FAIR - User contributions [en]

Theory of Book of Mormon place names from area around Joseph Smith's home

2008-09-12T16:32:23Z

OmayrNiazi:

{{draft}}

==Criticism==
Critics claim that Joseph Smith is clearly the author of the Book of Mormon because many Book of Mormon place names supposedly have clear evidence of "borrowing" from geographic locations in the United States and Canada.

Examples of this include:

{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%"
!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source!!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Teancum ||Tecumseh||Ramah||Rama
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moron ||Morin||Ogath||Ste Agathe
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moriancum ||Moravian||Angola||Angola
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Onidah ||Oneida||Kishkumen||Kiskiminetas
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Jacobugath ||Jacobsburg||Jerusalem||Jerusalem
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Alma ||Alma||Land of Lehi-Nephi||Lehigh
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Shilom ||Shiloh||--||--
|-
|}

===Source(s) of the criticism===
* MADB post
* Various anti-Mormon websites

==Response==
{{BoMPortal}}

Finding "parallels" between almost any subject is usually easy to do. Such parallels become more impressive if data which do not support the parallel are ignored, if only parallels are considered (instead of parallels and "UNparallels"), and if one does not consider alternate explanations.{{ref|souce}}

===A vast area===

Joseph Smith was not well-traveled, and he almost certainly did not have access to detailed maps.

Despite these facts, to obtain this list of parallels, a huge geographical area has been scanned to obtain names like Rama, Ontario (over 100 miles north of Toronto, Canada); St. Agathe, Quebec (north of Montreal and Ottawa); Shiloh, New Jersey; Jerusalem and Jacobsburg, Ohio; and Alma, West Virginia. Five states and two Canadian provinces yield this little list of strained parallels.

===Biblical names===

Some of the names listed by the critics are, in fact, Biblical names. If one is going to suggest that Joseph plagiarized the names, why rely on obscure and sometimes distant American towns? It is clear that whoever wrote the Book of Mormon was familiar with the Old Testament, and so it is not surprising that some Biblical names were used:

* '''Lehi''' ({{s||Judges|15|9-19}}: The "Lehi" in the city Lehi-Nephi is clearly from the name of the two prophets of 1 Nephi. This is more plausible than making "Lehi-Nephi" come from the U.S. "Leheigh."
* '''Jerusalem''' (multiple): Any Bible reader would know Jerusalem.
* '''Jacobugath'': The element "Jacob" is a well-known Biblical name. The "Gath" portion is also well-known as a Philistine city ({{s|1|Samuel|5|8}}).
* '''Ogath''': The "Gath" portion is also well-known as the city of the giant Golliath. ({{s|1|Samuel|17|4}})
* '''Ramah''' ({{s|1|Samuel|19|22-2}}: Critics suggest that the Book of Mormon "Ramah" comes from the local "Rama." However, the KJV Old Testament has "Ramah" repeatedly; "Rama" is also used once in the New Testament. Again, a direct borrowing from the Old Testament (whether by Joseph as plagiarizer or by ancient authors) is more plausible than raiding the 19th century geography.
* '''Shilom''': A closer parallel than "Shiloah" in the U.S. is the Biblical "Siloam" (see {{s||Luke|13|4}}). If one really wants Shiloah, there is the Biblical "Siloah" ({{s||Nehemiah|3|15}}).

===Names that didn't exist in Joseph's day===

Critics scour modern maps looking for "parallels," and so use some place names that didn't exist at all when the Book of Mormon was written in 1829.

====Angola = Angola====

This name is identical, and located within New York state. This would seem to be an excellent candidate for the critics' theory. However, the settlement at that site was not named "Angola" ''until 1855''!{{ref|angola14}}

:The earliest settlers to arrive were in the vicinity located in the Evans Center area. Saw and grist mills along Big Sister Creek were established; and with the blacksmith shops and stores nearby, it soon became the center of most social activities.

:However, in 1852 the Buffalo and State Line Railroad laid tracks and built a station about a mile south of Evans Center. The railroad proved to be a great boon to the area causing a shift of the center of activities towards "Evans Station," known today as Angola.

:Over the years many have searched and probed into the past to determine the origin of the name Angola. There have been several versions but the following seems to be the most authentic. In 1820 a mail route was established between Buffalo and Olean, and a post office was opened at Springville. Two years later a post office designated" Angola" was opened at Taylor Hollow near Gowanda. The name may be related to the fact that a majority of the residents in Taylor Hollow were Quakers who being missionary-minded helped to support Angola, Africa, as one of their projects.

