Entries by MormonBox

Excerpts from Manetho

As there are no surviving copies of the original Manetho, we must rely upon excerpts and fragments copied by later authors. The four of any significance were Eusebius, Syncellus, Africanus and Josephus. Below are the excerpts of Manetho preserved in their respective larger works. To read their full works (and not just the Manetho excerpts […]

Disavow Polygamy

Reform Action #2 of 20   (see overview page) In this theological essay, I’d like to make a case for the idea that regardless of whether God did or ever has sanctioned polygamy—admitting that early Church leaders screwed up with instituting polygamy does not need to destroy anyone’s faith in Joseph Smith, the LDS church […]

The Mystery of the Secret Mithraic Initiation Temple/Chambers of Rome in the 1st-3rd Centuries

Did these initiation/temple rites play a role in the Christianization of the Roman Empire? Adapted from an article written by Flavio Bariero. The spread of a Greco-Mithraic cult throughout the Roman empire corresponded almost exactly with the destruction of the Jewish temple and State in 70-130 AD (as well as Roman-Armenian wars), and lasted until […]

A Revised Egyptian Chronology. Errors in Early Iron Age through Bronze Age Radiocarbon Correlations.

Overview Near-eastern prehistory is in need of a significant chronological overhaul. Egyptian & Babylonian timelines as well as global radiocarbon date correlations for our modern views of prehistory are off by at least 500 years. This largely because of previously unrecognized mistakes in the ancient Egyptian timeline which were then propagated into most other near-eastern […]

Understanding the Translation Process: Did Joseph Smith use the Urim and Thummim & Gold Plates or Rock in a Hat? (And why the 116 pages weren’t retranslated)

. Critics have suggested that Joseph Smith’s unwillingness or ‘inability’ to retranslate the 116 stolen pages of the Book of Mormon is evidence that the record is not an actual translation. Joseph Smith’s revelation in D&C 10:1–23 suggests that this was part of the plan of those who stole the 116 pages, with the perpetrators […]

Questions, Answers and Random LDS Apologetic & Theological Musings

Expansion Theory. (write a brief overview here) Preparatory Gospel Model (for understanding humanistic aspects of the restoration) Summarize Oahspe and how higher heavens do not commune with individuals who are not representing a cohesive group of inquisitive believers. Quote the law of one and rule of squares concerning ‘the call’. Basically make an argument about […]