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Common Issues of Concern

Having Doubts About the LDS Church? Here are resources for researching and evaluating the claims, doctrines and scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in light of history and the Bible. Sponsored by the Institute for Religious Research, a nondenominational, non-profit Christian organization.

Changes to Mormon Scripture

1830 Book of Mormon
1830 Book of Mormon

View scanned pages of the entire 1830 edition.

Scanned Images of the Entire 1833 Book of Commandments and 1835 Doctrine and Covenants
Scanned Images of the Entire 1833 Book of Commandments and 1835 Doctrine and Covenants
View scanned pages of the entire 1833 edition (precursor to the Doctrine & Covenants).
Changes to Latter-day Scripture
Changes to Latter-day Scripture

Examine some of the thousands of changes Mormon Church leaders have made to Mormon scriptures.

Concerns with the Book of Mormon

Lamanites No More: DNA and Lost Ties to Father Lehi
Lamanites No More: DNA and Lost Ties to Father Lehi

Take a look at what Mormon prophets and apostles have proclaimed regarding native American peoples and where 'Lamanites' can be found.

Answers to Apologetic Claims about DNA and the Book of Mormon
Answers to Apologetic Claims about DNA and the Book of Mormon
DNA Evidence v. the Book of Mormon
DNA Evidence v. the Book of Mormon

New documentary film featuring secular and Mormon scientists raises questions about historicity of the Book of Mormon. Available in Spanish and English.

Stories

Testimonies of Former Mormons, and their Transition
Testimonies of Former Mormons, and their Transition

Personal accounts of former members of the LDS Church from many walks of life. They explain the issues in Mormonism that troubled them and their personal journeys to new understanding of the Bible and faith in Jesus Christ

Concerns with Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith's Changing First Vision Accounts
Joseph Smith's Changing First Vision Accounts

Every early published account, in many cases with scanned pages of the original documents.

New Light on Joseph Smith's First Vision
New Light on Joseph Smith's First Vision

Historical evidence undermines key points in the official account. 

 The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith
In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith
In Sacred Loneliness: The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith

A review of the book, In Sacred Loneliness by Mormon scholar Todd Compton. He documents Joseph's clandestine relationships and 'marriages' to teenage girls and women already married to other men.

Joseph Smith's "Inspired" Revisions to the King James Bible
Joseph Smith's "Inspired" Revisions to the King James Bible

Smith did his own "inspired" revisions to the King James Bible, claiming to restore it to its original purity. How does his work measure up to ancient Bible manuscripts?

The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim
The Lost Book of Abraham: Investigating a Remarkable Mormon Claim

A compelling new documentary film that examines Mormon Church founder Joseph Smith's controversial claim of recovering and translating a lost book of the biblical patriarch Abraham. Available on VHS and DVD.

Other Various Concerns

Dodging and Dissembling Prophet?
Dodging and Dissembling Prophet?

When he told Time magazine the Mormon Church doesn't teach that God was once a man? 

Where Does It Say That?
Where Does It Say That?

Scanned pages of original Mormon historical sources, such as the first edition of the Book of Mormon, Journal of Discourses, and rare 19th century Mormon newspapers and diaries, that document the Adam-God doctrine, prophecies of Joseph Smith, the various First Vision accounts, etc.