This is an archived copy of a post written by Conflict Of Justice (conflictofjustice.com). Used with permission: Conflict Of Justice may not agree with any alterations made.
Wikipedia Hoax
| “Off the eastern coast of Mozambique in Africa is an island country called “Comoros.” Prior to its French occupation in 1841, the islands were known by its Arabic name, “Camora.” There is an 1808 map of Africa that refers to the islands as “Camora.” |  |
(CES Letter)
An Anti-Mormon Wikipedia editor fabricated a hoax on Wikipedia that this African island Comoros was named Camora prior to 1841. No, Comoros was never Camora. The only place where anti-Mormons can find the name Camora is in the 1808 edition of the Irish book “The General Gazetteer,” in a tiny corner on one of the pages. You have to use a magnifying glass to find it. But look closer. Does it actually say Camora?
The last vowel looks like an “a,” but the other vowels look like “o”s. It says Comora. Clearly.
They all do! This one map from Ireland happens to add an “a” on the end.
Wikipedia Lies – The Camora hoax get started on the fake encyclopedia website known as Wikipedia, and Anti-Mormons use this Wikipedia hoax to attack Mormons. You will find this hoax on Wikipedia’s article on Cumorah, which is the number one result for Google. You will also find it on the Wikipedia article for Comoros. It is shocking that Google allows their number one search result for Cumorah to be a fake hoax, a hateful lie about Mormons. It makes you wonder what other hateful lies Google places at the top of their search results having to do with Mormons?
Who put it this anti-Mormon hoax on Wikiedpia? A major anti-Mormon Wikipedia editor named Sesmith. When you look up the history of Sesmith, you find that they are a rabid Anti-Mormon who frequently edits Wikipedia articles having to do with the Mormon church. Most recently, they petitioned to prevent a Wikipedia article on “Satanic ritual abuse and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” from being deleted, arguing that it is “notable and well-referenced.”
Hoax on Wikipedia Page: 
Page Revision History Log: 
Wikipedia Editor ‘Sesmith’ is a dedicated Anti-Mormon: 
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Moroni City Did Not Exist
CES Letter continues with another lie:
“The largest city and capital of Comoros (formerly “Camora”)? Moroni.”
(CES Letter)
Moroni only became the capitol in 1876, and until then was named Meroni, not Moroni. It did not show up on any maps and it is unlikely that Joseph Smith would have ever heard about it. There is no way Joseph Smith could have taken the name Moroni from Comoro, as the name didn’t appear anywhere, in any books or maps, and it was Meroni until after his death.
Never Mentioned In Captain Kidd Stories
“‘Camora’ and settlement ‘Moroni’ were common names in pirate and treasure hunting stories involving Captain William Kidd (a pirate and treasure hunter) which many 19th century New Englanders – especially treasure hunters – were familiar with…. Hill Cumorah and Moroni have absolutely nothing to do with Camora and Moroni from Captain Kidd stories? Stories that Joseph and his treasure hunting family and buddies were familiar with? The original 1830 Book of Mormon uniform “Camorah” spelling? This is all just a mere coincidence?”
(CES Letter)
None of the stories about Captain Kidd ever mentioned Comoros or Meroni. Furthermore, there is zero evidence that Joseph Smith looked at any maps that had Comoros on them, or was interested in Captain Kidd at all. All of this is totally picked out of thin air. CES Letter quotes what they call a “contemporary source,” a leading Anti-Mormon of Joseph Smith’s day:
“Joseph … had learned to read comprehensively … [reading] works of fiction and records of criminality, such for instance as would be classed with the ‘dime novels’ of the present day. The stories of Stephen Buroughs and Captain Kidd, and the like, presented the highest charms for his expanding mental perceptions.” – Mormonism: Its Origin, Rise, and Progress
Pomeroy Tucker, 1867
But anti-Mormon Pomeroy Tucker does not actually claim that Joseph Smith read any of the Captain Kidd novels. He does not claim that Comoros had anything to do with Captain Kidd stories. Also, this was written in 1867, long after Joseph Smith died. It is not a contemporary source. Even if Joseph Smith had come across one of the novels, where do they ever mention Comoros?
Why Would Joseph Smith Copy This Name? – The anti-Mormon narrative is that Joseph Smith noticed this tiny name in an Irish book that he somehow came across, thought it was cool, and copied it. CES Letter is correct that the original 1830 printing of the Book of Mormon uses the name “Camorah,” which is only a few letters off from Comoro. But the earlier printer’s manuscript, which is what Joseph Smith produced, uses several different spellings: Camorah once, Cumorah six times, and Comorah twice. It was the printer, not Joseph Smith, who settled on Camorah rather than Cumorah. Why would Joseph Smith change the spelling, then go back and change the spelling back to to some Captain Kidd story that he allegedly read as a little kid? Does that make sense?
