#Joseph Smith translation of the Book of Mormon

[mindfulldsliving]

Dispensationalism and the Restoration: How the Book of Mormon Prepares Us for Christ’s Second Coming

Doctrine and Covenants Section 1 introduces the Restoration as a divine response to a world in spiritual disarray. It’s a bold declaration of God’s work to reestablish Christ’s eternal truths. The Book of Mormon stands at the center of this effort, fulfilling ancient prophecies and preparing hearts for Christ’s return. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord restored gospel principles that had…

[alliluyevas]

Orderville—former home of a 19th century Mormon compound, current home of a whole lot of antique books

[josiahreckons]

Modernising the standard works with machine learning (part III): LDSBot

In part II, I used ChatGPT to modernise verses from the LDS standard works. ChatGPT is a fine-tuned GPT-3.5, trained using supervised learning and reinforcement learning. I recently read about LDSBot, an OpenAIAPI project that uses the ChatGPT-4 model. LDSBot is part of the Mormonr project by the B. H. Roberts Foundation. I wanted to see how LDSBot would modernise these…

[internetgiraffekid1673]

It says in your little thing that your Mormon, are you still Mormon cuz respectfully I've heard a lot of shit about Mormons and how they are very transphobic and homophobic! So not trying to be rude just genuinely wondering if I read that wrong or something.

Hey! Yeah, I am a mormon, but I love all my queer siblings, including/especially my trans people. But it's a complicated religion and I have a complicated relationship with it, so I understand the confusion.

The short answer is that I was raised mormon, continue to find a lot of comfort and truth in SOME of their teachings, and I am perpetually very pissed with a lot of their other teachings, cuz yeah, a lot of them are Not Good. So I'm mormon and mad about it. It's kind of like. . .imagine if you were raised Catholic and only really have good memories of your Catholic community and find a lot of comfort in teachings about God's love, but you absolutely despise the administration of the Catholic church and like, everything they say about queer people. It's like that.

The long answer is this:

A) The mormons get a bad rap on the internet for stuff that isn't actually true. If you ever have a specific question, I am happy to answer to the best of my abilities.

B) Having said that, a lot of the teachings of the mormon church regarding queer people are really really bad and I do not support or encourage this even slightly. I myself am queer, and I have to put up with hearing all kinds of queerphobic shit from the church all the time. And I hate it and I speak against it whenever it is safe for me to do so. It just. All of it goes soooo against the other teachings of the church. I am not the only queer member. There is an entire community of us on tumblr over here. We all work and suffer through it together.

C) I still believe in the stuff that's at the fundamentals of the gospel though. Namely, God exists and he loves all of us unconditionally. He sent us to Earth so that we could learn and grow and become happier through our experiences here. Free agency/the ability to make independent choices is very VERY important to him. He sent Jesus Christ to suffer for our sins so that when we do fuck it up, we don't have to live with that guilt forever. Jesus also suffered for our pain and sorrow so that we didn't have to and can bring us healing. We're supposed to love our neighbors with our whole hearts.

I also believe that Joseph Smith did translate the Book of Mormon, although he was still a human being who made mistakes and I don't believe in a LOT of the stuff he said and did. I doubt you've read the Book of Mormon, but it's really just The Bible Extended Edition. There's a reason it's full name is The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It covers what the hell was going on in the Americas during the biblical times.

I also believe that God has chosen prophets for our modern day to continue giving us revelation. I also believe those prophets are mostly crusty old men with outdated personal opinions that they mistake for revelation, that they fuck it up a lot, and I wish a lot of them would hurry up and die so I no longer have to listen to their bullshit.

D) Religion and faith are personal. I'm not here to convert anyone, especially other queer people. I continue practicing my religion because I have had literal years and some really amazing people to help me sort out what is good and bad and to figure out what parts of it are best for me as a person. I understand that what's best for some people is literally none of it, and I also understand that while some people could benefit from just doing what I do, that the way the church treats queer people (and also women sometimes) does more harm than the good parts help. So while I talk about my religion sometimes, it's always more about my personal relationship with it and never to try to convert people. I fully support ex-mormons who left the church, because sometimes the environment can be truly toxic and the religious trauma they have experienced is real.

