Peer review: Jack Welch on the timeline, etc.

Scripture Central released a "Church History Matters" podcast feature Jack Welch, along with Scott Woodward and Casey Griffiths. All great guys, faithful Latter-day Saints, smart scholars, effective teachers, etc. 

I enjoyed the podcast and recommend it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnyfgCrgREk

However, it's weird that no one questions what Jack says. While most of the podcast was great, there are topics in the conversation that deserved more attention. In this post we'll make recommendations for improvement for the next time Jack does an interview on these topics.

I posted my detailed comments on Jack's translation timeline on my Scripture Central Peer Reviews blog, here:

https://scripturecentralpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2025/02/peer-review-of-jack-welchs-translation.html

The podcast covered three topic that I'll discuss briefly here: SITH, the trip to Fayette, and intertextuality.

Note: quotations from the podcast in blue, other quotations in green.

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1. SITH. 

It was surprising to watch Jack refer to Martin Harris' dubious "dark as Egypt" quotation to support the idea that Joseph used the seer stone-in-the-hat (SITH) while dictating the first part of the Book of Mormon (the 116 pages that were lost). 

https://youtu.be/HnyfgCrgREk?t=182

Although Martin's statement has long been used to support SITH, by now it's well known that the first known publication of the story was an 1881 article, published 52 years after the alleged events, eleven years after Martin allegedly related it to Stevenson on the train to Utah, and six years after Martin died in 1875. None of the many people who spoke with Martin after he came to Utah related the story.

During the train ride to Utah, Martin gave an interview to an Iowa newspaper in which he said nothing about a stone but instead said, "There was also found in the chest, the Urim and Thummim, by means of which the writing upon the plates was translated."

Jack also proposed that "Joseph learned a very stern lesson" from the supposed stone-swapping and that he determined that going forward, "he was going to do it precisely the way Moroni told him." Jack imagines that Joseph told Oliver 

"I'm going to use the Urim and Thummim and I need to put the clear Urim and Thummim stones in a hat because it's hard to see in this room, you need light in order to write, so I'm going to shelter that so it's not in the bright light so I can read these words as they're appearing on the stones."

https://youtu.be/HnyfgCrgREk?t=450

That's one way to reconcile the various accounts of the translation. Of course, neither Joseph nor Oliver talked about putting stones in a hat. The SITH narrative was popularized in 1834 by Mormonism Unvailed as an alternative to the Urim and Thummim narrative.

The translation finally commenced. They were found to contain a language not now known upon the earth which they termed "reformed Egyptian characters." The plates, therefore, which had been so much talked of, were found to be of no manner of use. After all, the Lord showed and communicated to him every word and letter of the Book. Instead of looking at the characters inscribed upon the plates, the prophet was obliged to resort to the old "peep stone," which he formerly used in money-digging. This he placed in a hat, or box, into which he also thrust his face. Through the stone he could then discover a single word at a time, which he repeated aloud to his amanuensis, who committed it to paper, when another word would immediately appear, and thus the performance continued to the end of the book.

Another account they give of the translation, is, that it was performed with the big spectacles before mentioned, and which were in fact, the identical Urim and Thumim mentioned in Exodus 28 - 30, and were brought away from Jerusalem by the heroes of the book... [Obviously the author misunderstood the origin of Moroni's U&T here.]

https://www.mormonismi.net/pdf/Mormonism_Unvailed_Howe.pdf 

The first paragraph is precisely what many modern LDS scholars teach today. Instead, Oliver and Joseph both repeatedly emphasized that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates.

Nevertheless, many modern scholars prefer SITH to the Urim and Thummim narrative. 

I find something Lucy Mack Smith (Joseph's mother) said persuasive because it is so "matter-of-fact," like everyone knew how Joseph used the Urim and Thummim. Plus, her statement corroborates D&C 10:41 and Oliver's statements: 

"In the mean time Joseph was 150 miles distant and knew naught of the matter e[x]cept an intimation that was given through the urim and thumim for as he one morning applied the<​m​> latter to his eyes to look upon the record instead of the words of the book being given him he was commanded to write a letter to one David Whitmore [Whitmer] this man Joseph had never seen but he was instructed to say him that he must come with his team immediately...

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/lucy-mack-smith-history-1844-1845/100

It seems axiomatic that for Joseph to "translate the engravings which are on the plates" (D&C 10:41) he would "look upon the record" to translate the engravings. 

