Religious solutions from columbus to columbus to joseph smith vogel, dan on. Review of books on the book of mormon 19892011 volume 2number 1 article 24 1990 david persuitte,joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon l. Former utah senator bob bennett attempts an objective analysis for and against the book of mormon being a forgery. The primary source of smiths latterday revelation is the book of mormon, and to fully understand his role as the founder of the mormon faith, one must also understand the book of mormon and how it came to be. Smith was the founding prophet and first president of the church. The book is divided into smaller books that read as narratives. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 3352. Here are links to the two talks referenced in the his mes. Nov 26, 2014 the purpose of this video is to explore the intellectual and theological discourse about indian origins in the new world that preceded joseph smiths dictation of the book of mormon in 1829 and. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Other resources book of mormon, latterday saint scripture, book of mormon translation, michael r.
Book of mormon origin if you have read the book of mormon pages preceding this book of mormon origin page translation method, bom changes, and inspired. In this landmark work elder roberts presents a powerful case for the human origin of the book of mormon, based on four important. Its followers hold that it is a divinely inspired work revealed to and translated by the founder of their religion, joseph smith. This book does a good job of recreating the issues in the debates on indian origins in the early nineteenth century and in suggesting how that debate might have influenced joseph smith and the book of mormon.
Certainly, all of this provided abundant motivation and inspiration for the writing of the book of mormon. Joseph smiths translation and publication of the book of mormon. Joseph smith and his followers declared the book of mormons supernatural originthat it was a divinely inspired translation of an ancientamerican record, acquired by joseph through visions and the help of an angel. Criticism of mormonismbooksan insiders view of mormon. Neal salisbury, visiting reader of english and american studies, university of essex. In short, i do recommend this book, but again make sure this isnt your only view into the book of mormon. Did emma smith, who was married to him, ever comment that he referred to any. One such doctrine is the fall of adam and eve, a central component of the plan of salvation. To order this book directly from amazon, click here. Joseph claimed he translated by the power of god an ancient record inscribed on golden plates entrusted to him by an american angel. Plagiarism earlier works, like ethan smiths view of the hebrews, provide a working framework for the book of mormons themes. In the old testament, male pronouns he and his are mentioned 6. David persuitte, a technical writer from virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. Joseph smith characterized the book of mormon as the keystone.
We began with the challenge to account for the book of mormon if the official story is questioned. Mormon origins is created to make available historical information andor documents relating to the beginnings of mormonism in america. Bob bennett does a masterful job of clearly outlining some of the issues and handling them in a balancedevenhanded approach. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. Brother wahlquist bears his personal testimony of the book of mormon as a part of his online class. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. The origins of the book of mormon is there a single referencejust onein josephs journals or letters suggesting he might have read. Unfortunately, the literature about joseph smith and the book of mormon is permeated with contradiction and controversy. Three early critics set the agenda for the first sustained criticisms of the book. In a past maxwell institute publication, daniel peterson made a great point about the nature of. His account of the origin of the book of mormon is, to understate the obvious, outrageously incredible.
It has many uncanny parallels with the book of mormon that many think it was the foundation for the book of mormon. Ferguson eeventually became convinced that the book of mormon is a work of fiction, whose contents bear no relationship to the reality of native american civilization prior to 385 ce. A challenge to origins of the book of mormon and joseph smith. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from godif false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deeplaid impositions ever palmed upon the world, calculated to deceive and ruin millionsthe nature of the book of mormon is such, that if true, no one can possibly be saved and reject it. Thereafter, the books teachings on israelites became a focus for proselyting work among the maori.
