Jews, yet there is scant or no mention of Jewish customs or laws
}}
{{propaganda|The author needs to decide whether there is "scant" information or "no" information regarding Jewish customs or laws. The question appears to be posed simply to create doubt, without providing evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Should the Book of Mormon describe Jewish customs or laws?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith "used a rock; he found while digging a well" to translate the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use his own seer stone to translate the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith used "the same stone" to translate the Book of Mormon that "he employed in his treasure hunting career"
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith use the same stone for translating the Book of Mormon that he used for "money digging"?}}

==Response to claim: "What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=What then was the point of the golden plates and the Urim and Thummim being preserved for 1,500 years, if never to be used in translation?
}}
{{:Question: Why were the gold plates needed at all if they weren't used directly during the translation process?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph ever place the Nephite interpreters ("Urim and Thummim") into his hat?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith use the Nephite interpreters to translate? Or did he use his own seer stone?}}

==Response to claim: "why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=why does the Church continue to print bogus pictures and hang misleading paintings in Church buildings showing Joseph running his fingers over “Reformed Egyptian” characters on gold plates?
}}
{{:Question: Does Church art always reflect reality?}}
{{:Question: Why are people concerned about Church artwork?}}
{{:Question: Is the Church trying to hide something through its use of artwork?}}
{{:Question: Why doesn't the art match details which have been repeatedly spelled out in Church publications?}}
{{:Question: How do non-Mormon artists treat the Nativity?}}
{{:Question: What message does the Book of Mormon translation painting convey?}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith’s polygamy pre-date any revelation sanctioning it?
}}
{{:Question: When and how did plural marriage begin in the Church?}}
{{:Question: When did Joseph Smith receive the revelation on plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=A middle-aged man ‘marrying’ a 14 year old girl, was far from normal. Joseph Smith's marriage to Helen Mar Kimball was likely the only 37/14 marriage in New York State that year
}}
{{misinformation|Joseph Smith was sealed to Helen Mar Kimball in 1843 during the time that the Saints lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, not New York State. And, in fact, Illinois Governor Thomas Ford at age 28 was married to 15-year-old bride Frances Hambaugh in 1828, and had five children by her. William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, married a 16-year-old girl in 1808 when he was 37 years old. When his wife died young, Clark married his wife's cousin. By this time, Clark is in his 50s, marrying a woman in her late 20s.
}}

==Response to claim: "FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Nevertheless, the apologists at FairMormon would have you believe that middle-aged men marrying 14-year-old girls was not at all unusual in Smith's day.
<blockquote>
“Joseph Smith's polygamous marriages to young women may seem difficult to understand or explain today, but in his own time such age differences were not typically an obstacle to marriage. The plural marriages were unusual, to say the least; the younger ages of the brides were much less so. Critics do not provide this perspective because they wish to shock the audience and have them judge Joseph by the standards of the modern era, rather than his own time."
</blockquote>
...FairMormon’s attempt to make it sound like young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place is deceitful
}}
{{disinformation|FairMormon does not claim that "young girls barely past puberty marrying middle aged men was quite common place" or even that it was "not at all unusual." If one reads the FairMormon text that the author quotes, one will see that FairMormon states that marriages to younger brides were "much less" ''unusual'' than plural marriages.
}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith may have been a pedophile
}}
{{disinformation|
|falsehood=No, actually it wasn't pedophilia.
|facts=Joseph being sealed to Helen does not meet the definition of "pedophilia." The term "pedophilia" is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica as "psychosexual disorder in which an adult has sexual fantasies about or engages in sexual acts with a prepubescent child of the same or the opposite sex". Pedophilia requires that the adult involved have sexual acts with a prepubescent child. The term was not even coined until 1896 or broadly utilized until around 1920.
}}
{{appeal to emotion|While the term "pedophilia" is a favorite of some critics for its emotional punch, any supposed sexual interaction between Joseph and Helen appears only in the minds of critics, without supporting evidence. The accompanying stock photo used by the letter's author is distasteful. A reverse Google image search names it as "Abusive Man Choking Female Victim."
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith's marriage to 14-year-old Helen Mar Kimball indicative of "pedophilia"?}}

