Here are three compelling reasons to think the Book of Mormon is not a historical work:
1. Lack of archaeological confirmation
Most Bibles contain maps that describe where important biblical events took place. You can visit the ruins of cities described in the Bible. The same is not true for the Book of Mormon. The book itself contains no maps; moreover, there are no references to where the events it describes took place. None of the sites described in the Book of Mormon have ever been found, and even LDS scholars don’t agree on the general location of where the events in the book took place.
According to the National Geographic Society, “Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere’s past, and the society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon.” (
mit.irr.org/national-geograp…)
Although it is possible that evidence for the events in the Book of Mormon lies deep underground waiting to be discovered, this lack of evidence does not bode well for the book’s claims to being historical.
2. The existence of anachronisms
The Book of Mormon describes many things that did not exist in the Americas during the time when the events in the Book of Mormon allegedly took place. These include animals (dogs, horses, cows, elephants), plants (barley and wheat), fabrics (silk), metals (steel and iron), and technologies (swords and chariots).
Although it is possible (in the barest sense of the term) that these items are waiting to be discovered by archaeologists or that these modern words refer to completely different things (such as when Europeans used the term “water horse” to describe a hippopotamus), it’s more likely that these anachronisms are evidence of Joseph Smith’s lack of knowledge about ancient America and more proof that the Book of Mormon is a work of fiction.
3. Evidence of plagiarism
Significant portions of the Book of Mormon consist of a word-for-word copy of the King James Version of the Bible. These include dozens of whole chapters from the prophet Isaiah as well as scores of verses from the New Testament. Especially troubling are passages like Moroni 7:44-47 that copy large portions of the New Testament but do not cite those passages.
Since the New Testament wasn’t available for the Nephites (the people whose history the Book of Mormon allegedly records) to copy and place in their own records, these passages most likely came from Smith’s recollection of the Bible.
For more, see
@counseloftrent's video "5 Reasons to Doubt the Book of Mormon" (linked below)
Read the Book of Mormon.
Cover to cover.
Pray about it, asking sincerely to know whether it’s true (the final chapter provides specific guidance on this point).
Then tell me whether Latter-day Saints believe in Jesus Christ.
Will you accept that challenge?