Reason For the Book of Mormon

[Linked]

"The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity"

This is hung up on my parents wall. It's a quote from a talk at the MTC from a couple years ago when they were preparing for a mission. It brings up some questions. How was the Book of Mormon "sent"? Is Christianity dying? How does the Book of Mormon save it?

I think it needs to be fixed. Maybe:

"The Book of Mormon was written to create an all-American religion with some Christian idealogy."

or:

"The Book of Mormon was compiled from various 19th century source material to make some money."

[Corsair]

Here is a list of denominations in the Latter Day Saint movement. I counted 88 not including the original organization that Joseph Smith founded. Each of the these groups has some reverence for the Book of Mormon. Perhaps the Book of Mormon is trying to save Christianity by simply making additional organizations that have variants of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. By an evolutionary "survival of the fittest" process of winnowing out the weaker belief groups the strongest will survive and thus perpetuate Christianity in the 21st century!

Of course, this continues to be irrelevant to mainstream Christianity which experienced numerous instances of its own fractures of belief stretching back nearly 2000 years. The Reformation was only one of many attempts to rebuild Christianity. Big church councils of the early centuries were other attempts to hold it together. As far as I can tell, Christianity survives by letting new faith variants spring up wherever some new reformer decides to start a new church. Perhaps the Book of Mormon is just one tiny piece of that process.

[Red Ryder]

The Book of Mormon: The rantings of a lunatic with his head in a hat!

[moksha]

"The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity"

That saying would not go over very well with 99.998% of all Christians. Sounds like a combative twist on the mission of restoring the gospel.

[Linked]

"The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity"

That saying would not go over very well with 99.998% of all Christians. Sounds like a combative twist on the mission of restoring the gospel.

Yeah, that's a lot of hubris for a small sect of the religion it is claiming to save. It's this kind of attitude I am happy to be free of.

[Reuben]

"The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity"

That saying would not go over very well with 99.998% of all Christians. Sounds like a combative twist on the mission of restoring the gospel.

Yeah, that's a lot of hubris for a small sect of the religion it is claiming to save. It's this kind of attitude I am happy to be free of.

Any chance you can get them to consider showing it to a non-Mormon Christian friend of theirs? "Hey, I'll bet Judy would think this is really interesting."

[Red Ryder]

That saying would not go over very well with 99.998% of all Christians. Sounds like a combative twist on the mission of restoring the gospel.

Yeah, that's a lot of hubris for a small sect of the religion it is claiming to save. It's this kind of attitude I am happy to be free of.

Any chance you can get them to consider showing it to a non-Mormon Christian friend of theirs? "Hey, I'll bet Judy would think this is really interesting."

I'll bet they don't have any non-mormon friends.

[Linked]

Yeah, that's a lot of hubris for a small sect of the religion it is claiming to save. It's this kind of attitude I am happy to be free of.

Any chance you can get them to consider showing it to a non-Mormon Christian friend of theirs? "Hey, I'll bet Judy would think this is really interesting."

I'll bet they don't have any non-mormon friends.

My dad is an adult convert, so you would think this quote might give him pause, but I guess not. Also, his appropriateness meter is broken, so he probably would show it to someone, then he would be surprised that they were offended by it.

[wtfluff]

My dad is an adult convert, so you would think this quote might give him pause, but I guess not. Also, his appropriateness meter is broken, so he probably would show it to someone, then he would be surprised that they were offended by it.

Ha!

"Mormonism: Breaking people's appropriateness meters since the early 1800's."

[Linked]

I was at my parent's house again and saw that quote "The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity" again, and it got me thinking about the non-LDS mormons. A similar quote can be used for any splinter group, or any change.

"Denver Snuffer was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"NOM was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"Polygamy was revealed to save a dying church."
"Polygamy was banned to save a dying church."


You can put anything in there. But it is only positive to those who believe the thing that was sent is the right thing. So basically, "(Thing I agree with) was sent to save a dying (thing I disagree with)."

What a circle jerk.

[Corsair]

"Denver Snuffer was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"NOM was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"Polygamy was revealed to save a dying church."
"Polygamy was banned to save a dying church."

