Sources and composition of the book of mormon an introduction. Book of mormon authorship revisited, with good articles by richard bushman and others about the comingforth of the book of mormon, the various. Oct 16, 2019 in contrast, the book of mormon claims that christ was born in jerusalem. If dedicated, sincere members decide the book of mormon is a fraud, then they almost have to leave the church even if they still feel strong social ties. But today we enjoy a relative wealth of information about those times and peoples, providing a background against which the book of mormon s claims of ancient origin can be tested. Response to claims made in who really wrote the book of mormon. Cry unto this people, sayingrepent ye, and prepare the way of the lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight.
Jesus christ lives and has power not only to rescue us from death, but to cleanse us from sin and to bring us back into the presence of god and the lamb of god, the son of god who lived and died for us. Jan 04, 2020 the title page of the book of mormon provides more than just a title. Here are some suggested resources that may be of help. Using only the text of the book of mormon as the narration, get a. How he did this has been a contentious issue ever since its first publication. Book of mormon central teamed up with artist katie payne to create a beautiful and engaging video called the plates of mormon. Wordiness joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon was his translation of an ancient book written upon gold plates.
Quotes joseph used a peep stone and a hat to translate most of the book of mormon. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 1998. The english editions of the book of mormon published today generally result in a book of over 500 pages. The view of the hebrews theory of book of mormon authorship. The bom presents an extremely intricate and selfconsistent world across a large historical timescale presented as annalistic history in an uncompromizing and unmediated fashion. Anachronisms claimed to exist in the book of mormon summary. Book of mormon student manual published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints free this is an official resource of the church for use in institute classes. This knowhy was published july 10, 2018 in spanish. A journal of latterday saint faith and scholarship 36 2020, pp. Tuesday, january 10, 2017 mormanity a mormon blog but. The book of mormon gives us intricate details on the creation, transmission, preservation, and reliability of those sourcesin other words, abundant details on provenance. The author, of course, in an attempt to make his work appear biblical in nature would use such words and phrases. A readers edition university of illinois press and the author of understanding the book of mormon. The earliest text author royal skousen has made it his lifes work to bring readers back to the original text of the book of mormon.
Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon part five. Byu scholarsarchive citation roper, matthew and fields, paul j. Thank you for raising the issue by pointing to superficial similarities long sentences, and it came to pass, talk about visions and angels, etc. Although the book came out in his 20s, who really knows what he learned or where. Lamanite lands in the greater land of nephi have been analyzed with less rigor than nephite lands north of the narrow strip of wilderness. Book of mormon evidences, part one discusses some of the many factors supporting the plausibility of the book of mormon as an ancient document.
Pratt as key players in the authorship of the book of. They compared twentyfour book of mormon authors each having at least 1,000 words to each other, and concluded on the basis of three separate statistical tests that these authors were distinct from each other and oliver cowdery, joseph smith, jr. Our book of mormon central delegation went to washington d. May 18, 2008 religious studies center digitized books the following texts have been made available online at the harold b. Three scholars from stanford recently completed another wordprint analysis of the book of mormon, the newest in a series of studies completed by various researchers over the past few decades. Morris, an independent writer and historian, is the author of a documentary history of the book of mormon oxford university press, 2019. Top 10 literary and linguistic evidences for the book of. Dec 09, 2008 a new wordprint study on the book of mormon breathes new life to a longchallenged theory for book of mormon authorship, the theory that its real author was solomon spalding secretly assisted by sidney rigdon. Lee library at byu by the religious studies center. An introduction to the relevance of and a methodology for a study of the proper names of the book of mormon. It is not only that the phrase is used excessively, but also that. This must have been a book containing either the whole of the mosaic law, or at least the book of deuteronomy.
