BOOK OF MORMON - Jarom Critique
The
Nephites keep the law of Moses, look forward to the coming of Christ,
and prosper in the land—Many prophets labor to keep the people in the
way of truth. About 399–361 B.C.
Setting: Jarom the Jew supposedly wrote his account from 399 BCE to about 361 BCE in America. This would have been after the time of the captivity of the Jews under the Babylonians and Persians, their return from captivity, and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
Verse 1: NOW behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our genealogy may be kept.
Note: Genealogies were never the primary reason for a book in the Holy Bible.
Jeremiah 36:4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.
Verse 2: And as these plates are small, and as these things are written for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the Lamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.
Note: Pronouncements from God were far more valued than genealogies.
Jeremiah 36:18 So Baruch answered them, "He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the book."
Note: Ink and scrolls were used to record the pronouncements of God.
Verse 3: Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.
Note: God had a remnant that He preserved and returned to Jerusalem not America.
Ezra 9:8-9 "And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem."
Verse 4: And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.
Note: Faith is based on sincere belief in God with works following.
Daniel 6:23 Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.
Verse 5: And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict.
Note: The people of Nephi were not keeping the law of Moses.
Leviticus 8:21 Then he washed the entrails and the legs in water. And Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Verse 6: And they were scattered upon much of the face of the land, and the Lamanites also. And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts.
Note: The LORD scatters people under judgment.
Lamentations 4:16 The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not respect the priests Nor show favor to the elders.
Note: All the people in America were under judgment from God per the BOM.
Verse 7: And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance.
Note: The land of inheritance for Jews is in the Middle East.
Psalm 105:11-12 Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance, when they were few in number, indeed very few, and strangers in it."
Note: DNA evidence has shown that the Mayan people were not Jews.
The Maya built their first large pyramids between 600 and 400 B.C., during the middle of the Preclassic Period. By late in the Preclassic Period, between 400 B.C. and A.D. 250, there were several large Maya settlements in the lowlands. Some of the largest Maya pyramids stood in one of these settlements, at a site now called El Mirador, in northern Guatemala. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.
Verse 8: And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war--yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.
Note: The Mayan people did not have machinery to help develop their societies.
The Maya also transported goods as far as the Valley of Oaxaca in Mexico and the city of Teotihuacan, near what is now Mexico City. They carried most goods on their backs or on rivers in dugout canoes. They did not use the wheel or any beasts of burden, such as horses or oxen. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.
Note: Steel was never produced in pre-Columbian America.
Small amounts of some forms of steel were made during the early part of the Iron Age. For example, the Haya people of eastern Africa made steel in special shaft furnaces. In southern India, as early as 300 B.C., spongy masses of iron were worked and reheated to make wootz steel. By the A.D. 400's, the Chinese were also producing steel. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.
Note: America Indians never developed all manner of tools to till the ground.
Before the arrival of the Europeans, the Indians lacked horses, oxen, and most other beasts of burden used in other parts of the world. 2002 World Book Encyclopedia.
Verse 9: And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land.
Note: The people of Nephi were not keeping the law of Moses.
Numbers 6:14-15 "And he shall present his offering to the LORD: one male lamb in its first year without blemish as a burnt offering, one ewe lamb in its first year without blemish as a sin offering, one ram without blemish as a peace offering, a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and their grain offering with their drink offerings."
Verse 10: And it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed from off the face of the land.
Note: The people of Nephi were not keeping the law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 12:5-6 "But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks."
Verse 11: Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them.
Note: The people of Nephi were not taught the law of Moses.
Exodus 40:29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Verse 12: And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.
Note: Old Testament repentance brought obediance to the law of Moses.
Nehemiah 10:32-33 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.
Verses 13-14: And it came to pass that two hundred and thirty and eight years had passed away--after the manner of wars, and contentions, and dissensions, for the space of much of the time. And I, Jarom, do not write more, for the plates are small. But behold, my brethren, ye can go to the other plates of Nephi; for behold, upon them the records of our wars are engraven, according to the writings of the kings, or those which they caused to be written.
Note: Ink and scrolls were used to record the pronouncements of God.
Isaiah 8:1 Moreover the LORD said to me, "Take a large scroll, and write on it with a man's pen concerning Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz."
Verse 15: And I deliver these plates into the hands of my son Omni, that they may be kept according to the commandments of my fathers.
Note: Will you follow the commandments of God or the fathers of Mormonism?
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."