ANSWERING A DEFENSE OF CRITICS
I received an email a few years ago from a fellow Latter-day Saint and I found it most enjoyable to answer him. If someone is struggling with faith, many times a great part of the problem is struggling by not receiving answers that make sense to us. We have many Apologists in the Church who are trying to help.
I define myself as an Apologist or better a defender of truth about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As well, those on the Mesoamerican side of Geography, are also Apologists, which is defined as: “a person who defends or supports something (such as a religion, cause, or organization) that is being criticized or attacked by other people.” We just need to know by the Spirit which apologist to believe. Here is the email I received in blue:
“I have been a member of the LDS Church for 42 years having converted in my hometown Liverpool England at age 20 years of age. I have not been active in the Church for a number of years but always had a testimony despite my not being that active. I kept the word of wisdom and would defend the Church from critics.
I have recently had my doubts about the truthfulness of the Church having started to study the history of the Church and the things that have come to light such as Seer Stones, Joseph Smith polygamy, polyandry and the age of some of his wives. I have read articles from ex-members and non-members who are critical of the Church and they make some powerful points however, I look at all points of view and also read and view articles from Fair Mormon and Wayne May. One question I have is related to archaeology. I know that digs and excavations have taken place in Central and South America. Given the plates were buried in Hill Cumorah and that there was a battle conducted in the area why has there not been any digs or finds in that area that would correlate to the Book of Mormon people.
I would be grateful if someone could respond.”
Many Thanks John …
Below is the response I shared with him.
I received your email from Joseph Smith Foundation, who are my good friends named James Stoddard and the family including Hannah Leah, Isaiah, Ephraim and Mary. James oldest daughter, Hannah leads them very faithfully.. They are very active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as I am. I work with Rod Meldrum, and Jonathan Neville who are also very active members of the Church. I think the most important people for you to speak with about your questions are as follows:
#1 The Lord
#2 The Scriptures
#3 Your Bishop
#4 Church’s website churchofjesuschrist.org
#4 Apologists (Defined as people in good standing with the Church that share very informed opinions and serve as a strong defense for the Church), like us.
*Don’t speak with someone who is opposed to your beliefs or Church.
*Call on the Lord again and again and you can receive Personal Revelation
Remember all humans including Prophets, Bishops and members, make mistakes. Most of your answers should come from the scriptures and from the spirit of the Lord. You may not always feel you get answers that way, so at times we rely too much on the Church Prophet speaking as a man, or on a website or with an apologist, but we should then always take everything to the Lord for confirmation. Man has opinions and suggestions, but not ultimate answers of truth, as the Lord’s Spirit does testify.
Brigham Young said, “There is nothing that would so soon weaken my hope and discourage me as to see this people in full fellowship with the world and receive no more persecution from them because they are one with them. In such an event, we might bid farewell to the Holy Priesthood with all its blessings, privileges, and aids to exaltations, principalities and powers in the eternities of the Gods. (JD 10:32)” Brigham Young
Since your question is so important to me I want you to know where I am coming from so you can make up your own mind if I speak the truth or not. I want to give you the websites of some Apologists like me and the people above I mentioned that could help you.
I would like you to know the most important thing I learned from your email, is that you are hanging on [Better stated, Enduring to the end], due to your faith in the Savior. You understand that the only way to know the Book of Mormon is true is to read, ponder and pray about it, and if you are sincere, the Spirit will witness of its truthfulness as it has to you and it has to myself. If that book is true, then Joseph Smith is, and was a Prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t get caught up in all the chatter about polygamy and seer stones until your faith is so strong that you absolutely know by the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true. I will give you some ideas to help reduce that clutter as well.
Here is a wonderful article to read from Elder Holland that will explain that things of the Spirit and of the Head are both important, and those things we research and learn are a necessary second witnesses to the truth of the Book of Mormon. See the Article Here: and You Tube Here:
Understand there are many Apologists and most all of us love the Lord and this True Church, but we all have a different interpretation of some very important issues. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral on some positions that we as Apologists are not neutral. For example the Church is neutral on the questions about geography, evolution, and DNA. No apologist can receive revelation about any Doctrine of the Church. We can only share our personal witnesses and beliefs.
There are many complicated issues and the Church tells you many non-doctrinal answers on the Gospel Topic Essays Here. Since the Church is neutral on some of these issues, you will find that very few Apologists are neutral on their personal opinions. We each answer the questions below differently. There are however two main apologist groups.