Terryl givens joseph smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light. Review of books on the book of mormon 19892011 by an authorized editor of byu scholarsarchive. The book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, joseph smith stated, and the keystone 1 of our religion. While many readers of the book of mormon are used to studying the book of mormon on the gospel library app, trying a different, printed edition of the book of mormon can be an exciting and instructive opportunity for gospel learning. This article will summarize ten literary and linguistic evidences for the book of mormon that strike me as compelling. Book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. There is no evidence of any actual history in the book of mormon.
Miraculous origins theories generally accept joseph smiths own account, that he translated an ancient record compiled and abridged by mormon, a precolumbian resident of the western hemisphere. Lamanite lands in the greater land of nephi have been analyzed with less rigor than nephite lands north of. The student manual contains mostly general authority quotes and brief statements of explanation for blocks of verses. The initial book of mormon wordprint studies were carried out by larsen, rencher, and layton. In joseph smiths america 1805 1844, women were recognized authors. The extensive use of the phrase it came to pass in the book of mormon across all of the. Confronted on every page with the steady assurance that what he is reading is both holy scripture and true history, the reader is soon forced to acknowledge a prevailing mood of assent or resentment. Mormon church admits the book of mormon is not historical admin note. Many book of mormon research projects have implications for the continuing issues surrounding the authorship of the book of mormon. Multiple authorship of the book of mormon because critics are determined to find any source for the book of mormon other than the one presented by believers, they generally claim that joseph either wrote the book himself or that he plagiarized the text from some other nineteenth century author. But behold, the spirit hath said this much unto me, saying. Resource for news media, opinion leaders and the public. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification. I just read stan carmacks bad grammar in the book of mormon found in early english bibles in interpreter.
Reynolds, editor, book of mormon authorship revisited provo. The title of this blog alludes to the wars described in the book of mormon, but the substance is the ongoing differences of opinion about book of mormon geography and historicity. Explore the book of mormon with the maxwell institute. Ash, book of mormon textual changes,shaken faith syndrome. And if an lds scholar could not have written the book of mormon. Two 2015 blog articles talk about the important book from brian d. On the discrepancy between the bible and book of mormon on. Authorship of the book of isaiah in light of the book of mormon. Mormon authors claim that the description of olive horticulture in jacob 5 is too specific and detailed for smith to have learned on his own in early 19th century new england, so they assert it is evidence that smiths story of the book of mormon s divine origin is true. Best of book of mormon commentary list scripture notes. The purpose of the new name was to eliminate confusion with the utah church, but it also makes them appear as more orthodox in their teachings. My new lds blog dealing with book of mormon issues and. Resources for better understanding the book of mormon and tools for dealing with common attacks on the lds faith suggestions from jeff lindsay, 2018 there are many interesting resources for coping with challenging or meaningful questions about the book of mormon and latterday saint religion. The book of mormon is true and confirms what the world needs to know today.
Could the mormon church still be true if the book of mormon. A longitudinal study the spalding theory of book of mormon authorship jump to subtopic. And, with more study, the books sturdiness and richness and the. Other resources book of mormon, latterday saint scripture, book of mormon translation, michael r. In the middle of this epic bout grant hardy calls a timeout with his new book understanding the book of mormon. Response to maglebys book of mormon model book of mormon. Book of mormon resources the interpreter foundation. The first book published in the english colonies was a collection of poems by anne bradstreet 1612 1672 entitled the tenth muse, lately sprung up in america that appeared in 1650. I believe that ammonihah was located west of river sidon, not east. Jun 12, 20 book of mormon study resources wednesday, june 12, 20. Book of mormon authorship if joseph smith authored the book of mormon with an eighth grade education it is quite a feat. In the april 2001 the reorganized church of jesus christ of latterday saints officially changed their name to community of christ. Collected essays on onomastic wordplay and the temple in mormon scripture. Framing the debate as a war is hyperbole, of course.
