Questions

During our research, we came up with a staggering number of questions that we found were very difficult for us to find satisfactory answers to. A few of them are sprinkled around the site, but we thought that perhaps a single repository would be nice as well.

Since we failed to find a single believing Mormon willing to discuss the nitty-gritty with us, we were forced to scour the Web for answers. These are the questions we either could find no answers for or were left unconvinced by the answers we found from places like FAIR.

We would be tremendously curious to hear answers from our friends and family on any of these.

Book of Abraham

• Why won’t the church comment officially on the Book of Abraham’s dubious origins?
• Why won’t the church admit that the facsimiles and text were not interpreted and translated correctly?
• Why did Joseph and other church leaders claim it was written by Abraham himself when it was later determined to not be?
• Why is it still a book of canonized scripture after it was determined that the papyri were from an ordinary Egyptian funerary document?

First Vision

• Why was there no written account of the First Vision until 14 years after it supposedly happened?
• Why was it not taught in the church until 22 years after it supposedly happened?
• Why were there multiple, conflicting accounts that differed from each other in very significant details?
• Why does the church only teach and talk about one of the versions?
• Joseph Smith was clearly commanded in the official First Vision account to not join any church. Why did he join a Methodist church a few years later?

The Kinderhook Plates

• If Joseph Smith was really a prophet and had already translated numerous lengthy antiquities, why would he fall for this hoax?
• Obviously, Joseph was outright lying when he claimed it was a record of an ancient Jaredite. Doesn’t this call into question his other translations as well as his prophetic calling?

The Book of Mormon Translation

• Why does the church purposely teach a completely false story about the translation process?
• Why would Joseph use a stone he found in a well years before, and used to seek treasure for money, to translate?
• Why were the plates not visible and often not even present for the translation process? Was it even a translation in that case?

Polygamy

• Why would Joseph marry women who were already married to other men? (This is specifically banned in D&C 132)
• Why did Joseph keep many of his marriages from Emma, especially the early ones? (This is specifically banned in D&C 132)
• Why would Joseph marry 14-year old girls who were obviously not old enough to understand what they were doing?
• Why did Joseph and other church leaders frequently lie about polygamy?
• Why did the church claim it stopped polygamy because it became illegal when it was illegal the entire time?
• The church claims that Joseph Smith never had children with his plural wives. Since the Book of Mormon says that is the only justification for polygamy, why did Joseph Smith have other wives?
• How was Joseph Smith able to marry Fanny Alger before the sealing power was restored?
• Why did polygamous marriages, including official temple sealings, continue after the 1890 manifesto?
• Hinckley stated that polygamy is not doctrinal. Why can a man still get sealed to multiple wives if the civil aspect of previous marriages has been annulled or if previous wives have died? Why are women not allowed that same privilege?

Temple

• Why was the temple ceremony copied almost wholesale from the Masons?
• Why do temple prep classes not properly prepare members to make incredibly solemn covenants?
• Why has the temple ceremony changed so significantly over the years despite Joseph stating that they absolutely could not change at all?
• Why did the temple ceremony include for many years an oath of vengeance against the US?
• Why is it required to know Masonic signs, handshakes, and oaths to get into heaven?

The Name of the Church

• Why, for four years, was the church named something that directly opposed Book of Mormon passages?

Mark Hofmann

• If part of the prophet’s job is to discern truth and protect the church from falsehoods, why was the church repeatedly taken in by Hofmann’s forgery, even spending tithing money on purchasing the forgeries?
• Why did the church buy some of the forgeries with the obvious intent to hide them away from the public?

Book of Mormon Inconsistencies

• Why does DNA evidence clearly establish that Native Americans came from central Asia?
• Why do non-Mormon scholars, archeologists and anthropologists nearly universally agree that the Book of Mormon is not a historical account of the people on this continent?
• How did the Book of Mormon authors quote verses from Isaiah that did not exist when they left?
• Why did those quotes match up exactly with the English translation of the Bible that was common in Joseph Smith’s day (KJV)?
• Why does the Book of Mormon mention numerous flora, fauna, technologies, and items that didn’t exist on the American continent before the Europeans came?
• Why doesn’t it mention so much of the flora, fauna, and technologies that did exist?
• Why, if it is the most correct book on earth, has it been changed significantly and why does it contradict other passages in the Standard Works?
• If Elder B.H. Roberts, the assistant church historian and member of the Presidency of the Seventy, was convinced that Joseph Smith made up the Book of Mormon, isn’t that a problem?

Interracial marriage

• Why did the church teach that interracial marriage was so terrible?
• Why did Brigham Young state, as the prophet while giving a sermon, that a white person having sex with a black person even inside of marriage would be damned unless both parties slit their own throats?

