Debunking Alleged Contradictions In The Book Of Mormon

By : Bro. Nathan

This recent months ay may nagpost sa isang discussion griup namin na isang INC about sa alleged na contradictions sa Book Of Mormon. hindi ko lang alam kung ginawa niya ba talaga ito o sourced lang nanaman sa isang suspicious na website. i made an op in the same group and at the page in response to these alleged contradictions and now posting on this blog with some revisions and expansions. (the words in the op will be marked in red) :

I 

#1.

The Bible plainly states that the gospel, with its inclusion of Gentiles, was not fully revealed until after Christ's death.

Ephesians 3:3-7 “by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister” (See also Col. 1:26; 1 Peter 1: 1-12; Romans 16:25-26)

• However, the Book of Mormon maintains that this knowledge was had in 545 B.C.

2 Nephi 25:19 “For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh... his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ... (v. 23) For we labor... to persuade... our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”

2 Nephi 26:12 “And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus in the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God;”

2 Nephi 30:2 “For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off,”

2 Nephi 31:17 “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and the Holy Ghost.”

The NIV reads :


" The mystery revealed is that through the Atonement ALL MANKIND may be blessed. The GENTILES are finally receiving the Good News which before was only showed to the House of Israel"

And the NET reads :


" that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ (which was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit), "

Reading Ephesians 3 in context, verse 6 tells us


“This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.”

Enlightened prophets and civilizations that are part of the house of Israel always had this understanding of the gospel. (note : Book Of Mormon people are Israelites). the context tells us that Gentiles can be adopted to the House Of Israel and partake the salvation given by the Savior. This is a common theme of Ephesians. Notice how Jesus says he was only sent to the House Of Israel (Mt. 15:21-28), But Paul was called to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; 13:14-52; 22:21; Rom. 14:14-33; Gal. 2:1-14)

II

#2

During Jesus' ministry He spoke of His church as something in the future.

Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

After Christ's resurrection and the day of Pentecost we read

Acts 2:47 “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

• However, the Book of Mormon claims the Christian church was established as early as 147 B.C.

Mosiah 18:17 “And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward.”

Did you know that the word church existed in the Old Testament? ἐκκλησία (ekklesia) is the greek word for church and appears many times in the Greek Septugaint. the term is actually used before christians did and the term actually means "an assembly" or "a congregation." The book of mormon did not claimed that the church of Jesus Christ is established in 147 B.C, rather, it is a assembly of people that believe in the coming of the Messiah. ἐκκλησία is defined as follows : 

ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλεσιας, ἡ (from ἔκκλητος called out or forth, and this from ἐκκαλέω); properly, a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly; so used
1. among the Greeks from Thucydides (cf. Herodotus 3, 142) down, an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating: Act 19:39.
2. in the Septuagint often equivalent to קָהָל, the assembly of the Israelites, Jdg 21:8 ; 1Ch 29:1, etc., especially when gathered for sacred purposes, Deu 31:30 (Deu 32:1); Jos 8:35 (Jos 9:8), etc.; in the N. T. thus in Act 7:38; Heb 2:12.
3. any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance or tumultuously: Act 19:32; Act 19:41.
4. in the Christian sense,
a. an assembly of Christians gathered for worship: ἐν ἐκκλησία, in the religious meeting, 1Co 14:19; 1Co 14:35; ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, 1Co 14:34; συνέρχεσθαι ἐν ἐκκλησία, 1Co 11:18; cf. Winer's Grammar, sec. 50, 4a.
b. a company of Christians, or of those who, hoping for eternal Salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake; aa. those who anywhere, in city or village, constitute such a company and are united into one body: Act 5:11; Act 8:3; 1Co 4:17; 1Co 6:4; Php 4:15; 3Jn 1:6 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 122 (116)); with specification of place, Act 8:1; Act 11:22; Rom 16:1; 1Co 4:17; 1Co 6:4; Rev 2:1; Rev 2:8, etc.; Θεσσαλονικέων, 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1; Λαοδικέων, Col 4:16; with the genitive of the possessor, τοῦ Θεοῦ (equivalent to קְהַל יְהוָֽה, Num 16:3; Num 20:4), 1Co 11:22; and mention of the place, 1Co 1:2; 2Co 1:1. Plural, αἱ ἐκκλησίαι: Act 15:41; 1Co 7:17; 2Co 8:19; Rev 1:4; Rev 3:6, etc.; with τοῦ Θεοῦ added, 1Th 2:14; 2Th 1:4; τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Rom 16:16; with mention of the place, as τῆς Ἀσίας, Γαλατίας, etc.: 1Co 16:1; 1Co 16:19; 2Co 8:1; Gal 1:2; τῆς Ἰουδαίας ταῖς ἐν Χριστῷ, joined to Christ (see ἐν, I. 6b.), i.e. Christian assemblies, in contrast with those of the Jews, Gal 1:22; ἐκκλησίαι τῶν ἐθνῶν, gathered from the Gentiles, Rom 16:4; τῶν ἁγίων, composed of the saints, 1Co 14:33. ἡ ἐκκλησία κατ᾽ οἶκον τίνος, the church in one's house, i.e. the company of Christians belonging to a person's family; others less aptly understand the phrase of the Christians accustomed to meet for worship in the house of someone (for as appears from 1Co 14:23, the whole Corinthian church was accustomed to assemble in one and the same place; (but see Lightfoot on Col 4:15)): Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 1:2. The name ἡ ἐκκλησία is used even by Christ while on earth of the company of his adherents in any city or village: Mat 18:17. bb. the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth; collectively, all who worship and honor God and Christ in whatever place they may be: Mat 16:18 (where perhaps the Evangelist employs τήν ἐκκλησίαν although Christ may have said τήν βασιλείαν μου); 1Co 12:28; Eph. 1:22; 3:10; 5:23ff,27,29,32; Php 3:6; Col 1:18; Col 1:24; with the genitive of the possessor: τοῦ κυρίου, Act 20:28 (R Tr marginal reading WH τοῦ Θεοῦ); τοῦ Θεοῦ, Gal 1:13; 1Co 15:9; 1Ti 3:15. cc. the name is transferred to the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven: Heb 12:23 (on this passage see in ἀπογράφω, b. and πρωτότοκος, at the end). (In general, see Trench, sec. 1, and B. D. under the word Church, especially American edition; and for patristic usage Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word.)

(Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon)

And this term appears over 102 times in the Greek septugaint (LXX) for example :

και πασαν την συναγωγην εκκλησιασον (ekklesiason) επι την θυραν της σκηνης του μαρτυριου (Lev. 8:3) LXX

και πασαν την συναγωγην εκκλησιασον (ekklesiason) επι την θυραν της σκηνης του μαρτυριου (Dt. 4:10) LXX

και πασαν την συναγωγην εκκλησιασον (ekklesiason) επι την θυραν της σκηνης του μαρτυριου (Josh. 8:3) LXX

διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομά σου τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, ἐν μέσῳ ἐκκλησίας (ekklesias) ὑμνήσω σε (Ps. 22:22; LXX 21:23)


παρὰ σοῦ ὁ ἔπαινός μου ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia) μεγάλῃ,τὰς εὐχάς μου ἀποδώσω ἐνώπιον τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτόν. (Ps. 22:25; LXX 21:26)


ἐμίσησα ἐκκλησίαν (ekklesian) πονηρευομένων καὶ μετὰ ἀσεβῶν οὐ μὴ καθίσω. (Ps. 26:5; LXX 25:5)


ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι, κύριε, ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia) πολλῇ, ἐν λαῷ βαρεῖ αἰνέσω σε. (Ps. 34:18; LXX 35:18)


εὐηγγελισάμην δικαιοσύνην ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia) μεγάλῃ· ἰδοὺ τὰ χείλη μου οὐ μὴ κωλύσω· κύριε, σὺ ἔγνως. (Ps. 40:10; LXX 39:10)


ἐν ἐκκλησίαις (ekklesiais) εὐλογεῖτε τὸν θεόν, τὸν κύριον ἐκ πηγῶν Ισραηλ. ἐκεῖ Βενιαμιν νεώτερος ἐν ἐκστάσει, ἄρχοντες Ιουδα ἡγεμόνες αὐτῶν, ἄρχοντες Ζαβουλων, ἄρχοντες Νεφθαλι. (Ps. 68:26-27; LXX 67:27-28)


ὁ γὰρ πούς μου ἔστη ἐν εὐθύτητι· ἐν ἐκκλησίαις (ekklesiais) εὐλογήσω σε, κύριε. (Ps. 26:12; Lxx 25:12).


