Institute for Religious Research

Does the Book of Mormon really contradict the Bible? Yes, it does, despite the Mormon claim that the two are in happy agreement, as I explain in a new series of articles on IRR’s website. Two of these contradictions are at the heart of the Book of Mormon: its claim that material was removed from the Bible, and its story of Jesus coming down from heaven to visit people in the Americas. Other contradictions involve the fall of Adam and Eve, whether dark skin is a mark of God’s curse, salvation by grace, whether the Book of Mormon people observed the Law of Moses, and its references to Jesus as the Father and the Son. In the comments below, I give a link to the summary article from which you can find the articles discussing these issues in detail.

The first Tuesday in December has become known as “Giving Tuesday,” a day when special attention is focused on encouraging people to give to the charitable cause of their choice. If you are already supporting other worthy causes and IRR doesn’t fit into your charitable giving, that’s fine. Please give where and as you are led. I do want to let you know that IRR is in special need of funding due to two unexpected situations that arose at about the same time in October.

First, we had an extremely large number of orders, both unprecedented and unexpected, placed for IRR’s popular manual, Where Does It Say That?, which contains numerous photo-reproductions of documents showing what Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and other LDS leaders actually taught. We quickly ran out and had to order it reprinted. (IRR is the only organization that publishes and distributes this resource.) In order to make the manuals affordable (and even give away many copies to Mormons), we have to get large numbers printed at one time, and we still depend on donations from our supporters to help underwrite the cost. In this instance, we ordered a thousand copies.

Second, regrettably, at about the same time as we incurred this sudden expense, donations to IRR took an unexplained drop. IRR operates on a low budget: our office space is donated to us, our office phone now is routed to my cell phone (!), and neither the office manager nor I can be paid a full-time salary. Still, we do have financial needs.

So, with some reluctance, I am making this appeal directly to those of you who follow this ministry page. Please consider making a special financial gift to IRR to help us cover our expenses and to continue ministering to people’s needs. You may do so via our website or by postal mail at IRR, 550 West Street, Cedar Springs, MI 49319. If you would like to receive our newsletters, which go out about six times a year and include a special teaching article, you may sign up free of charge on our website. I'll place some important links in the comments.

Thanks,
Rob Bowman