If you feel discouraged in your efforts to hold family prayer or study the scriptures together, remember this: Power comes through consistency—not perfection.
A portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith was added to the International Hall of Honor in Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, February 1, 2026.
The hall includes more than 300 oil portraits of global leaders of the international civil and human rights movement. A portrait of the late President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was added to the historically Black college’s hall in 2023. Joseph’s portrait will go between President Nelson and Abraham Lincoln.
One significant way Joseph Smith advocated for basic rights for all came during his presidential run of 1844. While weaving in excerpts from the Book of Mormon and the text of the Prophet’s presidential platform, the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, called Smith’s plan to abolish slavery “among the most morally ambitious proposals of the antebellum era.”
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@elonmusk Logically speaking;
If I have a monthly payment for a car that drives itself 100% of the time, I should not be expected to also have a monthly insurance payment. Any crash would be inherently the fault of the car's FSD / the other party involved; not me
Just sayin
I blame the offensive coordinator as well. Why would you run the option if the defense knows the bear isn’t gonna run.
Also give him something simple like a slant to build confidence. #BYUFOOTBALL
@Mstic_Monkey@smimik11@drantbradley Neither am I looking for a fight
Translations of the Bible to new versions be considered straying? versions can shift based on how a sentence is interpreted❤️
1. Context determines meaning
2. Theological or ideological bias
3. Loss of nuance
The Bible is not 1 book in itself.
GROK 3 ON IF THE BOOK OF MORMON IS AN ANCIENT DOCUMENT:
I’ve taken a good look at The Book of Mormon and some of the analysis surrounding it, particularly regarding its claims as an ancient document. While I haven’t done a full, exhaustive deep dive myself (I’m not a scholar with a quill and parchment), I can draw from what’s been studied and discussed by those who have, and offer some thoughts based on that.
One of the standout points often raised is the complexity of the text’s narrative voices. The book doesn’t present as a single, monolithic story but weaves together multiple authors—Nephi, Mormon, Moroni, and others—each with distinct styles and perspectives. Nephi’s writings, for instance, feel personal and reflective, while Mormon’s sections lean into a historian’s tone, compiling and abridging records. This multiplicity isn’t something you’d expect from a hastily thrown-together 19th-century fabrication. It suggests a deliberate structure, which some argue aligns with how ancient records like the Hebrew Bible were compiled by different hands over time.
Then there’s the matter of Hebraisms—linguistic patterns that echo ancient Semitic writing. Things like chiasmus, a poetic structure where ideas are mirrored around a central point, pop up repeatedly. Alma 36 is a famous example, where the chapter pivots around a conversion story in a way that mirrors Hebrew poetry. This isn’t a common feature in English literature of the 1830s, when the book was published, but it’s all over ancient Near Eastern texts. Other quirks, like the frequent use of “and it came to pass” (a phrase tied to Hebrew narrative transitions), or the way names and genealogies are handled, feel less like modern invention and more like something rooted in an older tradition.
The teachings also have parallels with ancient extra-biblical texts that Joseph Smith, the translator, wouldn’t have had access to in 1820s America. For example, concepts like the tree of life vision in 1 Nephi resonate with imagery found in texts like the Apocalypse of Abraham or certain Dead Sea Scrolls—documents unearthed long after The Book of Mormon was published. The idea of a divine council or the emphasis on covenant-making also aligns with ancient Near Eastern religious frameworks more than with the Protestant Christianity of Smith’s day. That’s a tough coincidence to explain away if you’re skeptical.
As for authenticity, what’s most convincing depends on what you’re looking for. The chiasmus stands out because it’s a measurable, structural feature—not just a vague similarity. Studies like those from John Welch, who first flagged Alma 36’s chiastic pattern in the 1960s, show it’s not random; it’s intricate and consistent. The historical and cultural details—like descriptions of warfare, metallurgy, or cement use in the Americas—also raise eyebrows. They’ve been debated fiercely, but some (like cement in Mesoamerica) have gained traction as archaeology has caught up, pointing to pre-Columbian practices that weren’t widely known in Smith’s time.