E) The culture of the church and the actual doctrinal teachings of the church are two very different things. Utah mormon culture is also different than regular mormon culture. All of these things have good aspects to them, but church culture and Utah mormon culture also have a lot of really harmful things too, and these don't even have anything to do with the crusty old men being homophobic/transphobic. I am also mad about this, and I also complain about this fairly frequently.

I'm glad you asked because I understand that this stuff can be confusing. I think it's impossible to be any kind of religious queer person and not have a really complicated and deeply personal relationship with your religion.

I hope that answered your question, and I completely understand if this makes my blog feel like an unsafe space for you and you feel like you need to unfollow me. I do, however, tag every church related post I make, both with a religion cw and the tumblr mormon tag. Do what's best for you, and much love.

Also, unrelated, but I really appreciate all the posts you make and every time I see a little notification from you on one of my posts, it makes me so very happy.

[sgiandubh]

Siento pasarte la pelota @sgiandubh🤣

El traductor traduce algo muy raro y como el anon, claramente tiene ganas de fastidiar y de recibir su correspondiente bofetón, te dejo a ti el dialéctico y yo me reservo para el gif 😂

Querida @bat-cat-reader,

Atentamente a su servicio, como siempre. 😘

(Dear @bat-cat-reader, Sincerely at your service, as always. 😘)

You wrote:

I think I'm going to pass this ball to you, @sgiandubh.

The translator is very weird with this one and as this Anon clearly just wants to be annoying and receive his slap, I am leaving the dialectics to you and will reserve my verdict to the gif.

Dear Never Were Anon,

Once upon a time, on a hill named Cumorah, in the godforsaken little township of Palmyra, somewhere deep on the Western side of the state of New York, a man called Joseph Smith had a vision. Following this particular episode, he claimed an angel called Moroni entrusted him with some golden plates written in 'reformed Egyptian' (whatever that might mean, btw), he then promptly proceeded to translate into English.

Only eight human beings of the Palmyrian like-minded community confirmed to have seen those plates. In order to translate them, Smith purportedly dangled a chocolate colored seer stone in a hat. Or used special (Biblical!) spectacles. Really, whichever rocks your boat, Anon: stories like this one are seldom clear, I suspect. The text, he was the only one to see, appeared at the bottom of the hat and was promptly dictated to someone nearby. The completed compilation was called The Book of Mormon and once it was all done, Moroni popped in again and took back his plates.

Maybe the same thing happened to you, Anon. Maybe an angel caught up with you at Starbucks, gave you a coupon and instructed you to use a seer stone to peer to the bottom of your plastic cup of latte. Otherwise I can't explain how do you know (in no particular order): what is S doing in the BOMB project, what is C doing at this particular moment in time, how much does S drink and how low can he go, what crosses my mind as I am writing this answer to you, what will I probably never need to say, how angry I am and of course, above all (lest we NEVER forget), THE TRUTH about the whole affair.

However, unlike Joseph Smith, your angel lost an 'i' en route to you. And that is a real problem, I know. Not even sorry, pumpkin.

Bat will take care of the gif.

[nerdygaymormon]

Idk if you'd know this, but has the Word of Wisdom been properly canonized in the Church or are we just... Trusting it? Not that God hasnt asked people to change their diets before, but I'm curious to know how vetted it is.

The short answer is if it is in the scriptures, then it has been canonized. Since the Word of Wisdom is in the Doctrine & Covenants, it is considered part of the LDS canon.