==Response to claim: "Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Mormon apologists...focus now on the lack of direct evidence that he actually have sex with them. What evidence are they looking for?
}}
{{propaganda|There is direct evidence of marital relations between Joseph and some of his plural wives as evidenced by testimony in the Temple Lot case, in which the Church was attempting to prove that Joseph had practiced plural marriage. With regard to what evidence one might be "looking for" with respect to plural marriage, children would be an obvious one. There is absolutely no evidence of children produced through any of Joseph Smith's plural marriages, and all existing possibilities have been disproven through DNA testing (including, now, Josephine Lyon).
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith father any children through polygamous marriages?}}
{{:Question: What did the husband of Sylvia Sessions know about her sealing to Joseph Smith for eternity?}}

==Response to claim: "Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Emma was unaware of most her husband’s marriages, and she certainly did not consent to most of them as required by D&C 132
}}
{{:Question: Was Emma aware of the possibility that Joseph could take additional wives even without her consent?}}

==Response to claim: "three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night"===
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=three weeks after his secret wedding to Sarah Ann Whitney age 17, she received a letter from Joseph instructing her to come to this house that night
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith write a "love letter" to his plural wife Sarah Ann Whitney to request a secret rendezvous?}}
{{:Question: How do critics of the Church portray Joseph Smith's letter to the Whitney family as a "love letter"?}}
{{:Question: What was the real purpose of the letter written by Joseph Smith to the parents of Sarah Ann Whitney?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s use of coercive stratagems to get women, often young girls, to enter plural marriages with him, including the promise of eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom for her and her family
}}
{{:Question: Were plural wives forced into the marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did any woman suffer consequences for turning down Joseph's proposal?}}
{{:Question: Were women put under "tremendous pressure" to accept a proposal of plural marriage?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith give a woman only one day to decide about entering a plural marriage, and would refusal mean terrible consequences?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph claim that an angel threatened him with a "drawn sword" or "flaming sword" if a woman refused to marry him?}}
{{:Question: Were women "locked in a room" in order to convince them to accept plural marriage?}}

==Response to claim: Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph Smith's "arrogant and boastful behavior, trumping the Savior himself"
}}
{{:Question: Is the quote of Joseph Smith's "boasting" of keeping the Church intact accurate?}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith prone to boasting?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that he was better than Jesus Christ?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was the restoration of the priesthood not reported by Joseph and Oliver Cowdrey until years later and then earlier revelations changed to match that account?
}}
{{:Question: Why did several years pass before Oliver talked about the priesthood restoration?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph and Emma's disturbing attempts...to partner swap with William and Jane Law
}}
{{propaganda|There is not only no evidence to support this assertion, but there is evidence that contradicts it.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith offer to trade Jane Law for Emma Smith in a wife swap with William Law?}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s ordering the destruction of the Nauvoo Expositor for unmasking his polygamy
}}
{{:Question: Was the destruction of the ''Nauvoo Expositor'' legal?}}
{{:Question: What caused William Law to apostatize from the Church and turn against Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith or his associates attempt to reconcile with William Law before he published the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}
{{:Question: How was the decision reached to destroy the ''Nauvoo Expositor''?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and The View of the Hebrews
}}
{{information|The two books are so different that BYU actually republished it so that it could be made more widely available to those who wanted to compare them.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and ..The Golden Pot
}}
{{misinformation|The "Golden Pot" theory by Grant Palmer is claimed to be a source for the story of Moroni's visit to Joseph Smith, ''not'' a source text or inspiration for the Book of Mormon text.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?}}
{{:Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?}}

==Response to claim: "the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=the many similarities between the Book of Mormon and...The First Book of Napoleon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=It is only "shocking" if you look at the heavily edited paragraphs presented by the critic.
|facts=One has to examine over 25 pages in ''The First Book of Napoleon'' in order to assemble these phrases, including pulling phrases from the Table of Contents and the first three chapters. This is hardly the "beginning" of the ''First Book of Napoleon''.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Was the beginning of the Book of Mormon derived from ''The First Book of Napoleon''?}}

==Response to claim: "The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain; used in New York state schools which Joseph Smith likely was exposed to, that reads very much like and has staggering parallels and similarities to, the Book of Mormon
}}
{{propaganda|
|spin=The "staggering" parallels aren't so "astounding" once you take a closer look at them.
|facts=The critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{texas sharpshooter|In this case, the critic scours a book in order to extract similar phrases, then declares that this proves that this book was a source for the Book of Mormon.}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize passages from Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War, between the United States and Great Britain, from June, 1812, to February, 1815?}}
{{:Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Late War}}

==Response to claim: "when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=when Joseph Smith wrote the JST of the Bible, he also went back and corrected Christ’s Sermon on the Mount passage in the Book of Mormon
}}
{{:Mormonism and the Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon}}