After all, Joseph explained that once he arrived in Harmony in December 1827, "I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them." (Joseph Smith—History 1:62) When he copied and translated the characters, he was engaging with the plates. He never said or implied that at some point he stopped translating the engravings by merely reading words that appeared on stones in a hat.

But people can believe whatever they want. I would just like to see interviewers raise these points whenever guests talk about the stone-in-the-hat (SITH). Usually the SITH proponents just ignore what Joseph and Oliver said.

2. Trip to Fayette.

Jack mentions that at the end of May Joseph and Oliver finished their work in Harmony and went up to Fayette to the Whitmer farm. 

https://youtu.be/HnyfgCrgREk?t=665

He didn't mention, and neither Scott nor Casey asked him about, their encounter with the messenger who had the plates and was taking them to Cumorah.

Of course, we don't expect Jack to mention that. He censored it from Opening the Heavens, as we discussed here:

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2017/12/opening-heavens-but-censoring-history.html

Jack (along with everyone else at Scripture Central) is heavily invested in the narrative that it was Moroni who showed the plates to Mary Whitmer, so he doesn't call attention to (or even tell readers about) David Whitmer's statement that Joseph identified the messenger as one of the Three Nephites. See https://www.mobom.org/trip-to-fayette-references

But still, any time he discusses the translation timeline, interviewers should ask him specifically about the messenger who took the plates to Cumorah before arriving in Fayette.

This account used to be in Church curriculum. It was in my old Seminary manual. It is well attested in at least two accounts David Whitmer gave to LDS leaders. Latter-day Saints everywhere should know about it.

3. "Swallowed up" in Isaiah 25 and 1 Cor. 15.

There was an interesting discussion about some textual details in the Book of Mormon, such as chiasmus and Hebrew connections. Naturally they didn't mention the Jonathan Edwards material, but one example they gave is a good example of why I think Edwards was influential on Joseph Smith as translator.

Jack pointed out that 1 Cor. 15:54 quotes from Isaiah 25:8.

https://youtu.be/HnyfgCrgREk?t=3091

then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (1 Cor. 15:54)

He will swallow up death in victory (Isaiah 25:8)

Then he showed that Mosiah 16:8 is a bit different.

But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. (Mosiah 16:8)

Isaiah 25:8 uses the Hebrew word netzach or neṣaḥ. Jack asks, 

"what does netzach mean? Well if you look in a Hebrew dictionary you can see that 

netzach means three different things. One is Victory but it can also mean the Victor and so in Mosiah 16 when Abinadi quotes Isaiah and is explaining it he says don't you guys get this? Death will be swallowed up in Christ. Who's Christ? He's the Victor and Isaiah is being used to substantiate that."

That sounds great. It's the topic of a BYU Studies article. Neither Scott nor Casey questioned it.

But if you look it up, most translations of Isaiah 25:8, in English and other languages, don't use "victory" at all. Some do (possibly influenced by the KJV, or an effort to match 1 Cor. because Paul used the Greek word nike, meaning victory), but most use "forever" instead. Examples from 

https://biblehub.com/isaiah/25-8.htm

New International Version
he will swallow up death forever. 

English Standard Version
He will swallow up death forever;

New King James Version
He will swallow up death forever,

International Standard Version
he has swallowed up death forever!

New Revised Standard Version
he will swallow up death forever.

American Standard Version
He hath swallowed up death for ever;

Louis Segond Bible
Il anéantit la mort pour toujours;

Isaías 25:8 Spanish: La Biblia de las Américas
El destruirá la muerte para siempre;

Jesaja 25:8 German: Luther (1912)
Er wird den Tod verschlingen ewiglich;

Jesaja 25:8 German: Textbibel (1899)
Vernichten wird er den Tod für immer,

If you look it up in Strong's as Jack suggested, the definitions are consistent with the concept of "forever," although "victory" is used twice in the KJV.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5331/kjv/wlc/0-1/

So how did Jack get from "victory" to "victor" to "Christ" in Mosiah 16:8?

The analysis is a bit convoluted. Obviously Jack was merely summarizing the BYU Studies article, which is fine, so he didn't get into the detail. Anyone interested should read the article and see how it rationalizes the different wording in the Book of Mormon.

https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/death-being-swallowed-up-in-netzach-in-the-bible-and-the-book-of-mormon/

The BYU Studies article adds a third reference, this time to Alma 27:28; i.e., "death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it."

Thus the article discusses nuances of the Hebrew term netzach to explain the three instances in the Book of Mormon.

Swallowed up in Christ

Swallowed up in the hopes of glory

swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it

While the expansion of the Hebrew term seems like a stretch, it's not unreasonable. It's one of multiple working hypotheses.

But here's what the article, Jack's interview, and all the other content at Scripture Central doesn't discuss: the alternative working hypothesis that Joseph Smith translated the engravings on the plates with his own vocabulary and understanding; i.e., after the manner of his language.

I've proposed that Joseph, like every other translator, drew upon his own mental language bank to express the meaning of the engravings on the plates.

Besides the scriptural and historical evidence of this, there is the evidence from the non-biblical language in the text, both of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Readers of this blog know that I've been annotating both texts to show the influence of Jonathan Edwards, whose 8-volume set of works, published in 1808, was on sale in the Palmyra bookshop that Joseph visited regularly.

https://www.mobom.org/jonathan-edwards

The three examples that Jack and the BYU Studies article mentioned relate to Jonathan Edwards, and I think provide a much simpler explanation than the speculative excursion into possible Hebrew connections. 

All three examples are non-biblical.

Swallowed up in Christ

Swallowed up in the hopes of glory

swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it

To be sure, the phrase "swallowed up" appears in this frequency: OT (11) NT (4) BM (15). 

But "swallowed up in Christ" appears only once in the scriptures, in the Book of Mormon. 

"Hopes of glory" appears only once, again in the Book of Mormon, but "hope of glory" appears twice, once in Col. 1:27 and once in Jacob 4:11.

And "victory of Christ" appears only once, again in the Book of Mormon.

In my view, Joseph as translator naturally drew upon his own vocabulary, including "chunks" of language such as phrases. He would be familiar with "chunks" of language from Jonathan Edwards, James Hervey, and others readily available in the Palmyra bookshop.

1. Swallowed up in Christ-Mosiah 16:8

In the 1808 edition, Jonathan Edwards used the phrase "swallowed up in Christ" in one of the passages that, in my opinion, would have had particular significance to Joseph Smith because Edwards related his experience in the woods when he had "a view... of the glory of the Son of God."

His blood and atonement have appeared sweet, and his righteousness sweet; which was always accompanied with ardency of spirit; and inward struggling and breathings, and groanings that cannot be uttered, to be emptied of myself, and swallowed up in Christ.

Once, as I rode out into the woods for my health, in 1737, having alighted from my horse in a retired place, as my manner commonly has been, to walk for divine contemplation and prayer, I had a view that for me was extraordinary, of the glory of the Son of God, as Mediator between God and man, and his wonderful, great, full, pure and sweet grace and love, and meek and gentle condescension. This grace that appeared so calm and sweet, appeared also great above the heavens. The person of Christ appeared ineffably excellent with an excellency great enough to swallow up all thought and conception which continued as near as I can judge, about an hour; which kept me, the bigger part of the time, in a flood of tears, and weeping aloud. I felt withal, an ardency of soul to be, what I know not otherwise how to express, than to be emptied and annihilated; to lie in the dust, and to be full of Christ alone; to love him with a holy and pure love; to trust in him; to live upon him; to serve and follow him, and to be perfectly sanctified and made pure, with a divine and heavenly purity. I have, several other times, had views very much of the same nature, and which have had the same effects.

Edwards also used the phrase here: "So the soul, by a vital union with Christ and by the faculties being as it were swallowed up in Christ, are altered, sanctified and sweetened..." with other variations including "swallowed up in God" and "swallowed up in him."

In these instances, Edwards was not referring specifically to death, but that's not significant. Royal Skousen has pointed out how often the text blends different passages from the KJV, which seems natural for any translator to do. I'm just saying that the text also blends different passages from Jonathan Edwards, which is exactly what we should expect if Joseph actually translated the engravings on the plates. After all, he said he had an "intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations."

2. Swallowed up in the hopes of glory-Alma 22:14

As mentioned above, in Col. 1:27 Paul wrote "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory," equating Christ with the "hope of glory." This makes the phrase a synonym for Christ, making Alma 22:14 simply a restatement of Mosiah 16:8. 

Edwards used the phrase "hope of glory" several times, usually quoting Col. 1:27. 

Except Alma 22:14 uses the plural "hopes," which, if not a scribal error, changes the meaning from Christ specifically to a more aspirational set of hopes of salvation: "the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory." (Alma 22:14) 

Edwards, too, used a plural form in a similar sense. Commenting on Stephen, he wrote, "that he might be encouraged, by the hopes of this glory, cheerfully to lay down his life for his sake. Accordingly he dies in the hope of this; saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." By which doubtless he meant, "Receive my spirit to be with thee, in that glory, wherein I have now seen thee..." 

Romans 5:2 has another variation: "rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Edwards commented that "The Apostle is here speaking of an hope of glory as the fruit of our justification and peace with God." This is the aspirational sense Alma may have meant by using the plural.

Jacob 4:4 uses yet another variation: "we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us." Moroni 9:25 also uses the phrase "hope of his glory." These are variations on the biblical "hope of the glory of God" from Romans 5:2.

Separately, it's interesting that Jacob 4:11 also uses the phrase, except with an adjective: "having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh."

Edwards also used that specific phrase: "a true sense of the love of God, and a good hope of glory, are things worth taking pains for."

3. Swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it-Alma 27:28

Edwards used the phrase "victory of Christ" three times in the 1808 edition, usually referring to the victory of Christ and his church, along with other variations. Separately, he wrote this passage:

His bursting their bonds represents Christ's bursting the bonds of death when he rose from the dead. The victory he obtained afterwards represents the glorious victory of Christ.

This memorable non-biblical phrase would likely have been part of Joseph's mental language bank.

To summarize, when we're looking at the sources of the text of the Book of Mormon, especially when examining intertextuality, we should not overlook the works of Jonathan Edwards.

Dialogue lacking at Scripture Central

In the ongoing pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding, let's consider some recent observations by Elder Soares. He spoke at the Global Faith Forum in Washington, DC. Among other things, he said “Peace is not passive. It requires dialogue and action to protect it and spread it throughout society.”

Photo from https://x.com/Ulisses__Soares/status/1887253089436172646/photo/3

He also quoted a Swiss theologian, Hans Küng, who observed, “There will be no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. There will be no peace among the religions, without dialogue among the religions.”

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2025/02/03/apostle-faith-protecting-human-rights-pivotal-to-peacemaking-essential-for-believers/

The importance of dialogue should be obvious to everyone. Like most people, I strongly favor dialogue for the reasons Elder Soares listed. I posted about his comments here as well:

https://nomorecontention.blogspot.com/2025/02/three-benefits-of-friendship-ulisses.html

Plus, dialogue is fun and engaging.

But apparently not to the management, employees, and contributors at Scripture Central.

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Since its inception, Scripture Central (and Book of Mormon Central, FARMS, and BMAF before it) has refused to engage in dialogue with faithful Latter-day Saints who still believe the teachings of the prophets about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.

The reason? Because the founders and management of Scripture Central and its predecessors have convinced themselves that:

1. The prophets were wrong when they taught that the Hill Cumorah/Ramah is in western New York.

2. As Royal Skousen has declared, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery deliberately misled everyone about the translation of the Book of Mormon.

This is not a question of "Book of Mormon geography" or "which stone Joseph used." 

That is pejorative framing designed to dismiss those who disagree with Scripture Central's interpretations. 

Instead, these are questions directly related to the credibility and reliability of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

It's a simple dichotomy. 

- Scripture Central and its affiliates reject what Joseph and Oliver taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. 

- Other faithful Latter-day Saints still believe what they taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. 

But Scripture Central refuses to engage in dialogue with anyone who doesn't agree with their repudiation of the teachings of the prophets on these topics.

It's axiomatic that people can believe whatever they want.

In my view, though, people cannot make informed decisions without having access to all the relevant information. President Nelson taught that "Good inspiration is based upon good information." 

To be specific, how can any Latter-day Saint make an informed decision about the credibility and reliability of what Joseph and Oliver said about Cumorah without knowing both (i) what they said and (ii) the evidence that corroborates their teaching?

Yet Scripture Central, so far, has refused to provide its readers, viewers and listeners with this basic information.

_____

Here's hoping that Scripture Central will one day heed the advice of Elder Soares and engage in actual dialogue with faithful Latter-day Saints who don't share the Scripture Central narratives about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.

Cumorahphobia and cures

In the ongoing pursuit of clarity, charity and understanding, it may be helpful to think of the Cumorah issue as a psychological condition, which I call Cumorahphobia. 

No one is at fault. It's just a type of mind virus that can be easily cured. 

There are surely a variety of causes of Cumorahphobia. One may be the desire to avoid contention, which is laudable. But problems don't get resolved by ignoring them. 

There's no need to fear the name Cumorah so long as Latter-day Saints understand the context of the historical sources, the teachings of the prophets, and the corroborating evidence. Obviously Cumorah has been important in the history of the Church and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It's mentioned several times in the scriptures and in the teachings of the prophets.

Scholars and ordinary Latter-day Saints have a variety of opinions (multiple working hypotheses), but not mentioning the name Cumorah accentuates the differences, generates confusion, and prevents people from making informed decisions for themselves. Differences can be acknowledged and discussed in the spirit of clarity, charity and understanding, with zero contention or animosity.

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The pursuit of clarity leads us to make recommendations for improvements throughout Latter-day Saint scholarship and individual study materials, including curriculum, podcasts, books, websites, etc. 

I hope these recommendations will encourage Latter-day Saint scholars and their followers to discuss Cumorah more openly and frankly. Such a pursuit of clarity will help unify Latter-day Saints everywhere and align them with both authentic Church history and the teachings of the prophets.

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In 1842, Joseph Smith wrote "Glad tidings from Cumorah!" (D&C 128:20)

In 2025, the name Cumorah seems to have become anathema for many LDS scholars.

Cumorahphobia--the fear of mentioning the actual name of the "hill in New York" where the golden plates were deposited--is a mind virus that has spread widely among Latter-day Saints, thanks to the efforts of certain LDS scholars, particularly those affiliated with Scripture Central. 

It usually accompanies the condition of Mesomania (the virus that causes M2C).

Our friends at Scripture Central aren't the only ones who have Cumorahphobia, but they are the most prominent carriers.

Fortunately, Cumorahphobia is curable. Seriously, there's no need to fear the name "Cumorah." We can all read it in authentic Church history sources and the teachings of the prophets. We can all discuss Cumorah in a spirit of charity and understanding, based on clarity, and then we can make informed decisions for ourselves.

But to cure a disease, we first have to identify the symptoms.

In the Harry Potter books/movies, Voldemort is "He who must not be named." 

Among LDS scholars, historians and educators, Cumorah is the "Hill who must not be named"

Here are some examples.

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Scripture Central infamously repudiates the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah/Ramah in New York, as we've discussed here:

https://scripturecentralpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2025/01/kno-why-489-where-is-hill-cumorah.html

Cure: revise the Kno-Why with additional perspectives that corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

Recently Scripture Central posted a video titled "The Missing Evidence for the Book of Mormon Battle," which uses a series of logical fallacies to repudiate the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah/Ramah in New York, here (which we'll review soon on the peer review blog):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHxjIunNJ8M

Cure: edit the video with additional perspectives that corroborate the teachings of the prophets, and/or produce videos that specifically corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

For years, Scripture Central's affiliate Book of Mormon Central depicted Cumorah in southern Mexico, an explicit repudiation of the teachings of the prophets, on its affiliate page here:

Cure: delete the map, and/or use it in conjunction with multiple working hypotheses, such as maps that corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

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Other examples of Cumorahphobia include FAIRLDS, the Interpreter, the Saints book, volume 1, the Come Follow Me lesson manual, and even the Joseph Smith Papers.

Let's consider these in reverse order (chiasmus).

I've discussed Cumorah in my series on suggestions for improvement in the Joseph Smith Papers, here:

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2025/02/2025-improvements-jsp-on-cumorah.html

Cure: edit the material as suggested in that post.

The Come Follow Me lesson manual for the Book of Mormon, both in 2020 and 2024, never once mentions the name Cumorah. The manuals don't even include a reading from Mormon 6. The lesson manual for 2025 on the Doctrine and Covenants also doesn't mention Cumorah (D&C 128:20). This is appropriate in the sense that the manuals focus on individual spirituality, but the omission reflects the Cumorahphobia problem because Latter-day Saints can read for themselves how important Cumorah was both anciently and in modern times.

Cure: provide Latter-day Saints with references to authentic historical sources and the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah, without getting into the geography issue.

We've previously discussed the censorship of Cumorah in the Saints book. It's bizarre that a book about early Church history never mentions the name Cumorah, except in the , here:

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/saints-in-seminary-and-institute-classes.html

and here:

https://saintsreview.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-hill-in-new-york-problem.html

Cure: edit the material as suggested in those posts to provide an authentic, accurate historical narrative present.

The management of the Interpreter and FAIRLDS have long been adamant that the Hill Cumorah/Ramah cannot be in New York. Their repudiation of the teachings of the prophets is so well known that there's no need to cite specific examples here.

Cure: provide articles and other material from multiple working hypotheses, including perspectives that corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

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In some cases, the omission of Cumorah from the discussion is appropriate, such as in the Gospel Topics entry on Book of Mormon Geography, which we discussed here:

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/p/book-of-mormon-geography-essay.html

That essay appropriately addresses speculation about Book of Mormon Geography, which is a separate issue from Cumorah/Ramah. The teachings of the prophets have always distinguished between the known fact of Cumorah/Ramah in New York vs the multiple working hypotheses about the setting of the Book of Mormon events.

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Podcast-MBR on Joseph Smith, etc.

Mormon Book Reviews released a new podcast yesterday titled "New Approaches to Joseph Smith." You should definitely watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u9-6k0k0Y4

In my view, it makes a big difference to see how God prepared Joseph Smith from his youth for his future role as translator and prophet, instead of the narrative that Joseph was an ignorant farm boy who said a prayer out loud.

As we've discussed before, Joseph himself said the Restoration started when he was a young boy. His brush with death through his leg surgery and recovery made him a religious seeker, as he explained in his 1832 history.

For additional material, see 

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2024/09/joseph-smith-early-years.html

and

https://www.ldshistoricalnarratives.com/2024/09/the-embarrassed-narrative-and-sith.html

From Joseph's experience, we each learn that our own spiritual development and relationship with God is directly linked to our desires and the effort we employ to seek God. Which is what the scriptures have said all along.

This is also important for understanding Joseph as a translator, as he and Oliver said. IOW, he didn't merely read words that appeared on the stone-in-the-hat (SITH), but he actually translated the engravings on the plates, as the Lord instructed him, using the Urim and Thummim that came with the plates (D&C 10:41).

_____

Related to this, I uploaded another annotation of a chapter in the Book of Mormon, in this case Alma 12.

https://www.mobom.org/bm-kjv-and-je-alma-12

and here:

https://dailyjonathanedwards.blogspot.com/2025/01/alma-12-annotated.html

If you'd like the Word version, which is easier to follow because the footnotes are at the end of each page, just email me at lostzarahemla@gmail.com and I'll email it to you.

You can see all the annotated chapters here:

https://www.mobom.org/jonathan-edwards

It's cool to see how Joseph employed his own vocabulary and knowledge to translate the plates "after the manner of his language."

Plus, seeing the connections with Jonathan Edwards expands the text considerably, just like seeing the connections with the Bible does.

Updated "Simplicity" post

By far the most popular post on this blog over the years has been the one titled "Simplicity."

I recently updated it. 

You can see it here:

https://www.bookofmormoncentralamerica.com/2016/05/simplicity.html

Feel free to share it widely.

Or better, share this link to the Scripture Central Peer Reviews:

https://scripturecentralpeerreviews.blogspot.com/2025/01/simplicity-two-sets-of-assumptions.html

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When we compare the two sets of assumptions, we're reminded of this wisdom from Naval Ravikant.

"It is the mark of a charlatan to explain a simple concept in a complex way" - @naval

Follow the money-Scripture Central, M2C and SITH

M2C and SITH continue to be cited as among the top reasons why people lose their faith in the Restoration. This is obvious when leading LDS scholars teach that Joseph and Oliver deliberately misled everyone about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. 

Few if any people join the Church and remain active because of the theories of scholars, but when the scholars repudiate the teachings of the prophets, they cause people to question their faith. 

People often ask how and why so many LDS scholars and their followers continue to promote M2C and SITH. 

It's an easy answer: just follow the money. 

It's basically the same reason why Americans spend more on health care than any other country, with the worst medical outcomes of any developed country, as we'll see below. The solution for the health care outcomes is relatively easy, except that the solution impinges on big corporate interests who fund the politicians.

Likewise, the tragedy is that Scripture Central could easily solve this problem by simply 

(i) acknowledging the teachings of the prophets and 

(ii) acknowledging the evidence that corroborates those teachings and

(iii) encouraging Latter-day Saints and their friends to make informed decisions.

But so far, Scripture Central continues to refuse to do these three things.

_____

Scripture Central raises and spends millions of dollars annually. No other LDS academic organization comes close.

To participate with Scripture Central as management, as an employee, as a volunteer, as a content creator, or in any other way, you must comply with the Scripture Central's position on the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon. 

This means you must agree to repudiate the teachings of the prophets about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon; i.e., you must believe, or at least promote, 

(i) the Mesoamerican/two-Cumorahs theory (M2C) of the setting of the Book of Mormon, and 

(ii) the stone-in-the-hat (SITH) explanation for the origin of the Book of Mormon.

In fact, to participate with Scripture Central, you can't even teach what the prophets have taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon because both M2C and SITH expressly and explicitly repudiate the teachings of the prophets about Cumorah/Ramah and the Urim and Thummim. 

We've documented numerous examples of this from Tyler Griffin and others, but in coming days we'll document even more.

Because Scripture Central controls the money, if you want to be an LDS scholar in the present world, you have to comply with--and promote--SITH and M2C.

Scripture Central hosts and coordinates and promotes specific social media influencers, on the condition that they in turn promote M2C and SITH.

Scripture Central funds independent researchers, on the condition that they in turn promote M2C and SITH.

Although much of their content is published anonymously, this list of their "content creators" consists exclusively of people who promote M2C and SITH.

(click to enlarge)

Think about this: for all of 2024, when Come Follow Me focused on the Book of Mormon, these "content creators" generated numerous articles, podcasts, videos, and other content, but not one of them ever once quoted what Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery taught about the origin and setting of the Book of Mormon.

Instead, they promoted their own theories and quoted and cited one another. It's amazing, but not surprising if you follow the money.

(In case I missed an example, let me know so I can correct this post. Email me at lostzarahemla@gmail.com).

_____

Now, here's the analogy to the US health care system:

RFK Jr. explaining the US health care system

Camus

@newstart_2024

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: "Today, over 100 members of Congress support a bill to fund Ozempic with Medicare at $1,500 a month. Most of these members have taken money from the manufacturer of that product, a European company called Novo Nordisk. As everyone knows, once a drug is approved for Medicare, it goes to Medicaid." "And there is a push to recommend Ozempic for Americans as young as six over a condition, obesity, that is completely preventable and barely even existed 100 years ago. Since 74% of Americans are obese, the cost of all of them, if they take their Ozempic prescriptions, will be $3 trillion a year. This is a drug that has made Novo Nordisk the biggest company in Europe." "It's a Danish company, but the Danish government does not recommend it. It recommends a change in diet to treat obesity and exercise. Virtually Novo Nordisk's entire value is based upon its projections of what Ozempic is going to sell to Americans. For half the price of Ozempic, we could purchase regeneratively raised organic agriculture, organic food for every American three meals a day and gym membership for every obese American." "Why are members of Congress doing the bidding of this Danish company instead of standing up for American farmers and children? Because Novo Nordisk is one of the largest funders of medical research, the media and politicians and the medical schools all go along with them."

https://x.com/newstart_2024/status/1884616729289978182

The narrow neck of land found!

Yesterday I visited an actual narrow neck of land that connects a land northward and a land southward that are surrounded by water in an island of the sea.

Looking southward:

(click to enlarge)

A wide-angle shot shows how narrow the neck is. It could be described as a narrow neck, a narrow passage, or even a small neck of land.

Looking northward, the neck expands into a large island.

On the map it's easy to see the land northward and southward connected by the narrow neck.

To get to Bruny Island we took a ferry from Kettering, Tasmania.

Obviously I don't think this is the land of the Book of Mormon, but it makes the point that once people reject the teachings of the prophets, the way the management and scholars at Scripture Central do, there is no principled limit on the possible settings of the Book of Mormon.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of locations around the world that could fit the description in the Book of Mormon.

That's why it is essential for Latter-day Saints to start by accepting the teachings of the prophets about the New York Cumorah/Ramah. Even when we have the Cumorah pin in the map, there are numerous plausible scenarios, but at least they corroborate the teachings of the prophets.

Bruny Island, south of Hobart