I'm going through the New Testament and I just noticed something.

In the book of acts, Paul's conversion story is told three times.

Once, an account told in the third person present tense:
Acts chapter 9

And then twice retold by Paul himself:
Acts chapter 22 and chapter 26.

In the BofM, Alma's conversion story is told three times:

Once, an account told in the third person present tense:
Mosiah chapter 27

And then twice retold by Alma himself:
Alma 36 and 38.

I'm thinking Alma's character is ripped directly off of Paul's from the Book of Acts.

What's sad is I think I noticed all the similarities between Paul and Alma as a missionary. There was a moment of fear, a consciousness of possible plagiarism, but I was able to put it on the shelf somehow. Test of faith or whatnot, I forget. It amazes me how much I used to sweep under the rug on a regular basis.

This is one that also stood out to me as a TBM. That and all the direct rip offs of Isaiah and Matthew.

the BOM is mysterious to say the least. The more carefully one studies it out the stranger it becomes. I always wondered about the part where it says Alma the younger was the vilest sinner. Just how bad could he be? I'm thinking along the lines of could Hitler or Stallin become missionaries?

Why is it that those worthy of heavenly intervention seem to get it while murdering and pillaging and those who are honest and sincere get nothing but lifelong dedication towards a hope of such?

And what about all those lives that were destroyed by those on their way to that heavenly visit? Were they just fodder to be used by god for testing the wicked?

At face value the story is shallow feel good. On further review the whole thing is wrong, wrong, wrong even if it is told three times.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/14/2015 01:20PM by AmIDarkNow?.

When my bishop inferred that it might be "sin" that was keeping me from getting that oh so valuable confirmed by the holy ghost testimony, I tossed these two examples at him. Sin is irrelevant, I said. You can't really know you're sinning until you believe in that which defines the sin. I don't get that special feeling because either th mormon god breaks his promises or he doesn't exist.