In the LDS Church, usually something is considered canonized if it is included in the scriptures (there's two notable exceptions, each regarding the Bible). The LDS Church currently has 4 books in its scriptural canon:

1. Authorized King James Version as the official scriptural text of the Bible (other versions of the Bible are used in non-English-speaking countries). Although there's two exceptions to this:

a) The manuscripts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible states that "the Songs of Solomon are not inspired scripture," and therefore it is not included in LDS canon and rarely studied by members of the LDS Church. However, it is still printed in every version of the King James Bible published by the church.

b) Although the Apocrypha was part of the 1611 edition of the KJV, the LDS Church does not use the Apocrypha as part of its canon. Joseph Smith taught that while the Apocrypha was not to be relied on for doctrine, it was potentially useful when read with a spirit of discernment.

2. Book of Mormon

3. Doctrine and Covenants (D&C)

4. Pearl of Great Price (containing the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith–Matthew, Joseph Smith–History, and the Articles of Faith)

The LDS Church's scriptures are printed together with several non-canonized study aids, including the maps, photographs, a Bible Dictionary, a gazetteer, summaries at the beginning of each chapter, a topical guide, an index, footnotes, cross references, and excerpts from Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible

LDS Church president Harold B. Lee taught "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church." Here is the history of this happening in the LDS Church:

June 9, 1830: First conference of the church, The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ, now known as D&C 20. If the Bible and Book of Mormon were not sustained on April 6th at the first meeting of the Church, then they were by default when the Articles and Covenants were sustained. (see D&C 20:8-11)

August 17, 1835: Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the D&C. (this includes the Word of Wisdom)

October 10, 1880: The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously sustained as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants – which had not been accepted as scripture in 1835 because they were received after that date – were unanimously accepted as scripture.

October 6, 1890: Official Declaration 1 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It later began to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants.

April 3, 1976: Two visions (one received by Joseph Smith and the other by Joseph F. Smith) were sustained as scripture and added to the Pearl of Great Price. (The two visions were later moved to the D&C as sections 137 and 138.)

September 30, 1978: Official Declaration 2 was sustained unanimously as scripture. It immediately was added to the Doctrine and Covenants.

————————————————————

The revelation known as the Word of Wisdom was received in 1833 and first published by the Church in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, it was viewed as scripture but wasn't seen as binding for many years. The original revelation was given “not by commandment or constraint,” but rather as a “word of wisdom.” It would take decades for it to be accepted as a requirement for Latter-day Saints

In 1834, the Kirtland high council decided that those who were taught the Word of Wisdom but didn't follow it were unworthy to hold an office in the Church. A few years later the Missouri high council made a similar decision. Records indicate there were some members who were reprimanded for not following the Word of Wisdom, and even excommunicated for a pattern of disobedience. Which is interesting since the revelation only describes blessings for keeping it and does not give punishments for not following it.

During the Nauvoo period, the Word of Wisdom was not emphasized and there seems to have been a more relaxed attitude about it.

In 1842, Hyrum Smith said that 'hot drinks' refers to coffee and tea. Ever since this has been the accepted interpretation.

After the Saints moved to Utah, in the 1851 General Conference, Church patriarch John Smith spoke on the Word of Wisdom and Brigham Young proposed all Saints formally covenant to abstain from those things prohibited in the Word of Wisdom. (This seems to be where the attitude of only those parts of the Word of Wisdom, what to avoid, are emphasized but not the parts of what we should eat). Despite this, it seems even Brigham Young didn't completely follow this instruction until 1862.

In the 1860s and 70s, there was a renewed emphasis on the Word of Wisdom, but it was not required as a test of membership.

In 1883, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve commit to more fully live the Word of Wisdom, and others are encouraged to follow their example. By 1900, the majority of general and local leaders were following it.

In 1902, leaders were being instructed to refuse temple recommends to flagrant violators of the Word of Wisdom, though to still be lenient with others.

In 1905, it was taught that following the Word of Wisdom is a requirement to hold leadership positions.

In 1906, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve began using water instead of wine in their sacrament meetings.

By 1915, living the Word of Wisdom was required for young or middle-aged men to be ordained to the priesthood or be given a temple recommend.

In 1921, adherence to the Word of Wisdom was required to be admitted to the temple.