:In 1855 John Andrus, an infuentiall and owner in Evans Station, made application to have the "Angola" Post Office transferred...{{ref|angola2}}

There's a chance Joseph could have heard of the little Angola post office, or of the territory of Angola in Africa, but it seems far-fetched to think that modern Angola, New York could have any direct bearing on the Book of Mormon.

====Tecumseh = Teancum?====

Tecumseh, the supposed origin of Teancum, requires considerable creativity to even make the words the same. (The critics rely on the fact that words which start with the same letter seem "the same" to us on a cursory glance.) To get Teancum from Tecumseh, one has to take off the last sylable, add "an" after the "Te," and there you have it. Tecumseh = Teancum. Kind of like John = Joshua!

But could Joseph have known about Tecumseh, Ontario? As a prophet of God, yes, but as a plagiarizer, unlikely. Tecumseh, Ontario did not get this name ''until until 1912''. As Wikipedia explains:

:Originally known as Ryegate Postal Station when it was first settled in 1792, Tecumseh was renamed in 1912 after the Shawnee tribe leader of the same name. It was officially incorporated as a town in 1921.{{ref|tecumseh1}}

Desperate to save this idea, other critics have suggested the town of Tecumseh, Michigan instead of the Tecumseh, Ontario, replacing a ridiculous candidate with one that is merely silly (and even further from Joseph Smith than its later Canadian cousin).

A check of the Michigan location reveals that this tiny Western suburb of Detroit had just barely been settled by a tiny handful of people in the late 1820s, but at least there was a village of Tecumseh in 1824. Insignificant and remote for those in Joseph Smith's area, it's hard to imagine Joseph being aware of that village and feeling some need to stick it on a mental map of the Book of Mormon. And while he may well have heard of the Indian warrior Tecumseh, it's still quited a stretch to get Teancum from that name.{{ref|tecumseh2}}

===Strained "parallels"===

Some of the supposed "parallels" are extremely weak.

* Kishkumen and Kiskiminetas might be said to share a "Kish/Kisk" first syllable. But, what relationship is there between "-kumen" and "-iminetas"? Critics hope we'll notice the first and ignore the second. This is poor scholarship.
* Moriancum and Moravian likewise share a "Mor-" first element. But, what are we to make of "-iancum" and "-avian"?

It seems no evidence is too weak when attacking Joseph.

===Other implausible sites===

====Alma = Alma ====
Alma, West Virginia is another interesting name. Unfortunately, the town is so small that there is almost no information about it on the Web - not even a stub in Wikipedia. The satellite image of the town suggests that there might be a couple of businesses in the area, but there seems to be little there even in modern times.

With so many other sources of "Alma" to choose from - like "alma mater" or the female Latin name Alma, why do we have to drop down to West Virginia to find this "incredible" parallel? Alma isn't a city in the Book of Mormon - it's a prominent name for a couple of prophets. True, there was a valley that Alma's group encounters in Mosiah 24 that his people briefly called the valley of Alma on their way back to the main land of the Nephites, but this is nowhere close to a notable landmark in Book of Mormon geography. The reality is that nothing available to Joseph Smith would have informed him that Alma was not a female name, but was actually an authentic male Jewish name in Nephi's day, a name that could have been brought to the New World by Nephi's group.

''See FAIR wiki article: [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Alma|Book of Mormon "anachronisms"—Alma as a male Hebrew name]]''

====Rama = Ramah====

As indicated [[Book_of_Mormon_place_names_from_North_America#Biblical_names|above]], Ramah is a perfectly good Biblical name.

Critics claim, however, that "Rama, Ontario" was Joseph Smith's source for this name. However, it is on the opposite side of Lake Huron, and today holds only a casino and about 500 inhabitants.{{ref|wikipedia3}} How likely is it that Joseph would have even heard of this obscure spot?

==Conclusion==

A modern survey of thousands of square miles and hundreds of small townships can doubtless turn up a few coincidental matches to Book of Mormon place names—or place names from any other source.

