“The restoration movement”

Let me hasten to say that for any of the churches that sprang up in the “restoration movement” that followed the publication of “The Book of Mormon” in 1830 because, protestations of these church’s apologists notwithstanding, a close reading of the Book of Mormon will show that none of these churches have hit the mark as set forth in the book of Mormon, because of many reasons, first and foremost being that the Book of Mormon, after its translation and publication, was supposed to be given directly to the American Indians, and THEY were supposed to build up the Church of Christ, the only valid name given in the Book of Mormon.

Mind you, I am not arguing pro or con for ANY church, or schism of any church associated with belief in the Book of Mormon, because ALL of them have either added to, or subtracted from the teachings of the Book of Mormon which contained a VERY simple message called the “Fullness of the Gospel.” Since it’s publication in 1830, most Book of Mormon believers have gotten involved in ceremonies and practices and doctrines and dogma directly opposed to the theology contained in the Book of Mormon. My only wish is to reap the most valuable pearls from these or any scriptures which discuss “All Things Common.”

If the Book of Mormon was put on trial today in an American court of law (and the more time that goes by, the harder the evidence becomes) that would find the Book of Mormon innocent of any charges of fraud, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

But sad to say, if Joseph Smith, the “founder” of the Mormon religion(s) and all its schisms were put on trial today, he would surely be found guilty if all the evidence against him were heard by reasonable groups of minds. For example, his “second elder,” Oliver Cowdery, (who was to be equal to Smith in every way) and the first several other original church historians, were personally kicked out of the church by Joseph Smith because they “called him” on preaching one thing and doing another. Joseph then personally rewrote the history of the church, and Brigham Young later announced publicly “We are rewriting the history of the church.”

According to available records you may study even today, Joseph Smith was instructed to have one gift and one gift only, and that was to simply to translate the Book of Mormon with the tools provided with the golden plates, period! He was never to claim to be a “prophet,” much less a “seer” or a “revelator.” He was never to start a church that was organized under man’s laws. He was told by the Lord to stop doing these things, and eventually, he was told the church was under condemnation, and it still is!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II Nephi 11:

80 But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days,
Concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring
these things forth unto the children of men,

81 After that my seed and the seed of my brethren
shall have dwindled in unbelief and
shall have been smitten by the Gentiles,

82 Yea, after that the Lord God shall have camped against
them round about and shall have laid siege against them
with a mount and raised forts against them;

83 And after that they shall have been brought down
low in the dust, even that they are not,
Yet the words of the righteous shall be written,
And the prayers of the faithful shall be heard,
And all they which have dwindled in unbelief
shall not be forgotten.

84 For they which shall be destroyed shall
speak unto them out of the ground,
And their speech shall be low, out of the dust,
And their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit,

85 For the Lord God will give unto him power
that he may whisper concerning them,
even as it were out of the ground;
And their speech shall whisper out of the dust.

86 For thus saith the Lord God:
"They shall write the things
which shall be done among them,
And they shall be written and sealed up in a book;
And they that have dwindled in unbelief shall not have
them, for they seek to destroy the things of God;

87 Wherefore, as they which have been destroyed
have been destroyed speedily,
And the multitude of their terrible ones
shall be as chaff that passeth away,

88 Yea," thus saith the Lord God, "it shall be
at an instant, suddenly!"

89 And it shall come to pass that they which have dwindled
in unbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles;

90 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes
and have stumbled because of the greatness of their
stumbling block, that they have built up many churches;

91 Nevertheless, they put down the power
and the miracles of God,
And preach up unto themselves their own wisdom
and their own learning, that they may get gain
and grind upon the face of the poor;

92 And there are many churches built up which
causeth envyings and strifes and malice;

93 And there are also secret combinations, even as in times
of old, according to the combinations of the devil;
For he is the founder of all these things, yea,
the founder of murder and works of darkness,

94 Yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord
until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.

95 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you
that the Lord God worketh not in darkness;

96 He doeth not anything, save it be
for the benefit of the world,
For He loveth the world, even that He layeth down
His own life that He may draw all men unto Him;

97 Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not
partake of His salvation.

98 Behold, doth He cry unto any, saying, "Depart from Me"?

99 Behold I say unto you, Nay!

But He saith:
"Come unto Me, all ye ends of the earth,
Buy milk and honey without money and without price."

