The Book of Mormon was printed
in 1830, and so begins the interesting tale of Mormonism.
The Book of Mormon tells
a story of a man named Nephi, and his family, leaving
Jerusalem just prior to it's captivity by Babylon
in the 5th and 6th century BC. Nephi and his family
travelled to the Americas, and the rest of the book
tells of the generations of this immigrant family.
One part of the family remains faithful
to God in early days of their American adventure.
These are called the Nephites. The other half of
the family follows Nephi's brother Laman into unbelief
and they are called Lamanites.
Generations of fighting ensue between
the evil Lamanites, and the faithful Nephites. At
times one side repents and returns, or falls away
from following God.
Toward the end of the story, Jesus
visits the Americas, and shows Himself to the people
after His resurrection. Eventually, the Nephites
fall away from the faith, and they are destroyed
by the Lamanites, but a faithful few believers take
the written history (The Book of Mormon)
and hide it in the Hill Cumorah, until the day Joseph
supposedly finds it.
Now this story suggests that the
Indians of the Americas are descended directly from
the Jews. It also suggests that Nephi's family left
Jerusalem, at a time when the prophet Jeremiah had
instructed the Jews to remain in Jerusalem. If they
did not, they would perish. (see Jeremiah 27:8-13)
Yet, this family not only survived, but prospered.
There are some Mormon scholars who
purport to have found evidences, in South and Central
America, of the vast empires of the Lamanites, and
the Nephites, as they are described in the Book
of Mormon, but the Smithsonian Institute does
not recognize the Book of Mormon as having
any historical accuracy. The Smithsonian certainly
is not a pro-religious organization, but they have
recognized the veracity of much of the Bible, as
a description the times and places it describes.
What this says to you, about your trust in the Bible
in contrast to the Book of Mormon, you must
decide for yourself.
