Joseph Smith consistently said that he translated the Book of Mormon “by the gift and power of God.”1 Regardless of what we think of that statement, how did we get the Book of Mormon? Over the next several posts, I will be discussing evidence that exists in the historical record regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
It is vital to critically and objectively evaluate the historical evidence. There is a significant amount of misinformation online, and with everything we read we should ask challenging questions, the most basic being, “how do you know that,” or “what is your source?” Too often we just accept what people tell us, especially when they have some nuggets of fact mixed in with their advocacy of a certain position. When it comes to evaluating something as significant as the claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we owe it to ourselves to avoid assumptions, and instead form opinions based on our review of the evidence.
This post really just asks questions. Anyone who honestly wants to examine Church history should ponder that significant question: how did we get the Book of Mormon?
What does it mean to be a critical thinker?
The word “critical” often carries a negative connotation, equated with accusations or faultfinding. But “critical thinking” is a skill that is vital, especially in our modern world with so much online information.
Critical thinking has been described as “deliberative reasoning and impartial scrutiny of information to arrive at a possible solution to a problem.”2 It is often difficult to find facts presented objectively. We all have personal bias, and we can’t help but communicate facts couched in our bias. Critical thinking can help us separate the facts from the bias.
“When faced with any challenge, opportunity or important matter, the first step should always be to remove feelings, bias and analysis from the equation. Approach things as if you’re running a highly scientific lab experiment where accuracy and fact-finding are paramount. Ask yourself: What is true?”3
Critical thinking allows us to remove emotion and bias, and more objectively evaluate the facts:
“Critical thinking is characterized by a broad set of related skills usually including the abilities to
“1. break down a problem into its constituent parts to reveal its underlying logic and assumptions
“2. recognize and account for one’s own biases in judgment and experience
“3. collect and assess relevant evidence from either personal observations and experimentation or by gathering external information
“4. adjust and reevaluate one’s own thinking in response to what one has learned
“5. form a reasoned assessment in order to propose a solution to a problem or a more accurate understanding of the topic at hand.”4
We can improve our ability to be critical thinkers: “critical thinking encompasses both a set of logical skills that can be taught and a disposition toward reflective open inquiry that can be cultivated.”5
We can improve our critical thinking by asking a lot of questions. But we have to ask the right questions, which start not with the subject matter itself, but targeted at the source of the information. We should ask questions such as: “Is this information complete and up to date?” “What evidence is being presented to support the argument?” “Whose voice is missing here?” “Is the source trustworthy?” “What is their motivation for presenting this information?”6
As we ponder how we obtained the Book of Mormon, we have to ask good questions. That is the only way to ensure that we are evaluating evidence rather than someone’s subjective opinion.
What questions should we ask?
There are many questions that we can ask about the Book of Mormon, but let’s focus our questions on this one topic: how did we get the Book of Mormon? We can ask many more questions, but let’s start with that one and we can move on once we have answers that are supported by the historical record.
I plan on writing several posts addressing these topics, and hopefully answering some of these questions. But these are the types of questions that we can ask when researching how we got the Book of Mormon.
When was the Book of Mormon translated and published?
Joseph Smith obtained the plates in September, 1827. Whether the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, or written as a product of a mortal’s imagination, when did it happen? What were the circumstances? Who saw it happen? When and where was it published? The publication date establishes a timeline, which can eliminate many theories regarding its origination.
Who was involved?
We often hear Joseph Smith associated with the Book of Mormon, but who else was involved? What was Emma Smith’s role? What did Emma say about the translation of the Book of Mormon? What did Martin Harris do? Oliver Cowdery? David Whitmer?
There have been many who have suggested that Sydney Rigdon wrote the Book of Mormon, so what does the historical evidence say about his role? Where was he when the Book of Mormon was published? What about Solomon Spaulding? What evidence is there regarding the Spaulding manuscript?
What about Emma’s family? The Whitmers? Joseph’s family? Who were the eight witnesses and what did they say?
Were there other individuals involved? What were they doing and where were they living when the Book of Mormon was translated and published?
What does the Book of Mormon say?
What was Joseph Smith’s education at the time the Book of Mormon was published? How old was he? What was his career at the time? What does the Book of Mormon say? Considering the religious teachings, the descriptions of society, the names, the complex story lines, is it reasonable to think that Joseph could have written it from his own imagination?
What were the circumstances of the translation?
Based on the historical evidence, how did the translation occur? Who did it? What was the timeline? In regard to the translation, there has been much criticism, particularly in regard to the seer stone. But even if there is a disbelief in regard to the seer stone, can we be objective when evaluating the circumstances of the translation?
What is the evidence?
This question is vital. What is the evidence? What records exist? Who created those records? What do the records say? Too often we hear opinions that are presented as fact, and we think that is evidence, but opinions are not evidence. The evidence comes from the people and circumstances of that time.
Evaluate the evidence objectively
As we ask questions, we need to separate ourselves from emotion and personal bias and evaluate the evidence objectively. This approach doesn’t require us to determine whether we believe, we just have to ask what happened, when did it happen, and who was involved. We can consider the motives of the people involved, including the motives of why certain records were created. We have to figure out what historical sources provide the evidence. These questions are relatively easy to answer. The more difficult question comes later: once we know how we got the Book of Mormon, what will we do with it?
References
- “Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2011, 60, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/teachings-joseph-smith/chapter-4?lang=eng&id=p8#p8. ↩︎
- Gosner, W.. “critical thinking.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 7, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-thinking. ↩︎
- Ryan Wines, “Separating Facts From Fiction: How To Make Better Decisions,” Forbes, May 4, 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/05/04/separating-facts-from-fiction-how-to-make-better-decisions/?sh=440582775a95. ↩︎
- Gosner, “critical thinking.” ↩︎
- Gosner, “critical thinking.” ↩︎
- Bernard Marr, “13 Easy Steps To Improve Your Critical Thinking Skills,” Forbes, August 5, 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/08/05/13-easy-steps-to-improve-your-critical-thinking-skills/?sh=258bde4c5ecd. ↩︎