100 Behold, hath He commanded any that they should depart
out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship?

101 Behold I say unto you, Nay!

102 Hath He commanded any that they should not
partake of His salvation?

103 Behold I say unto you, Nay!
But He hath given it free for all men;
And He hath commanded His people that they
should persuade all men unto repentance.

104 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they
should not partake of His goodness?

105 Behold I say unto you, Nay!
But all men are privileged, the one like unto the other,
And none are forbidden.

106 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts;
For behold, priestcrafts are that men preach
and set themselves up for a light unto the world,
that they may get gain and praise of the world,
But they seek not the welfare of Zion.

107 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing!
Wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment
that all men should have charity, which charity is love;

108 And except they should have charity, they were nothing;
Wherefore, if they should have charity, they would not
suffer the laborer in Zion to perish;

109 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion,
for if they labor for money they shall perish.

110 And again, the Lord God hath commanded
that men should not murder,
That they should not lie,
That they should not steal,
That they should not take the name of the Lord
their God in vain,
That they should not envy,
That they should not have malice,
That they should not contend one with another,
That they should not commit whoredoms,
And that they should not do any of these things;

111 For whoso doeth them shall perish.

For none of these iniquities come of the Lord, for He
doeth that which is good among the children of men;

112 And He doeth nothing save it be plain
unto the children of men;

113 And He inviteth them all to come unto Him
and partake of His goodness;

114 And He denieth none that come unto Him-
black and white,
bond and free,
male and female;

115 And He remembereth the heathen;
And all are alike unto God-both Jew and Gentile.

116 But behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles,
Yea, behold, all the nations of the Gentiles,
and also the Jews-
Both they which shall come upon this land,
And they which shall be upon other lands,
yea, even upon all the lands of the earth-
Behold, they will be drunken with iniquity
and all manner of abominations.

117 And when that day shall come, they shall be visited
of the Lord of Hosts,
With thunder and with earthquake,
and with a great noise,
and with storm and tempest,
and with the flame of devouring fire;

118 And all the nations that fight against Zion and that
distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision;

119 Yea, it shall be unto them even as unto a hungry man
which dreameth,
And behold-he eateth,
But he awaketh, and his soul is empty;

120 Or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth,
And behold-he drinketh,
But he awaketh,
And behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite;But he awaketh,

121 Yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be
that fight against Mount Zion.

122 For behold, all ye that do iniquity,
stay yourselves and wonder;
For ye shall cry out and cry,
Yea, ye shall be drunken, but not with wine;
Ye shall stagger, but not with strong drink.

123 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you
the spirit of deep sleep,

124 For behold, ye have closed your eyes;
And ye have rejected the prophets,
And your rulers and the seers hath He covered
because of your iniquity.


(As in the beginning of the book of mormon they came from the east by sea and brought the written record of the Jews with them which contained Isaiah...Nephi is telling the future events to his people of what will take place on this land, he quotes Isaiah 29:11-24)


125 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall
bring forth unto you the words of a book;
And they shall be the words of them
which have slumbered;

126 And behold, the book shall be sealed;
And in the book shall be a revelation from God, from
the beginning of the world to the ending thereof.

127 Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up,
the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the day
of the wickedness and abominations of the people;

128 Wherefore, the book shall be kept from them;

129 But the book shall be delivered unto a man, [Joseph Smith]
And he shall deliver the words of the book, which are
the words of they which have slumbered in the dust,
And he shall deliver these words unto another; [Translate]
But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver,
Neither shall he deliver the book.

130 For the book shall be sealed by the power of God;
And the revelation which was sealed shall be kept
in the book until the own due time of the Lord,
that they may come forth;
For behold, they reveal all things from the foundation
of the world unto the end thereof.

131 And the day cometh that the words of the book which
were sealed shall be read upon the housetops; [The Indian Seer in 2 Nephi:2
And they shall be read by the power of Christ; will do this]

132 And all things shall be revealed unto the children of men
which ever hath been among the children of men,
and which ever will be,
Even unto the end of the earth.

133 Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered
unto the man of whom I have spoken,
The book shall be hid from the eyes of the world
that the eyes of none shall behold it,
Save it be that three witnesses shall behold it
by the power of God, besides him
to whom the book shall be delivered,
And they shall testify to the truth of the book
and the things therein;

134 And there is none other which shall view it,
Save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear
testimony of His word unto the children of men;
For the Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful
should speak as if it were from the dead.

