Everything that follows—prophetic authority, priesthood restoration, temple theology, celestial exaltation, and the unique soteriology of Mormonism—requires this claim to be historically factual.

If Joseph Smith did not translate an ancient text, then the Book of Mormon cannot be an ancient document, and the foundation of the LDS Church collapses under the weight of its own assertions.

In the new book, “200 or 2,000” Documenting the textual writing of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, you will discover that there is no historical, linguistic, archaeological, or forensic evidence that Joseph Smith translated ancient plates.

What exists is a narrative constructed by Smith himself and accepted by followers on the basis of faith rather than verifiable evidence.

Since this foundational claim that Joseph Smith translated ancient plates fails, every claim that requires doctrinal innovation dependent on the Book of Mormon’s authenticity also collapses.

Claims of restored priesthood, restored temples, restored authority, and restored scripture require the Book of Mormon to be a genuine ancient text.

The evidence examined by the world’s leading scholars, scientists, archeologists, and linguists demonstrates unmistakably that the Book of Mormon is a 19th-century fabrication created by Joseph Smith that exhibits the linguistic, cultural, theological, and literary environment of early-19th-century American religious revivalism, not ancient texts written on plates.

Christianity rests on verifiable history, eyewitness testimony, and demonstrably ancient texts. Mormonism rests on the unverifiable assertion of a single man whose claims cannot be substantiated by any category of real evidence.

The contrast could not be more stunning. In the matter of Joseph Smith’s claim that he translated ancient plates, the failure is not partial. It is total.

Look for this important book at Amazon in January 2026