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From: jonw@tekmdp.UUCP (Jonathan White)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Book of Mormon review
Message-ID: <2127@tekmdp.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 11-Aug-83 13:00:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekmdp.2127
Posted: Thu Aug 11 13:00:22 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Aug-83 14:12:49 EDT
Lines: 35

Okay, Russ.  I realize that this is probably going to be a complete waste of
time, but here goes.

I agree that a thorough discussion of the history of the Smiths and the true
origin of the Book of Mormon would involve time-consuming analysis of many
historical documents.  That is why I did not rest my case on such evidence.
The scientific and archeological evidence that I cited in my original article
are enough to brand the Book of Mormon as fraudulent.

Now for some further discussion on whether Joseph was a peep stone enthusiast
and money digger.  First of all,  I have long labored under the
misunderstanding that the Mormons claim Joseph had never been a money
digger, and your long quote from Joseph seems to bear me out.  He tells a story
about how he hired on with an old silver miner, in order to make ends meet.
After two months of fruitless digging, he prevailed on the old man to give it
up.  He sums up his story with "Hence arose the prevalent story of my having
been a money-digger."  If that's not denying that he was never a money digger,
I don't know what is.

Russ, you admit that Joseph "did have a peep stone," but claim that his mother 
was not referring to it when she said "he possessed keys by which he could 
discern thing invisible to the natural eye."  Just what, pray tell, was young 
Joseph using a peep stone for anyway?  (Remember, this is before he translated
the golden plates.)  And just what did Joseph's mother mean by "keys," if not 
peep stones?

Now, Russ, would you mind addressing some of the other evidence against the 
Book of Mormon presented in my original article?

						Jon White
						Tektronix
						Aloha, Ore

P.S. I stated that Joseph was GIVEN the gold plates in 1827 -- I'm well aware 
that the actual location had been revealed to him earlier.