Book Recommendations
Anachronisms: Accidental Evidence in Book of Mormon Criticisms Introduction (online publication)
Author: Matthew Roper
Summary: A very in-depth look at the various criticisms of the Book of Mormon, specifically the claimed anachronisms, content that doesn’t seem to fit the period or location that is claimed. The author provides a large amount fantastic data to refute the various claims made against the Book of Mormon. Ironic how claims made against the Book of Mormon often lead to previously unknown evidence supporting it.
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Investigating the Book Of Mormon Witnesses
Author: Richard L. Anderson
Investigating the lives of the many people who witnesses the gold plates the Book of Mormon was translated from. Here are modern men who can be examined closely on their astounding claim—of being commissioned by an angel’s appearance and by God’s voice to testify of ancient scripture. Here are others who describe a physical experience of seeing and handling the metal record. Can it be taken seriously? This is the question author Richard Lloyd Anderson sets out to answer in this book. Using historical sources as close to the witnesses as possible, he has carefully researched their backgrounds, characters, and testimonies. His findings cannot be taken lightly. Statements clearly traced to the witnesses verify the testimonies printed in the Book of Mormon that they saw the plates, and in the case of the Three Witnesses, that an angel displayed them while the heavenly voice declared that the translation was correct. The witnesses’ lives were fused by the fire of their testimonies into a sign from God. After years of working with their lives and their words, I am deeply convinced that their printed testimonies must be taken at face value.
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The Key to the Keystone (book)
Author: Jonah Barnes
Summary: A fascinating look at how the Book of Mormon and the many books left out of the Bible (the apocrypha) agree with each other in terms of ancient theology, where as the Bible may not. This suggests that the Deuteronomists of old removed many important doctrinal points from the Old Testament based on their poor understanding of many important themes such as the the role of Jesus Christ. This also suggests, that given that the many sources that agree with doctrine of the Book of Mormon were only available after Joseph Smith’s death, that the Book of Mormon is an authentic book, written in ancient times as claimed and not created by Joseph Smith as some have claimed. Joseph Smith did in fact only translate the book from an ancient text as he said he did.
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Light and Truth Letter (book)
Author: Austin Fife
Buy at: (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCNSCTDS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share).
Summary: This book takes an honest look at many of the questions and concerns presented in the CES letter. The author presents his experience as he lost his faith because of the arguments made in the CES letter and how the arguments soon began to fall apart under his careful research and logical analysis resulting in his faith being restored. This book provides many resources and citations that simply dismantle the claims made in the CES letter.
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The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and Evolution
Authors: Jamie L. Jensen, Steven L. Peck, Ugo A. Perego, and T. Benjamin Spackman
PDF Download options: 1: https://benspackman.com/2025/04/new-book-and-new-essays-on-the-church-science-and-evolution/
or 3: PDF Download
Summary: An excellent and very in depth look at how you can very plausibly reconcile the theories of evolution and history of life on earth with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter-days.
The Spirit of Revelation (book)
Author: David A. Bednar, Apostle
Purchase: https://a.co/85E5nmH
Summary: A wonderful book on personal revelation by Elder Bednar, a latter day apostle. He tackles the problem of how to receive personal revelation and how to avoid “analysis paralysis” and move through life with the confidence you are moving forward with the guidance of the Spirit of God.
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Understanding the Book of Abraham (online publication)
Author: Stephen Smoot (et al)
Free Online Version: https://byustudies.byu.edu/journal/61-4/
Summary: An seriously in-depth review from a scholarly perspective of the contents and history of the Book of Abraham. This book gathers many data points from the origin to the purpose of the book and how it came to be available to us through a living prophet of God.
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Voices in the Book of Mormon
Author: John Hilton III
Purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Voices-Book-Mormon-John-Hilton/dp/1950304493?tag=usdeexplicits-20
Hidden from the world for centuries, the words of ancient Book of Mormon prophets whisper from the dust their witness of Jesus Christ. These prophets were individuals with distinctive speaking patterns that are unique in vocabulary, style, and thematic emphasis.
The fruit of more than a decade of research, this book compares the linguistic fingerprints of many major speakers in the Book of Mormon, from Nephi and Mormon to Jacob and Jesus Christ. It also shows voices speaking in harmony as later prophets use powerful phrases from their predecessors. Each chapter ends with thoughtful discussion of how identifying a speaker’s distinctive voice can spark greater understanding and application of his message.
These voices highlight the textual richness and complexity of the Book of Mormon, providing meaningful evidence that Joseph Smith did not write it. More importantly, they shed new light on Book of Mormon prophets’ distinctive testimonies of Jesus Christ.
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