View of the hebrews 1825 by ethan smith this book, written by a minister named ethan smith, contained stories and information proposing that the first settlers of ancient america were the lost ten tribes of israel. The mormon religion is based upon the story and religious teachings of joseph smith. The objective is not to find the most correct meaning for each passage of the book of mormon, but to find the most likely sources which joseph smith remixed to create the book of mormon. Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. Hagoth and the polynesians religious studies center. Animals and objects that appear throughout the book of mormon story confirm its 19th century origins, not the ancient history it purports to be. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon 2nd edition and also in kindle david persuitte, a technical writer from virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. The keystone of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints is the book of mormon. The king james bible view of the hebrews isaiah pray about its. An insiders view of mormon origins signature books. The origins of lehis understanding, therefore, came from sources already available to him. Strengthening ones testimony in the face of criticism and doubt 20, 20915 witnesses of the restoration, book of mormon authorship, knowhy. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon was available to joseph smith and contained enough parallel material to the book of mormon so as to furnish a virtual groundplan for it.
Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon, 2d ed. In the past, it was not well known or understood where the book of mormon actually came from. They multiplied and eventually split into two groups. Where did joseph smith get his ideas for the book of mormon. It relates the history of a group of hebrews who migrated from jerusalem to america about 600 bce, led by a prophet, lehi. According to the book of mormon, jesus christ appeared and preached to the nephites in the americas after his crucifixion. Religious solutions from columbus to columbus to joseph smith. The book of mormon has been criticized for its lack of significant female characters in the narrative. The book of mormon resembles the bible in its length and complexity and in its division into books named for individual prophets. Welcome to our project to crowd source the origins of the book of mormon, a controversial text published in 1830. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon was available to joseph smith and contained enough parallel material to the book of mormon so as to furnish a. The historical documentation and modernday evaluations disprove the possibility that joseph smith wrote the book himself. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu.
As early as 1831, eber howe, in his antimormon book mormonism unvailed, noted the use of names desolation and bountiful from pilgrims progress reappear in. Archaeological trends and book of mormon origins book of. The nwaf failed to find evidence to prove the book of mormon, and the man who organized it. Such an epitaph, taken from the title page of the book of mormon, captures the enduring bond between the man and the book, and also the controversy which coalesced around both with the book s publication and the organization of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints in 1830. 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. Library of congress rare book and special collections division. The book of mormon has a divine origin, joseph smith translated it, and the book of mormon stands as a true witness to the truthfulness of the bible and the role that jesus christ plays in this world. An insiders view of mormon origins was developed during a period of time that its author worked as a teacher in the church educational system ces, and was published after the authors retirement from church employment. The human origins of the book of mormon part 1 mormons.
Naturalistic explanations of the origin of the book of. Today, the lds church is most prevalent in the united states, latin america, canada, europe, the. Roberts in an unpublished paper done in the early 1920s. Mormon church grapples with origins and polygamy youtube. Modern origin of the book of mormon institute for religious.
Ash, book of mormon textual changes,shaken faith syndrome. A challenge to origins of the book of mormon a group of researchers contend that joseph smiths 1830 translation is based less on writings he found on gold plates than on the king james version of the bible. The solomon spalding manuscript 1812 by solomon spalding this unpublished manuscript was a work of fiction created by a retired minister, solomon spalding who died in 1816 before being able to publish his work. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds, more commonly known as the mormon church, is a religion derived from christianity that traces its origins to joseph smith. This is the biography of a contested memory, how it was born, grew, changed the world, and was changed by it. Jul 05, 2011 this essay is a survey and critique of the main lines of evidence for the human origin of the book of mormon proposed by mormon historian and general authority brigham h. What are the origins of lehis understanding of the fall. Mormonism origins, mormonism history, mormonism beliefs. The objective is not to find the most correct meaning for each passage of the book of mormon, but to find the most likely sources which joseph smith remixed to. Divine origins of the book of mormon a picture of america. Now, a decade and a half later, persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325page second edition. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Several important doctrines that are incomplete or ambiguous in the bible are taught with clarity and detail in the book of mormon.
A onesided view of mormon origins book of mormon central. Smith claimed the angel moroni, a prophet in the book of mormon, directed him in the 1820s to a hill near his home in palmyra, new york where the plates were buried. As francis kirkham, an lds missionary to the maori in the 1890s remembered, we would go to them, hold up a copy of the book of mormon and tell them that we had a book that told the history of their ancestors barber 1215. Going beyond the book of mormon, persuitte does a very thorough job of summarizing the evidence against the other famous smith translation the book of abraham from the chandler papyri.
