BMC’s inverse relationship

By Jonathan NevilleUncategorized
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Recently Book of Mormon Central (BMC) reported on its success in raising and spending money. They’ve raised millions of dollars. They have 46 employees. The have had 4.7 million “unique visitors” to their web page, with 22.2 million page views and nearly 300 million “engagements” with their web page.  

That should mean tremendous success. Donors who have contributed all that money should be pleased. Right?

Maybe not.

What is the real-world result? Have millions of people embraced the Book of Mormon as a result of all this effort?

Not exactly. 

In fact, there is an inverse correlation between the money BMC raises and spends and the growth of the Church. While correlation isn’t the same as causation, when we think about what BMC is doing, maybe the correlation does reflect causation.

Consider that BMC actively teaches everyone that the prophets were wrong about the New York Cumorah (M2C). BMC teaches that Joseph Smith didn’t really translate anything or use the plates but instead used a stone in a hat to produce the Book of Mormon (SITH). Apparently they think repudiating the teachings of the prophets somehow increases faith in the teachings of the prophets. But the data speaks for itself.

Isn’t it obvious to everyone that the more money BMC spends, the worse the outcomes? 

Benny Hill explained the inverse relationship.

Publicly available information shows the correlation. The more money BMC spends to promote M2C and SITH, the more Church growth declines.

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Maybe if Book of Mormon Central focused on corroborating the teachings of the prophets instead of contesting them, their impact would be more favorable?


Maybe if Book of Mormon Central was inclusive enough to accommodate all faithful members’ interpretations of the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets, their influence would be more positive?
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BMC donors are specifically and deliberately donating to promote M2C. They know BMC is merely a dba (doing business as) front for BMAF.org, whose logo is even more explicitly M2C than the BMC logo.

From the BMC web page:

Is BMC a legitimate non-profit? 

Yes. Book of Mormon Central (BMC) is a dba of Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, Inc., a Utah non-profit corporation organized in 2004. Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum, Inc. (BMAF) is a 501 (c)(3) public charity whose final determination letter from the IRS was received in 2007.

Source: About Central America