In 2004, a study was published by lds researchers which used statistical analysis to determine the likelihood that a chiastic. In october 20, researchers chris and duane johnson conducted an ngram analysis of the book of mormon comparing it to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. Specifically this theory claims that there were three individual authors, whose works were later compiled together under the name of the first author, the real isaiah known as protoisaiah by adherents. Over the past twentyone years, editor royal skousen has pored over joseph smiths original manuscripts and identified more than 2,000 textual errors in the 1830 edition. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Written by prophets to a people who lived in america long before white people ever came, some believe they were the beginnings of some native indian tribes. Joseph and the book of mormon mormon open blog medium. Evidence that indicates 33 contributing authors to the book of mormon. Discussions on the book of mormon the coming forth of the book of mormon originally aired. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, the fourth volume in professor royal skousen s ongoing book of mormon critical text project, represents the central task of the project. So read the title page in the june 1829 application, the printers manuscript, and the 1830 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. An informal analysis by jerald and sandra tanner of joseph smiths writing style. Smith claims to have translated the book from a group. Nowhere is this more evident than in the writings attributed to moroni toward the end of the book of mormon. This new podcast over at a thoughtful faith is a mustlisten for dialogue friends as greg prince analyzes the mormon moment right now with gina colvin. According to the book, two of these groups originated from ancient israel. Some 58 are paraphrased and 11 others are variants and or paraphrases. Readers are cautioned that the results of wordprint analysis of the book of mormon are only as reliable as they would be for other written works, and that the jury. The book of mormon is set in north america in the first century. It is the sacred text for the 15 millionstrong church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Volume 4 of royal skousens book of mormon critical text project contains six parts that detail the textual variants found throughout the text of the book of mormon. The book of mormon also contains work written by more than one author.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates. The jaredites built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the. The interpreter foundation currently hosts digital versions of all six parts of this volume. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. The hit broadway musical the book of mormon, written by south parks trey stone and matt smith and frozen s robert lopez, is a irreverent, hysterical, and surprisingly sweet sendup of religion, culture shock, and classic musical theatre. Religion is the dogmatic belief in the existence of a supreme being or certain outlined teachings. They found that a book called the late war between the united states and great britain had a very high ngram score.
Sep 28, 2016 after analyzing all the destructive elements mentioned in the book of mormon accounts, grover determined that the bestfit scenario is a strikeslip fault zone, near a coast, with an active volcano nearby. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon book. When the book of mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals such as swine and cows were out of place. Analyzing the place where the sea divides the land and the. Its the calling card for thousands of missionaries, and part of the inspiration for a tony awardwinning broadway musical. From the day the book of mormon rolled off the press in 1830, those who gave it credence asserted that it obviously read like a hebrew text. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading understanding the book of mormon. Oct 01, 2019 click to view on the internet rediscovering the book of mormon remnant through dna by rod meldrum. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed sic, published in 1834 by e.
A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. An examination of the book of mormon and its chief joseph smith, the founder of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints claimed that he received the book of mormon as a revelation from god. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. An analysis of the limited geography theory since the advent of the book of mormon in 1830, interested observers and believers have proposed various theories regarding its development, origin, and possible historical significance and setting.
T he book of mormon is a wholly american scripture. Book of mormon studies the encyclopedia of mormonism. The book of mormon is written in the style of the kjv, which seems unlikely to match what joseph smith claims was reformed egyptian on the gold plates. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred record of peoples in ancient america and was engraved upon metal plates. Volume 4 considers every significant textual change that has occurred in the english book of mormon over the 175 years since. Three different types of wordprints or stylometry were used in examining the authors of the book of mormon. The book of mormon has been described as the bible of north america i. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of. Michael ash begins a series of episodes that examine the best historical evidence relating to the book of mormon. In this first episode, he concludes that joseph smith did, in fact, have actual plates. The full text of this article can be found at deseret news online. Elvis presleysigned copy of the book of mormon a forgery.
The foundation for ancient research and mormon studies functions as a research and publication center that focuses on scholarly analysis of the book of mormon, the book of abraham, the old testament, the new testament, early christian history, and ancient temples. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here. First john in the book of mormon moronis new testament. An interesting case study in point is the occurrence of two clear parallels to 1 john in moroni 78, as shown in the table below. Dec 21, 2017 in this mormon stories podcast episode, an allstar panel analyzes recent lds church statements regarding clergy interviews. 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. Jan 01, 2014 analyzing a mormon apologist martin tanner. In many countries, every citizen has the right to freedom.
Examining the book of mormon a christian view probe ministries. The book of mormon infamously draws heavily on the bible, including the new testament, which its supposed ancient authors would never have seen. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi is a sacred text of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds. Royal skousen, analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. I am grateful to have been asked to discuss the title page of the book of mormon.
Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. What are the best books to accompany your study of the book. He assumes that these books are written completely by the authors specifically named, despite the fact that in the book of mormon prophets. Robertss study which was published posthumously in 1985 as studies of the book of mormon. Analyzing a mormon apologist martin tanner youtube. The highly acclaimed musical the book of mormon opened on broadway in 2011 and is still playing to soldout crowds there. In this first episode, he concludes that joseph smith did, in fact, have actual. The basic model of these arguments for book of mormon historicity are that there is a feature of the book of mormon text which was unknown or absurd in josephs day but which is now confirmed by historians of the ancient near east and mesoamerica in our own day. Before i get flamed i would like to point out three of the more glaring anachronistic errors. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. Book of mormon wordprint analysis three voice hypothesis. Uses the 1proportion statistical test as a means of analyzing the correlation between the book of mormon and the archaeological records.
The original book of mormon transcript the book of mormon. 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. Joseph could not be the author of the book of mormon. Although it serves primarily as a religious text, it is to be interpreted literally as being an actual, historical record of the inhabitants of the ancient. He said that the heavenly being moroni appeared to him and directed him to some buried gold p. Tvedntes has discussed the textual history of this verse and its significance. First published in 1830, the book of mormon is the authoritative scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and its estimated million members.
An analysis of the book of mormon would be very similar to one of any judeochristian text, though it uniquely puts a large emphasis on american exceptionalism. The book of mormon historical context, production history and expert analysis. Thus, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon would reveal new ways in which the book of mormon is true to itself, true to its general cultural origins, and truly a remarkable piece of religious literature in its own right. This work is a chronological arrangement of the book of mormon and is focused on the who, what, when, and where of the records compiled by the ancient prophet and historian, mormon. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon is the fourth volume in professor royal skousens ongoing book of mormon critical text project. 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. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830, a substantial amount of material analyzing, defending, and attacking it has been published. The spauldingrigdon theory, first proposed in 1834 by e. May 04, 2016 doctor of linguistics, royal skousen, has spent decades analyzing the original manuscript of the book of mormon.
They also analyze negative points of evidence not only between the book of mormon and the maya but between the book of mormon and a 1973. When gathered together these clues demonstrate that mormon intended his record to fulfill prophecy, testify of the land of promise, provide spiritual guidance, and most importantlytestify that jesus is the christ. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. The book of mormon, the founding document of the latter day saint movement and one of the four books of scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, is an account of three groups of people. Dec 21, 2011 the ostlings, in mormon america, point out many of the problems and errors, historical and archaeological, in the book of mormon and there are a number of other books that analyze the problems in a much more critical way, including one written by the mormon scholar, grant palmer, the insiders view of the book of mormon. Using this method in analyzing the book of mormon we find. In understanding the book of mormon, hardy offers the first comprehensive analysis of the works narrative structure in its 180 year history. These results yield strong statistical evidence that the wordprints of joseph smith, oliver cowdery, and solomon spaulding are not measurable in the book of mormon. To view any of the parts, click on one of the links below. The church of jesus christ of latter day saints was established as a religious group in 1830 by joseph smith. Probability calculations using the chisquare test of independence supports that the book of mormon is based on either.
The church of jesus christ of latterday saints affirms that the book of mormon is a volume of sacred scripture comparable to the bible. The books in this set consider every significant textual change that has occurred in the english book of mormon over the. Coe is also a prominent skeptic regarding the book of mormon. Book of mormon problems lds church members are taught that the book of mormon bom is scripture, as well as a true record of the inhabitants of the americas from about 2200 bc to 420 ad. Introductory pages of the book of mormon podcast book of mormon witnesses structure of the book of mormon podcast teaching correct principles the supremacy of the book of mormon a brief explanation of the book of mormon timeline of the book of mormon translation early christianity and 1continue reading. The book of mormon is a comingofage story of two young, extremely likeable mormons on their mission to spread the lords word. Actually, all that became obvious was the failure of both believers and unbelievers to cite much specific evidence. Of the 478 verses in the book of mormon quoted from the book of isaiah, 201 agree with the king james reading while 207 show variations. Critically analyzing the case for book of mormon historicity. Feb 25, 2014 michael ash begins a series of episodes that examine the best historical evidence relating to the book of mormon. Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies.
Jerald and sandra tanner of utah lighthouse ministry, an evangelical group known for its intense opposition to and criticism of the lds church, performed their own brief computer study. As john hilton put the matter, if wordprinting is a valid technique, then this analysis suggests that it is statistically indefensible to claim that joseph, oliver, or solomon spaulding wrote the 30,000 words in the book of mormon attributed to nephi and alma. Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the book of mormon. Many concepts from the book of mormon are present in this book notably 2000 stripling warriors, a liahonalike description of a metal device. Book of mormon wordprint analysis three voice hypothesis posted by churchistrue this is an introduction to a series of posts that i will be making to define the three voice hypothesis for book of mormon authorship attribution, developed from analyzing book of mormon wordprint data.
That issue is compounded by the fact that we know joseph smith also copied kjv passages and phrases from revelations, acts, matthew, malachi, 1 corinthians, and john. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Analyzing the book of mormon with grant hardy for fun and. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the. Those who were not so convinced insisted that it obviously read like anything but a hebrew text. Jun 10, 2019 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints takes no official stance on the geography of the book of mormon. Intriguing literary analysis of the book of mormon later on. This volume in six parts represents the central task of the project. Is it time to pull the curtain on the book of mormon. For nearly two centuries, faithful members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds have. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon gives readers detailed access to the central task of professor royal skousens book of mormon critical text project, the most comprehensive effort ever undertaken to recover the original englishlanguage text of the book of mormon.
