Jacob 7

Note how verse 3 parallels Luke 22:6 (and Matthew 26:16) with the phrase "sought opportunity" which is only found in these 2 verses in the KJV bible.

Notice how the end of verse 14 also parallels a verse from that same chapter, Luke 22:42. Compare "And thy will, O Lord, be done, and not mine" to "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done".

Notice how cavalierly Jacob speaks of his many revelations, seeing angels, being ministered unto by angels, and actually hearing the voice of the Lord speak to him in very word.

With scripture like this, does it make any sense for anyone to defend apostles and prophets being ambiguous about whether or not they’ve seen Jesus by saying the experiences are too sacred to share?

Jacob 7:10-11

It is true that, in as much as “Christ” is from the Greek word Christos which means anointed one, many of the prophets wrote of the anointed one. The Hebrew word for anointed one is Messiah which is what they would have had in their Jewish records at this point. But, if we are to take the Book of Mormon on its word, 2 Ne 10:3 tells us that Christ was Jesus’ name. However, Christ is from the Greek “Christos” which is a title meaning “anointed” or “anointed one.” But for the sake of argument, let’s assume that these ancient Hebrews, hundreds of years BCE are using the Greek “Christos” as a name for Jesus the coming Messiah. This verse tells us that the prophets before this all spoke concerning this Christos. However, there is not one mention of Christos (by this claimed name) in any ancient text yet found.

Book of Mormon prophets and modern LDS prophets teach that the Book of Mormon was written for our day and that believers should liken its words unto themselves. This is a case where it doesn’t work that well. Some may seek miraculous signs like Sherem, but most people would just like reasonable evidence for the extraordinary claims of the Book of Mormon including the divinity of Christ. I think the Book of Mormon itself teaches that seeking evidence is valid and good.

2 Ne 11:4, 6-7 - Nephi’s “soul delighteth in proving unto [his] people the truth.”

Helaman 5:50 - Prisoners see sons of Helaman, Nephi and Lehi, encircled as if by fire; see angels; and hear voices. When the prisoners told the Lamanites about this, “the more part of the Lamanites were convinced of them, because of the greatness of the evidences.”

Don’t give us signs. Please give us extraordinary evidence.

Unfortunately many devout believers liken this verse unto themselves, accusing former believers of knowing the LDS Church is what it claims to be, or asserting that former belieivers are of the devil.

Verses 18-21 contain many strong parallels to the KJV bible passage Acts 5:3-5. Note that in both passages the person in error has their sins attributed to the devil, next they lie to God or to the Holy Ghost, then they die through miraculous means, and lastly this divine punishment inspires a positive reactions from the audience of faithful people.

The phrase "unto God" occurs 84 times within the KJV bible, but only once in conjunction with any type of lying, which is found in Acts 5:4. The phrase "gave up the ghost" is found 10 times in the bible, but only twice with the context of a divine punishment toward a wicked person, in Acts 5:4 and Acts 12:23.

Both the Jacob 7 passage and the Acts 5 passage also contain people that “fell,” as well as the phrase “these words” followed by the phrase “these things.”

First example I’ve noticed in Book of Mormon of a group being so astonished or overtaken by the Spirit that they all fall to the earth.

From piotrkaplanstwo at exMormon Reddit,

This is a key verse in breaking one of the apologetic lines that ‘Maybe we don’t have DNA evidence because the Book of Mormon people were not alone in the land. Their DNA is hidden by being blended in with a much greater population.’ ‘we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers’ does not leave much wiggle room on the subject.

This verse is also troublesome when trying to reconcile the population growth talked about in various parts of the Book of Mormon with the reality of population growth. Populations do not magically jump from a dozen or so individuals to millions in just a few decades. The apologetic response to this is often, ‘They were mixing with, and somehow completely assimilating the cultures of existing populations.’

Quite a few critics of the Book of Mormon argue that a French word would not have been used in a translation from reformed Egyptian to English. I don’t find the criticism convincing. I like this argument:

“The word adieu is defined in a dictionary of Joseph Smith’s day as ‘a farewell; an expression of kind wishes at the parting of friends’ [meaning that I commend you to God]. (Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828). While the word is of French origin, it had found common usage in early nineteenth century New England” (Edward J. Brandt, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Oct. 1985).