Check jeff lindsays response here, which notes some benefits and drawbacks to the new wordprint analysis. Criticism of mormonismbookswho really wrote the book of mormon. Latterday saints are turning to the book of mormon for our home and sunday school curriculum this year. D, is a professor and senior fellow, woods institute for the environment, stanford university. The book of mormon is a little less than half the size of the old testament and is larger than the new testament. The extensive use of the phrase it came to pass in the book of mormon across all of the books, i believe, suggest a single author. At least three computer analyses have been completed to date in an effort to determine who wrote the book of mormon, and whether it was a single individual or a group. The dominant theory among nonmormons since fawn brodies 1945 biography of joseph smith has been that he was the true author of the book of mormon, perhaps with the help of oliver cowdery. Resources for better understanding the book of mormon and. Whitney clayton tells byu graduates to disconnect from exmormons and avoid relationships with exes. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of. It occurred to me there is a fifth possible reason why the text of the book of mormon was originally dictated in early modern english. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon part.
We are pleased to offer below a list of titles related to the book of mormon. Designed for multiple use as study guides, handouts, and masters for creating projectable images, the charts convey a wealth of information that will enrich personal study and teaching. Notwithstanding much more on the topics discussed in this text have been published since this book, including book of mormon authorship revisited by reynolds from 1997 that build up on many of these issues, this book would make a very good addition to ones lds library. This makes the geology of the area diverse and complex. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Top 10 literary and linguistic evidences for the book of mormon in an article begun in may, 2017, i summarized the ten archaeological evidences for the book of mormon i find most convincing. He attempts the doubletask of convincing nonmormons that the book of mormon is worth the effort of serious. The book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture, but did you know. A readers guide oxford university press, in addition to several other books and articles on chinese history, ancient historiography, and mormon studies. According to this approach, the book of mormon was essentially a new text created by joseph smith, alone or with help from cowdery.
The author of 2 timothy teaches us that god hath not given us the spirit of. Me, the blog, and book of mormon gospel doctrine lesson 1. It is part of a collection that includes book of mormon evidences, part two, book of mormon evidences, part three, and book of mormon nuggets. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. What it most resembles in my experience is jrr christopher tolkiens 1977 the silmarillion. Alma 56 3 nephi 18 analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon part six. Byu studies, naturalistic explanations of the origin of the book of mormon. This corresponds well with the book of mormons own description of its built environment mormon 1. As the author of the book of mormon, joseph smith could have written sequels or prequels. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of the. Does the book of mormon exhibit evidence of divineancient origins or humanmodern origins. It is claimed that a number of items or concepts in the book of mormon are not consistent with what is known about ancient.
Jan 10, 2019 in the mesoamerican world the book of mormon likely came from, only men were authors. This is a synopsis of what i found interesting in the presentations from a book of mormon perspective. Works that have been suggested as sources include the king james bible, the. Book of mormon centrals mission is to build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. The book of mormon area in mesoamerica has a triple junction of the north american, caribbean and cocos plates. In the mesoamerican world the book of mormon likely came from, only men were authors. Bowen grew up in orem, utah, and served a twoyear mission in the california roseville mission.
In mexico and guatemala the north american and caribbean plate. On wednesday, october 31, 2012 magleby wrote in his blog called book of mormon resources. For nearly two decades, greg kofford books has had the privilege of working with the finest latterday saint scholars to publish awardwinning books on scripture, theology, history, and cultural topics. A biography, then paul gutjahr is a particularly wellqualified non mormon writer. Jun 08, 2007 it is impossible to read the book of mormon with an open mind. The spalding enigma by wayne cowdery, howard davis, and donald scales summary. In isaiah in the book of mormon, edited by donald w.
What authorship theories are proposed by nonbelievers to account for the authorship of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is actually a collection of histories passed down from one writer to another. The internal consistency of these descriptions is one of the striking features of the book of mormon. Find information on book of mormon, mormon church, religion, beliefs, latter day. Jan 18, 20 but the book of mormon is a remarkable book, qua book.
