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| | #REDIRECT[[Names in the Book of Mormon]] |
| ==Criticism==
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| Critics claim some Book of Mormon names are used improperly or in an inappropriate context.
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| Examples include:
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| *using "Alma" as a man's name, rather than a woman's name
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| *using names of Greek origin, such as "Timothy"
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| ===Source(s) of the Criticism===
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| *"That Man Alma," ''Utah Evangel'' 33:3 (April 1986): 2.
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| *Walter Martin, ''The Maze of Mormonism'' (Santa Ana, California: Vision House, 1978), 327.
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| *Robert McKay, "A Mormon Name," ''Utah Evangel'' 31:8 (August 1984): 4.
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| *John L. Smith, editorial comment on Robert McKay, "A Mormon Name," ''Utah Evangel'' 31:8 (August 1984): 4.
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| ==Response==
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| ===General treatments on Book of Mormon names===
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| *{{FR-8-2-5}}
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| *{{JBMS-3-1-2}}
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| *{{JBMS-6-2-15}}
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| *{{JBMS-7-1-11}}
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| ===Alma===
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| Despite claims into the 1980s by anti-Mormon critics, the name "Alma" has been known since the 1960s as a male Hebrew name. It occurs in contexts from 2200 B.C. to the second century B.C.{{ref|roper1}}
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| * Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| *{{JBMS-8-1-14}}
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-10}}
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| ===Aha===
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| *{{JBMS-8-2-11}}
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| ===Cumorah===
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| * {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
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| ===Jaredite Names===
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| ''See'': [[Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms:Names#Less well supported examples|below]].
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| ===Jershon===
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| * Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| * {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
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| ===Lehi and Sariah===
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-4}}<!--Annonymous-->
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| *{{JBMS-2-2-13}}<!--Chadwick-->
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-6}}<!--Chadwick-->
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| *{{JBMS-1-1-12}}<!-- Gee-->
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-5}}<!--Hoskisson-->
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-9}}<!--Hoskisson - Response-->
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-7}}<!--Pike-->
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| *{{JBMS-9-1-8}}<!--Tvdtnes-->
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| ===Mosiah===
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| *John Sawyer, "What Was a Mosiaʿ?" ''Vetus Testamentum'' 15 (1965): 475–486 [FARMS Reprint in 1989]; cited and applied by {{reexploring|author=John W. Welch|article=What Was A 'Mosiah'?|start=105|end=107}}
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| ===Mulek===
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| *{{reexploring|author=Anonymous|article=New Information About Mulek, Son of the King|start=142|end=144}}{{GL1|url=http://gospelink.com/library/doc?book_doc_id=296833}}
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| *{{JBMS-12-2-9}}<!-- Chadwick - has the seal of mulek... -->
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| *{{BYUS|author=John L. Sorenson|article=The Mulekites|vol=30|num=?|date=Summer 1990|start=6|end-22}} {{nl}}
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| ===Nahom===
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| * Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| * See also [[Book_of_Mormon_geography:Old_World#Nahom| Nahom]] in geography section.
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| ===Nephi===
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| *{{JBMS-1-1-12}}
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| *{{JBMS-9-2-10}}
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| ===Sheum===
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| * Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| ===Shilum===
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| * Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| ===Timothy===
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| Critics have argued that "Timothy" is an unlikely Nephite name, since it is of Greek origin.
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| Hugh Nibley pointed out:
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| :[R]emember...that in Lehi's day Palestine was swarming with Greeks, important Greeks. Remember, it was Egyptian territory [prior to being seized by Babylon] at that time and Egyptian culture. The Egyptian army, Necho's army, was almost entirely Greek mercenaries. We have inscriptions from that very time up the Nile at Aswan-inscriptions from the mercenaries of the Egyptian army, and they're all in Greek. So Greek was very common, and especially the name Timotheus.{{ref|tim1}}
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| It would thus not be at all surprising for Lehites or Mulekites to be familiar with the name "Timothy" (or a derivative), or even for a "Timothy" to have accompanied Mulek's party of immigrants.
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| ===Zarahemla===
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| * {{JBMS-6-2-15}}
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| ==Less well supported examples==
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| Linguistics is a complex subject, and it is all too common for zealous but mistaken defenders of the Church to use parallels in names or language which cannot be sustained. Since most Church members have no training in ancient American languages, evaluating such claims can be difficult.
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| Mesoamerican scholars consulted by FAIR have recommended that the following sources, while superficially persuasive, should be used with caution (if at all):
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| * Bruce W. Warren, "Surviving Jaredite Names in Mesoamerica," ''Meridian Magazine'' (26 May 2005){{link|url=http://www.ldsmag.com/ancients/050526mesoamerica.html}}; citing {{NewEvidencesOfChrist|start=17|end=22}}
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| * Bruce W. Warren, "'Kish'—A personal Name" ''Meridian Magazine'' (17 February 2005){{link|url=http://www.meridianmagazine.com/articles/050217kish.html}}; citing {{NewEvidencesOfChrist|start=19|end=22}}
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| These comments are not intended to disparage the individuals involved, but to encourage rigor and restraint in claims made. As Elder Dallin H. Oaks cautioned, "When attacked by error, truth is better served by silence than by a bad argument."{{ref|oaks1}}
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| ==Conclusion==
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| Many Book of Mormon names are not found in the Bible, and were unknown to Joseph Smith. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages and/or have been found as actual names from ancient history. These "hits" provide additional evidence that the Book of Mormon is indeed an ancient record.
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| ==Endnotes==
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| #{{note|roper1}} Matthew Roper, ''Right on Target: Boomerang Hits and the Book of Mormon''2001 FAIR Conference.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/conf/2001RopM.html}}
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| #{{note|tim1}} {{NibleyTeachingsBoM1_1||article=Lecture 27: Omni; Words of Mormon; Mosiah 1: The End of the Small Plates and The Coronation of Mosiah|start=430}}
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| #{{note|oaks1}} {{Ensign1|author=Dallin H. Oaks|article=Alternative Voices|date=May 1989|start=27}} {{link|url=http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1989.htm/ensign%20may%201989.htm/alternate%20voices%20.htm?fn=document-frame.htm$f=templates$3.0}}
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| ==Further reading==
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| ===FAIR wiki articles===
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| {{Book of Mormon anachronisms}}
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| <!--
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| ===FAIR web site===
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| ===External links===
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| ===Printed material===
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| *Printed resources whose text is not available online-->
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