Book of mormon plagiarism

The view of the hebrews theory of book of mormon authorship. Nah, the book of mormon 1830 is not clever enough to have been copied from something else. What about the use of italicized words in the king james bible. Thus, the allusions to the new testament by book of mormon prophets like alma demonstrate that the book as a later forgery and not a real collection of ancient, prenew testament israelite documents. Campbell argued joseph lifted the book of mormons unique elements from his culture, simply echoing religious ideas from his own time. Book of mormonplagiarism accusationsking james bible. Variations of this theory only include that the text is a divinely inspired narrative, regardless of its. A wordprint analysis was made of the book of mormon. The book of mormon contains passages from the king james bible summary. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon pdf.

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. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon 2nd edition and also in kindle. In several cases, the plagiarism is proof that joseph smith was the author of the book of mormon, since the source of the copied text was not accessible to the alleged book of mormon authors. Apocryphacritics claim that joseph smith created the story of nephi and laban by plagiarizing concepts. Doesnt this affect the credibility of smiths claim that the book of mormon was the product of divine. In many other cases, joseph smith made minor word changes or additions.

An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. To stir you up by putting you in remembrance 2 peter 1. They present this as evidence that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon by plagiarizing the authorized king james version of the bible. When it comes to the book of mormon translation, there is what is called a tight translation and there is. Book of mormon plagiarism is proof of its truth youtube. It depends to some extent on the provenance of the book of mormon. The book view of the hebrews was quite popular in its day, but contemporaries of joseph smith didnt consider it similar enough to be a plagiarism at all. That the book of mormon quotes from isaiah is not a problem, except that joseph smiths 1830 translation reads nearly verbatim to the 1611 king james translation. Joseph smith is often accused of creating the book of mormon by plagiarizing various contemporary sources such as the spalding manuscript or ethan smiths view of the hebrews. Critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied, without attribution, from the bible. Any number of these are clear plagiarism by todays standards enough that any student attempting a small portion of this would be thrown out of byu. You can see from the kids own video clip from the thumbnail its just humiliating. Critics long speculated that smith had access to the original script and that smith heavily plagiarized it for the book of mormon. No, the book of mormon was translated by joseph smith, through the power of god, from an ancient record.

The book of mormon is way more than just plagiarism of the bible. Additionally, journal of discourses and and history of the mormon church contain official records and teachings of various mormon leaders and founders. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. It has long been the best hope of the critics, but even fawn brodie advised her fellow antimormons to give it up as a hopeless effort. In october 20, the authors conducted a data analysis comparing the book of mormon to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. Joseph used a rock in a hat for the book of mormon dictation but may have also used the 1769 kjv edition bible and possibly other sources in aiding in producing the book of mormon. Between 1817 and 1819 it was marketed for the use of schools throughout the. Several commentators on mormon history and the book of mormon, including lds church general authority b.

Is the book of mormon really just a plagiarism of the. Book of mormon plagiarism foundation of the book of mormon series. Did the book of mormon plagiarize the kjv bible answers. There are specific quotes in the book of mormon that are found in the king james bible and other modern works that joseph smith had access to. Some of the best representatives of the mormon beliefs are the lds church, the maxwell institute, and the fairmormon organizations publications. Is the book of mormon plagiarized from view of the hebrews. Out of the top matches, we discovered a book called the late war between the united states and great britain, a scriptural style account of the war of 1812 published in new york in 1816. David persuitte, a technical writer from virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985.

If the book of mormon were true, it would be impossible for alma to be quoting from a collection of books that had not yet been written. Is the book of mormon like any other nineteenth century. Many book of mormon research projects have implications for the continuing issues surrounding the authorship of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The extensive use of isaiah poses several problems. A readers guide, have attempted to move the discussion away from. We assume multiple contemporary authors were involved in writing and editing the texts. This awardwinning page is a workinprogress by jeff lindsay representing one of the most controversial discoveries ever about the origins of the book of mormon, the finding of overwhelming evidence for plagiarism from walt whitmans leaves of grass.

Roberts studies of the book of mormon is published. For instance, alexander campbell very early recognized, correctly, that joseph smith in creating his book of m. Some mormon scholars, like grant hardy, who wrote understanding the book of mormon. Great and marvelous are thy works, o lord god almighty. The people in spauldings book do not abide by the laws set forth by moses while the people in the book of mormon adhere to it very strictly which is the entire backbone for the theory that joseph smith used view of the hebrews to plagiarize the book of mormon, but more on that later. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi.

