JohnH went ahead and gave an excellent answer; I’ll not reiterate.
Yes; the problem is that archaeology is slow. :P However, there have been many findings that have actually confirmed Mormon claims; these are usually then ignored by those same people who used them as their strongest points. (cf. writing on golden plates, use of cement in ancient America)
About 30%.
I fail to see the problem with this scripture, though we in our church hold the KJV to be a better (not by any means perfect) translation of the Bible. Are you saying that it doesn’t sound like something a “loving God” would do? God uses the designs of evil to suit his purposes, which are, in the long run, good. The ur-example is Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve, without which mankind (well, two of them anyway!) would be stuck in stagnation, and the rest of us would be stuck in heaven, waiting for the two of them to get on with it.
If I may:
JohnH went ahead and gave an excellent answer; I’ll not reiterate.
Yes; the problem is that archaeology is slow. :P However, there have been many findings that have actually confirmed Mormon claims; these are usually then ignored by those same people who used them as their strongest points. (cf. writing on golden plates, use of cement in ancient America)
About 30%.
I fail to see the problem with this scripture, though we in our church hold the KJV to be a better (not by any means perfect) translation of the Bible. Are you saying that it doesn’t sound like something a “loving God” would do? God uses the designs of evil to suit his purposes, which are, in the long run, good. The ur-example is Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve, without which mankind (well, two of them anyway!) would be stuck in stagnation, and the rest of us would be stuck in heaven, waiting for the two of them to get on with it.