Homosexuality and Proposition 8

• Why did the church hide behind a front group for its campaign?
• Why were members not told if the direction to support Prop 8 was actually revelation or just counsel?
• Why were church buildings frequently used for political purposes when it was clearly against church policy?
• Why did church-funded ads outright lie about various aspects of gay marriage, education, and adoption?
• Since the legislation seems doomed to failure, why would the church collect $22 million in donations from its members for a failed tactic? Shouldn’t the leaders have known through revelation that it would fail?
• Why does the church teach that gay people are choosing to be gay rather than the truth that gay people are gay when science, common sense, and real life experiences unanimously declare the church to be dead wrong?
• Why does the church claim martyr status for being forced to abandon non-traditional marriage (polygamy) and then turn around to force its beliefs about non-traditional marriage on others?
• Why doesn’t the church also campaign to make it illegal to pray to Allah, drink coffee, or shop on Sunday?

Racism

• Why was racism so prevalent and accepted among church leaders for so long?
• Does the church now consider those racist words and actions to be Christian?
• When, how and where was the revelation given to deny priesthood and temple blessings to black people?
• Why did Joseph Smith give the priesthood and temple blessings to black people?
• Why does the church now denounce the “valiance in the pre-existence” doctrine it once taught?
• Why won’t the church give an official stance now on why black people were denied the priesthood and temple blessings?

Doctrinal Contradictions

• Why are there so many completely contradictory teachings and scriptures?
• Why does the church now claim that Brigham Young was wrong when he taught in sermons about the Adam-God doctrine?
• Why does the church now claim that the doctrine of Blood Atonement is false as previously taught by church leaders?

Word of Wisdom

• Why did the Word of Wisdom gradually become so important to worthiness if it was originally given as a advice?
• Why does the church completely ignore many aspects of it like eating meat sparingly?
• Why did early prophets not live the Word of Wisdom if it is so vital to get into the temple or hold callings of responsibility?
• Why did aspects of the Word of Wisdom change in interpretation according to which prophet was in charge at the time?
• Why, if it is the “Lord’s Law of Health”, is someone considered worthy if they are incredibly unhealthy but keep to the modern interpretation of the Word of Wisdom while someone who is very healthy and doesn’t conform to every last bit of it is not worthy?
• Why does the church, which has two separate scripture verses cautioning its members to eat meat sparingly, own the largest cattle ranch in the US?

Prophets and Revelation

• Why does the church now claim that apostles and prophets are chosen by revelation when it has admitted, directly from the prophet in sworn public testimony, that they are not?
• Why does the church claim it is led by revelation when that same testimony admits it is not?
• Why can’t church leaders get their story straight about what being a special witness of Christ means?
• Why does the church claim that prophets will never lead the church astray when there have been numerous cases proving that’s not the case?

Tithing

• Why does the church not disclose any details at all about how tithing money is spent?
• Why did President Hinckley say that those making the donations have or should have the details when they actually do not?
• Why does the church, which is likely worth about $100 billion, teach destitute members to pay tithing to it before feeding their families?
• Why is the church building a mall with $2-3 billion of tithing money?
• Why did the church lie about the mall money not coming from tithing?
• Why does the church contribute so little to charity, often less percentage-wise than large corporations?

Silencing Critics

• Why does the church excommunicate members who write factual history books putting the church in a potentially bad light?
• Why does the church strongly discourage scholarly pursuit of church history from non-church sources?

Free Agency

• Why does a church that teaches the importance of free agency strictly dictate so many aspects of its members lives, from politics to clothing to food consumed?

Eternal Families

• Why does a church that emphasizes eternal families so much believe that a loving Heavenly Father would eternally divide the vast majority of families?
• Why does the church teach that marriage is required for exaltation, but oppose allowing two adults in love to get married if they happen to be of the same gender?
• Would a benevolent God eternally divide families based on earthly beliefs, which are often inherited from parents, culture or geography?

Sexism

• The Prophetess Deborah in the Old Testament stood in judgment of Israel. Why is the modern church a completely male-dominated society?
• Why can women only receive personal revelation?
• Why does a women have to swear obedience to her husband in the endowment ceremony while a man has to swear obedience to the Lord?
• Why are women never in a position of authority over men or boys after the males reach the age of 12?

Spiritual Witness

• Why do millions or billions of other people in other religions also believe that they have received spiritual confirmation that their church is true?
• Joseph Smith once admitted he was fooled by an agent of Satan. How could we possibly tell one from another?
• Why do we feel a burning in our bosoms at an emotional part of a fictional movie or book?

Allergic to History

• Why does the church teach and portray false aspects of church history?
• Why does it completely avoid teaching certain aspects of church history?

Science

• Why does the church teach that the age of the Earth is a few thousand years when science has firmly established it as 4.54 billion years?
• Why does the church claim that death and mortality came to all animal and plant life with the Fall of Adam six thousand years ago? Have they not heard of fossils, oil, and dinosaurs?
• Why does the church claim the global flood of Noah was a literal event that actually took place?