CES Letter Logical Fallacies
| Falsehood | Comoros was not Camora prior to 1841. The obscure Irish book that CES Letter cites does not even appear to label it Camora, but Comora. The name Moroni did not exist yet. This argument is completely false. Camora is not an Arabic name as CES Letter claims. The closest to it is Camorra, which is an Italian word. Comora and Meroni were not common in any pirate and treasure stories. These names don’t appear anywhere except an obscure map in Ireland. |
| Anachronism | Moroni got its name in 1876, long after the Book of Mormon was published. All but one map I’ve ever seen names the island Comoro or Comoros |
| Guilt by Association | Maybe Captain Kidd sailed around Comoros, but there is no evidence that it was mentioned in any New England stories about him, or that Joseph Smith had heard any stories about him or Comoros. This entire argument is a bunch of “what if” scenarios. |
| Cherry-picking | You could pick a name from any book in history about someone that Joseph Smith could have heard about and claim he stole the name because it kinda sounds similar. There is a Land called Moron in Mongolia and other names that kinda sound similar to Book of Mormon names. Does this mean Joseph Smith took names from a map of Mongolia? The name Laman sounds similar to Lamanai, a name in Belize. Maybe Joseph Smith read an Irish book that had a map of Belize in it? You can pick any random region of the world and play this Confirmation Bias exercise. |
| Argument by Repetition | In this and other arguments, CES Letter refers to the original 1830 printing of the Book of Mormon as an “edition” rather than “the first version,” “first printing,” or “original Book of Mormon.” This word “edition” bolsters the frame that there were significant changes from printing to printing, which is untrue. |
Fake Science – This argument is phony and ridiculous, and it contradicts CES Letter‘s earlier narrative. In previous arguments, CES Letter demanded that Mormons validate every single thing mentioned in the Book of Mormon with plentiful physical evidence, or our narrative must be false. Ancient horses in America? But suddenly now, CES Letter shifts the goalposts and cherry-picks one name which kinda sounds similar to some random island off Africa as evidence for their narrative. Where is the evidence? Why shouldn’t CES Letter have to validate every single name in the Book of Mormon as ripped off of maps in this book, if that narrative is true? Wouldn’t that be scientific, wouldn’t that be consistent?
One of the Book of Mormon’s strengths is its consistent originality of themes, stories, theology, and geography. By constraining the context of the argument, swinging back and forth between too much contradiction to too little contradition, CES Letter makes this clownish argument sound almost reasonable, almost scientific.
CES Letter thus begins to set a frame for how Joseph Smith produced the Book of Mormon, which by all appearances is a miracle. How did a 14 year old boy come up with such imaginative geography? Easy. He stole it from an obscure book in Ireland, that’s how. CES Letter puts on their Indiana Jones hat and deduces where he got his geography from, where he got his stories from, and so forth. They push the frame that physical evidence for every single detail is necessary for a testimony of any truth, yet any tiny amount of evidence validates their ridiculous narrative. We must give 100% solid physical evidence for our claims while they get to repeat a Wikipedia hoax. So they can cherry-pick a few physical bits of evidence, frame it in a way that almost sounds plausible by ignoring context, ignoring tons of inconvenient facts that contradict their wild and complicated narrative.
Big Lie – The narrative is hokey, but the audience is not supposed to actually believe it. The reader thinks, “Maybe Joseph Smith read about this island and it influenced him, maybe not. Who knows?” The point of this article is not really to convince us that Joseph Smith ripped off names for the Book of Mormon, but to associate him with treasure hunting, dangerous criminal pirates, and cheap dime novels. That is what really makes this argument effective. Even if you walk away shaking your heads at the claim that Joseph Smith stole names, you still associate him now with treasure hunting, criminality, and cheap fiction, which makes CES Letter‘s ensuing arguments much more persuasive. Thus, CES Letter establishes their Big Lie that “Joseph and his treasure hunting family and buddies” were a bunch of conmen.
This is how CES Letter operates: through innuendo. They push the Big Lies, they wrap them in a veneer of science, and this convinces the weak-minded members of their audience that science is a superior alternative truth to Mormonism, and that science proves that Joseph Smith was a treasure hunter, a criminal, and was inspired by dime novels. This is what is known as superstition. Not science. This is like saying Joseph Smith was visited by an ancient alien in his First Vision at Cumorah, rather than God and angels. It is unscientific, goofy, and erases all faith.
The first Big Lie that CES Letter told was that there is no physical evidence for the Book of Mormon claims. This lie leads to further lies that attack one’s testimony of the gospel. In this argument, it intersects with their next big lie which is that Joseph Smith was a criminal treasure hunter. This argument is totally false. Joseph Smith did not have access to this book printed in Ireland. It is not an Arabic name. It doesn’t say what they say it does. The capital wasn’t Moroni. It’s all lies.
Superstition – This lie is built on innuendo, image, and association rather than actual evidence. CES Letter‘s appeal to superstition, image, and popular approval makes it easier to push their unsubstantial narrative as truth, rather than allow the process of faith to uncover truth. If the popular media portrays Joseph Smith as a conman, then it must be true. Or maybe Joseph Smith was visited by an ancient alien instead of the angel Moroni? As long as we aren’t basing the narrative on tangible evidence, who knows?
When you really look into the arguments against the Book of Mormon, you find lies and the arguments quickly fall apart. The Book of Mormon wins every time. The Book of Mormon is not the product of a 14 year old reading pirate tales, but a theological wonder. It is everything it claims to be. It changes lives and has changed the world. Instead of dwelling on stupid hoaxes from Wikipedia, let us read the book and decide on its merits based on what’s inside.Complete answers to CES Letter questions about Mormons: