Joseph Smith Biography

Thirty-Three (1838)

Yes, the Book of Mormon was a nineteenth century creation. It was created specifically
for our siblings who were placed with purpose in America so that their humanity could be
tested. Our siblings were made to forget, by virtue of the test intended for mortality, their
advanced foundationalization. Using the unconditional power of their free will, they
convinced themselves that darker-skinned people were not equal to them; thus, they
scattered the descendents of the Nephites and Lamanites^21 (i.e., the names chosen to
represent the ancient inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere).
Are the events described in the Book of Mormon true? The answer: it has as much real
truth contained in it, with respect to historical accuracy, as does the Bible. Each person who
reads the record and compares it to the Bible must consider this important answer and apply it
to logic and common sense as they seek to find the wisdom hidden within the Book of Mormon.

Recurring History Through Different Lives

Joseph Smith, Jr. indeed once lived as the man Mormon. He gave this clue to those with
eyes that see and ears that hear and understand. As the mortal named “Mormon,” he wrote:

And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father

into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla. The whole face of

the land had become covered with buildings, and the people were as

numerous almost, as it were the sand of the sea.^22

The record goes on to relate the wars between the white-skinned Nephites and the darker-
skinned Lamanites and the spiritual state of the people.
Joseph Smith, Jr. was “carried by his father into the land southward, even to the land
of Palmyra” in 1816, in his eleventh year.^23 The description of the land in the northeast part
of the United States parallels Mormon’s description of the same land (i.e., “covered with
buildings, and...people”), as well as the spiritual state of the American people living there.

Mormon wrote:

And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I

was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.^24

Of his own “visitation of the Lord,” where he “tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus,”
Joseph wrote,

“I was at this time in my fifteenth year.”^25

Critics might assume that this is undeniable proof that Joseph Smith made up the
Book of Mormon by using what was available to him in the early nineteenth century.
While the Book of Mormon was written after Joseph moved to Palmyra in his eleventh
year and after he had received the First Visitation in his fifteenth year, the balance of
Mormon’s experiences, which would parallel Joseph’s perfectly, occurred during the
years after the Book of Mormon was published.
Advanced humans know the probability of human action based on the humanity
types of the mortals they monitor. From eternities of watching humans go through their