from:
http://www.religioustolerance.org
"A friend of Smith, Martin Harris, attempted to authenticate the tablets by taking copies of some of the inscriptions to Professor Charles Anton and is said to have received verbal confirmation that the tablets were written in "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics. No such language exists. Prof. Anton later denied making this statement, and wrote that the symbols that he saw were a combination of Greek, Hebrew, inverted or sideways Roman letters, and elements from a Mexican calendar."
"An American, James Adair, wrote a book A history of the American Indians in 1775. It attempted to prove that natives had descended from the ancient Israelites. This theme is also found in the Book of Mormon. On Pages 377 & 378 of Adair's book, there is a series of phrases describing Indian fortifications. These phrases are identical to the phrases which describe the construction of defensive forts in Chapters 48-50 and 53 of the Book of Alma. (The Book of Alma is one part of the Book of Mormon.) This would indicate that Joseph Smith copied parts of Adair's book verbatim into the Book of Mormon."
"The LDS church believes that the Book of Mormon was translated literally from the inscriptions on the golden tablets which were made about the fourth century. But the Book contains many passages containing phrases that are word-for-word identical to those found in the King James version of the Bible. The latter was completed in 1611 CE (over a millennium later). Some critics feel that this evidence proves that portions of the Book of Mormon were copied from the KJV Bible, not translated from the tablets."
"There are several instances where forgeries by Christian scribes which appear in the King James version of the Bible also appear in the Book of Mormon. Two examples are: 1 John 5:7 which appears in 3 Nephi 11:27,36
Mark 16:16 which appears in 3 Nephi 11:33-34"
" There are several instances where mistranslations in the King James Version of the Bible are copied over into the Book of Mormon: Isaiah 4:5 and 2 Nephi 14:5 refer to a "defense"; it should read "canopy"
Isaiah 5:25 and 2 Nephi 15:25 refer to the word "torn"; it should read "refuse". "
"Some critics claim that Nephi had a compass when they traveled to America. Compasses were not invented at the time of their journey (600 BCE). Others point out that the compass mentioned in the book of Mormon was a spiritual guidance device, not like the modern direction finding tool. It was a magical device which was operated by faith. It directed believers to game, food, water, etc."
"The Book of Ether (15:29-31) describes a battle in which Shiz was wounded and fainted from loss of blood. An opponent cut off the Shiz' head. Shiz then raised up upon his hands, fell, struggled for breath and died. Both the act of raising himself and breathing requires a working connection to a brain, which had previously been severed. So it is unreasonable to expect that Shiz could have struggled for breath as the book indicates. However, since his spinal reflexes might still have been intact, Shiz might have appeared to an observer as attempting to rise up and breathe."
How can he try to breathe if he has no head?
"According to the Book of Mormon, Hill Cumorah "refers to a hill and surrounding area where the final battle between the Nephites and Lamanites took place, resulting in the annihilation of the Nephite people." 8 LDS President Harold B. Lee wrote: "On these hills there transpired some of the greatest events in the world's history. This is the place where the great dramatic events which brought about the restoration of the gospel took place..." The hill is currently owned by the LDS. The Hill Cumorah Pageant is held there every summer. If the battle occurred here, then one would expect that many artifacts from the battle would have been found by archeologists. In fact, none have been discovered. This indicates that a battle never occurred at this location. The Hill Cumorah in New York state where the plates were allegedly found does not appear to be a defensive fortification, but rather an Indian burial mound similar to many others in the area. It is important to bear in mind that Joseph Smith never claimed that this location was the Hill Cumorah mentioned in the Book of Mormon."
"Mormon beliefs about the origins of Native Americans do not agree with findings by genetic researchers. With few exceptions, Native Americans are most closely related (in terms of blood factors, genetics, and physical characteristics) to the peoples of Mongolia and elsewhere in Asia. Their ancestors did not come from the Middle East."
Smith "...claimed that he received divine inspiration, not in writing a new book of scripture, but instead in having discovered and translated an existing ancient work." 2 He would have had to have been divinely inspired, because only a few academics could read some ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic text at that time. Translation only became possible following the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799-JUL, in Rosetta, Egypt (near Alexandria). The stone included a decree that was translated into three languages: Ancient Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Demotic (a later Egyptian script). The Greek writings could be translated by Egyptologists. Over time, this led to the decipherment of the other two. By 1822, Jean François Champollion (1790-1832), the "Father of the Decipherment of Hieroglyphs," 3 was able to identify the names of a few pharaohs on some monuments. 4 The ability to translate hieroglyphics symbol-by-symbol came much later -- after Smith claimed that he translated the Book of Abraham.
M. Theodule Deveria, a French Egyptologist inspected the copies of the original images on the papyri. He concluded that they were typical Egyptian funerary documents. He was able to decipher the name of the priest who authored the work, and of some Egyptian gods. He "dismissed Joseph's explanations as rambling nonsense. His comments first appeared in French in a two-volume work by Jules Remy entitled Voyage au Pays des Mormons (Paris, 1860)." 1
"In 1912, the Rt. Reverend Franklin S. Spalding, Episcopal Bishop of Utah, sent copies of the three facsimiles from the Book to world-class Egyptologists and Semitists. Eight responded with uniformly negative appraisals:
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City: "Joseph Smith's interpretation of these cuts is a farrago of nonsense from beginning to end...five minutes study in an Egyptian gallery of any museum should be enough to convince any educated man of the clumsiness of the imposture."
"...difficult to deal seriously with Smith's impudent fraud."
"Smith has turned the Goddess into a king and Osiris into Abraham."
"...very clearly demonstrates that he (Joseph Smith) was totally unacquainted with the significance of these documents and absolutely ignorant of the simplest facts of Egyptian Writing and civilization."
"...the attempts to guess a meaning are too absurd to be noticed. It may be safely said that there is not one single word that is true in these explanations." "
Meh.
Quote:
In fact, this is evidence FOR Joseph Smith, as since they were translated, and it doesn't say incorrectly so we must think they were done correctly, then they were translated by a man with a fourth grade education, who couldn't possibly know reformed egyptian (the language the gold plates of the book of mormon, and these forged plates were written in). Isn't that funny?
Or maybe they wern't translated and Smith was just a loony, since as stated above "reformed egyptian" is completely nonexistant.
And some of Smith's false prophecys, from: http://www.interlog.com/~mathewa/false-mormon-prophecies.htm
"SALE OF BOOK OF MORMON COPYRIGHT: Winter 1829-1830. Comp Hist 1:165 Joseph had a revelation that Hiram Page and Oliver Cowdery were to go to Toronto to sell the copyright of the Book of Mormon to raise money.
FULFILLMENT: They went, according to the revelation, but were completely unsuccessful. Joseph Smith "inquired of God" and was told that some "revelations" are not from God. David Whitmer reports this incident in his book An Address To All Believers In Christ, Richmond, 1887, photo reprinting by Utah Lighthouse Ministry, pp 30-31. "
"WICKED WILL BURN, ALL PROPHECIES FULFILLED: September 1830. D&C 29:9-11. "For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand" when the wicked will burn, all prophecies will be fulfilled, and Jesus will return for a thousand years.
FULFILLMENT: This is another prophecy such as Ezekiel 12:27-28 referred to: if the hour were nigh and the day soon at hand, this surely would have been fulfilled within 160 years. By no means have all prophecies been fulfilled, and many cannot now be fulfilled."
"LIBERTY JAIL PROPHECIES: March 20, 1839. D&C 121. This is "Prayer and Prophecies" from Joseph Smith while he was a prisoner in the jail at Liberty, Missouri. It contains several prophecies:
he will be avenged of his enemies by the sword (v. 5) (this is phrased as a prayer, but God had promised Joseph Smith that his prayers would be answered; he need only ask. D&C 29:6)
his friends will not charge him with transgressions (v. 10)
the hopes of those who do charge him with transgression shall have their hope blasted (v. 11)
God will "change the times and seasons" (v. 12)
Joseph Smith's enemies will be taken "in their own craftiness" (v. 12)
"not many years hence, ... [his enemies] and their posterity shall be swept from under heaven, saith God, that not one of them is left to stand by the wall." (v. 15)
knowledge will be poured down from heaven upon the heads of the Mormons.
FULFILLMENT: None of these prophecies came to pass. Joseph Smith's enemies were not destroyed "by the sword;" rather, the Mormons were successfully driven out of Missouri. His friends did charge him with transgressions within a few years, and those charges (in The Nauvoo Expositor) resulted directly in his arrest and destruction, as his enemies wished. God did not "change the times and seasons," whatever that may mean. In general, the enemies of the Mormons achieved their goal of driving the Mormons out and destroying Joseph Smith. Their posterity was not destroyed, but survived. At least, there is no record of the anti-Mormon Missourians being swept away. And what knowledge has been "poured down from heaven" upon the Mormons since 1839?
(One might wonder why Smith spent so long in prison; according to the Book of Mormon , Mormon 8:24, faith can make prison walls tumble.)"
"Feb 14, 1835. HC 2:182. Joseph Smith preached that the coming of the Lord would be in 56 years (i.e., about 1891). This prophecy also occurs in his diary for April 6, 1843 and HC 5:336. See also D&C 130:14-17. Joseph Smith prophesies that "there of those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes." He prophesies "in the name of the Lord God - let it be written: that the Son of Man will not come in the heavens till I am 85 years old, 48 years hence or about 1890." (The official historians have deleted the last phrase, beginning with "48 years" from the church history, but it is contained in the original diary.) The version in D&C 130 is phrased negatively, i.e., Christ will not come before 1890. It is also made conditional on Joseph Smith living to the age of 85. Joseph Smith says (v 16) that it might merely mean that if he lives to 85 he will go where Christ is, and therefore see his face. But that interpretation would not make sense if the revelation is in response to Joseph Smith's inquiry about the time of the second coming (v 14).
FULFILLMENT: The second coming did not occur about 1891, and the Church does not claim that it did. Nor has it occurred since. Joseph Smith did not live to be 85 years old. God must have known that he would not. Why would God make a revelation conditional upon an event which he knew would never happen? "
And the biggie:
"JOSEPH SMITH WILL BE SUCCEEDED BY HIS SON JOSEPH: April 22, 1839 and Aug 27, 1834. Joseph Smith says that he will be succeeded by his oldest son, Joseph Smith III. [Quinn pp 630, 638]
FULFILLMENT: Joseph Smith III left the main body of Mormons when they went to Utah under Brigham Young. Thus, according to the Utah church, he did not become his father's successor in the Utah church. He became president of the Reorganized Church in 1860."
Let's see someone explain THAT.