ἐξομολογήσονται οἱ οὐρανοὶ τὰ θαυμάσιά σου, κύριε, καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (ekklesia) ἁγίων. (Ps. 89:5; Lxx 88:6).

III

#3

The Bible says believers were first called Christians after Paul's ministry in Antioch.

Acts 11:26 “And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

• However, the Book of Mormon claims people were known by this title as early as 73 B.C.

Alma 46:15 “...yea, all those who were true believes in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.”

If you read Alma 46:15 in context, it defines Christians as the people that believe that the messiah will come. same as Old Testament prophets hoping for the coming of the Messiah (Gen. 49:10; Dt. 18:15; Dan. 9:24–27; Ezek. 37:24, 25–27; Hos. 11:1; Isa. 9; 53; Jer. 31:15; Micah 5:1-2). "Christians" is the redition of the term or an Anglicinization. 

Were we to say that the Templars were organized in Germany and settled in the Holy Land in the late 19th century, you might try to correct us by saying that the Templars were organized in the year 1118 by Hugh de Payen and participated in a Crusade to the Holy Land in the years that followed. Actually, both statements are correct, for we would be referring to two different Christian groups that called themselves "Templars." Since Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, didn't know about the followers of Christ in the New World, he would naturally assume that the term "Christian" was first used in Antioch in his own day. In the same way, many history books credit Columbus with having discovered America, though there is now abundant evidence for the Vikings having visited North America five hundred years earlier. If one acknowledges that prophets such as Isaiah (e.g., Isaiah 53) foresaw the coming of Christ, there should be no problem in having a people living a few decades before his birth and who looked forward to his arrival calling themselves "Christians." Since the term "Christians" is from the Greek word that gave us "Christ," it would not, of course, have been used by the Nephites. They may have called themselves Meshihim, from the Hebrew Messiah. All we can say for certain is that the anglicized form "Christians" was used in the English translation to represent whatever term the Nephites used. - Shields-research.org

IV

#4

The Holy Ghost was bestowed on the Christians at the time of Pentecost.

Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father unto you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."Acts 2:1-4 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ... And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, ...”

• Yet the Book of Mormon claims that people received the gift of the Holy Ghost as early as 545 B.C.

2 Nephi 31:12-13 “...the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me... Wherefore, my beloved brethren,... by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost;...”

2 Nephi 31:12-13's context is a promise given by the Lord to the Nephites that practice baptism. baptism exist in the old testament times as a washing ritual (mikvah baptism) for someone to be called again clean (Lev. 14:1-9; 15:19-24). The guidance of the Holy Spirit existed in the Old testament times like for example : The Holy Spirit came upon certain judges, warriors, and prophets in a way that gave them extraordinary power: for example, Joshua (Num. 27:18), Othniel (Judg. 3:10), Gideon (Judg. 6:34), Samson (Jdg. 13:25; 14:6), and Saul (1 Sam. 10:9, 10). However, the Spirit later departed from Saul because of his disobedience (1 Sam. 16:14).

Robert Boylan provides evidences of the practice of Baptism in the Old Testament

Baptism was known among the Jews at the time of Jesus, and ritual immersions were done, often for Gentile converts to various Judaisms. For a book-length treatment, see Jonathan Lawrence, Washing in Water: Trajectories of Ritual Bathing in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Literature (Society of Biblical Literature, 2006). The concept of immersion is part-and-parcel of the Hebrew Bible; for example, the Hebrew verb meaning “to wash” רחץ appears 74 times in 73 verses in the OT; often having the meaning of a full immersion of either a person or an object (e.g., Exo 2:5; 1 Kgs 22:38).

