Linguistic anachronisms in the book of mormon are words that represent concepts that are not believed to have existed in the americas between 2500 b. Consistent with this passage are josephs 1832 and oliver cowderys 1835 reports that cite an angel, later identified as moroni, who called joseph to the. Mormon faith by assessing the stylometric evidence for or against multiple authorship of the book of mormon itself. Adams explained, a few years ago, our group of thirtyfive specialists in semitic languages, statistics, and computer science at brigham young university devised a. Nov 06, 2016 the book of mormon provides conclusive evidence that the book of isaiah, including both the earlier part and the later portions in dispute by biblical scholars, was written before 600 b. What it can reliably demonstrate, and what valid data from the above studies collectively argue, is that 1 the book of mormon was written in multiple, distinct authorship styles, 2 these distinct styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself, and 3 none of the proposed 19th century authorsincluding joseph. 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. 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. Multiple isaiah theory and stylometry search isaiah. Showing multiple authorship would be strong evidence for joseph smiths account. The book of mormon is the most correct book in the sense that it those who read and obey its precepts will draw nearer to god than in reading any other book. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. 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theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding.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 theory is that a spalding manuscript was stolen by sidney rigdon, who used it in collusion with joseph smith. Among the latterday saints who are familiar with this issue there is more than one approach taken. Others agree that the book of isaiah was authored by more than one person and. Previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself. Book of mormonanachronismsbiblicaldeuteroisaiah fairmormon. Conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon.
The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of. The problem giving birth to the multipleauthorship theory is the prophecies of. About the book in this volume, nine latterday saint scholars each address the question of book of mormon authorship from a different approach. Jul, 2011 the use of the old testament in the book of mormon, by wesley p. 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. 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. The internal complexity of the book of mormon is often cited as a strong indication of multiple authorship. Wunderli also presents textual evidence using statistics to show that the book of mormon is the work of a single author. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormons different styles are. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. What about the isaiah problem in the book of mormon. 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 problem of identifying authorship for the book and parts of the book is known as the isaiah problem, 3 or what we are calling the multiple isaiah theory problem. Here is a brief overview regarding the authorship of isaiah. The tests of authenticity they employ rely on analytical techniques borrowed from such diverse disciplines as history, literature, statistics, and ancient near eastern studies. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and. Jan 16, 2018 previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself. The book of mormon is filled with the human family as one, the family of adam. Roper, fields, and bassist demonstrate how wunderlis methods are lacking, and more rigorous standards clearly reveal multiple authorship in the book of mormon. Those who reject joseph smiths claim that he translated the book through divine power assume that he or one of his contemporaries wrote the book.
Sep 29, 2011 i am curious as to how mormons deal with fact that the book of mormon contains chapters of deuteroisaiah e. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Recent research demonstrates that its diversity of styles is unusually high, even greater than the combined. The book of mormon was authored by many different authors, consistent with what its claim that it is an ancient american record. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Critics of the book of mormon have claimed that a variety of linguistic anachronisms exist in it which cast doubt upon its historical authenticity. Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of. An introduction to the relevance of and a methodology for a study of the proper names of the book of mormon. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. Previously, numerous but unsuccessful approaches have been made toward the solution of this problem. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormon s different styles are in any way unique or impressive. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a. 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. In terms of literary style, theme, and vocabulary, the book of.
Lehi would therefore have taken the entire book with him when he left jerusalem. The majority of biblical scholars divide the book of isaiah into multiple authorship. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. In isaiah in the book of mormon, edited by donald w. For instance, the semiofficial encyclopedic work encyclopedia of mormonism 1992, 2007 broached it in their entry on isaiah in the book of mormon. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and. And, though i was an active participant in the scenes that transpired. Book of mormon authorship the encyclopedia of mormonism. The book of mormon is filled with the desire we have to save our brothers, even when apostasy crosses generations and hundreds of years. At best, one might hope to conclude from such an analysis that the chosen selections are not by the same author, but the methodology used does not exclude the possibility of multiple nineteenth century authors.