135 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed
to bring forth the words of the book;
And in the mouth of as many witnesses as seemeth
Him good will He establish His word;
And wo be unto him that rejecteth the word of God!

136 But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall
say unto him to whom He shall deliver the book,
"Take these words which are not sealed
and deliver them to another,"
That he may show them unto the learned, saying,
"Read this, I pray thee." [This is explained below]

137 And the learned shall say:
"Bring hither the book and I will read them."

138 And now, because of the glory of the world
and to get gain, will they say this,
And not for the glory of God.


139 And the man shall say:
"I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed."

140 Then shall the learned say:
"I cannot read it."


141 Wherefore, it shall come to pass that the Lord God
will deliver again the book and the words thereof
to him that is not learned;
And the man that is not learned shall say:
"I am not learned."

142 Then shall the Lord God say unto him:
"The learned shall not read them,
for they have rejected them,
And I am able to do Mine own work;
Wherefore, thou shalt read the words
which I shall give unto thee;

143 Touch not the things which are sealed,
For I will bring them forth in Mine own due time,
For I will show unto the children of men
that I am able to do Mine own work.

144 "Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which
I have commanded thee and obtained the witnesses
which I have promised unto thee,
Then shalt thou seal up the book again and hide it up
unto Me, that I may preserve the words which thou
hast not read until I shall see fit in Mine own wisdom
to reveal all things unto the children of men.

145 "For behold, I Am God and I Am a God of miracles;
And I will show unto the world that I Am the same
yesterday, today and forever;
And I work not among the children of men,
save it be according to their faith."

[A certain length of time passes since the translating of the book was completed and
the Lord adresses Joseph Smith on a grevious matter pertaining to the people who
build up a church arround the book which was explained above]

146 And again, it shall come to pass that the Lord
shall say unto him that shall read the words
that shall be delivered him:
"Forasmuch as this people draw near unto Me with
their mouth and with their lips do honor Me,
But have removed their heart far from Me and their
fear toward Me is taught by the precept of men,
Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work
among this people,

147 Yea, a marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.

148 "But wo unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel
from the Lord!
149 And their works are in the dark and they say,
'Who seeth us?' and 'Who knoweth us?'

150 And they also say, 'Surely your turning of things upside
down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay.'

151 "But behold, I will show unto them," saith the
Lord of Hosts, "that I know all their works;

152 For shall the work say of him that made it,
'He made me not'?

153 Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it,
'He had no understanding'?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David Whitmer..one of the 3 whitenesses..

I have in my possession the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, in the handwriting of Oliver Cowdery and others, also the original paper containing some of the characters transcribed from one of the golden plates, which paper Martin Harris took to Professor Anthon, of New York, for him to read "the words of a book that is sealed:" but the learned professor, although a great linguist could not read the language of the Nephites. There is some evidence in the American Cyclopedia favorable to the Book of Mormon that I will speak of. It is as follows:

"Martin Harris called upon Prof. Anthon, of New York, with a transcript on paper which Smith had given him of the characters on one of the golden plates. 'This paper,' Prof. Anthon said, in a letter dated New York, Feb. 17, 1834, 'was in fact a singular scroll. It consisted of all kinds of crooked characters, disposed in columns, and had evidently been prepared by some person who had before him at the time a book containing various alphabets. Greek and Hebrew letters, crosses and flourishes, Roman letters, inverted or placed sideways, were arranged and placed in perpendicular columns," etc. The "learned" could not read it, and the book was delivered to him that is not learned. I will quote two verses from the twenty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, which is the prophecy regarding this matter.

"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is delivered

to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."

(Verses 11 and 12.) No man could read it, but God gave to an unlearned boy the gift to translate it.

I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.

The characters I speak of are the engravings on the golden plates from which the book was translated. They were engraved thereon by the hand of a holy prophet of God whose name was Mormon, who lived upon this land four hundred years after Christ. Mormon's son, Moroni, after witnessing the destruction of his brethren, the Nephites, they being destroyed by the Lamanites — deposited the golden plates in the ground, according to a command of God. An angel of the Lord directed Brother Joseph to them. The language of the Nephites is called the reformed Egyptian language.