Cognates and similar names occur easily by chance and can readily be found anywhere one looks. (One LDS author has compiled a list of Hawaiian "parallels" that are at least as convincing as the critics', to demonstrate how pointless this exercise is.){{ref|lindsey1}}
----
The examples provided by the critics fail on multiple grounds, as this color-coded chart demonstrates:

{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%"
!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source!!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Teancum ||Tecumseh||Ramah||Rama
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moron ||Morin||Ogath||Ste Agathe
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moriancum ||Moravian||Angola||Angola
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Onidah ||Oneida||Kishkumen||Kiskiminetas
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Jacobugath ||Jacobsburg||Jerusalem||Jerusalem
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Alma ||Alma||Land of Lehi-Nephi||Lehigh
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Shilom ||Shiloh||--||--
|-
|}

'''''Key'''''
*Red = Did not exist in Joseph's day
* Blue = Biblical name or element
* Green = Small, distant and likely unknown to Joseph
* Violet = Strained parallel at best given name differences 
----
Critics are desperate to discredit Joseph, and so even resort to suggesting place names that did not exist in his day. They also resort to extremely small, distant sites about which Joseph almost certainly could have had no knowledge.

They also overlook the Biblical source for their American "parallels," which are far more likely and plausible than giving Joseph an encyclopedic knowledge of North American place names. Even if they insist that he forged the Book of Mormon, isn't the Bible a far more likely source for these names than obscure hamlets hundreds of miles away?

==Endnotes==

#{{note|source}} This wiki article was initially based on a webposting made by Jeff Lindsay, and with his kind permission was used as the base text for the wiki article. Due to the nature of a wiki project, the article may have been substantially modified from the original text. Jeff Lindsay, "Book of Mormon Plagiarism: The Hawaiian Connection," ''mormanity'' blog, (29 July 2007). {{link|url=http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-of-mormon-plagiarism-hawaiian.html}}
#{{note|angola1}} "Angola, New York" ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola,_New_York}}
#{{note|angola2}} Joan Huston, "The History of Angola from 1873 to 1973," in the Angola Village Centennial Celebration Booklet (22 July to 28 July, 1873). {{link|url=http://www.buffnet.net/~macdowel/cross/angola.htm}}
#{{note|tecumseh1}} "Tecumseh, Ontario," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh%2C_Ontario}}
#{{note|tecumseh2}} "Tecumseh, Michigan," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh%2C_Michigan}}
#{{note|rama1}} "Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chippewas_of_Rama_Mnjikaning_First_Nation}} See also "Rama, Ontario," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama%2C_Ontario}}
#{{note|lindsey1}} Jeff Lindsay, "Book of Mormon Plagiarism: The Hawaiian Connection," ''mormanity'' blog, (29 July 2007). {{link|url=http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-of-mormon-plagiarism-hawaiian.html}}

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{BoMAuthorshipWiki}}

===FAIR web site===
{{BoMAuthorshipFAIR}}

===External links===
{{BoMAuthorshipLinks}}

===Printed material===
{{BoMAuthorshipPrint}}

Theory of Book of Mormon place names from area around Joseph Smith's home

2008-09-12T16:29:37Z

OmayrNiazi: Made minor spelling and punctuation modifications.

{{draft}}

==Criticism==
Critics claim that Joseph Smith is clearly the author of the Book of Mormon because many Book of Mormon place names supposedly have clear evidence of "borrowing" from geographic locations in the United States and Canada.

Examples of this include:

{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%"
!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source!!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Teancum ||Tecumseh||Ramah||Rama
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moron ||Morin||Ogath||Ste Agathe
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moriancum ||Moravian||Angola||Angola
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Onidah ||Oneida||Kishkumen||Kiskiminetas
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Jacobugath ||Jacobsburg||Jerusalem||Jerusalem
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Alma ||Alma||Land of Lehi-Nephi||Lehigh
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Shilom ||Shiloh||--||--
|-
|}

===Source(s) of the criticism===
* MADB post
* Various anti-Mormon websites

==Response==
{{BoMPortal}}

Finding "parallels" between almost any subject is usually easy to do. Such parallels become more impressive if data which do not support the parallel are ignored, if only parallels are considered (instead of parallels and "UNparallels"), and if one does not consider alternate explanations.{{ref|souce}}

===A vast area===

Joseph Smith was not well-traveled, and he almost certainly did not have access to detailed maps.