1-Those who believe the Book of Mormon first events happened in Mesoamerica (Called M2C) which means they believe there are two Hill’s, one in NY where the plates were buried, and one on a hill someplace in Mexico where the final battles of the Book of Mormon happened).
2- Those like myself who believe the events of the Book of Mormon happened in the Heartland of the United States (Called the Heartland Model), we believe the Hill Cumorah in upstate NY is both the place the plates were found, and it is also the same place where the final battles happened for both the Nephites and the Jaredites.) Ether 15:11 Mormon 6:6
There are over 50 other theories of where the events began or happened (Baja, South America, Malaysia, New York area, etc), but the above two are the majority of beliefs in the vast majority of the Church.
I am happy to answer where I stand on each subject listed below. It really comes down to this. Is there one Hill Cumorah which many Prophets and Apostles speak about [See Here], or are there two Hill’s as those with many different theories say, there has to be a 2nd Hill in Malaysia, Baja, South America, Mexico, Chile, etc. There is a third theory that is very small called the New York Theory, who believe in one Hill Cumorah but they believe all events happened only in New York around the Great Lakes which we think is too small of an area. I believe the Book of Mormon geography includes the City Zarahemla (D&C 125) which is across the Mississippi River from Nauvoo called Montrose, Iowa, and extends to Hill Cumorah in NY and is the area north of the Ohio River to the south.
Hinterland Theory or Limited Model [LM]
In the early 1900’s the Church and many others believed the entire South America was the land South and where the Lamanites lived, and the entire North America was North and where the Nephites lived, and the narrow Isthmus of Tehuantepec or Panama, between the two Continents was the narrow neck of land. This was called the “Hemispheric Theory” [HM] of the Book of Mormon, which the Mesoamerican Theory people, and the Heartland Theory people, don’t believe any more. Both groups believe in the Hinterland Model of LM. [As shown in the map left. Most all under stand the events of the Book of Mormon could not be held in that large of an area as the entire Western Continent. Both sides agree that Lehi traveled from Jerusalem paralleling the Red Sea and then heading east at Nahom to Oman near Khar Kharfoot, where the first Land Bountiful was. The M2Cer, believes that Lehi traveled east by boat toward India and around the Pacific Ocean to land near Guatemala and spreading out in a Limited area surrounding Mexico near Guatemala. Heartlanders believe Lehi traveled SW from Oman sailing around Africa and landed in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee Florida [Both called Limited Models LM, or Hinterland Hypothesis].
Many Heartlanders are Conservative or believe in the Traditional history of the Church. Many in the M2C camp are more Liberal or Intellectual and believe in the Revisionist history of the Church. I feel many Traditional Mormons would answer questions about sensitive non-doctrinal issues, similar to me as follows:
DNA- We (Heartlanders) believe there is Hebrew DNA in many Native American Indians near the Great Lakes of the Algonquian and Iroquois tribes. Only Asian DNA has been found amongst the people of South, Central and Western America, such as amongst other Western Native Americans of the United States and Alaska. We believe most of those living in the South Pacific Islands are of Israelite blood, (Hagoth or Mixture of Joseph and Judah) We haven’t found Hebrew DNA markers for those in South and Central America. We have found DNA evidence of Natiive Americans in the Great Lakes area with Hebrew Haplogroup X, that is also found in the Jerusalem area. M2C believe the Asian DNA found in Central America is because the Asian population over took any Hebrew DNA that may have existed during the time of Lehi.
Evolution: We do not believe a cat could evolve into a dog and we don’t believe an ape can evolve into Man. A poodle may be able to become a a different species of dog, however. We do believe in evolution defined as change or adaptation within a species. Most intellectuals believe we plausibly evolved from and ape.
Translation of the Gold Plates: We believe they were translated by the gift and power of God, with Joseph using the breastplate and two clear stones in a silver bow (Like spectacles) attached to the breastplate [see JSH 1:35], that were found in the same hill as the plates. Most M2C followers believe the stone in the hat method of translation.
Seer Stones: We believe Joseph had several seer stones that were used as beautiful stones or for faithful things by Joseph, but Joseph did not use the seer stones he found near Palmyra, by putting one or more stones into his hat to translate the the Book of Mormon. If he did use this method, he would be just reading words from a seer stone that someone gave him to be written down so he wouldn’t have “translated” the plates but just would have dictated the words to Oliver.
