When I was studying my way out of the cult, I often found that some things that initially seemed to be slightly questionable ultimately nagged at me and nagged at me and proved to be quite significant additions to the mounting pile of circumstantial evidence that indicated that the Book of Mormon was a 19th century fabrication cobbled together by Joseph Smith (and his partners in slime).

One of these was the reference to Gazelem in the BOM. In my earlier TBM days when I read the BOM I just breezed past that passage without giving it much thought. In my last year at YBU, however, I learned all about Joseph Smith's peepstone and the fact that he had "translated" the golden plates by plopping a stone in his hat, which supposedly glowed to show him the translation, word for word, line by line. (Confirmed by none other than Russell M. Nelson in a conference talk.)

After learning about that, the BOM Gazelem character took on a whole new significance. It was obvious that Joseph Smith had just inserted a reference to his own practice of claiming to have a glowing magic stone that showed him things. And the kicker was that the name of the guy in the Book of Mormon was named GAZElem...as in a "stone gazer" (similar to "star gazer").

Seems like a minor thing, but why would an ancient Nephite guy who gazed at a magic stone have the word "gaze" in his name? And, as a bonus, Joseph Smith simply added one of his favorite syllables ("lem") to the word "gaze" in a feeble attempt to make it seem like some exotic Nephite name. (Think Lemuel in the BOM and Lemuel Durfee, the owner of the home and farm property rented to the Smith family.)

Looked at in isolation, it may not seem like much. But taken together with a thousand other telltale indications that the BOM is a fraud, it was significant corroborating evidence to me.


Alma 37:23

23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.

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GAZE: to look steadily, intently and with fixed attention. (As in gazing at a peepstone in a hat, while pretending to translate non-existent golden plates)

Screenshot.
What an observation!
Interesting how criminals always leave little clues. I wonder what it would have been like to meet JS in person—-just to look at someone so evil squarely in the eyes and wonder how in the hell they got that way.

Either consciously or subconsciously, old Joe was leaving little clues to the fraud all though his writing. How could I have missed those clues when I was trying so hard to believe?

Shinehah Wrote:
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> Either consciously or subconsciously, old Joe was
> leaving little clues

Yeah, kind of like 'Easter eggs' are put into programs as inside jokes for smart people to find.

Though, I always wondered, some of the people in TSCC were quite smart, how could they buy into this crap/fantasy?

One of my favorites: In Abraham 3, Joe decides to name the Sun. What does the Sun do? It Shines. So Joe adds 'hah' to 'shine' either because he thinks it sounds Egyptian or maybe just as an inside joke. Shinehah!

So, after that I googled the meaning of "lem" just to see what came up. Lunar Excursion Module. Lunar made me think lunatic, but also influenced by loon (n.2) and perhaps loon (n.1), the bird being noted for its wild cry and method of escaping from danger. Also see Joseph Smith minus Carthage.

So Gaze and Loony work very well together when one considers a glowing rock in a hat. No?

The obvious ridiculousness of it all was right there in front of our noses all the time. Some of us finally saw it. Others of us can even have their noses rubbed in it and still can't see. For me it took a while because being raised in it "you can't see the forest for the trees." Luckily my forest finally burned down and the new growth is lovely.

I love that map I've seen a few times showing how the region Joe lived in corresponds with the names and places in the BoM--along with the Comoros Island thing. The Mormons could use that when searching for where the BoM took place, although I guess when searching for where the BoM took place they need to be looking inside Joe's head. It was there all along.

Why after our searches do we always find things in the first place we should have looked?

He is the great wizard who watches Lord Satan and directs The 3 Nephites. Brother Frodo and Bishop Bilbo have enlisted his help in their attempts to counteract Satan's rings and things.