==Response to claim: "Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Joseph’s gross mistranslation of the Egyptian papyri that formed the basis of the Book of Abraham
}}
{{:Question: How was the text of the Book of Abraham produced by Joseph Smith?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph use his seer stone to receive the text of the Book of Abraham in the same manner as he did for the Book of Mormon?}}
{{:Question: Do we have all of the papyrus that Joseph Smith had?}}
{{:Question: Does the papyri consist of Egyptian funerary documents?}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith translate Egyptian?}}

==Response to claim: "The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The embarrassing Kinderhook Plates episode wherein primary sources show that Joseph “translated” forged items with meaningless symbols
}}
{{:Question: What are the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Why does ''History of the Church'' say that Joseph Smith said "I have translated a portion of them..."?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates using the "gift and power of God?"}}
{{:Question: What does Joseph's attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates tell us about his "gift of translation?"}}

==Response to claim: "Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why did Joseph Smith misidentify a simple Greek Psalter, as an Egyptian document?
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?}}

==Response to claim: "Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Was it pure coincidence that Freemasonry symbols, signs and tokens were incorporated into the temple ceremonies shortly after Joseph becomes a Mason?
}}
{{:Question: Why would Joseph Smith incorporate Masonic elements into the temple ritual?}}

==Response to claim: "The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=The Church speaks of the “Fullness of the Gospel” in the Book of Mormon, but many essential elements are not contained therein.
}}
{{misinformation|The core of Mormon doctrine is centered wholly in Christ and his atonement. Without the foundation which the Book of Mormon lays, the other LDS teachings are meaningless. The Book of Mormon itself defines "the gospel" as simply the doctrine of Christ, faith in him, repentance, and the introductory ordinances.
}}
{{:Question: How can the Book of Mormon contain the "fulness of the Gospel" if it does not speak of ordinances such as baptism for the dead or celestial marriage?}}

==Response to claim: "Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why was it necessary to make thousands of changes to the Book of Mormon, 'the most correct book in the world?'
}}
{{:Question: Why were textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published?}}
{{:Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?}}

==Response to claim: "Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Can it not be argued that changes made to core doctrines of the Church such as outlawing polygamy and Blacks in the priesthood, were in direct response to American political pressure?
}}
{{:Question: Was the priesthood ban lifted as the result of social or government pressure?}}

==Response to claim: "several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=several witnesses to the Book of Mormon confessed that they did not see the plates with their natural eyes, but with 'visions of the mind'.
}}
{{misinformation|We are unfamiliar with the phrase "visions of the mind" in relation to any of the Book of Mormon witness statements.
}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he did not see the plates with his natural eyes, but rather the "eye of faith"?}}
{{:Question: Did Martin Harris tell people that he only saw the plates with his "spiritual eye"?}}
{{:Question: Why would Martin Harris use the phrases "eye of faith" or "spiritual eye" to describe his visionary experience?}}
{{:Question: Do Martin Harris's statements related to the "spiritual eye" or "eye of faith" contradict the reality of his witness?}}
{{:Question: What did the Book of Mormon witnesses mean when they used the word "supernatural" to describe their experiences?}}
{{:Question: What did the other witnesses say regarding "spiritual" versus "natural" viewing of the plates?}}

==Response to claim: Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Martin Harris "tells us that because they had not seen a physical object, only a vision of them, some balked but were eventually persuaded by Smith to sign the document he had prepared"
}}
{{:Question: How did newspaper accounts describe the nature of the witnesses experience?}}
{{:Question: How did the apostle Paul describe spiritual experiences?}}
{{:Source:Martin Harris:Investigating the Book of Mormon Witnesses:117:1:I know what I know}}
{{:Source:George Mantle to Marietta Walker:Autumn Leaves:1888:Do you know that is the sun shining on us? Because as sure as you know that...he translated that book by the power of God}}
{{:Source:Edward Stevenson:1870:Millennial Star:Martin Harris:my belief is swallowed up in knowledge; for I want to say to you that as the Lord lives I do know that I stood with the Prophet Joseph Smith in the presence of the angel}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon mention the ...use of the word Bible, crucifixion, and synagogue?
}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon mention "synagogues" when they were not present among the Jews until after the Babylonian captivity?}}