Despite these facts, to obtain this list of parallels, a huge geographical area has been scanned to obtain names like Rama, Ontario (over 100 miles north of Toronto, Canada); St. Agathe, Quebec (north of Montreal and Ottawa); Shiloh, New Jersey; Jerusalem and Jacobsburg, Ohio; and Alma, West Virginia. Five states and two Canadian provinces yield this little list of strained parallels.

===Biblical names===

Some of the names listed by the critics are, in fact, Biblical names. If one is going to suggest that Joseph plagiarized the names, why rely on obscure and sometimes distant American towns? It is clear that whoever wrote the Book of Mormon was familiar with the Old Testament, and so it is not surprising that some Biblical names were used:

* '''Lehi''' ({{s||Judges|15|9-19}}: The "Lehi" in the city Lehi-Nephi is clearly from the name of the two prophets of 1 Nephi. This is more plausible than making "Lehi-Nephi" come from the U.S. "Leheigh."
* '''Jerusalem''' (multiple): Any Bible reader would know Jerusalem.
* '''Jacobugath'': The element "Jacob" is a well-known Biblical name. The "Gath" portion is also well-known as a Philistine city ({{s|1|Samuel|5|8}}).
* '''Ogath''': The "Gath" portion is also well-known as the city of the giant Golliath. ({{s|1|Samuel|17|4}})
* '''Ramah''' ({{s|1|Samuel|19|22-2}}: Critics suggest that the Book of Mormon "Ramah" comes from the local "Rama." However, the KJV Old Testament has "Ramah" repeatedly; "Rama" is also used once in the New Testament. Again, a direct borrowing from the Old Testament (whether by Joseph as plagiarizer or by ancient authors) is more plausible than raiding the 19th century geography.
* '''Shilom''': A closer parallel than "Shiloah" in the U.S. is the Biblical "Siloam" (see {{s||Luke|13|4}}). If one really wants Shiloah, there is the Biblical "Siloah" ({{s||Nehemiah|3|15}}).

===Names that didn't exist in Joseph's day===

Critics scour modern maps looking for "parallels," and so use some place names that didn't exist at all when the Book of Mormon was written in 1829.

====Angola = Angola====

This name is identical, and located within New York state. This would seem to be an excellent candidate for the critics' theory. However, the settlement at that site was not named "Angola" ''until 1855''!{{ref|angola14}}

:The earliest settlers to arrive were in the vicinity located in the Evans Center area. Saw and grist mills along Big Sister Creek were established; and with the blacksmith shops and stores nearby, it soon became the center of most social activities.

:However, in 1852 the Buffalo and State Line Railroad laid tracks and built a station about a mile south of Evans Center. The railroad proved to be a great boon to the area causing a shift of the center of activities towards "Evans Station," known today as Angola.

:Over the years many have searched and probed into the past to determine the origin of the name Angola. There have been several versions but the following seems to be the most authentic. In 1820 a mail route was established between Buffalo and Olean, and a post office was opened at Springville. Two years later a post office designated" Angola" was opened at Taylor Hollow near Gowanda. The name may be related to the fact that a majority of the residents in Taylor Hollow were Quakers who being missionary-minded helped to support Angola, Africa, as one of their projects.

:In 1855 John Andrus, an infuentiall and owner in Evans Station, made application to have the "Angola" Post Office transferred...{{ref|angola2}}

There's a chance Joseph could have heard of the little Angola post office, or of the territory of Angola in Africa, but it seems far-fetched to think that modern Angola, New York could have any direct bearing on the Book of Mormon.

====Tecumseh = Teancum?====

Tecumseh, the supposed origin of Teancum, requires considerable creativity to even make the words the same. (The critics rely on the fact that words which start with the same letter seem "the same" to us on a cursory glance.) To get Teancum from Tecumseh, one has to take off the last sylable, add "an" after the "Te," and there you have it. Tecumseh = Teancum. Kind of like John = Joshua!

But could Joseph have known about Tecumseh, Ontario? As a prophet of God, yes, but as a plagiarizer, unlikely. Tecumseh, Ontario did not get this name ''until until 1912''. As Wikipedia explains:

:Originally known as Ryegate Postal Station when it was first settled in 1792, Tecumseh was renamed in 1912 after the Shawnee tribe leader of the same name. It was officially incorporated as a town in 1921.{{ref|tecumseh1}}

Desperate to save this idea, other critics have suggested the town of Tecumseh, Michigan instead of the Tecumseh, Ontario, replacing a ridiculous candidate with one that is merely silly (and even further from Joseph Smith than its later Canadian cousin).

A check of the Michigan location reveals that this tiny Western suburb of Detroit had just barely been settled by a tiny handful of people in the late 1820s, but at least there was a village of Tecumseh in 1824. Insignificant and remote for those in Joseph Smith's area, it's hard to imagine Joseph being aware of that village and feeling some need to stick it on a mental map of the Book of Mormon. And while he may well have heard of the Indian warrior Tecumseh, it's still quited a stretch to get Teancum from that name.{{ref|tecumseh2}}

===Strained "parallels"===

Some of the supposed "parallels" are extremely weak.

* Kishkumen and Kiskiminetas might be said to share a "Kish/Kisk" first syllable. But, what relationship is there between "-kumen" and "-iminetas"? Critics hope we'll notice the first and ignore the second. This is poor scholarship.
* Moriancum and Moravian likewise share a "Mor-" first element. But, what are we to make of "-iancum" and "-avian"?

It seems no evidence is too weak when attacking Joseph.

===Other implausible sites===

====Alma = Alma ====
Alma, West Virginia is another interesting name. Unfortunately, the town is so small that there is almost no information about it on the Web - not even a stub in Wikipedia. The satellite image of the town suggests that there might be a couple of businesses in the area, but there seems to be little there even in modern times.

With so many other sources of "Alma" to choose from - like "alma mater" or the female Latin name Alma, why do we have to drop down to West Virginia to find this "incredible" parallel? Alma isn't a city in the Book of Mormon - it's a prominent name for a couple of prophets. True, there was a valley that Alma's group encounters in Mosiah 24 that his people briefly called the valley of Alma on their way back to the main land of the Nephites, but this is nowhere close to a notable landmark in Book of Mormon geography. The reality is that nothing available to Joseph Smith would have informed him that Alma was not a female name, but was actually an authentic male Jewish name in Nephi's day, a name that could have been brought to the New World by Nephi's group.

''See FAIR wiki article: [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Alma|Book of Mormon "anachronisms"—Alma as a male Hebrew name]]''

====Rama = Ramah====

As indicated [[Book_of_Mormon_place_names_from_North_America#Biblical_names|above]], Ramah is a perfectly good Biblical name.

Critics claim, however, that "Rama, Ontario" was Joseph Smith's source for this name. However, it is on the opposite side of Lake Huron, and today holds only a casino and about 500 inhabitants.{{ref|wikipedia3}} How likely is it that Joseph would have even heard of this obscure spot?

==Conclusion==

A modern survey of thousands of square miles and hundreds of small townships can doubtless turn up a few coincidental matches to Book of Mormon place names—or place names from any other source.

Cognates and similar names occur easily by chance and can readily be found anywhere one looks. (One LDS author has compiled a list of Hawaiian "parallels" that are at least as convincing as the critics', to demonstrate how pointless this exercise is.){{ref|lindsey1}}
----
The examples provided by the critics fail on multiple grounds, as this color-coded chart demonstrates:

{| valign="top" border="1" style="width:100%"
!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source!!Book of Mormon City!!Claimed Source
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Teancum ||Tecumseh||Ramah||Rama
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moron ||Morin||Ogath||Ste Agathe
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Moriancum ||Moravian||Angola||Angola</red>
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Onidah ||Oneida||Kishkumen||Kiskiminetas
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Jacobugath ||Jacobsburg||Jerusalem||Jerusalem
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Alma ||Alma||Land of Lehi-Nephi||Lehigh
|-
| style="width:25%" valign="top"| Shilom ||Shiloh</blue>||--||--
|-
|}

'''''Key'''''
*Red = Did not exist in Joseph's day
* Blue = Biblical name or element
* Green = Small, distant and likely unknown to Joseph
* Violet = Strained parallel at best given name differences 
----
Critics are desperate to discredit Joseph, and so even resort to suggesting place names that did not exist in his day. They also resort to extremely small, distant sites about which Joseph almost certainly could have had no knowledge.

They also overlook the Biblical source for their American "parallels," which are far more likely and plausible than giving Joseph an encyclopedic knowledge of North American place names. Even if they insist that he forged the Book of Mormon, isn't the Bible a far more likely source for these names than obscure hamlets hundreds of miles away?

==Endnotes==

#{{note|source}} This wiki article was initially based on a webposting made by Jeff Lindsay, and with his kind permission was used as the base text for the wiki article. Due to the nature of a wiki project, the article may have been substantially modified from the original text. Jeff Lindsay, "Book of Mormon Plagiarism: The Hawaiian Connection," ''mormanity'' blog, (29 July 2007). {{link|url=http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-of-mormon-plagiarism-hawaiian.html}}
#{{note|angola1}} "Angola, New York" ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angola,_New_York}}
#{{note|angola2}} Joan Huston, "The History of Angola from 1873 to 1973," in the Angola Village Centennial Celebration Booklet (22 July to 28 July, 1873). {{link|url=http://www.buffnet.net/~macdowel/cross/angola.htm}}
#{{note|tecumseh1}} "Tecumseh, Ontario," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh%2C_Ontario}}
#{{note|tecumseh2}} "Tecumseh, Michigan," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh%2C_Michigan}}
#{{note|rama1}} "Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chippewas_of_Rama_Mnjikaning_First_Nation}} See also "Rama, Ontario," ''wikipedia'' (accessed 31 July 2007). {{link|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama%2C_Ontario}}
#{{note|lindsey1}} Jeff Lindsay, "Book of Mormon Plagiarism: The Hawaiian Connection," ''mormanity'' blog, (29 July 2007). {{link|url=http://mormanity.blogspot.com/2007/07/book-of-mormon-plagiarism-hawaiian.html}}

==Further reading==

===FAIR wiki articles===
{{BoMAuthorshipWiki}}

===FAIR web site===
{{BoMAuthorshipFAIR}}

===External links===
{{BoMAuthorshipLinks}}

===Printed material===
{{BoMAuthorshipPrint}}

Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Do Christians Believe in Three Gods/One God

2008-09-04T19:18:58Z

OmayrNiazi:

{{DVDHeadingBox|What does "One God" mean?}}

{| style="border-spacing:8px;margin:0px -8px"
| class="MainPageBG" style="width:85%;border:1px solid #cedff2;background-color:#f5faff;vertical-align:top"|
{| width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f5faff"
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">According to the Bible, is God "One"?</h2>
|-
| style="color:#000"|

The RBC Ministries pamphlet mentions some biblical passages which refer to the oneness of God. One well known passage is from the Old Testament:

:Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength ({{B||Deuteronomy|6|4-5}}, cited p. 3).

The New Testament also refers to "one God." For example:

* But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him ({{b|1|Corinthians|8|6}}).
* Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble ({{s||James|2|19}}.)

Clearly, the idea that "God is one" is a Biblical doctrine. It is less well known, however, that several scriptures in the Old Testament imply that the Lord is in fact one of a number of Gods, albeit supreme.

*The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones. For who '''in the skies above''' can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD '''among the heavenly beings''' [fn. Lit "sons of god(s)"]? In '''the council of holy ones''' God is greatly feared; he is more awesome than '''all who surround him'''. O LORD God almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you (NIV {{b||Psalms|89|5-8|}}).

* '''Among all the gods''' there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works ({{b||Psalms|86|8|}}).

* God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment (ESV {{b||Psalms|82|1|}}).

These scriptures speak of divine beings, "gods" who are the "sons of god(s)" who are heavenly beings who dwell in the skies. These cannot be idols or false gods. Yahweh dwells among them, reigns over them, and holds judgment in their midst. So, even while asserting God's "oneness," there is also clear mention of other divine beings with whom God counsels and rules.

|-
! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">What does LDS doctrine say about the Oneness of God?</h2>
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The Book of Mormon and other LDS scriptures contain more explicit statements about God's "oneness" than does the Bible. Some examples include:

*...here is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth ({{s|1|Nephi|13|41}}).
*...this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.... ({{s|2|Nephi|31|21}}).
* Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than one God? And he answered, No ({{s||Alma|11|28-29}}).
* ...he Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God.... ({{s||Mormon|7|7}}).
* ...Which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God, infinite and eternal, without end.... ({{s||DC|20|28}}.

Clearly, contrary to the pamphlet's claims, Latter-day Saints affirm the oneness of God. But, as we will see, they also affirm the threeness of God.

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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">According to the Bible, in what sense(s) is God "Three"?</h2>
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As we saw above, the Bible does not deny the existence of other divine beings, while claiming "God is one." The Biblical witness of the "threeness" of God consists in the following claims:

#The Father is God
#The Son is God
#The Holy Ghost is God
#The Father in some sense(s) is not the Son, and neither the Father or the Son is the Holy Ghost.