It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormons internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best stylometric evidence. Deuteroisaiah in book of mormon general discussions. Alexander campbell, founder of the disciples of christ, thought he detected contemporary influences in the book of mormon when he wrote in february 1831 that the book answered almost every issue that had been discussed in new york for the last ten. Variations of this theory only include that the text is a divinely inspired narrative, regardless of its. Joseph smith as the sole author, without intentional assistance, possibly. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related. The many writings reportedly abridged by mormon are intricately interwoven and often expressly identified see book of mormon plates and records. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. 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.
Theories of multiple authors posit collaboration with others to. Of course, it could also be that josephs plagiarism lifting content from multiple authors, each with their differing writing style fingerprint, would also show differing wordprints in byus analysis. Dec 12, 2017 since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. This farms reprint edition of book of mormon authorship makes available to a new generation of book of mormon students nine diverse essays that were very important when first published in 1982 and remain important today, to accompany a new collection of studies on the same general issue of authorship soon to be published by farms. This renders as untenable the hypothesis that other authors wrote the later chapters at the time of the jews return from exile in babylon. Nearly all academics, even some in the church, doubt that book of isaiah comes from one prophet and maybe not even from god. The problem of book of mormon authorship has challenged historians and.
Jan 18, 2016 while the results of the oldest book of mormon stylometry study overstate the evidence for multiple authorship not intentionallythe field has progressed a lot since 1980, it too found multiple authorship and a lack of 19 th century authorship. The book of mormon is filled with christ as savior of all mankind, which has been removed from the old testament. It concluded that our analysis supports the theory that the book of mormon was written by multiple, nineteenthcentury authors, and more specifically. The problem of identifying authorship for the book and parts of the book is known as the isaiah problem. Hiltons methodology thus did not address a key aspect of the book of mormon authorship question. This paper contributes to this questioning of the origins of the mormon faith by assessing the stylometric evidence for or against multiple authorship of the book of mormon itself. A scientific analysis of isaiah authorship religious. It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormon s internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best stylometric evidence currently available. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian.
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. Book of mormon books, alma, book of mormon, criticism, authorship, sources, translation, language, alma, modern church, joseph smith abstract almas distinctive use of the word state in the book of mormon is present in his unique concentration of state, his tendency to reword with state, and his treatment of a shared topic involving state. 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. Still, the book of mormon is so permeated with the early 1800s milieuon every single pagethat it seems counterproductive to argue for single authorship in order to salvage the possible historicity of the book. Many studies have investigated book of mormon authorship because the book presents itself as a composite work of many ancient authors. Many book of mormon research projects have implications for the continuing issues surrounding the authorship of the book of mormon. Book of mormon authorship religious studies center. Some argue for single authorship of isaiah, disagreeing with multiple authorship theories of isaiah. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship.
Pdf reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. The book of mormon narrative is full of absurdities that demonstrate its a work of fiction. The book of commandments emphasizes that it was the book of mormon not the first vision known to the church today that constituted josephs call to his holy work 24. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon.
Recent studies of the words and phrases used by the book s various writers have provided evidence of this claim. Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational. Mormonism and the biblejoseph smith translationrelationship. The book of mormon has so many similarities to a book written by.
This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Jun 18, 2015 from an insiders view of mormon origins by grant palmer kindle version, location 909. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormons different styles are in any way unique or impressive. They date the last third of the book of isaiah to the 6th century bc nearly 200 years after isaiahs death and after lehis family left jerusalem with the brass platesthat is the isaiah problem, as it is called, in the book of mormon.
Authorship of the book of isaiah in light of the book of mormon. Like first nephi, the entire book of isaiah in the bible is chiastic. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. What creates the problem for you is that most biblical scholars claim that the book of isaiah is a compilation of the work of several authors who lived over an extended period of time. Church members believe that the book of mormon is more correct than the bible because the bible was the result of a multiple generation translation process and the book of mormon was not. Recent studies of the words and phrases used by the books various writers have provided evidence of this claim. Walters, 1990, page 30 our own computer study of the book of mormon has certainly not been as sophisticated as that of david i.
Does the book of mormon exhibit evidence of divineancient origins or humanmodern origins. How do we explain material from isaiah in the book of mormon. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. It is evident that the book of mormon isaiah texts provide evidence contravening modern theories of multiple authorship of isaiahs book see isaiah. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of. Smiths claim of multiple authorship and ancient origins.
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