————————————————————

For me, personally, I'm fine with the Word of Wisdom. Dietary rules are common in religion. Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Hinduism also have dietary codes.

In a way, such codes can feel like a parent who is concerned about what you're eating for lunch, it's a way of showing concern for us. However, I think there are two main purposes to such codes.

One is to implement health rules about what to eat, including sanitary measures, and how to ethically/morally approach eating meat (or forbidding meat) because it requires the death of another living creature.

The other purpose of these codes is they are a way to distinguish us as a group, to separate us from other people amongst whom we live. If we're at a company meeting where food is served, Mormons may notice who else has chosen not to have coffee or tea and wonder if they're also members of the LDS church, while non-members are unaware of this shibboleth.

To go along with these codes as cultural markers, I have observed that when someone is separating themselves from the LDS church, often one of the first things they'll do is have their first beer or cup of coffee. It’s s way of breaking that identity marker.

It is interesting that the Word of Wisdom includes prohibitions against alcohol when the consumption of wine is widely reported in the Bible. It highlights that there isn't consistency among these different religious dietary codes.

I think of Peter's vision in the New Testament where he is commanded to eat animals which were prohibited under Jewish law. God declares that all these animals are clean, meaning they are okay to eat. And the apostle Paul taught that non-Jewish converts were not required to eat kosher, however it would be helpful if they'd abstain from eating unkosher foods around their Jewish fellows so as not to offend them.

These two stories inform my opinion about the Word of Wisdom. I am LDS and follow our traditions against coffee, tea, tobacco, and alcohol, however I don't view breaking these norms as a sin. The revelation specifically says this is not a commandment, so it seems to me to be more of a cultural marker. One reason I choose to not drink coffee is it would concern or offend my fellow LDS friends, some because they think of it as a sin and others because they see it as me separating myself from this community

[meandmybigmouth]

The Mormon religion, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, originated in Palmira, New York in the 1820s. Joseph Smith, who became interested in religion during the Second Great Awakening, claimed to have received a vision from an angel named Moroni in 1823. Moroni told Smith about golden plates buried in a nearby hill that contained the writings of ancient American prophets. Smith excavated the plates four years later and translated them into English, producing the Book of Mormon in 1830. The book tells the story of an Israelite family who migrated to America before Jesus Christ and were taught by prophets similar to those in the Old Testament. Smith and his associates also claimed to have been visited by other biblical figures, including John the Baptist and three apostles of Jesus. In 1829, John the Baptist appeared to Smith and gave him the Aaronic Priesthood, and on April 6, 1830, Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette Township, New York. The church began as a missionary church.

AND "HE" TRANSLATED THEM INTO ENGLISH?

[tanadrin]

according to john hamer, a historian of the whole restorationist/LDS movement, the first draft of the book of mormon is a lot less impressive bc it has a bunch of idiomatic constructions of the "they was a-comin'" variety that read as hopelessly backcountry to most english speakers, but were simply an authentic element of how joseph smith spoke

which is hilarious, because the text was being translated with divine assistance. but also i kind of wish the mormons had kept that in! it would have made it a more authentically american religious document. maybe been a minor cultural antitude to kjv english as Ye Olde Religious English

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

My wife has been getting into Assassin's Creed, and brought up a decent question: Are the Templars a Religious Order?

My answer: it's complicated. There are clearly atheistic Templars (Vidic & Borgia being the first to come to mind). While they hold great respect for the Isu, they don't worship them, like the Instruments of the First Will

In real world history, the Templars were a religious order originally dedicated to protecting Pilgrims in Jerusalem. During the Crusades, they had a situationship with the Hospitallers (on again, off again, as they Hospitallers were dedicated to healing, but the Templars were a military force). They also invented modern banking, so people can get their loot totally legit treasures without risking roadside robbery. They were wiped out when King Philip IV of France charged them with Blasphemy (spitting on the Cross, worshipping Baphomet, the first reference of his existence, and so on) & Sodomy ("indecent kissing" between brothers, and homosexual acts as an initiation ritual). The Order was disbanded by Pope Clement V, after pardoning the surviving members

