Mormonism is a joke

Ah, we finally have an argument, Well, let's get right to it. My Arguments will be based around the following 1: The Burden of proof lies upon the Pro The Pro is making a claim in this statement and trying to assert it is true. Because he is taking the affirmative in the round, the Burden of Proof in the round is upon him to prove Mormonism is a joke[2]. If my opponent cannot prove that Mormonism is a joke, or if I can prove that it is not a joke, then the Burden of Proof is not upheld and I win the case. 2: Mormonism is not a joke Joke: Something said or done to evoke laughter or amusement, especially an amusing story with a punch line.[1] 2 A.) The book of Mormon is not funny I will start by showing quotes from the Book of Mormon: ""For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round" - 1 Nephi 10:19" [3] "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.' -Alma the Younger (Alme 7:10-12)" [3] "And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the aflesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them. 10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most acruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery." [3] As we can see, nothing in these quotes are humorous. It doesn't even have one inkling of humor anywhere in the texts. So, we can assume it isn't a joke, as it isn't made to make us laugh. However, according to the definition, we need to look to why it was made in order to see if it's a joke. 2 B.) Mormonism was not intended to be a joke. "Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was the true church of Jesus Christ. There were several christian churches in the area where he lived....each contradicted the other in one way or another. Joseph ( a boy of 14 yrs) went into the woods to pray and asked the Lord which church he should join. In response God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph and through Joseph Smith was the true church of Jesus Christ restored to the earth." [4] Clearly, Joseph Smith created Mormonism because he believed nobody else was telling the true story of Jesus, and so he was inspired for religious reasons, not humorous reasons. And so, because Mormonism has been proven not to be a joke, Mormonism fails. On to you, Pro Works Cited: 1.) http://www.thefreedictionary.com... 2.) http://www.nizkor.org... 3.) http://www.goodreads.com... 4.) http://wiki.answers.com...