==Response to claim: "Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=Why does the Book of Mormon incorrectly state that Jesus was born in Jerusalem?
}}
{{misinformation|The Book of Mormon does not claim that "Jesus was born in Jerusalem". It claims that Jesus was born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers." It is referring to the ''land'' of Jerusalem.}}
{{:Question: Why does the Book of Mormon say that Jesus would be born "at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers" when the Bible states that he was born in Bethlehem?}}

==Response to claim: "How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=A Letter to an Apostle
|claim=How do we overcome the problem of large populations and armies arising in such a short period?
}}
{{:Question: Was the Lehite colony too small to produce the population sizes indicated by the Book of Mormon?}}

{{endnotes sources}}

Source:Book of Mormon as Stick of Ephraim:Orson Pratt statement

2016-07-26T05:21:12Z

David Keller: /* Orson Pratt (1850): "the Lord took one of his sons, whose name was Mulek, with a company of those who would hearken unto His words, and brought them over the ocean, and planted them in America" */

{{FME-Source
|title=Orson Pratt (1850): "the Lord took one of his sons, whose name was Mulek, with a company of those who would hearken unto His words, and brought them over the ocean, and planted them in America"
|category=
}}
<onlyinclude>
==Orson Pratt (1850): "the Lord took one of his sons, whose name was Mulek, with a company of those who would hearken unto His words, and brought them over the ocean, and planted them in America"==

Orson Pratt, ''Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, no. 6'' (Liverpool, England: 15 October 1850): 91–92.

<blockquote>
29.—Ephraim, the Lord's first-born, shall be like a mighty man, and his heart shall rejoice as through new wine; for he shall crown the tribes of Israel with glory, and his birthright shall never be wrested from his hand; his dwellings shall be in the fat valleys, and his seed shall cover the hills; he shall put forth his branches in all directions, and many shall repose in the shade thereof; with him is the key of hidden mysteries—the mysteries of ancient times; he shall unlock the sacred archives of heaven, and the skies shall pour down righteousness, like rain; the bowels of the earth shall open, and shall disclose the wonders of ages unknown. By him Zion shall be built, and her dwellings shall be encircled with glory; her light shall be as the sun, and her beauty as the morning; her tabernacles shall be as the dwelling places of the Most High, and in her palaces kings shall arise and worship; her children with one heart shall look upward, while the Zion that is above shall look downward; then the heavens and the earth shall meet, and all the creations shall shake with gladness; then the union of all dispensations will be completed, and the royal families of heaven and earth will be one from henceforth, even for evermore. This is the blessing of the children of Zion, and the glory of Ephraim the Lord's servants. The children of Manasseh shall assist Ephraim, and in all his glory they shall be glorified.

30.—The records of Manasseh in the hands of Ephraim shall gather out the Lord's elect from the four winds, from one end of the earth to the other The Book of Mormon is the record of Manasseh; it is now in the hands of Ephraim, who have been for many generations, as the Prophet Hosea said, "mixed among the people." By them will the Lord "push the people together to the ends of the earth," even by the children of Ephraim, who is the Lord's first-born in this great latter-day work '''The American Indians are partly of the children of Manasseh; though many of them are of Ephraim, through the two sons of Ishmael''', who came out of Jerusalem six hundred years before Christ, and some of Judah, through the loins of David and the kings that reigned over Jerusalem. When Zedekiah, king of Judah, was carried away captive into Babylon, the Lord took one of his sons, whose name was Mulek, with a company of those who would hearken unto His words, and brought them over the ocean, and planted them in America. This was done in fulfillment of the 22nd and 23rd verses of the seventeenth chapter of Ezekiel, which read thus: "Thus saith the Lord God, I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it: I will cross off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent; in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit and, be a goodly cedar; and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell." By reading this chapter, it will be seen that the Jews were the "high cedar," that Zedekiah the king was the "highest branch," that the "tender one" cropped off from the top of his young twigs, was one of his sons, whom the Lord brought out and planted him and his company upon the choice land of America, which He had given unto a remnant of the tribe of Joseph for an inheritance, in fulfillment of the blessing of Jacob and Moses upon the head of that tribe.
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}

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[[en:Source:Book of Mormon as Stick of Ephraim:Orson Pratt statement]]
[[pt:Fonte:Livro de Mórmon como vara de Efraim:Declaração Orson Pratt]]

Source:Book of Mormon as Stick of Ephraim:Franklin D. Richards statement

2016-07-26T05:17:37Z

David Keller: /* Franklin D. Richards (1843): "Brother Joseph, how is it that we call the Book of Mormon the Stick of Joseph, in the hands of Ephraim, when the book itself tells us that Lehi was of the lineage of Manasseh?" */

