RESPONSES TO MY ARTICLE: MORMONISM: FACT OR FARCE

I will not use names unless the persons who emailed me concerning this article send me an additional email indicating that I may use a first, or first and last name, a town as well as the State.

I have had bit two responses to my article, the first response is from an Elder of the Mormon religion from New York State, the second from a “Christian” from New York State.

[Be advised, the only editing I did to these emails were correction of spelling and grammar. If corrections made the emails appear different than what I presumed to be written, no changes were made:

From an Elder of the Mormon Religion; New York State

I disagree with your findings. I once heard a lecture given by a man who was not a Mormon and he said that the Book of Mormon is the most geographically correct record, ever written in that time period.

I have also spoken to a Harvard Professor who said that the Book of Mormon must be correct, it would have been impossible for anyone to write such an accurate portrayal as what has been written here, without the use of a word processor. Without the technology of today, you would have to go back and forth looking up what you have already written copy and paste and take the items forward. Therefore, the Book of Mormon must be written of divine intervention. After all, this was written in one and a half months by a person with a third grade education.

My Response:

First of all, when I wrote my original article, I specified [and yes, this is a quote!] “I apologize to those of the Mormon Faith; I will allow any to have their say concerning my article; please back up what you have to say with proof which I can also locate. Email me at reallyfreeny@yahoo.com with your rebuttal.”

No where do I see evidence that I can follow up on. I merely have your word that Joseph Smith had but a mere third grade education and that he wrote the book of Mormon in one and one half months.

Just in case you have proof that he did write this in one and one half months, documented proof, not just a claim made by Joseph Smith; let me tell you what I wrote in one and one half months. If you would like proof, I have my family members who watched me write this; plus I have two persons whom I email with who received copies via the email of each item as I completed it.

In one and one half months time I wrote first a 573 page rough draft. From there I devised Five novel ideas from this 573 page draft. [Since I divided each section into different chapters, filing each chapter separately, whenever I wanted to check on something; I literally had to go page by page to check my information.] From here, I cut and wrote a second draft for my first novel length manuscript, I then wrote a third draft and finally the forth draft, prior to editing and printing. I then comprised a 5 page summary, plus a two page cover letter, and mailed the completed draft to an agent. I then began my first second draft of my second novel length manuscript. So whether or not a person can write something in that amount of time does not seem to be the question, as a matter of fact, I believe that someone claiming to be a ‘Harvard Professor’ would have thought twice before making such a ridiculous statement. I certainly would like to speak to this “Harvard Professor.” I would also like to view his credentials, and know that he truly exists.

The second thing I stated [again quoted]: “The fact remains; archeology has repeatedly failed to substantiate the claims made by Joseph Smith. History, if it was not for the account of Joseph Smith himself, would also not be able to substantiate these claims.” I am sure that you are attempting to disqualify my statement, but stating that you heard ‘someone’ speak does not qualify at all. Again, who was this person and why was he hosting such a discussion? Since I never mentioned geography, why did you attempt to disqualify my reasoning with something that I had never once mentioned throughout the entirety of my essay?

Let’s go back and discuss the third grade qualification. My mother was forced to quit school [more than one hundred years after Joseph Smith left school] after her sixth grade graduation; I have a bachelor’s degree; yet there were certain avenues in which my mother was much greater learned than I. Is it possible that you have never once looked through educational materials from years gone by? You should also realize that a great deal of education or learning, as the case may be, was gathered around the dinner table, or when visiting with friends. The children certainly were not playing with their Nintendo!

I appreciate your rebuttal; I only hope that you will now substantiate the rebuttal with fact.

From a Christian, New York State:

It is not wrong to expose false religions for what they are. It says in the bible that in the last days many will come to try and deceive. So if we expose them for the lies that they are then we are doing something good. As long as we don't do it maliciously it says that we should never offend, but let the truth offend (the bible).

My Response:

Thank you for your statement. Thank you for backing up your rebuttal; at least I know where to look to find the statement you are discussing.