The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. The best recent resource i know if is the sunstone article on mapping book of mormon historicity debates. One passage says that the book of mormon shall establish the truth of the bible and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the lamb of god is the son of the eternal father, and the savior of the world. Continuing to describe lamanite activities after 400 ad would have been a natural second volume, maybe involving an unknown nephite population. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and to criticizing the book of mormon. Allegory of the olive tree jacob 5 ben spackman book of mormon resource guide benjamin the scribe. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. Serious study of the book of mormon by latterday saints is flourishing today as never before. Critical theories that sidney rigdon was a book of mormon author or coconspirator. The book of mormon describes peoples, cultures, history, and lands largely unknown to the 19thcentury world. All 8 of the bible translations shown above favor elder over priest and the two terms are roughly synonymous with high priest being a separate office. Strengthening ones testimony in the face of criticism and doubt 20, 20915 witnesses of the restoration, book of mormon authorship, knowhy. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. Among other things, it lists several purposes of this sacred record.
Is the book of mormon like other ancient metal documents. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed, published in 1834 by e. Also, if as holland says, the book of mormon really is doordie then you cant be a good mormon and not accept the historical truth of the book of mormon. This book attempted to revive the moribund spalding manuscript theory for the book of mormon.
Grant palmers golden pot theory related to the story of moronis visit. The book of mormon refers several times to horses and chariots, but most of the people seem to travel on foot. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. The 2019 2020 speakers were intriguing and we have grandchildren in minneapolis, so i joined the society and managed to make it to two meetings. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, members and leaders of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints have expressed numerous opinions about the specific locations of the events discussed in the book. To date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. Jan 06, 2017 this document is an interesting test case for book of mormon authorship.
Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. The production of the book of mormon is by all accounts an impressive accomplishment by joseph smith, who was only 23 years old when he dictated it to his scribes. Stubbs entitled exploring the explanatory power of semitic and egyptian in utoaztecan. Despite the book of mormon being published in 1830, its narrative attempts to employ the antiquated english style of the early modern era, as though to make it read more like the king james version of the bible published in 1611. Jan 02, 2016 byu studies helps, aids, and articles for lesson 1.
Look for these purposes, and then as you study the book of mormon this year, note passages that you feel accomplish these purposes. The first author was the prophet nephi, who left jerusalem with. Book of mormon 5,000 changes despite the claim that joseph smiths translation was by the gift and power of god, several thousand changes have been made to the book of mormon since its original printing. Authorship of the book of isaiah in light of the book of. Though latterday saints have long known that the book of mormon is an important religious text, it is encouraging to see it considered as such by a prestigious american university. Why you should try reading this edition of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421.
The book of mormon has been translated from english into over 105 languages. While i consider the current book of mormon model a significant milestone in the history of book of mormon studies, it is still rough in a number of spots and far from finished. Theories that the book of mormon essentially wrote itself with no help from joseph smith. In this way, the book of mormon is quite different than the old testament, where we are often left to wonder who wrote which parts of the various texts. The book of mormon does not discuss the layout of cities, the types of buildings that people lived in, or their manner of construction. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. The book of mormon is a wonderful blend of charity, high order love such as the love of god, and carnal or materialistic love. Additional book of mormon study resources book of mormon. Today, brad and i were talking about resources for researching book of mormon historicity. Most church members are not angry or emotional about their differences of opinion. The allusion seems to be to parts of deuteronomy, and therefore favors the mosaic authorship of that book comp. One of the most beautiful and doctrinally significant discourses in the book of mormon was given by jacob, brother of nephi in 2 nephi 610. The wordprint analysis by wayne larson and alvin rencher questions once again the theory that sidney rigdon or solomon spaulding authored the book of mormon pp.
803 1342 1095 992 93 1064 80 1162 132 1125 282 981 1373 820 737 794 519 1252 1080 1229 867 1018 1142 217 1399 933 207 405 263 1520 230 576 21 1060 975 588 1392 1113 790 96