Thus, there are three beings properly labeled "God," who are not identical to each other.
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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">The purpose of Trinitarian theology</h2>
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The purpose of Trinitarian theologies is to reconcile these two sets of Biblical data:
# God is one.
# More than one being is appropriately labeled "God."

There is more than one way of solving this apparent dilemma. Indeed, more than one way of doing so has been used throughout Christian history, and even today. The currently predominant method of solving this difficulty is, however, Nicene Trinitarianism. We will first explore its origins and development. We will then see how the Church of Jesus Christ makes sense of the Biblical data.
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! <h2 style="margin:0;background-color:#cedff2;font-size:120%;font-weight:bold;border:1px solid #a3b0bf;text-align:left;color:#000;padding:0.2em 0.4em;">Endnotes</h2>
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''None''
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{{3GodsRightColumn}}
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{{DoYouHaveQuestions}}

Paid and unpaid Church leaders

2008-08-30T16:58:47Z

OmayrNiazi: /* Endnotes */

==Criticism==
Critics claim that Mormonism prides itself in having unpaid clergy as one proof of the Church's truthfulness. They then point to the fact that some General Authorities, mission presidents, and others do, in fact, receive a living stipend while serving the Church, and point to this as evidence of the “hypocrisy” of the Church.

===Source(s) of the criticism===
* Bill McKeever, "Mormonism's Paid Ministry,"  (accessed April 28, 2008). 
* Sandra Tanner, "Do Mormon Leaders Receive Financial Support?"  (accessed April 28, 2008).
==Response==
===A modest living stipend===
Some members of the Church are unaware that at least some General Authorities do receive a modest living stipend. While it is true that some Church leaders receive a living allowance while they serve in a given position, it cannot be said that the Church has a professional ministry in the traditional sense.

A call to serve as a General Authority usually comes later in life, and none of these men has depended upon their Church service for their "career" or "income." And, given the high caliber and accomplishment of those called to full-time service, it is unreasonable to expect that they couldn't make much more money (with less trouble) in some other field of endeavor.

The fact that this stipend exists has not been hidden. As President Hinckley noted in General Conference:

:Merchandising interests are an outgrowth of the cooperative movement which existed among our people in pioneer times. The Church has maintained certain real estate holdings, particularly those contiguous to Temple Square, to help preserve the beauty and the integrity of the core of the city. All of these commercial properties are tax-paying entities.

:I repeat, the combined income from all of these business interests is relatively small and would not keep the work going for longer than a very brief period.

:''I should like to add, parenthetically for your information, that the living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people.''{{ref|hinckley1}}

===No professional ministers===

There can be no doubt that the Church ''does'' have an unpaid ministry. More precisely, it does not have a ''professional'' clergy. Consider:
* the vast majority of leadership positions in the Church are filled by those who receive absolutely no financial compensation. This includes bishops, stake presidents, Area Authority Seventies, Relief Society presidents, priests, teachers, deacons, elders, missionaries, etc. In fact, missionaries typically pay for the costs of their missions.
* the Church has no professional ministry — one does not "go into" the priesthood in Mormonism as a form of employment. The Church believes that "a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."{{ref|5thart}} No one can enter Church ecclesiastical government or administration as a career.
* those few Church leaders who receive a living allowance have already served for many years in unpaid, volunteer positions of Church leadership, from which they derived no financial gain, and from which they could have had little expectation of making their livelihood by being elevated to high positions in Church administration
* the Book of Mormon makes provision for Church leaders to be supported by donations ''if'' they are in a position of financial need: "all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of God."{{ref|bom1}}
* General Authorities previously sat on the boards of Church-owned businesses. This practice was discontinued in 1996.{{ref|board1}}

===Local Leadership (Ward and Stake)===

Much of the day-to-day “ministering” that goes on in the Church takes place at the local, i.e., ward and/or stake level. Leaders at the local level -- that is, bishops, stake presidents, relief society presidents, elders quorum presidents, and other leaders or auxiliary workers -- do not receive any kind of pay for the temporary, volunteer service they render. They likewise do not receive any kind of scholastic training to prepare them for their service. A bishop usually serves for a period of 5 years, for example, but he remains in his normal occupation (accountant, welder, business owner, etc.) while he serves as a bishop. Early morning or release-time seminary teachers are an exception, but they are considered employees of CES (Church Education System). 