{{FME-Source
|title=Franklin D. Richards (1843): "Brother Joseph, how is it that we call the Book of Mormon the Stick of Joseph, in the hands of Ephraim, when the book itself tells us that Lehi was of the lineage of Manasseh?"
|category=
}}
<onlyinclude>
==Franklin D. Richards (1896): "Brother Joseph, how is it that we call the Book of Mormon the Stick of Joseph, in the hands of Ephraim, when the book itself tells us that Lehi was of the lineage of Manasseh?"==

As cited in B. H. Roberts's 1909 ''New Witnesses for God'', vol. 3

<blockquote>
One day in the autumn of that year, (1843) as I was passing near, (the "Nauvoo Mansion") it being in warm weather, I observed the door standing open and the Prophet Joseph inside conversing with one of the brethren, leaning against the counter. It being a public house, I ventured to walk in, and scarcely had more than time to exchange usual civilities, when this brother said: "Brother Joseph, how is it that we call the Book of Mormon the Stick of Joseph, in the hands of Ephraim, when the book itself tells us that Lehi was of the lineage of Manasseh? I cannot find in it about the seed of Ephraim dwelling on this land at all."

Joseph replied: "You will recollect that when Lehi and his family had gone from Jerusalem out into the wilderness, he sent his son Nephi back to the city to get the plates which contained the law of Moses and many prophecies of the prophets, and that he also brought out Ishmael and his family, which were mostly daughters. This Ishmael and his family were of the lineage of Ephraim, and Lehi's sons took Ishmael's daughters for wives, and this is how they have grown together, 'a multitude of nations in the midst of the earth.'

"If we had those one hundred and sixteen pages of manuscript which Martin Harris got away with, you would know all about it, for Ishmael's ancestry is made very plain therein. The Lord told me not to translate it over again, but to take from Nephi's other plates until I came to the period of time where the other translation was broken off, and then go on with Mormon's abridgment again. That is how it came about that Ishmael's lineage was not given in the Book of Mormon, as well as Lehi's."'—Franklin D. Richards, ''The Contributor,'' Vol. XVII, p. 425.
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}

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[[en:Source:Book of Mormon as Stick of Ephraim:Franklin D. Richards statement]]
[[pt:Fonte:Livro de Mórmon como vara de Efraim:Declaração Franklin D. Richards]]

Template:BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013 RAW

2016-06-23T02:43:25Z

David Keller:

|-
|[[Book_of_Mormon_geography/Models/Limited/Sudweeks|Sudweeks 2013@YT]]||2013||LGT||Niagara Peninsula||Upper Ontario Canada||Niagara Peninsula, New York, and southward||[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg-3ciZyBpoCOVfHpaPfCqQ New York]||Niagara River||West of Lake Ontario||LDS||External and Internal||[[Template:BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013 RAW|edit]]

Book of Mormon/Geography/Models/Internal

2016-06-23T01:24:51Z

David Keller:

Book of Mormon/Geography/LDS models table

2016-06-23T01:23:47Z

David Keller:

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
{{BoMGeoTableStart}}
{{BoMGeo:Tyler n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lauritzen n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:General 1830s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Times and Seasons 1842_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pratt 1866_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Com./Maes 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Reynolds 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Plain Facts 1887_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Roberts 1888_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ricks 1904_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Young pre-1920?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Driggs 1925_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Bagley 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sjodhal 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Washburn/Washburn 1939_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Jakeman 1940s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Laytons 1940?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Wilde 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Birrell 1948_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson/Hunter 1950_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pierce 1954_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sorenson 1955_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Dixon 1958_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hammond 1959_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960a_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960b_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Vincent 1960?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1960_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1961_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Norman 1966_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Christensen 1969_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1970s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Priddis 1975_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow 1976_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Robison 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ellsworth 1980_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Palmer 1981_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Holley 1983_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Porritt 1985_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Kocherhans 1986_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Nielson 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sahlin 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Curtis 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hauck 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hobby/Smith 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Proctor 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Qulter 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Allen 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Clark 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Olive 2001_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble and May 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pate 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Meldrum 2003_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Poulsen 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013_RAW}}
{{BoMGeoTableEnd}}
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[[fr:Book of Mormon/Geography/LDS models table]]

Book of Mormon/Geography/All models table

2016-06-23T01:22:45Z

David Keller:

