Joseph Smith claimed that, “…the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth….” (History of the [LDS] Church, 4:461) We invite readers to consider the following information before they decide whether or not they agree with him.

• Arabia is described in 1 Nephi 5:62-68 as a land of bounty with “much fruit and also wild honey.” However, that region of the world has only been known for its petroleum, sand, and heat since ancient times. (Thomas Key, PhD., ScD., EdD., “A Biologist Examines the Book of Mormon,” p. 20.)
• Genealogy was very important to the Jewish people. Yet, Lehi, supposedly a devout Jew and a prophet of God who had lived in Jerusalem all of his life, did not know which tribe he belonged to until he arrived on the American continent (1 Nephi 1:3, 164-165) (LDS 1 Nephi 1:4, 6:14).
• A great battle is described in the Book of Mormon, with only one surviving warrior on each side, Shiz and Coriantumr. The final scene is described as follows:
  “And it came to pass that when they had all fallen by the sword save it were Coriantumr and Shiz, behold Shiz had fainted with the loss of blood. And it came to pass that when Coriantumr had leaned upon his sword…[and] rested a little, he smote off the head of Shiz. And it came to pass that after he had smote off the head of Shiz, that Shiz raised upon his hands and fell: and after that he had struggled for breath [without a head] he died” (Ether 6:103-105) (LDS Ether 15:29-31).
• The Book of Mormon Jesus told the Nephites that because they had more faith than his Jewish disciples, he was able to do greater miracles among them. He allegedly said, “So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore I could not shew unto them so great miracles, because of their unbelief” (3 Nephi 9:35) )LDS 3 Nephi 19:35).
  The miracles that Jesus performed while with his disciples in Palestine included: changing water into wine, raising the dead, feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, opening deaf ears and blind eyes, causing the dumb to speak, healing every kind of disease, walking on water, casting out demons, retrieving money from the mouth of a fish, and walking out of his own tomb alive. What Book of Mormon miracles can top these!?
• The Book of Mormon tells of a temple that was built by the Nephites after the manner of the temple of Solomon. “And I Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon, save it were not built of so many precious things for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple.” (2 Nephi 4:22-24) (LDS 2 Nephi 5:16). Verse 21 (LDS 15), just previous to the above verse, reads,
  “And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores which were in great abundance.”
  In one verse the precious ores were in great abundance, yet in the next verse they were not to be found in the land! To construct a temple like Solomon’s would have been a monumental task for just a handful of people. It had been approximately thirty-one years since two families, and a man named Zoram, left Jerusalem, and during that time they had split into two groups. The smaller of the two groups called the Nephites, (possibly five couples and their children) built the temple. In contrast, Solomon used 30,000 laborers, 70,000 carriers, 80,000 stone cutters (highly skilled craftsman) and 3,300 foremen (I Kings 5:13-18).
• The Book of Mormon describes one battle where 2,060 young men called striplings, fought wars over a period of four to five years without one of them being killed (Alma 24:74 – Alma 26:101) (LDS Alma 53:18 – Alma 57:25).
• The Book of Mormon (Ether 1:42-60) (LDS Ether 2:15-3:1) gives a description of the barges that brought the Jaredites in 2200 B.C. across the ocean from the Middle East to the American continent. According to this account, there were eight small barges, about the length of a tree, which were light upon the water (like a bird). The top and bottom were tight like a dish. There was a hole in both the top and bottom in case they suffered for air. The barges could not have windows because they would be dashed to pieces. (Note: Joseph Smith did not know that the Phoenicians had not invented glass yet.)
  Picture the following! Eight “small barges,” manned and loaded for an ocean voyage of approximately one year, with:
  1. Men, women and children (Jared and his family, the brother of Jared and his family and twenty-two friends with their children (probably 40 people or more)).
  2. Herds of cattle, herds of horses, herds of swine, herds of sheep and herds of goats
  3. Swarms of bees, seeds of every kind, fowls of the air, and varieties of fish
  4. Several tons of food, bedding, clothing
  5. A year’s supply of water for families
  6. Sewage disposal system for families and animals

In their year long ocean voyage in eight small barges, imagine what would happen to these forty or more people, herds of cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats, swarms of bees, fish, food, water supplies and waste products, when the Lord caused “a furious wind to blow upon the face of the waters… and they were tossed upon the waves of the sea…and were many times buried in the depth of the sea” (Ether 3:6-7) (LDS Ether 6:5-6).
It has been estimated that even if the barges only moved 10 mph (with the furious wind blowing), the distance traveled in one year would have been 82,560 miles, or enough for more than three trips around the globe. And amazingly, all eight barges landed at the same time and in the same place.