In Assassin's Creed, their lore goes back farther. The Order began (in its current form) with Pharaoh Smenkhkare, the successor of Akhenaten. I say in its modern form, because there appears to be a form of it in the Isu Era. Adam & Eve are real people in Assassin's Creed lore, and we happen to have a piece of Templar Mythology: the Book of Moses. AC: 2 point blank says that Joseph Smith did translate documents, Templar Documents. According to the Book of Moses, Cain made a covenant with the Devil to kill Able & get his flocks (according to Mormonism, the Devil is a being who was exiled because he believed the way to get to peace was through taking away their Freedom to Choose. Which is the Templar Belief). It's also interesting to note that the Book of Abraham was an Egyptian Text. The Book of Mormon seems more like an Assassin Text however

The Order of the Ancients spread with the Center of Civilization. Starting in Egypt, they spread to Babylon, and eventually formed the Persian Empire. They had a hold over Greece with the Cult of Kosmos, which is a blatantly religious organization. When they spread to Rome, they had a veneration for Caesar, calling him the Father of Understanding (who is a Divine Figure)

In England, we see the Order is religious. Specifically, they believe in a Trinity, known as the Father of Understanding, the Mother of Wisdom, and the Sacred Voice. King Alfred was strict Christian, and denounced the "Pagan" practice. This limited it to just the Father of Understanding

Then, they formed the Knights Templar, and we get all of Real History (except King Philip was influenced by the Assassins)

The Templars continued after this of course, despite the extermination of the French Chapter. Eventually, a Templar (Rodrigo Borgia) became Pope Alexander VI. They continued on as they were, seeking the Pieces of Eden, but not really understanding what they were, just that they were powerful, and furthered their cause

The first appearance of Institutional Atheism appears to have its roots with French Grand Master François-Thomas Germain. He believed the Templars needed to shift from Religious to Secular control. This appears not to have taken root immediately, as the American Chapter appears to still be religious 30-40 years after the French Revolution

It appears the Order took a turn under Crawford Starrick. He had control over all of London, from the Government, to the Medicine, and even the Criminal Underworld. He took full advantage of the Industrial Revolution, not only to further his own causes, but to hinder any opposition. Crawford Starrick influenced other Templars such as Edison & Ford. Abstergo Industries, and the Global Monopoly over Entertainment, Medicine, and practically everything, began with Ford. They used Hitler & Stalin as puppets, using the chaos of WWII to buy out businesses in the Wartime & Postwar Eras. They continued their usual antics in the background, but their public face was shiny. They used Anti-Communist Sentiments in countries such as the United States to further expand. Although they caused the Russian Revolution, they were also instrumental in the Fall of the Soviet Union, putting in Putin as a Puppet

In 2000, Subject 4 (Daniel Cross) killed the Mentor, leading to William becoming the new Head of the Order. However, Cross gave them the location of Assassin Cells. This led to the Near Extinction of the Assassins. Without their interference, their control became even more embedded. The few remaining Assassins were able to halt their attempts to launch the Eye (their Satellite, which would have an Apple of Eden, and amplify its effects worldwide), gain access to Atlantis & the Staff of Hermes, and Project Phoenix (recreating the Isu Genome, which was hijacked by the Instruments of the First Will to resurrect Juno & presumably Aita)

TL;DR- The Modern Templars are Secular. I'm sure they'd have no problems initiating a religious person, but we don't see any indication either way. The Templars were religious at least until King Alfred's Era. I'm going to say they probably were through the Crusades & during the Renaissance as well (although it probably wasn't a requirement during the latter, it was still overwhelmingly religious). The French Revolution appears to be the Turning Point from it being Religious to Secular (although the American Branch was still religious, as seen with Joseph Smith translating Templar Documents. But this was during the Second Great Awakening, so I'd be surprised if they weren't)