Another Hebrew verb,טבל appears 16 times in the OT, having the meaning of "to dip" or "to immerse," all part-and-parcel of "baptism" (e.g., Gen 37:31; Num 19:18; 2 Kgs 5:14; Job 9:31).

With respect to 2 Kgs 5:14, the LXX translatesטבל using the Greek verb meaning “to baptise” βαπτιζω that appears three other times in the LXX (Isa 21:4 in the proto-canonical texts; Judith 12:7; Sirach 34:35 in the Apocrypha)

Such would have been part-and-parcel of the language and world view of Nicodemus and contemporary Jews of Second Temple Judaism.

V

#5

In the Old Testament the only ones who could be priests were the descendants of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Israel.

Numbers 3:9-10 “And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death” (See also Numbers 8:6-26).

• However, the Book of Mormon story claims that descendants of the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3) were made priests.

2 Nephi 5:26 “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my people.”

We should take note first that there are people who already performed ordinances and priest before the Levites and outside the Levites, common misconception among many is that the concept of priests and priestly actions are part of the Law of Moses, and, further, only Levites, after the establishment of the Levitical Priesthood, engaged in priestly services and sacrifices that were acceptable to God. However, this is far from the case. Before God established the Levitical priesthood, there were priests among the Israelites. For example, Noah (Gen. 8:20); Abraham (Gen. 12:7); Jacob (Gen. 31:54, 46:1) and Jethro (Ex. 18:12) offered sacrifices that were accepted by God. In Exodus 19:22, 24:4-5, mention of priests and young men offering sacrifices before the establishment of the Levitical Priesthood are mentioned. Even after the establishment of the Levitical Priesthood, other Israelites offered sacrifices and/or were priests. For instance, Micah consecrated one of his sons to be his priest (Jdg. 17:5), although later he took a Levite to be his priest (Jdg. 17:11-12). Gideon offered a sacrifice (Judg. 6:20-28), as did David (2 Sam. 6:13), Manoah (Jdg. 13:15-23), and the prophet Elijah the Tishbite (1 Kgs. 18:30-38). Moreover, David’s sons were priests in 2 Samuel 8:18 (the Chronicler altered this in his history, instead giving them the position of chief officials in the service of the king (2 Chr. 18:17), and so was Ira the Jairite (2 Sam. 20:26).

VI

#6

The Old Testament teaches that the first born of the flocks were to be given automatically to the Lord. Sacrifices were to be made from their remaining animals.

Exodus 13:12 “That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's” (See also Ex. 13:2; 22:29-30; Numbers 3:13; 18:15-18; 2 Sam. 24:24).

Deuteronomy 12:6 “And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks.”

• The Book of Mormon claims that the Nephites were keeping the law of Moses. However, the Nephites broke the law of Moses by using the first of the flocks for burnt offerings. These should have already been given to the Lord as tithing.

Mosiah 2:3 “And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses.”

First, while firstlings, as we currently understand their use in ancient Israel, were probably not offered as the olah or burnt offering in ancient Israel, as Anderson notes, "It would not be accurate to say that the requirements for the burnt offering, peace offering, and reparation offering were rigidly fixed; there was room for variability";

"for the burnt offering one had to offer a male animal from the herd or flock. . . . The peace offering could be either a male or a female from the herd or flock." There is no question, however, that the firstlings of clean domesticated animals were sacrificed in the peace offering, as were other animals. "In early Palestinian experience the firstlings of the flock and herd were sacrificed at the local sanctuary." "First-born," in The Interpreter's Bible Dictionary, 4 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962), 2:271. Menahem Haran argues that it was held by some Jewish authorities that, "not every type of sacrifice would be deemed suitable for solitary altars. Many offerings were held to be reserved for the temple, and it was obligatory to take them exclusively to the temple altar. Such were the firstlings of cattle and sheep," the various forms of the peace offering, including the thanksgiving offering, and possibly others (Temples and Temple-Service in Ancient Israel: An Inquiry into Biblical Cult Phenomena and the Historical Setting of the Priestly School [Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1985], 16).

