AboutBrian Rogers Expertise LDS for over 45 years. Very knowledgable regarding LDS theology and practices, Early Christian history, Biblical inerrancy, etc. active on FAIR private list.
BYU and UoU
Question QUESTION: Why is there no archaeological evidence of Joseph Smith's claims? Why did so many of Joseph Smith's prophecies not come true?
ANSWER: Jack,
First, I want to make sure I understand your question. I assume that you are referring to the Book Of Mormon when you ask about archaeological evidence. If so, that is a very broad subject and not easy to answer in a single e-mail. For one, remember that Biblical archaeology is several hundred years old and the researchers are working in an area where there is long written history, in addition to the Bible, as a guide. The Book of Mormon, on the other hand, does not have those advantages. While we know from archaeology that there many cities in Central and South America for example, we do not know the names of those cities, other than what new names that were given when they were conquered by European explorers. I could point you to several, excellent articles on the subject but providing links to websites is not permitted in this forum. I would suggest that you google the topic and try to find articles from BOTH sides of the polemic. They are out there. (I suggest you google "FAIR" for an LDS point of view.) Hopefully that will help. I wish I could offer more.
Regarding JS prophecies, I am not aware of any that have not come true. There are critics of the LDS Church who claim this but I disagree with their point of view and understanding and I absolutely reject the definitions they impose on the subject. Usually it boils down to just that. Possibly, if you could give me one or two prophecies that you understand have not come true, I would be happy to address those specifically.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Several of the prophecies come to mind. One is the claim by Joseph Smith that Jesus would return around the year of 1892. Also, the prophecies that people dressed as Quakers lived on Mars and that the the U.S. government would be overthrown for the lack of response to the Missouri problem.
Answer Jack,
I am attempting to reply to your query but I fear this website does not allow enough space for me to properly reply.
I do not know if it is permissible or not to do it this way, but email me at brogersclan@comcast.net. We can have an better exchange via emails that way.