I am religious myself. When I've studied all I can, but still feel like I need help, I pray "May the Father of Understanding guide me." And I feel like it's a meaningful phrase, and want it to be used more in daily life (same with "Safety & Peace" for the Assassins)

𐐣𐐩 𐑄 𐐙𐐪𐑃𐑉 𐐲𐑂 𐐊𐑌𐐼𐑉𐑅𐐻𐐰𐑌𐐼𐐮𐑍 𐑀𐐴𐐼 𐐲𐑅 𐐰𐑊 (May the Father of Understanding guide us all)

𐐝𐐩𐑁𐐻𐐨 𐐰𐑌𐐼 𐐑𐐨𐑅 𐐲𐐹𐐪𐑌 𐐷𐐭 (Safety and Peace upon you)

[mindfulldsliving]

Where Are the Gold Plates? An In-Depth Analysis

Contributing writer at Life After Ministries blog posits the following question in their latest post: Where are the Gold Plates? The writer quotes from Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine. Along with quoting from Mormon Doctrine, a quote from Ephesians 4:14 follows with a brief commentary: There’s not a shred of evidence these plates let alone the angel Moroni ever existed except in the mind of…

[alliluyevas]

tagged by @medievalcat to post 9 books I'm looking forward to reading in 2025.

The last time I did one of these, I only read 3/9 of the books I posted and was disappointed by 2/3 of those, so I really hope for better odds next year, lol. But I'm really excited about these!

Fiction

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali. I've been reading a fair bit of non-fiction about Iran before and during the revolution this fall and found it really interesting, and I've been on hold at the library for months trying to get my hands on this one.

Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (and The Mirror and the Light, but I didn't want to hog all the space with one series). Just finished Wolf Hall today and LOVED it, so now I want to read the rest.

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

You Dreamed of Empires by Alvaro Enrigue: with this and the one above, I'm trying to read more historical fiction from eras and cultures I don't know as much about but find interesting and also more lit in translation!

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman: love Arthurian retellings and I've also been on hold for months with this one.

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham: I read a lot of domestic thrillers but also hate on them. I liked both this author's previous books so I'm looking forward to her newest book that will be released in 2025.

Non-fiction

Vengeance Is Mine: The Mountain Meadows Massacre and Its Aftermath by Richard Turley and Barbara Jones Brown: extremely well regarded recent release in the Mormon history field that I haven't read yet. Also incredible cover and title!

Joseph Smith: The Rise and Fall of an American Prophet by John Turner (my former professor!): I'm sooooo excited for this book you don't even know. I think the Joseph Smith biography canon desperately needs expansion and I loved Dr. Turner's biography of Brigham Young, I'm excited to see his take on Joseph and his life!

This Is Our Home: Slavery and Struggle on Southern Plantations by Whitney Nell Stewart: another really well received recent release (albeit in a different field of history.) I have heard nothing but good things about this book and Dr. Stewart as an emerging scholar!

tagging @xoxogothicgirl @mariacallous @willowrosenberg1997 @thebestoftragedy @tak-byvayet and anyone else who wants to do this

[gettingsoaked]

Mormonism 101

One of the reasons for this project is that Mormonism, through its global missionary program, shows like South Park and the Book of Mormon musical, and the music of Donny Osmond, is a very visible religion, yet at the same time its basic tenets, beliefs, and practices are almost totally unknown to anyone except initiates. Most people are aware of Mormons, but couldn't tell you much about the religion. So what is Mormonism? Let's start with terminology. While "Mormon" and "Mormonism" are well-established, people who are usually called Mormons are actually members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Mormon" is a nickname or exonym drawn from the religion's principle scripture, the Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official name of what to most people is "the Mormon Church." The term "Mormon" is discouraged, as is the abbreviation LDS. Official Church sources stress that the full name should be used whenever possible, but suggest using the abbreviations, “Church of Jesus Christ” or “Christ’s Church,” which seem more to me like ambiguous theopolitical statements than useful short forms. Apologies to any LDS readers, but I'll be using "Mormon," "Latter-day Saint," and "LDS" more or less interchangeably.