Other similarities between book of mormon and bible there are a significant amount of similarities between the charactersstories in the bible vs. Book of mormon origins gold plates witnesses translation lost 116 pages archaeology locations bountiful hill cumorah nahom authorship 5,000 changes absurdities kjv style wordiness anachronisms plagiarized. In 1823, smith said an angel directed him to a buried book written on golden plates containing the religious history of an ancient people. According to joseph smith, he was seventeen years of age when an angel. Over the past thirty years, an enormous amount of research has been conducted into mormon originsjoseph smiths early life, the book of mormon, the prophets visions, and the restoration of priesthood authority. The book attempts to explain many otherwise clearly described events of the. Here are several examples listed in grant palmers book an insiders view of mormon origins. The book of mormon 11 from dissensions and revolts, the jaredites came to an end in civil war in a battle fought about 600 b. His main thesis is that not only does it take a leap of faith to believe in the divine origins of the book of mormon, it also takes a leap of faith to believe it is a forgery. This essay is a survey and critique of the main lines of evidence for the human origin of the book of mormon proposed by mormon historian and general authority brigham h. David persuitte, joseph smith and the origins of the book of. Welch, chiasmus in the book of mormon, in book of mormon authorship.
Critics have come up empty handed after many attempts to refute the divinity of the book of mormon. This information could lead one to draw the conclusion that the book of mormons origins are something other than divine. Rf wahlquist bm divine origins of the book of mormon youtube. Book of mormon origins i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Below is a partial list of books published prior to 1830 dealing with the indians condensed from indian origins and the book of mormon, dan vogel, signature books, salt lake city, utah, 1986, pp.
Without an understanding of the fall, no understanding of the atonement can be complete. The book of mormon is very much a product of its age and fits neatly into the background of the early 19th century. Noah websters dictionary contains a definition for the word adieu noah websters 1828 american dictionary demonstrates that adieu was perfectly good english the year prior to the book of mormons translation. Plural marriage and womens rights in early mormonism, 18351870. What they challenge is perhaps the most cherished and unique mormon belief. Mormons trace their origins to the visions that joseph smith reported he had in the early 1820s while living in upstate new york. Palmer was disfellowshipped and eventually resigned from the church. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesautomatic writing fairmormon. Book of mormon origins the internet annotated book of mormon. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e. Nov 11, 2014 aspects of early mormon history have been discussed and debated, but never officially by the church itself until now. Persuitte also demonstrates that joseph smiths plan for the book of mormon evolved from a nonreligious history of the precolumbians to a sacred text.
It is not for us to prove anything, however, but for the mormon church to account for the origins of the book of mormon. Howe each alleged joseph smith used the book of mormon as part of an elaborate scheme to defraud the public. As early as 1831, eber howe, in his antimormon book mormonism unvailed, noted the use of names desolation and bountiful from pilgrims progress reappear in the book of mormon. The book of mormon has always been a heavily contested text, and from the beginning many have embraced or discarded it without having read it. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon 2nd edition and also in kindle. David persuitte, joseph smith and the origins of the book. The purpose of this video is to explore the intellectual and theological discourse about indian origins in the new world that preceded joseph smiths dictation of the book of mormon in 1829 and. The human origins of the book of mormon part 1 mormons in. He is fair and says, when he finds positions that have no clearcut resolution that he comes down on the side of the book of. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. The book of the mormon, 1830, supposedly translated from golden plates found buried in the earth by joseph smith cannot in any way be from a distant and lost indian civilization because it is in absolute and perfect continuity with the various theories developed from the end of the 16th century onwards by the europeans settling in northern america and especially the english colonists to mostly justify the extermination of the indians as barbarous savages and to take their land in the name of.
678 360 1334 749 1449 1250 348 1188 1238 50 1195 1281 403 350 332 713 1135 866 565 510 1413 185 573 422 431 1159 1202 125 1039 83 1067 253 836 1421 253 654 276 1039 1147 664