A sincere exploration of lds church history, authority, and doctrine. Most latterday saints are aware of a minor industry in certain religious circles in the united states devoted to refuting mormonism and. Was the book of mormon a plagiarism of a book called a. Book of mormon plagiarism if ive said it once ive said it a thousand times. Plagiarism in the book of mormon the annotated bible.

Discusses 20 pivotal concerns, including apologist responses to these concerns. Besides the extensive list of parallels between the bible and the book of mormon, this book examines many other possible sources used to create the text, i. Did joseph smith write the book of mormon by getting ideas from contemporary sources. Although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i.

The view of the hebrews is a 1823 book written by ethan smith, a united states congregationalist minister. Early mormon apostle orson pratt made a statement concerning the book of mormon. Critics of the book of mormon church of jesus christ. Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts mark 3.

For almost 200 years now, critics have been scrambling to prove that the book of mormon is nothing but a work of fiction. More on joseph smiths plagiarism in the book of mormon. Roberts and fawn brodie, joseph smiths, biographer noted the considerable similarities in the content of view of the hebrews and the book of mormon, which was published seven years after ethan smiths book. In spite of all the cries of plagiarism by the critics of the book of mormon, i marvel at just how weak the alleged parallels are to other texts that joseph smith might have had access to. Has the book of mormon ever been processed through a plagiarism checking software. In addition, we address persistent reports of plagiarism, coverups, and fraud. Book of mormon plagiarism a list of evidence confirming the book of mormon was compiled from preexisting sources.

He is the leading expert on the textual history of the book of mormon and the founder of the analogical modeling approach to language modeling. Josephs plagiarism in book of mormon and other revelations. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible tanner, jerald on. To order this book directly from amazon, click here. The story of lehis family journeying in the wilderness for 8 years is copied from moses and the children of israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. As early as 1831, eber howe, in his antimormon book mormonism. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when. 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. Mormon apologists will immediately nitpick at the slight problem of publication dates whitmans first edition of the leaves of grass in 1855. The spalding manuscriptcritics claim that joseph smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by solomon spaulding to write the book of mormon.

Besides the extensive list of parallels between the bible and the book of mormon, this book examines many other possible sources used to create the text e. Being born and raised in an lds family in ogden, utah came with the understanding youd be learning all you could about joseph smith, mormonism, and your book of mormon. It was determined by the analysis that while the book of mormon had been written by several people, none of them was joseph smith or any author of the 1800s which critics have claimed as the true author or having their work plagiarized by joseph. The truth about the authorship of the book of mormon. Was the spaulding manuscript the source of the book of mormon. Although riley only mentioned ethan smiths book in passing in his own work, subsequent authors drew more sustained attention to view of the hebrews as a potential source of plagiarism. Even if we assume that every apparent parallel is a genuine sign of plagiarism, view of the hebrews would only account for a tiny fraction of the book of mormon, and none of the truly unique elements such as geographical locations, place names e.

If an angel really did bring joseph smith the book on gold plates, then it could not have plagiarised the kjv or any other bible. Plagiarism the book of mormon narrative says that the jews who left jerusalem for the new world had with them the scriptures written up until that point 600 b. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon the book of mormon, one of the books of scripture accepted by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, is purported to be the record of ancient groups of people who migrated to the new world. The book of mormon brings the risen messiah to the new world, gives him a ministry, disciples and a church ethan smiths book gives, in considerable detail, the story of the mexican culturehero quetzalcoatlwho in so many things is reminiscent of the christ. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon.

Sure, big sections are quoted straight from isaiah, but the character who does the borrowing says hes quoting isaiah, so that isnt really plagarism. The big issue were dancing around is that npov kinda requires us to treat nonmormon beliefs as equal to mormon beliefs on the origin of the book of mormon. Now, a decade and a half later, persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325page second edition. Exploring claims of plagiarism in the book of mormon part. Could the bom be processed and compared against a view of the hebrews, the late war and the kjv of the bible.

The book of mormon is actually a novel although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i. Is the book of mormon really just a plagiarism of the bible. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon pdf digital book. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as 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. Alma 5 and the book of mormons plagiarism of the new. I know the software exists and is used by high schools and universities to determine if a student is plagiarizing.