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
{{BoMGeoTableStart}}
{{BoMGeo:Tyler n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lauritzen n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:General 1830s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Times and Seasons 1842_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pratt 1866_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Com./Maes 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Reynolds 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Plain Facts 1887_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Roberts 1888_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:RLDS/Wes 1900?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ricks 1904_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hills 1917_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Young pre-1920?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Gunsolley 1922_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Driggs 1925_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Bagley 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sjodhal 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Washburn/Washburn 1939_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Jakeman 1940s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Laytons 1940?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Wilde 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Birrell 1948_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Simmons 1948_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson/Hunter 1950_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Stout 1950_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hanson 1951_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pierce 1954_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sorenson 1955_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Dixon 1958_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hammond 1959_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960a_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960b_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Vincent 1960?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1960_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1961_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Norman 1966_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Christensen 1969_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1970s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Priddis 1975_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Steede 1975_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Loving 1976_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow 1976_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:DeLong 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Le Poidevin 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Robison 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ellsworth 1980_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lesh 1980_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Palmer 1981_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Holley 1983_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Porritt 1985_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Kocherhans 1986_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Nielson 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sahlin 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Curtis 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hauck 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hobby/Smith 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Proctor 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Qulter 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Allen 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Clark 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ainsworth 2000_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Olive 2001_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble and May 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pate 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Wunderli 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Meldrum 2003_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Olsen 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Poulsen 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013_RAW}}
{{BoMGeoTableEnd}}
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[[fr:Book of Mormon/Geography/All models table]]

Book of Mormon/Geography/Models/Internal

2016-06-23T01:20:19Z

David Keller:

Book of Mormon/Geography/All models by name table

2016-06-23T01:17:17Z

David Keller:

{{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}}
{{BoMGeoTableStart}}
{{BoMGeo:Allen 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Bagley 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Birrell 1948_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Brandley 2008_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Christensen 1969_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Clark 1989_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Com./Maes 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Covino 1985_Raw}}
{{BoMGeo:Curtis 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:DeLong 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Dixon 1958_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Driggs 1925_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ellsworth 1980_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Elieson 1960_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ferguson/Hunter 1950_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:General 1830s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble and May 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Goble 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Gunsolley 1922_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hammond 1959_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hanson 1951_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hauck 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hills 1917_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Hobby/Smith 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Holley 1983_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Jakeman 1940s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Kocherhans 1986_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lauritzen n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Laytons 1940?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Le Poidevin 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lesh 1980_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Loving 1976_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960a_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1960b_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Lowe 1970s_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow 1976_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ludlow n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Meldrum 2003_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Nielson 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Norman 1966_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Olive 2001_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Palmer 1981_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pate 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pierce 1954_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Plain Facts 1887_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Porritt 1985_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Poulsen 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Pratt 1866_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Priddis 1975_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Proctor 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Qulter 1988_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Reynolds 1880_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Ricks 1904_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:RLDS/Wes 1900?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Roberts 1888_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Robison 1977_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Rosenvall and Rosenvall 2009_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sahlin 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Simmons 1948_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sjodhal 1927_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sorenson 1955_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Steede 1975_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Stout 1950_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Times and Seasons 1842_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:TRUE BOMG 2004_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Tyler n.d._RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Vincent 1960?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1960_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1961_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Warren 1987_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Washburn/Washburn 1939_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Wilde 1947_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Wunderli 2002_RAW}}
{{BoMGeo:Young pre-1920?_RAW}}
{{BoMGeoTableEnd}}
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[[fr:Book of Mormon/Geography/All models by name table]]

Book of Mormon/Geography/Models/Limited

2016-06-23T01:14:51Z

David Keller:

Book of Mormon/Geography/Models/Limited

2016-06-23T01:12:47Z

David Keller:

Book of Mormon geography/Models/Limited/Sudweeks

2016-06-23T01:11:20Z

David Keller: Created blank page

Template:BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013 RAW

2016-06-23T01:11:01Z

David Keller:

|-
|[[Book_of_Mormon_geography/Models/Limited/Sudweeks|Sudweeks 2013@YT]]||2013||LGT||Niagara Peninsula||Upper Ontario Canada||Niagara Peninsula, New York, and southward||[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3UBJoNTMeY New York]||Niagara River||West of Lake Ontario||LDS||External and Internal||[[Template:BoMGeo:Sudweeks 2013 RAW|edit]]

Book of Mormon/Geography/Models/Limited

2016-06-23T00:58:59Z

David Keller: