Apologists offer varying responses and views at anachronisms in the book of mormon. The writers of the book of mormon musical focus their story on two groups of people, but it is clear from the text that they, themselves, are. Click to download a free digital copy of the book of mormon and learn about it with online missionaries. I had the opportunity to attend the musical, the book of mormon in portland. Instead of protesting the musical, which is something that many would do, especially religious organizations, they made a bold and deliberate decision to embrace the situation. Here are just a few places that have highlighted latterday saints. On the surface, it was one of the most dynamic, entertaining, hilarious, magnificently wellperformed. While the bible is written by and about the people in the land of israel and surrounding areas and takes place from the creation of the world until shortly after the death of jesus christ. The lds church claims to have about 150,000 members in australia but believes most people dont know much about their faith. This fuller understanding helps make sense of joseph smiths interpretation of this figure and plausibly situates such it in an ancient egyptian context. An afterthought so about the same time i posted my reaction to the soundtrack of the book of mormon musical, i came across someone elses reaction. The tony awardwinning musical, the book of mormon, opened in salt. None of this includes responses to multiple disasters, like the flooding in niger, where the. Reviews of the book of mormon musical have been all over the entertainment media in the past few weeks.
When the book of mormon musical opened on broadway in 2011, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints issued the following statement. How the lds churchs response to the book of mormon musical is. Book of mormon not a problem for the latterday saints. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents. I met two mormon missionaries, elders skyler fenn and jacob chapman, on a chilly spring evening when my husband and i attended the musical the book of mormon. The book of mormons stereotypes of everyday members and missionaries of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints are spot on. So here are some of my reactions and thoughts with the various hats that i wear as a mormon, father, efy counselor etc.
Tara westover grew up in an unusual mormon survivalist family that stockpiled food for the endtimes and did not formally educate their children. Represents god sitting upon his throne, revealing through the heavens the grand key. But cowdrey, davis, and scales pieced together a long chain of. What is the sealed portion of the book of mormon, and. Her family is definitely not mainstream lds, and her story is amazing, that she had enough courage to get her ged and go to college, despite the condemnation of her family, and then get a phd from cambridge iirc.
As a mormon, what is your reaction when you see a fellow. In response to news media requests, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has issued the following statement regarding the. As a mormon myself, i appreciate the outsider perspective that parker, stone and lopez bring, which extends not only from mormonism but, it. Eldon tanner was in charge of overseeing the papyri. Community of christ publishes two versions of the book through its official publishing arm, herald house. The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the book of mormon as a volume of scripture will change peoples lives forever by bringing them closer to christ.
The book of mormon is yet another testimony of jesus christ and of heavenly father and does not ever morph gods teachings. How the lds churchs response to the book of mormon. As we reported here at rd earlier last month, one of the big stories in the world of mormonism this year will be the book of mormon, a broadway musical written by south park creators trey parker and matt stone with help from avenue qs robert lopez, telling the tale of two naive but wellmeaning lds missionaries to uganda who, faced with the realities of mass human suffering, collide with. What real australian mormons think about the book of mormon. Book of mormon not a problem for the latterday saints this article is more than 7 years old british branch of church launches ad campaign as south park creators musical opens, but says it. Comparison of the community of christ and the church of. The utahbased church of jesus christ of latterday saints decided to have some fun with the opening of the irreverent book of mormon musical in salt lake city this week.
What real australian mormons think about the book of. My preferred method in my adult life was to read it very quickly, following a schedule id worked out when president gordon b. He has reasearched and written widely on various topics, but his study of the book of mormon led him to publish two landmark books that share important insights. Every book of the book of mormon with the exception of jarom, enos, and omni is utilized in depth in the chapters on the atonement in twl. Latent antimormon bias may seem harmless enoughafter all, mormons are reluctant to call others out on it. According to joseph smith, the book of mormon was originally engraved on golden plates, which he received in 1827 from an angel named moroni, whom smith identified as a resurrected former inhabitant of the american continent. Though it openly mocks the values of the church, the book of mormon musical has gained popularity with audiences throughout the years. The book of mormon shall stand as a testimony against the world, ether 5. My reaction as a mormon, father, efy counselor lds s. The question uses the term as a mormon which should be considered an ambiguous term considering that there are several denominations that have sprung from latterday movement by joseph smith. Instead of picketing the book of mormon musical, for example, the mormon church. The sendup of missionaries from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints is getting a rousing reception. It seems to have soon become clear, however, that joseph truly was incapable of writing such a book. The book of mormon is the word of god, like the bible.
The playbill ad is another example of the lds church s savvy response to the book of mormon musical, thomas said. The turmoil leads to a crisis of faith for the missionaries. Its been described as sweet and its mockery of mormonism. This article has been updated to reflect the august 2019 broadway tour of the book of mormon at salt lakes eccles theater. While translating the book of mormon, he used the urim and thummim rather than dictionaries and grammars of the language. The book of mormon contains an account of this visit, including the very words spoken by jesus. According to stan larsons book quest for the gold plates, apostle n. The authorized edition is based on the original printers manuscript and the 1837 second edition or kirtland. The writers of the book of mormon musical focus their story on two groups of people, but it is clear from the text that they, themselves, are outsiders of both. Due to the king james bible errors and deuteroisaiah passage in the book of mormon, it further proves that the the book of mormon is a work of joseph smiths 19th century mindset, and even apologetic lds historian richard bushman concluded that it is riddled with nineteenthcentury protestant theology and phrasing, but still is an incredible.