This would account for the specific mention of firstlings in Mosiah 2:3 in the context of a temple gathering. In fact, "Any domesticated animal from the herd or flock, male or female (Lev. 3:1, 6, 12), was permissible" for the peace offering. Under Mosaic law the firstlings (i.e. firstborn animals) of flocks and herds were dedicated to the Lord (Ex. 13:12, 15) and were given to the Levites. The Israelites were forbidden from using them for work or gain (Deut. 15:19-20) and were required to bring them to the temple during their pilgrimage festivals, where they would be sacrificed (Deut. 12:5-6). Their blood was sprinkled upon the altar and their fat was burned (Num. 18:17-18). What was left then was given to the individual and his family to eat that same day (Deut. 15:19-20). Thus Lamb and the Nick grossly misunderstand the sacrificial role of firstlings when they claim that the firstlings were not sacrificed. While apparently not used for the burnt offering, firstlings could and frequently were used along with other animals in the sacrificial peace offering. The Book of Mormon correctly states that the Nephites brought their firstlings to the temple to be sacrificed, for firstlings clearly were sacrificed at the temple.

VII

#7

The Bible states that all of King Zedekiah's sons were killed.

Jeremiah 39:6 “Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes.”

• Contrary to the Bible, the Book of Mormon claims that one son of King Zedekiah escaped destruction and came to the Americas.

Heleman 6:10 “the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north” (See also Heleman 8:21).

And Jeremiah in the context doesn't mention that all of King Zedekiah's sons were killed. In 2 Kings it when referring to other items or people it says all, but the author never says all the sims were killed

“All the men”
“All the army”
But only “the sons”

If this is his habit of writing to describe 100% of something being destroyed or scattered the why does the author not also write “all the sons”

The armies were scattered in every direction and its possible that a son leading an army may have escaped. Others have suggested that his wife was pregnant at the time and escaped. There is also a promise from God to Israel that their kings will always reign in an unbroken line. If all the sons are killed then their is no heir. (Matthew Trisigotes)

While not a word play, this is another “hit” for the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Even allowing Joseph Smith to have derived Mulek from Mo'lok (p. 80 of Walker) does not explain why Joseph Smith would go against the commonly held belief even today that all of Zedekiah's sons died and had a surviving son called Mulek, as well as how he would "luck out" with respect to the Hebrew of Jer 38:6 and modern archaeological discoveries.

“Mulek” in the Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon was spelt Muloch and “Mulok” in printed editions from 1830 to 1852. The root in Hebrew, however, would be the same (‎*MLK מלך)
The Book of Mormon informs us that one of King Zedekiah’s sons survived the Babylonian Conquest of Jerusalem and fled to the New World:

Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south. (Helaman 6:10)

And now will you dispute that Jerusalem was not destroyed? Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem? . . . (Hel. 8:21)

There is a possibility “Mulek” appears in the Old Testament. Firstly, a note on Hebrew names:
A name that contains the “divine element” (‘el; yah[u]) is called a theophoric (e.g., Isaiah—the iah is a transliteration of yah).

Sometimes, these divine name elements are removed to shorten the name. Such is the hypocoristic form of a name.

Book of Mormon Mulek represents a hypocoristic form of a longer name. This will be important in a moment.

Jer 38:6 in the KJV reads:

" Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire." (Jer. 38:6) KJV

“Hammelech” is a mistake by the KJV translators. The Hebrew is ‎ הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ (ha-melech) which means “the king.” Instead of translating, they incorrectly transliterated the Hebrew.This figure Malchiah is the “son of the king”; the king would have been Zedekiah.

‎ מַלְכִּיָּהוּ (Malchiah in the KJV; alt. Malkiyahu) is made up of the yah[u] theophoric (יָּהוּ ) and the triconsonantal root ‎ מלך (MLK) which means “king,” similar to Mulek. This *MLK “son of the king [Zedekiah]” could very well be Book of Mormon Mulek.

A seal of this royal figure was found in 1997 written in Paleo-Hebrew, calling him "Malkiyahu, son of the king [Zedekiah].” It is a very real possibility that this seal attests to the historicity of a Book of Mormon character. (Robert Boylan) scripturalmormonism.blogspot.com