Mormonism is a Christian restorationist denomination, which means that Mormons believe their religion is a restoration of primitive (in the sense of first or original) Christianity. Mormonism is a Christian religion to the extent that its central figure is Jesus Christ, but has several major differences from mainstream Christianity, which we'll get to in later posts. (I personally believe that Mormonism originates in Christianity, but is not Christian in the same way that Christianity originated from Judaism but isn't Jewish.) The Church was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr, who hailed from upstate New York and is regarded by believers as a prophet similar to the way Jews & Christians view Moses or Muslims view Muhammad. Smith had visions from the spirit world telling him to organize his own church, as all Christian creeds were an abomination in the eyes of God, and leading him to a new volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, written by some of the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas on golden plates, and buried on the Hill Cumorah. Smith allegedly translated this record, the Book of Mormon, through the gift and power of God. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, a collection of Smith and other Latter-day prophets' revelations called the Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price, consisting of some excerpts from Smith's revision of the Bible and other ephemera, constitute the open Latter-day Saint scriptural canon. After Smith's assassination, his successor Brigham Young led the Mormons to Utah, and eventually the religion grew to become a global faith. The Church is headed by a president that adherents consider a modern prophet, seer, and revelator, and they consider themselves the only true, authorized church on earth today. They have many distinctive teachings on the nature of God, the afterlife, health and diet, finances, and other matters that I plan to cover in future posts. (Any corrections are always welcome, but I think this is pretty accurate!)

[creature-wizard]

who is joseph smith?

Dude who founded the Church of Latter Day Saints, AKA Mormonism. He claimed he'd been visited by an angel, who gave him these golden plates containing additional Bible books to translate. The "translated" books were literary vomit, and the take on Christianity he came up with was really, really racist.

More info: CES Letter: My Search For Answers To Mormon Doubts Joseph Smith and the criminal justice system The Mountain Meadow Massacre Mormons and Native Americans Mormons and Black People

[jellogram]

The backstory of the Book of Mormon translations is so funny like hello yes it is I, known scammer Joseph Smith. Turns out God forgot some of the Bible but it's okay, he gave it to me! No you can't see it. It'll, uh, burn you to death. Or something. Okay sit behind this sheet while I dictate the new word of God to you.

[disregardcanon]

I love how the biggest argument that most of the people around for the “translating of the golden plates” make for the Book of Mormon actually being divinely inspired is that Joseph smith was a dumbass and he couldn’t have come up with this himself. It HAD to be direct from god no other explanation

[gaykarstaagforever]

Because Mormons have always been super-serious and NOT just weird horny nerds, here is an example of the time they decided to make their own alphabet:

You read it exactly the same. It's still English. You just write it in this weird confusing code you have to teach everyone to use.

Yeah it didn't take off.

Btw, it is called the "Deseret alphabet." That word "deseret" is used all the time in Mormon contexts, because in the Book of Mormon there is exactly one verse where Joseph Smith goes, and I very nearly quote, "there were bees, which are called deseret, which means bees."

He supposedly translated this magically from a secret ancient language that only he could read. Why he felt the need to specify what this one random word was in Fake, no one knows.

It is apparently based on his bad reading of an Ancient Egyptian word for one of the royal crowns of the Pharaoh, which means "honey crown."

I also don't know why this weird thing took off out there. They wanted to call Utah the State of Deseret. There are tons of companies called Deseret (Something). Their state route markers and flag have a beehive on them, and apparently the Washington Monument has as a part of its foundation a big beehive-shaped "Deseret stone" they donated.

Obvious this is all very super-serious and not stupid.

...Is this because they live in a desert, so it kind of sounded like "desert-ish" or "desert-est?" Or some combination of desert and west? That would make some sense.

But no, it's a random word for bee a guy made up. Shut up.

I can't get over this. It never stops being like this. And they get SO MAD when you make fun of it. But how can you not?

I mean it's not the time they pretended to invent cold fusion. But it's consistent.