The book of mormon musical arrives in salt lake for the. The tony awardwinning musical, the book of mormon, opened in salt lake city last week. I believe that there will be a silver lining to this, and that it will have the positive effect of raising the interest people have in the church, as well as opening a dialogue for increased understanding. Ancient america and the book of mormon kolob book company, 1964,100102. A story of violent faith is a nonfiction book by author jon krakauer, first published in july 2003. Smith claimed to translate the original text of the plates into english. This sealed portion contains the complete record of the vision of the brother of jared see ether 4. If joseph smith was a prophet, then the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is the same church that christ established while he was on the earth.
Salt lake city this week, the broadway musical that skewered the church of jesus christ of latterday saints on its way to nine tony awards opens for the third time just blocks from temple square and the churchs headquarters. What a lapsed mormon thinks after watching the book of mormon. Book of mormon not a problem for the latterday saints mormonism. Joseph smith pictures of a smooth, brown, eggsized rock are shown in the printers manuscript of the book of mormon following a news conference tuesday, aug. Ever since the book of mormon musical took broadway by storm, i have made it clear that i believe that any press, is good press. What a lapsed mormon thinks after watching the book of. Both books contain gods guidance as revealed to prophets, as well as religious histories of different civilizations. I believe in jesus christ as my savior and redeemer. He asked ammon if he knew of anyone who could translate them. Trey parker and matt stones awardwinning musical the book of mormon has done a lot more for the mormon faith than it perhaps intended to do.
If the book of mormon is true, then joseph smith was a prophet. The book makes a good opening statement for a case for the book of mormon, but because it relies so much on material from fairmormon, book of mormon central and the rest of the m2c citation cartel, it is ultimately not all that helpful for people who seek answers to questions posed by knowledgeable critics. When the book of mormon musical opened on broadway in 2011, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints issued a statement. Official response of the mormon church to the book of abraham. Furthermore, official lds church commentary on the book of mormon says that at least some ancestors of native americans came from the. The mormon church for the first time is publishing photos of a small sacred stone it believes founder joseph smith used to help. The tony awardwinning musical opened on tuesday at salt lake citys george s. In this episode, three geneticists respond to the lds essay book of mormon and dna studies, and to apologist michael ashs article entitled the dna challenge to the book of mormon that fizzled. The church ran similar campaigns in the us to coincide with the book of mormon, named after the text sacred to the faith, published in 1830 by its founder, joseph smith. When the book of mormon musical opened on broadway in 2011, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints issued the following.
In response to news media requests, the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has issued the following statement regarding the broadway musical entitled the book of mormon the production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the book of mormon as a volume of scripture will change peoples lives forever by bringing them closer to christ. A record of the jaredites, taken from the 24 gold plates, is included in the book of mormon as the book of ether. When moroni was finishing the book of mormon record, he was commanded to seal up some of the plates, and joseph smith was later commanded not to translate them. They were handing out copies of the lds scriptures aka the original book of mormon near the theatre entrance, and i couldnt resist talking with them. Reviews of the book of mormon musical have been all over the. Initial reaction to the book of mormon attributed the authorship to joseph smith himself. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies.
The churchs reaction may seem a bit incongruous, given that the book of mormon is a wholly irreverent, oftenraunchy musical satire about a pair of squeakyclean and clueless young mormon. Invite a student to read aloud ammons response in mosiah 8. I found the lds churchs reaction to the book of mormon, the musical, to be inspiring in the context of religious toleranceintolerance of free speech. Eventually, most antimormon writers stopped appealing to the spalding theory as an explanation for the book of mormon because the available evidence seemed incapable of being substantiated. But rather than being offended mormons are viewing it as an invitation to set the record straight. Thats played a major role in the timing but its an opportunity for people to hear the story direct from. Grant hardy became intrigued with world religions, especially those of east asia, as a young missionary. The focus is especially on doctrinal sections and sermons and explications1 and 2 nephi, jacob, mosiah, alma, helaman, 3 and 4 nephi, ether, mormon, and moroni. This volume features articles on various believers and nonbelievers, including william e. In addition to taking on missionary work and latterday saint doctrine, the book of mormon depicts both jesus christ, who latterday saints worship as the savior of the world, and joseph smith, founder of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Latterday saints have not changed anything about the gospel as adam the first man learned it, and have not changed the gospel since jesus christ established his church in the meridian of time. The lds church actually has a pretty good sense of humor about the book of mormon.
So the question of all questions deals with the truthfulness of book of mormon. Both community of christ and lds church accept the book of mormon as a second canon of scripture and views it as an additional witness of jesus christ that complements the bible. The sellout stage show the book of mormon mocks their faith. Andrea smardon of member station kuer sampled audience reaction. Explain that king limhi wanted to understand the writings that were engraved on the 24 plates. He called the show pure garbage and was mystified at how some socalled mormons and supposedly active members could praise it. Mormons view book of mormon more as opportunity than. Anyway, i havent read the book, but i plan on doing so.
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