How about change the quote to state:

"Jesus Christ was sent to save a dying Christianity"

Jesus has a functionally important role in the Book of Mormon, but He keeps getting put at a lower importance behind "Follow the Prophet".

[Linked]

"Denver Snuffer was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"NOM was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"Polygamy was revealed to save a dying church."
"Polygamy was banned to save a dying church."

How about change the quote to state:

"Jesus Christ was sent to save a dying Christianity"

Jesus has a functionally important role in the Book of Mormon, but He keeps getting put at a lower importance behind "Follow the Prophet".

BOOM

I like it. I may just tape that onto their quote.

Some more:

"Lavender oil was sent to save a dying western medicine."
"Tahitian Noni was sent to save a dying health drink market."
"NuSkin was sent to save a drying face."
"Amway was sent to save a dying capitalism."

[FiveFingerMnemonic]

"Denver Snuffer was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"NOM was sent to save the dying LDS church."
"Polygamy was revealed to save a dying church."
"Polygamy was banned to save a dying church."

How about change the quote to state:

"Jesus Christ was sent to save a dying Christianity"

Jesus has a functionally important role in the Book of Mormon, but He keeps getting put at a lower importance behind "Follow the Prophet".

BOOM

I like it. I may just tape that onto their quote.

Some more:

"Lavender oil was sent to save a dying western medicine."
"Tahitian Noni was sent to save a dying health drink market."
"NuSkin was sent to save a drying face."
"Amway was sent to save a dying capitalism."

[Hagoth]

I think religions with their own book of scripture have a much better chance of surviving. It is something to rally around and point to as the miracle that is central to their purpose, or in our case, the keystone of their religion. Would Islam exist today without The Koran? Think about what Dianetics did for Scientology. Judaism and Christianity already owned the Bible when Joseph Smith wanted to make a splash so he needed a new point of entry. We still wave the book of Book of Mormon around as the proof of Mormonism's truth We still use emotional responses to it as THE test for knowing that the church is true, even though there really isn't any Mormon doctrine in the book.

[Palerider]

"The Book of Mormon was sent to save a dying Christianity"

That saying would not go over very well with 99.998% of all Christians. Sounds like a combative twist on the mission of restoring the gospel.

Yeah, that's a lot of hubris for a small sect of the religion it is claiming to save. It's this kind of attitude I am happy to be free of.

Isn't this where we quote Dan Peterson saying, "We didn't start this fight...."???

[Linked]

I think religions with their own book of scripture have a much better chance of surviving. It is something to rally around and point to as the miracle that is central to their purpose, or in our case, the keystone of their religion. Would Islam exist today without The Koran? Think about what Dianetics did for Scientology. Judaism and Christianity already owned the Bible when Joseph Smith wanted to make a splash so he needed a new point of entry. We still wave the book of Book of Mormon around as the proof of Mormonism's truth We still use emotional responses to it as THE test for knowing that the church is true, even though there really isn't any Mormon doctrine in the book.

That's a good point.

Now that I see your point I wonder why there aren't more books like that? Or, if there are many, why do the ones that stick around and flourish do so? Perhaps it takes a very rare combination of creativity, charisma, crazy?, and psychopathy, along with a largish group primed to believe it until it gets ingrained in the culture and becomes self-perpetuating.

[Hagoth]

I think religions with their own book of scripture have a much better chance of surviving. It is something to rally around and point to as the miracle that is central to their purpose, or in our case, the keystone of their religion. Would Islam exist today without The Koran? Think about what Dianetics did for Scientology. Judaism and Christianity already owned the Bible when Joseph Smith wanted to make a splash so he needed a new point of entry. We still wave the book of Book of Mormon around as the proof of Mormonism's truth We still use emotional responses to it as THE test for knowing that the church is true, even though there really isn't any Mormon doctrine in the book.

That's a good point.

Now that I see your point I wonder why there aren't more books like that? Or, if there are many, why do the ones that stick around and flourish do so? Perhaps it takes a very rare combination of creativity, charisma, crazy?, and psychopathy, along with a largish group primed to believe it until it gets ingrained in the culture and becomes self-perpetuating.

Yeah, it requires a prophet, whatever that is. Also, groups just attach themselves to reinterpretations of existing books.