Here are
some parallels between the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the
resurrection of Jesus from a post on twitter by a Latter-day Saint (handle “hankrsmith”):
Like Christ, the Book of Mormon:
-came out of a stone tomb with an angel
present
-had 11 witnesses (3 & 8 witnesses)
-was cared for by a man named Joseph
(Arimathea/Smith) & was seen by Mary (Whitmer)
-is rejected by the religious elite
-shows the way to salvation
Now, I am
not stating that these parallels between the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
and Jesus's resurrection is proof or strong evidence. However, it did remind me
of how many Evangelicals will apply one rule to the New Testament authors and
their use of the Old Testament and some parallels LDS tend to draw between the
Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and Old Testament figures. How so? Take the use of Hos 11:1 by Matthew in Matt 2:15. Evangelicals will argue that while
applying historical-grammatical methods of exegesis, Jesus and his family are
not prophesied of in Hosea, using senses plenior and/or Messianic exegesis and/or some different approach, Matthew
is excused from what would be labelled eisegesis if used by Latter-day Saints (and belief in the inerrancy of the autographs is defended/accepted).
If the New
Testament authors can use such methods of interpretation, critics of LDS appeals
to the same in and of itself should
not be dismissed, such as purported (and often, very implicit) hints of
prophecies of Joseph Smith and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon (on this, see Joseph Fielding McConkie, His Name Shall Be Joseph: Ancient Prophecies of the Latter-day Seer [1980]; cf. his article Joseph Smith as Found in Ancient Manuscripts).