===Mission Leadership===

Mission presidents usually serve for a period of 3 years, and may sometimes receive a living allowance during their period of service, if it is required. Many mission presidents are financially able to take time out of work to support themselves during their service (and return to their vocations when their service is complete), and do not require a living allowance.

===General Leadership===

Some positions in the Church, namely a call to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles or the First Quorum of the Seventy, are “for life” positions, meaning that the man chosen to fill the position serves until the end of his life. In such cases, if required, they are also given a modest living allowance. While many members of the Church are unaware of these allowances, that they exist and that they are comparatively modest was acknowledged in general conference by President Gordon B. Hinckley: “... the living allowances given the General Authorities, which are very modest in comparison with executive compensation in industry and the professions, come from this business income and not from the tithing of the people.{{ref|hinckley1}} Calls to other Quorums of the Seventy do not require the same full-time commitment, therefore those who serve these positions do not receive a living allowance.

==Conclusion==
While a very few members of the Church seek full-time teaching positions within the Church Education System, no one in the Church can decide that they are going to be a bishop, stake president, or relief society president (or any other position in a ward or stake) as a career choice. It is somewhat hypocritical for critics of the Church to complain about the use of Church funds to which they do not contribute, which funds are to help leaders whom they do not sustain. No one who examines the schedule or workload of the General Authorites can claim that these men are looking for an "easy buck." They live modestly, work tirelessly, keep grueling travel schedules, and continue doing so well past an age when others retire. They are also demonstrably men of education and accomplishment; one can hardly claim that they were unsuited for work in the world given their accomlishments prior to being called to full-time Church service. No tithing funds provide for stipends; such funds are drawn from business income earned by Church investments.

There are no colleges where one can go to train to be an LDS bishop, for example. Rather, these positions are filled through revelation and inspiration, and only for a given period of time. Article of Faith 5 states: "We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."({{s||A+of+F|1|5}})

Latter-day Saints should not, however, use the "no paid ministry" card to argue the truthfulness of the Church. Many good people of other faiths desire to serve as clergy in their respective churches, and go through extensive training to do so, and we applaud their dedication and desire to serve. Most clergy get by on subsistance wages; the cliche of the corrupt, wealthy televangelist bilking old widows is an anomaly as troubling to other Christian ministers as he would be to Latter-day Saints.

The scriptures denounce preaching the gospel solely from a desire to make money and get rich, or to defraud people (see {{b|1|Peter|5|2}}). The Book of Mormon likewise defines "priestcraft" as teaching ''for the sake of getting gain'' while not seeking "the welfare of Zion" (see {{s|2|Nephi|26|29}}. Likewise, many members of other faiths devote time to their churches without any monetary compensation. Certainly they follow the teachings of Jesus by so doing, and accomplish much good thereby.

As with many things, this issue boils down to a question of the essentials—are the leaders of the Church called of God, by prophecy? Is their direction inspired? If one does not believe that they are inspired, then one must confront far more troubling issues than whether someone is receiving a living stipend.

==Endnotes==

#{{note|hinckley1}} {{Ensign1|author=Gordon B. Hinckley|article=Questions and Answers|date=November 1985|start=49}}{{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=57648949f2f6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}}
#{{note|5thart}} {{scripture||A+of+F|1|5}}
#{{note|bom1}} {{s||Mosiah|27|5}}
#{{note|board1}} Lynn Arave, "LDS programs evolve over the years," ''Deseret Morning News'' (30 September 2006). {{link|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650194860,00.html}}

==Further reading==
===FAIR wiki articles===

===FAIR web site===
===External links===

===Printed material===
*{{Ensign1 | author=Gordon B. Hinckley | article=Questions and Answers|date=Nov. 1985|start=49}}
*{{Ensign1 | author=R. Lloyd Smith | article=Sharing the Gospel with Sensitivity|date=Jun. 2002|start=53}}
*{{Dialogue1|author=Lowell Bennion|article=A Mormon View of Life|vol=24|num=3|date=Fall 1991|start=68}}
*{{EoM |author=Maribeth Christensen|article=Volunteerism|vol=|start=1539|end=1540 }}
*{{EoM |author=Paul H. Thompson|article=Lay Participation and Leadership|vol=|start=814|end=816 }}