Alma 55:32 [Book of Mormon]
“And they were thus cautious that no poison should be administered among them; for if their wine would poison a laminate it would also poison a Nephite; and thus they did try all their liquors.” (Alma 55:32)
The guys over at FAIR a Mormon apologetic site see nothing wrong with this verse as Spanish conquistadors found numerous alcoholic drinks in South America and Mexico, some even made from grapes. So be it.
My question is where does this book take place again? I thought it was North America, that’s what I remember from the advertisements in the 90’s, that I was supposed to get all happy about the fact that Jesus appeared in North America. So I’m not sure I care what happened elsewhere.
Now, the Vikings found grapes in New Foundland, so undoubtedly there were wild grapes in North America, and quite frankly a talented individual could make “wine” from almost anything that has a sugar content. They could have made “wine” from corn. My grandma used to make it from Dandelions. I make it from chokecherries, and elderberries. The question is did anyone do this? What is the evidence?
A third question is, what is it, wine or liquors? There is a difference here. Liquor is distilled. And distilling is a bit different than fermenting. What evidence is there that anyone in North America fermented anything before the Spanish came along? Surely a smart boy like Joseph could have come up with a different word if he didn’t mean a drink that had been distilled. Is it an error of translation? How could that be? Certainly he would know that people reading liquors would think of distilled drinks. And why change from wine to liquors in the same verse? Why not say they tried their drinks? Poison can be conferred in drinks that have no alcohol.
7 comments:
The Book of Mormon was supposed to take place in South America/Central America. Then one of the last Nephites (Nephi?) traveled up into North America and buried the golden plates that Joseph Smith found.
This is why BYU does so much archaeological research in Central and South America.
The Rebellious Pastor's Wife,
I am well aware that today Mormons are trying to relocate the events down to places where they think they can find some corroborative evidence. However, this was not Joseph Smiths contention at first, nor is it the story that is often told, because quite frankly, I do remember the commercials from the 90s anyway, saying the Book of Mormon was an account of Christ appearing in North America. Not South.
TRPW,
For the fun of it I typed in "Mormon, North America" to Google. Funny, My site came up first! But then there were many articles stating that the Book of Mormon takes place in North America and these by Mormons themselves. There is even a Facebook page about this saying that there is now "new found" evidence that this is true and looking towards the mound builders which are supposedly a secret suppressed to keep Mormons from knowing the truth.
That is interesting. Now that you mention it, I remember that commercial, too.
When I was in college, I remember being presented videos and such about the Aztecs and Mayas and how they practiced baptism, etc., and how the pyramids were proof that they had traveled through Egypt before they took off in the ark from Africa and did a straight shot across, like Columbus did, using a compass, that hadn't been invented yet.
I was inundated with these videos in 1992, so it was at the same time as those commercials.
TRPW,
So where did you go to college, that you were inundated with those videos?
I was still in high school at that time. I had a lot of Mormon friends.
Evidently they have been having somewhat a crisis over this for some time. They can't find the archeological evidence they want anywhere.
As I read the book of Mormon though it sounded like they took off from some place in Arabia to come over to America, but then the whole thing was so silly. The guy who can't build a fire to cook meat, all the sudden becomes an expert blacksmith and shipbuilder? O.K. then.
maybe your blog should be more about the Gospel of Christ than being critical of the Book of Mormon.
Bill Wright,
I don't know what Blog you are reading, or how long you have been lurking here.
But I spend a great more bit of time proclaiming the gospel of Christ than I do criticizing the Book of Mormon. And Even when I am criticizing the book of Mormon I tend to spend a good amount of time talking about the Gospel. So I'm not sure what your point is, here.
It was Mormons who asked me to read this blasted book. They should be able to handle the criticism their request has given birth to.
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