Somehow that one hit me harder than the other issues about the founding of Mormonism.

I could rationalize many things. The Book of Mormon was inspired fiction, at least when it wasn't being childish or terrifying. The Golden Plates could have been a translation device, which really means revelation, or maybe even a symbol of our desire for revelation, kind of like the Urim and Thummim. Borrowing from other sources could have been inspired, kind of like a minister writing a powerful sermon based on Bible quotations.

The Angel Moroni himself could have merely been similar to the various guardian spirits that Joseph Smith played around with. Smith was a comedian, a juggler, a guy who looked for treasure in his spare time. But he finally got serious and prayed for his own soul...and this wonderful, dignified angel visited him, at least in the 1838 account, quoted the Bible, gave him advice, started teaching him the everlasting gospel mentioned in Revelation 14:6, and really made him something like a prophet for the first time.

Except that Mormon was a fictional character, a survivor of a battle that never happened between two nations that never existed. And that made the whole thing fall apart in my mind. It was like a punch in the stomach, but delivered to my mind and my eternal soul.

It's very strange how one issue out of many could be so hard to take. You can never be sure how it's going to happen until it happens.

"Except that Moroni was a fictional character..."

I suppose that Mormon was as well, being a more obvious alter ego for Joseph Smith. But Moroni had always been a shining symbol of the restoration, more spiritual and less of a grunt than his father.

Interesting point.

Another problem with the BoM-as-inspired-fiction position is that Mormon leaders and their official publications have always referred to many of today's native peoples (in the Americas and Pacific Islands) as literal descendants of the Lamanites.

That also makes a mess of Mormonism.

Early accounts of the 1823 "vision" reported that the angel's name was "Nephi," NOT "Moroni."

1851 edition of the PoGP, the 1853 biography of Smith by his mother (Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith p 79), and two early Mormon periodicals, The Millennial Star 3:4:53, and Times and Seasons 3:12:753 (the latter personally edited by Smith himself).

Typical antimormon , always splitting hairs over trivia. You say Nephi, I say Moroni. Nephi, moroni, lehi, lahonai, let's call the whole thing crap.

I have to sympathise with joseph here. I have trouble remeber my inlaws children's names these days. Remembering some fictional name you made up 10 years ago must be hell.

You besmirch George and Ira Gershwin, along with Fred & Ginger.

But at least it's for a good cause.

No angel anything.
Angels are fictional characters :)

Want to convince the gullible that you have some kind of "divine" source for some BS you made up? Say it came from an angel.

Yeah, but didn't you marry an angel?

It's a turban myth that Moroni was an angel. He was actually an angle. And not acute one. No, he was obtuse.

Well, he certainly wasn't right.

"Touched By a Fallen Angel"