• According to the Book of Mormon message, the dark skin of the American Indians was a curse put upon them by God for their rebellions against Him. The purpose of the curse was: 1) so that they wouldn’t be enticing unto the righteous (white) people (2 Nephi 4:35) (LDS 2 Nephi 5:21), and 2) That the righteous whites would not mix with the dark skinned people and believe their incorrect traditions (2 Nephi 4:35, Alma 1:106-113) (LDS 2 Nephi 5:21, Alma 3:8-14). The curse took place immediately on violators, and extended even to those who would marry them. The curse was, “from this time henceforth and forever, except they repent of their wickedness and turn to me, that I [the Lord] may have mercy upon them” (Alma 1:113-114) (LDS Alma 3:14-15). When any portion of the Lamanites repented and turned to God, “the curse of God did no more follow them” (Alma 14:20) (LDS Alma 24:18) and their skin became white within one year! (3 Nephi 1:48-53) (LDS 3 Nephi 2:11-16).
  Question: If the Book of Mormon is true, why do the American Indians, who have repented and joined the RLDS/CoC Church, still have dark skin and why doesn’t the skin of white people who marry non-believing Indians turn dark?
• Alma speaks of burying swords in the earth to keep them bright. Yet, burying metal swords in the earth would speed the rusting process, not prevent it.
• The meaning of names was very important to the Jewish people. One has to wonder then, why a prominent male character in the Book of Mormon was named Alma, which in Hebrew means a “betrothed virgin maiden.”
• Some of the distinctive teachings of Mormonism include the following:
  1. Three glories in heaven
  2. Two priesthoods—Aaronic and Melchizedek (ed. note: RLDS/CoC church uses a different spelling–Melchisedec)
  3. Pre-existence of souls
  4. Chance for salvation after death
  5. Baptism for the dead
     None of these doctrines are found in the Book of Mormon, which Joseph claimed was the most correct book on earth and which, he claimed, contained the fullness of the Gospel.

• Concerning the reproduction rate in the Book of Mormon, Dr. Key notes that it is astronomical. He states, “The story starts in 600 B.C. and extends to 421 A.D. It involves a mere handful of people who supposedly travel from ‘the land of Jerusalem’ to the Promised Land of America. Every four or five years or so there are devastating wars that kill many thousands of people…for this to be so it would be necessary for each couple to have scores of children, and for them to reach maturity in three or so years throughout the supposed period between 600 B.C. and 421 A.D.” (Ibid. p.26.)
• Joseph Smith claimed that the American Indians (Lamanites in Mormon teachings) are descendants of Jews who escaped to the Americas from Jerusalem before the Babylonian captivity in 600 B.C. This premise is contradicted by a fifty-year global study of population genetics  published by Princeton University Press. The research was confined to groups that were in their present locations as of 1492 to provide, “a genetic snapshot of the world when Columbus sailed for America.” This study indicates that in the Americas, the native tribes were of Mongoloid extraction, not Semitic. (“The Story in Our Genes,” by Sribala Subramanian as cited in Time Magazine, January 16, 1995, pp. 54-55.) The following contrasts underscore these findings.
  • Mongoloid
    1. Scant facial hair
    2. Straight, black coarse hair
    3. red skin tones
  • Semitic
    1. Thick beards
    2. Thick curly hair
    3. Brown skin tones

  Dr. Key states, “Genetics authorities found in the Smithsonian Institution, medical centers, scientific research centers, and universities around the world overwhelmingly agree that when we compare the DNA and hereditary traits of Native American Indians and Mediterranean Jews with the Mongoloid, Negroid, and Caucasoid races, that it is perfectly obvious that Native American Indians are distinctly and typically Mongoloid and most definitely not of Jewish origin.” (Ibid. p.19.)
  In summary, if the American Indians are of Mongoloid descent and not Jewish, the whole Book of Mormon story is flawed and untenable. The incredulous teachings presented here just it make more so.

Believers in the Book of Mormon claim it to be scripture. But shouldn’t one expect a book occupying such a lofty perch to not get wrong the geography, genealogy, biology, construction, naval architecture, genetics, chemistry and science presented within its pages?

Updated June 17, 2020