Ara norwood when mormon scholar lester bush wrote his historical survey of the spaulding theory eleven years ago, he made a comment at the tail end of his paper which bears repeating. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints 218,745 views 2. Introduction to the book of mormon introduction to the book of mormon from the lds perspective. In this article, we will provide some background on this issue focusing on the scientific issues, followed by a point by point response to various statements made in the essay about the book of mormon. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. I also summarized 24 pieces of evidence, pointing to sidney rigdon as a key contributor and likely mastermind for. A typical example of the differences between the bom, the kjv, and the jst.
My husband and i love all of the very short introduction books. In recent years the book of mormon has been compared to pseudobiblical texts like gilbert j. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Harris, md, for this guest blogpost contribution where he explains his perceptions of minimization, distortion. Joseph smith as the sole author, without intentional assistance, possibly reflecting. Each of the parts includes a brief introduction by the editor. Of course, wordprint analysis, while it can measure certain facts objectively, cannot prove the holiness of the book of mormon. Spauldings manuscript is considerably shorter than the book of mormon. A closer look at the lds church history gospel topics. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing.
Book of mormon authorship revisited is a sequel to book of mormon authorship. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. In this article i discuss what the original manuscript of. In the first essay i discussed why authorship of the book of mormon is important, how bias affects the analysis, and i critiqued some of the major authorship theories. A primary takeaway seems to be that wordprint analysis is an imprecise tool for determining authorship of the book of mormon. A concise commentary in pdf format, then youve come to right site. Craig criddles address at the exmormon foundation october 2009. Royal skousen is professor of english at brigham young university and since 1988 has served as the editor of the book of mormon critical text project. One critic of the church even goes so far as to suggest that the church encourages challenging the authorship of the book of mormon. Jockers, witten, and criddle, reassessing authorship of the book of mormon, 472. A closer look, and letter from judge joel king noble to prof. Pdf reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification. Many book of mormon research projects have implications for the continuing issues surrounding the authorship of the book of mormon.
A faithful account of that singular imposition and delusion, from its rise to the present time. A closer look, is one of the more recent strains of this particular virus. The key to book of mormon geography is the narrow neck of land. Members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints view the book of mormon as. I would also advocate careful study of the source material, the book of mormon. This presentation presents the strong connection via word print analysis. The ancient authorship and accuracy of the book of mormon are strongly reinforced by these findings. Ive seen tbms reference this study, numerous times, to argue that joseph smith couldnt have written the book of mormon. Some have found strong linguistic correspondence and declared that there is an authorial relationship. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of.
See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. In light of the growing body of significant insights into the antiquity of the book of mormon, this volume refreshes, updates, and extends the discussion begun sixteen years ago. Vernal holleys book of mormon authorship annotated. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. The 15 essays in book of mormon authorship revisited present the latest. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Alma 30 to moroni prophetic messages or dogmatic theology. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesoverview fairmormon. However, does anyone have additional thoughts on the 1982 byu study. The problem with this is that a christ quoted isaiah in matt. New light on ancient origins, published in 1982 by byus religious studies center and also edited by noel reynolds.
The tests of authenticity they employ rely on analytical techniques borrowed from such diverse disciplines as history, literature, statistics, and ancient near eastern studies. A closer look unknown binding 1992 by vernal holley author 2. Book of mormon authorship a closer look life after ministry. Moronis visitation joseph smiths description of the visits of the angel moroni and unanswered questions critics have raised about it. They also believe the history was originally inscribed on metal plates that were buried for safekeeping by the last.
Quotes joseph used a peep stone and a hat to translate most of the book of mormon. After considerable media attention and further scrutiny, antimormon. Aside from lacking four bodies of water, warr exemplifies how blinded one can become when fixated upon a physical model before extracting the internal. King james style 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. A number of different authorship theories have been proposed since the book was first published in 1830. The introduction to the spaulding work claims that its author was. Spaulding manuscript the encyclopedia of mormonism. Joseph smith sees a vision of god and jesus christ duration. The subject of book of mormon archaeology is fraught with difficulties for the mormon apologist. If you havent already perhaps you should glance over what i wrote last time then read on. They believe the book contains an abridged history of the progenitors of the american indians.
Jesus preaches in the americas 3 nephi 830 in the book of mormon, which relates jesus supposed visit to the americas. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. A closer look unknown binding january 1, 1983 by vernal holley author. A closer look, nearly sixteen years ago, his ideas in regard to book of mormon structure, content, and authorship have received widespread notice both within and without the latter day saint community. Mormonism unvailed is a book published in 1834 by eber d. Mormons clues, a new look at book of mormon geography, 2006 internet edition 2001, james warr. Taves and joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon by david persuitte, dialogue. Excerpt from vernal hollys book of mormon authorship. About the book in this volume, nine latterday saint scholars each address the question of book of mormon authorship from a different approach. If i lift out a few key points from the compelling argument i reproduced there you will see what i mean.
I am really impressed by the fact that this impartial literary critic, obviously of any preexisting commitment to a theory of the authorship of the book of jacob, saw clearly that the text was a unity and had a completely distinctive voice. These book of mormon verses should match the inspired jst version instead of the incorrect kjv version that joseph later fixed. Remember also, that the book of mormon, unlike the bible, was supposedly written on golden plates. The book of mormon includes mistranslated biblical passages that were later changed in joseph smiths translation of the bible. Additionally, the book of mormon describes the sea as the red sea. Manuscript of solomon spaulding and the book of mormon. H38 virus true book of mormon geography lands western. On january 31, 2014, the lds church published an essay entitled book of mormon and dna studies in the gospel topics series on its official website. The remix hypothesis holds that without certain foundational texts and cultural influences preceding the 1830 publication of the book of mormon, it simply would. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of. Jockers, witten, and criddle, reassessing authorship of the book of mormon, 473, table 1.
There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration. 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. Book of mormon authorship project is online page 60. The main premise of holleys study is that, contrary to statements by the likes of bush, hugh nibley, l. The remarks in the last post illustrate very well some of those problems. Price new from used from unknown binding, 1992 please retry. A closer look, vernal holley states that joseph smith in 1826 was arrested and stood trial for glass looking, a misdemeanor. In this article, we will provide some background on this issue focusing on the book of mormon itself, followed by a point by point response to various statements made in the essay about the book of mormon. The story in scripturesa geographical, cultural, and historical system of understanding and step by step through the book of mormon. For example, when tracking through grass, trackers will look for trampled grass, or if the.
Accounts by these individuals are recorded in the introduction of the book of mormon as the. Posted in book of mormon, tagged american continent, book of mormon authorship a closer look, book of mormon geography, false prophecies of joseph smith, lamanites, nephites, vernal holley on 111720 leave a comment. Purchase here view inside the book here long 45 minute video of rod meldrum and david hocking speaking about the annotated book of mormon bel. 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. Hurlbuts affidavits are not the only place where accusations like this have been made. Book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Most of the geographical speculation on the book of mormon has focused on the effort to identify book of mormon lands in the new world, which would also pinpoint a cultural group at that point in history. We present full option of this book in txt, pdf, djvu, epub, doc formats. Authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken. Nonbelievers produce a variety of theories to explain the existence of the book of mormon. Since the appearance of holleys first edition of book of mormon authorship. Book of mormon authorship religious studies center. 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. The book required creativity a form of remixing to produce, and as with any other creative work, the book of mormon appears to be heavily influenced by its time and place in history.
The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of. Holley held various midlevel lds leadership positions. A probability can be absolute only if it includes all possible outcomes. A closer look at the lds church history gospel topics essays guest post anthonydmiller church history, gospel topics essays september 7, 2018 january 1, 2020 38 minutes id like to express my appreciation to my friend, jason n.
In the first essay i discussed why authorship of the book of mormon is important, how bias. Book of mormon authorship project is online post by nevo. D, is a professor and senior fellow, woods institute for the environment, stanford university. Fortunately the book of mormon is a nearideal document for such objective wordprint studies, provided the measurement is made correctly. The book of mormon narrative is full of absurdities that demonstrate its a work of fiction. The spauldingrigdon theory of the authorship of the book of mormon is based on a heterogeneous assortment of letters and affidavits collected between 1833 and 1900.