Why is it important that Christians be well-versed on what Mormons believe and why their teachings are wrong?
Mormon doctrine is unbelievably divergent from Bible doctrine. They both can’t be right. Mormons will agree with me on this. They claim that the Bible is correct only to the degree that it is properly translated. But, they claim, the Bible has been corrupted. Hence, God has raised up Mormon prophets to give mankind the whole story.
According to Mormons, Jesus had many wives, and people from Africa are forever cursed. They believe that Jesus came to America after His resurrection to preach the Gospel to descendants of Jews who allegedly helped to populate North and South America.
What is their authority for making such claims?
They claim that God revealed hidden truths to Joseph Smith and that these truths are completely authoritative. The Book of Mormon, for example, is supposed to be a revelation from God written on gold plates.
Is there any way to disprove that the Book of Mormon is a revelation from God?
There are many places and people mentioned in the Book of Mormon that are not mentioned anywhere else. The Book of Mormon receives no corroboration from secular history. It reads like a fairy tale.
The Bible mentions many places that are mentioned in other documents. Many of the cities, towns, and sites mentioned in Scripture have been found by archaeologists, and many of these locations are still in existence today.
Many Christian scholars believe that the Book of Mormon, at least in part, is a plagiarized version of the King James Bible. The King James Bible is a very accurate translation of the ancient language manuscripts. However, on occasion, and for the sake of clarity and readability in English, the King James translators added a word or two here and there, but such additions to the text were always written in italics. These italicized words inform the reader that these are words that have been added and are not part of the original text.
Evidently, however, the author of the Book of Mormon did not know the purpose of the italics in the King James Bible. There are hundreds of passages from the Bible in the Book of Mormon that include the italicized additions of the King James translators.
What does this prove? It proves, among other things, that the Book of Mormon was not translated from gold plates but from the King James Bible.