Benjamin Brooks’s Reviews > The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ > Status Update
Benjamin Brooks
is starting
Smith’s testimony:
“But his whole person was glorious beyond description” nothing in the entirety of the Bible has been beyond description, including God (Dan. 7:9-10; Rev. 4:2-6) but ok.
Really interested to see how the Urim and Thummim get to America, and how it can be concluded they were used for translating anything (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8 being the only mentions of it in the Bible).
— Aug 07, 2025 12:26PM
“But his whole person was glorious beyond description” nothing in the entirety of the Bible has been beyond description, including God (Dan. 7:9-10; Rev. 4:2-6) but ok.
Really interested to see how the Urim and Thummim get to America, and how it can be concluded they were used for translating anything (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8 being the only mentions of it in the Bible).
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Benjamin Brooks
is on page 30 of 531
There’s literally too much wrong with this book to write it all down every chapter. I get frustrated reading this. And then I get really sad. Pray for the lost.
Nephi’s been having this vision of the “promised land” and “heaven” and the tree of life that’s definitely not the tree of life. Smith quotes and obscures a lot of NT and is vague in all the important parts and specific when he has the info.
— Aug 12, 2025 03:14PM
Nephi’s been having this vision of the “promised land” and “heaven” and the tree of life that’s definitely not the tree of life. Smith quotes and obscures a lot of NT and is vague in all the important parts and specific when he has the info.
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 12 of 531
Oh boy (there’s only 6 verses in this chapter, making 66% of this chapter erroneous)
Yellow: vv 1, 3, 6
Red: v 2
— Aug 09, 2025 11:33AM
Yellow: vv 1, 3, 6
Red: v 2
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 11 of 531
New color! Amazingly I am now also highlighting in blue, which is something that’s actually true.
1 Nephi 5
Blue: v 2
Yellow: vv 6, 9, 12-13
Red: vv 19-20
— Aug 09, 2025 08:26AM
1 Nephi 5
Blue: v 2
Yellow: vv 6, 9, 12-13
Red: vv 19-20
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 10 of 531
1Ne4
This one has a few theological uh oh’s so let’s break it down. I’ll start using yellow and red to organize. Yellow is anything that’s weird, suspicious, or interesting enough to mention. Red is anything theologically, historically, or narratively incorrect outright.
Yellow: vv 11-12, 14
Red: vv 2,16, 18-21
— Aug 08, 2025 09:08AM
This one has a few theological uh oh’s so let’s break it down. I’ll start using yellow and red to organize. Yellow is anything that’s weird, suspicious, or interesting enough to mention. Red is anything theologically, historically, or narratively incorrect outright.
Yellow: vv 11-12, 14
Red: vv 2,16, 18-21
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 7 of 531
1Ne.3
Not much here, but it is interesting that a genealogy would be recorded on brass plates instead of passed down orally or written down with a paper equivalent. I’m curious why brass?
v17 “he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed” Jeremiah is the contemporary prophet to 1 Nephi so people would certainly be hearing his prophesies of Babylon.
— Aug 07, 2025 01:32PM
Not much here, but it is interesting that a genealogy would be recorded on brass plates instead of passed down orally or written down with a paper equivalent. I’m curious why brass?
v17 “he knew that Jerusalem must be destroyed” Jeremiah is the contemporary prophet to 1 Nephi so people would certainly be hearing his prophesies of Babylon.
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 5 of 531
1Ne.2
“now this he speak because of the stiffneckedness… for behold, they did murmur and many things against their father”
Interesting how the second chapter of the whole book introduces that there is doubt for this religion, and that there is severe punishment for doubting this religion. Almost as if that is a manipulation tactic that cult leaders will use to bolster fake authenticity.
— Aug 07, 2025 01:05PM
“now this he speak because of the stiffneckedness… for behold, they did murmur and many things against their father”
Interesting how the second chapter of the whole book introduces that there is doubt for this religion, and that there is severe punishment for doubting this religion. Almost as if that is a manipulation tactic that cult leaders will use to bolster fake authenticity.
Benjamin Brooks
is on page 3 of 531
1 Ne. 1
v2 “in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.”
What I was able to find was that this is called reformed Egyptian. What I wasn’t able to find was any other source using this language besides something Joseph Smith wrote down, which is not even enough to be able to decipher an entire language. This book isn’t verifiable.
— Aug 07, 2025 01:02PM
v2 “in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.”
What I was able to find was that this is called reformed Egyptian. What I wasn’t able to find was any other source using this language besides something Joseph Smith wrote down, which is not even enough to be able to decipher an entire language. This book isn’t verifiable.
Benjamin Brooks
is starting
Brief explanation:
“abridgment by Mormon… with many commentaries.”
“abridged by Moroni, who inserted comments of his own…”
Again, this book is just admitting that it is full of idiosyncrasies that you must believe blindly. It is a poor source academically, and spiritually. I’m not even on page one yet.
— Aug 07, 2025 12:53PM
“abridgment by Mormon… with many commentaries.”
“abridged by Moroni, who inserted comments of his own…”
Again, this book is just admitting that it is full of idiosyncrasies that you must believe blindly. It is a poor source academically, and spiritually. I’m not even on page one yet.
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Aug 07, 2025 12:36PM
“I should not show them to any person; neither the breast plate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those whom I should be commanded to show them…” I’m just gonna be honest that sounds a lot like using God’s name to make sure no one can verify if what you’re saying is true. The Bible is very verifiable and the Bible itself reveres accountability within the church (Matt 18:15-20; 1 Cor. 5:7-8,12; 1 Tim. 5:19-20)
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“The messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them…. I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this day,” Smith says he got the plates on September 22, 1827, the book of Mormon was published in 1830, and then the angel took them back on May 2, 1838. So he had the plates for a total of 11 years, and said the angel would take them back when he was done, but have them another eight years after the book of Mormon was published. And only 11 other people ever saw them?? No wonder “the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from [Smith].”
This also answers the earlier question of where are the plates now: nowhere, “in heaven”, there is absolutely no possible way to verify that any of this book is even correctly translated, let alone authentic.
I just have to say the Christian faith is not blind. We have archeological records that verify the authenticity of the Bible, the life of Jesus, and we certainly have more than enough original copies in Hebrew and Greek to know that what was said in the Bible is actually what was said, and that it actually happened. This book straight up tells you before you start reading that this is not the case for the Mormon faith, you must blindly believe God did all these things because one man said so. And the push back will probably either be I haven’t prayed for the Holy Spirit to show me this is true (I have pray every time I pick this book up that the Holy Spirit guide me in truth) or some other reason that has no logic behind it. Again, faith is not blind. There are aspects that I must agree with without fully understanding, but the validity of truth never has to be in question.
