How could any reasonable person believe the stuff that is the Book of Mormon? To start with Smith’s story about the plates is just off the wall. And then when you get into the archaeological and linguistic investigations of the book you have to wonder how anyone could believe it was anything but made up.
The interesting thing is that most Mormons seem like reasonable/rational individuals, but their beliefs are as messed up as Scientologists.
How can anyone buy into Mormonism?
one every minute by some accounts.
A lot of religions have fairly miraculous and unbelievable origin stories. Mormonism just happens to be more recent. So, I’d assume for Mormons, it’s the same as for members of those other religions. They’re either born into the faith and don’t really question the origin stories, they become convinced that the origin stories are true, regardless of the evidence against them, or they’re convinced that the moral and ethical teachings of Mormonism are right and don’t care much if the origin story istrue or not.
I’m a bit unclear as to why Mormonism is being singled out. Is any of Christianity really all that believable? Is Smith’s tale any less credible than the story about Jesus turning water into wine? Hell, I don’t even see the logic behind Christ dying for our sins; God was pissed at us so he sent His son to earth to die for us so he’d forgive us. It makes no sense.
Why is Mormonism any nuttier than the rest?
Now I’m curious how many current Mormons were converted to the faith vs. how many were born into it, the latter category taking the articles of faith as a given (as do those born into other faiths, unless they break away).
It wouldn’t take a lot of conversions in the early days, just a combination of relative isolation (heading out to Utah), aggressive preaching (to keep everyone in the fold and attract new adherents) and huge families. Heck, within one generation, the number of followers could easily quintuple or more.
Mormonism makes claims in the Book of Mormon that are falsified by archaeological and linguistic evidence.
Matt Stone & Trey Parker have a pretty good answer.
well, Mormonism takes everything you find disagreeable of Christianity and then proceeds to tack some extra nuttiness on top of the regular Christian stuff. It is nuttier by design.
But until they get over their anti-gay bigotry, the LDS church can suck my balls.
This doesn’t significantly differentiate it from the Bible.
Yes, but so do Judaism and mainstream Christianity. Why aren’t you surprised those religions have adherents?
Through faith?
So does the Bible, the Torah, and every creation myth of any religion. Mormonism is only “nuttier” in the sense that we have very clear evidence of fabrication by Joe Smith due to the temporal proximity, whereas many of the bizarre claims made in the Bible are too distant to strictly disprove. However, a sufficient body of the tenants underlying Christianity have been undermined by geology, biology, and other physical sciences that most adherents now claim that the Bible is partially or entirely an allegorical work.
Stranger
And therein lies my completely incredulous outlook upon all religions. You question how one can believe in something so outlandish, yet believe a guy who was killed 2,000 + years ago is still coming back to take all the believers to a green, grassy field in the sky to meet his omnipotent Daddy where eternal life will be yours forever?
Pssst: Are the dogs invited? The Squirrels? Cats? Birds? Worms? Mosquitoes?
You know, I can’t honestly understand how, in this day and age, people still hang onto these myths. We laugh at the Romans and their multiple Gods yet hang onto our singular deity with trusting faith. Pffff.
BTW - Merry Christmas! (And happy Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, etc.)
Yeah, magic stone tablets are totally believeable, but magic golden plates? C’mon.
And on the subject of archaeology, you do realize that there’s no evidence that there were ever Hebrew slaves in Egypt (or even any slaves), or that they ever migrated through the desert. And don’t get me started on Noah’s Ark - it’s not even possible, much less is there any evidence for it.
So they have three unbelievable books instead of two, what’s your point?
“Buh, but, er…theirs is newer” So freaking what? Being old doesn’t make the unbelievable believable.
How could anyone believe this stuff? It’s called faith. Some people have it. I don’t, but I try not to make a habit of whining about people who do. Why can’t you live and let live?
Especially in this ever changing world in which we live in. 
Mormonism is goofy. So is Islam, Scientology, Judaism, Hinduism, and every other religion. There’s no reason to single out Mormonism - I feel contempt for them all.
But until they get over their anti-gay bigotry, they won’t want to. 
Are you going to give in and cry?
Stranger
I love to turn questions like this back on the Op.
What do you believe in?
Why do you find any other religion more rational than Mormonism?
I find religious movements that find justification for violence, war and terrorism far more hard to comprehend than Mormonism. Have you ever check out the history of the Catholic Church? Check into why the Anglican Church even exists. What is more crass than a religion promoted to allow a King to get a divorce?
Jim
We do?