Royal skousen has looked carefully at the transmission history of the book of mormon and has highlighted many interesting things about the text that inspire confidence in its reliability and josephs ability as a translator. Deseret book, to research topics and people and for its summaries and outlines on each of the books in the book of mormon. Both critics and promoters of the book of mormon have used linguistic methods to analyze the text. Greg prince was asked this by a nonmormon friend about the new policy and he could only answer there is nothing in mormon theology that justifies the policy, this is just out of the box. In the book of mormon, two very different young lds missionaries the talented, eager elder. His stories however begin to relate to the people and gets them to listen, and he decides that bending the truth cannot hurt, as it will ultimately help them. Rediscovering the bom remnant through dna book of mormon. Have any nonmormon scholars seriously analyzed the book. Howe, holds that sidney rigdon concocted the book of mormon by plagiarizing a. The book of mormon musical synopsis with cunningham now in charge of the mission it becomes clear that his lack of education results in him making things up making things up again.
Also, i will be using the book of mormon reference companion, dennis l. Recognizing that these various goals could only be. Elvis died 14 days later, and the book was allegedly returned to the donor who shared it with a few people before it was transferred to the church in 1989. Some people believe the book of mormon is a new revelation from god given to joseph smith. Nov, 2017 harold bloom is arguably the foremost living scholar of american literature. Buddhism and mormon is a wonderful example of a research paper on religion and theology.
For instance, the lds church could run an ongoing sentiment analysis of all public posts on twitter that mention words related to the church like. It contains a record of gods dealings with three groups of people who migrated from the near east or west asia to the americas hundreds of years before the arrival of europeans. Join stageagent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, part one. Panelists include bishop sam young, lds mother jamie hanishandy, attorney brynne thomas gant. Skousen, analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, 895.
In every set comparing the book of mormon texts against these three writers, at least seven and often many more rejections were measured. And we believe further that understanding the geographic pointers moroni mentions in ether 10. Harold bloom is arguably the foremost living scholar of american literature. A response to the bayesian analysis of book of mormon. No scholar knows the original text better than him. Although having nothing to do with ancient inhabitants in the americas, this book was found via computer analysis to have many striking similar descriptions and word combinations with the book of mormon. An analysis of the book of mormon book of mormon central. Howe, holds that sidney rigdon concocted the book of mormon by plagiarizing a novel written by one solomon spaulding, then used joseph.
The deuteroisaiah theory is the claim that parts of isaiah were written later than others. Critics of the book of mormon have assailed the book s authenticity on the grounds that it has undergone many changes since its 1830 publication. Nov 14, 2016 mormon sprinkled clues about his purposes and source selection throughout the book of mormon that can be easy to miss. What 2 engineers discovered after using statistical analysis to. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the book of mormon by joseph smith, translator. Opening the book of mormon itself, we find that it.
Nov 20, 2019 ive never actually read the lds institute manual for the book of mormon, so i will be doing that. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as reformed egyptian engraved on golden plates. The impact of mormon critics on lds scholarship fairmormon. Since not even one inscription has been found in the western hemisphere to match anything in the book of mormon, there is no correlation. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, 2nd. Unlike virtually all other recent world scriptures, the book of mormon presents itself as an integrated narrative rather than a series of doctrinal expositions, moral injunctions, or devotional hymns.
The book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. Its touring company has successful runs in numerous cities every. The use of harold blooms description of joseph smith as a religious genius in this video may mislead viewers into thinking bloom was referring directly to the book of mormon. For example, the work he began in analyzing the philological roots of nonbiblical book of mormon names is being pursued by others. South park creators comingofage satire on the church of jesus christ of latterday saints is a work of comic genius. Each authors wordprint is different from the others and all are different from the wordprint of joseph smith jr. We believe that the book of mormon contains real accounts about real people who lived somewhere in the new world. One challenge in performing a linguistic analysis of the book of mormon is that no original text is available for analysis. Shows the plagiarism of the king james bible in the book of mormon as well as errors in translation in the king james version that were copied into the book of mormon. What was mormons purpose in writing the book of mormon. This work is the sum of over four years of nearly continuous research into possible dna connections between the native american peoples, and the prophesied remnant of the house of israel as contained in the book of mormon. Jun 03, 2019 recently, an article was published in the interpreter.
As such, he has studied all of the main works attributed to joseph smith, since the book of mormon is one of the most influential works of american literature. Have any nonmormon scholars seriously analyzed the book of. Elder price and elder cunningham terrific international leads ryan bondy and aj holmes respectively are polar opposites on the same journey. Wordprint analysis and the book of mormon deseret news. Sentiment analysis of the book of mormon here is a visual summary of the entire book of mormon generated by applying computational sentiment analysis to every verse and then graphing a moving average of the results. Disproves mormonism using the bible, mormon scripture, statistical analysis and common sense. Although studies have verified, again and again, the precision and accuracy of the book of mormon, moronis statement. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies byuorg.