Politics- We are mostly very conservative, love the US Constitution and our Founding Fathers. We believe in the right to bear arms and freedom of speech. Most of us don’t agree with many of the politics of liberal left leanings, and we love the great freedoms that have been given to us as conservatives. We don’t approve of the socialized version of big government. We believe in prayer to choose our best leaders.
Polygamy- [better understood as “Celestial Plural Marriage” in the Church]. We believe Joseph Smith and Brigham Young were following the commandments of God just as Abraham and others were instructed. Satan just uses this highly controversial idea to get us to doubt things and creates evil ideas between sides. Only about 3% of the entire church ever practiced polygamy, [Celestial Plural Marriage]. We believe when the Lord commands us, we should listen. Joseph Smith restored an important part of the Gospel.
Science- We believe the dinosaurs lived during the Old Testament and were created just before Adam, and were killed during the great world wide flood. We also believe that most rocks you see today were created during the flood which was an event that happened at about 2345 BC. Most Intellectuals believe the dinosaurs are millions of years old and some believe the flood was a regional flood, as Heartlanders believe the flood was universal.
Creationism- We believe Adam was the first man on earth and Eve the first woman placed on this earth around 4,000 BC, and the earth is only about 13,000 years old, [Young Earth] but the material of the earth is billions of years old, or eternal, as matter cannot be created but has existed forever. Many intellectuals believe the earth is 4.5 billion [Old Earth] years old as the consensus on google says. Many M2Cer also believe in cave men and men on earth before Adam. We don’t.
Just so you know, many who we call the M2C [Mesoamerican 2 Cumorah] theory, do not believe the way many Traditionalists believe. Those of the M2C theory are just as valiant as Heartlanders are in the Church, and both are trying to help others as we are. We just have different beliefs is some matters that are not doctrinal.
Below are the websites that believe M2C: Also many BYU professors are part of these websites. Some of these websites are listed on the Church website as approved Apologists for the Church. What that means to many on these M2C websites is they are neutral on the questions I answered, which I don’t believe. I believe many in these organizations are against Heartlanders beliefs about geography, translation instruments, age of earth and other non-doctrinal issues. Heartlanders are not neutral on geography, as we believe there is only one Hill Cumorah, and the final battles happened around the Hill Cumorah, and the majority believe Joseph did not use a rock in a hat to translate, but as scripture says, in JSH 1:35, and other places, that Joseph used the breastplate and the spectacles that were in the stone box with the gold plates. Please don’t just take my word for it, read and ponder and pray and the Lord will help you.
Here are several articles I wrote about artifacts found around Hill Cumorah. At my blog, just do a search for any subject and you will find some help.
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/many-bones-at-cumorah/
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/history-near-hill-cumorah/
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/cumorah-not-a-clean-hill/
Here are some additional helps on various topics
Scripture Based Geography: Rod Meldrum
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/the-scriptural-basis-for-book-of-mormon-geography-by-rod-meldrum/
Proper Translation: Rian Nelson
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=17302&action=edit&classic-editor
Polygamy [Celestial Plural Marriage]: Hannah Stoddard
https://josephsmithfoundation.org/audio/ces-letter-faith-crisis-hannah-stoddard-latter-day-radio-june-2018/
Mesoamerican Predominant Theory Websites:
Fair Latter Day Saints
The Interpreter
Book of Mormon Central
Meridian Magazine or Latter Day Saint Magazine
Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum
Here are links to some websites that FIRM Foundation recommends:
https://bookofmormonevidence.org/website-affiliates/
I love truth and it is seldom an easy thing to find, yet finding it, is most enjoyable when we understand it. If we pass this test of life, as the Lord has promised we may have all the things that He has. I know part of the test is how we treat others who disagree with us. No one knows all truth, and we try and work together to ultimately live as the Savior wants, and build up the Kingdom of God on earth. What a wonderful goal to work towards. May the Lord bless you my friends.
Rian Nelson
Below is a video about coming together of two side’s with Rod Meldrum of FIRM Foundation speaking on the same stage at the FIRM Foundation Conference April 20, 2024, with new President of Scripture Central [Book of Mormon Central] Richard Ferguson, about working together to find truth about the Book of Mormon.
