May 23, 2008 according to tanner, martin, paulson, et al. They present this as evidence that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon by plagiarizing the authorized king james version of the bible. Josephs plagiarism in book of mormon and other revelations. Critics long speculated that smith had access to the original script and that smith heavily plagiarized it for the book of mormon. I know the software exists and is used by high schools and universities to determine if a student is plagiarizing. Poll, cri part one of this fourpart series is unavailable. Matheny, response at book of mormon archeology sunstone symposium, 25 august 1984, typed copy transcribed from tape recording, pp. He didnt have the time, education or wherewithal to do this. Early mormon apostle orson pratt made a statement concerning the book of. 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. How art thou fallen from heaven, o lucifer, son of the morning.
As early as 1831, eber howe, in his antimormon book mormonism. Josephs environment and the book of mormon book of mormon. 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. Early mormon apostle orson pratt made a statement concerning the book of mormon. Original title of the book of mormon published in 1830 the book of mormon. The late war between the united states and great britain, the first book of napoleon, and the view of the. Its largest denomination is headquartered in utah and goes by the name the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. I reported plagiarism in a phd, but my university ignored it. As noted repeatedly in various sections of this book, josephlike all prophets was, in part, a product of his milieu. In fact the lord said that revelations are given to his servants in the manner of their language. Lehis dream was very similar to a dream joseph smiths father had before the book of mormon was published.
Oct 31, 2019 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. The lds church teach the book of mormon compares to the kjv of scripture and corroborate its teaching, but here youll see a few of the discontinuity between their book of mormon and the scriptures. Surprisingly, one of the most common objections to the book of mormon is the claim that joseph smith plagiarized from shakespeare when writing translating 2 nephi 1. 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 book of mormon is a forgery and thus the religion founded on it is a fraud. People aer sure quick to tackle joseph smith, but in retrospect, they forget his age and his educational level.
Has the book of mormon ever been processed through a plagiarism checking software. 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. 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. The book of mormon plagiarizes the bible yahoo answers.
As noted in chapter 2, the book of mormon was undoubtedly translated into the language of joseph smith. Book of mormonplagiarism accusationsking james bible. Apocryphacritics claim that joseph smith created the story of nephi and laban by plagiarizing concepts. Why does the book of mormon have the exact wording of the king james bible in so many places. More on joseph smiths plagiarism in the book of mormon. 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. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths. Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural material for joseph smiths book of mormon. Sep 17, 2017 the lds church teach the book of mormon compares to the kjv of scripture and corroborate its teaching, but here youll see a few of the discontinuity between their book of mormon and the scriptures. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon 2nd edition and also in kindle. May 11, 2018 we believe that joseph smith borrowed from a number of contemporary books of his day when he wrote the book of mormon. To order this book directly from amazon, click here. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews.
Several investigations and studies which set out to prove that joseph wrote the book of mormon have actua. A recent attempt to revive the spaulding theory is the 45page work of vernal holley, book of mormon authorship. Plagiarism in the book of mormon skeptics annotated bible. Critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied, without attribution, from the bible.
May 01, 2007 if you have read the entire book of mormon, then you would realize that there is no way that a young boy could have written it. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when. Joseph smiths first vision was not unique to his day, and evidence suggests he plagiarized themes from other tales to fabricate his own visionary tale mormon historian richard bushman has identified over 33 visionary tales published between 1783 and 1815. 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.
I dont remember seeing golden plates used except as a descriptive adjective not the name of the plates, but i could be wrong. Not only did he plagiarize whole chapters of the bible, he borrowed names, phrases and stories from three other books. While the characters in the book of mormon often give credit to the biblical authors they are quoting see 1 nephi 20212 nephi 78mosiah 143 nephi 1214, 22, 2425, there are. Exploring claims of plagiarism in the book of mormon part i. What would a recovering baptist know about these things. And now i, nephi, write more of the words of isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. Txt original cri file name, how mormons are defending the book of mormon release a, march 22, 1994 r. In many other cases, joseph smith made minor word changes or additions. Mormonism claims to be a christian religion, the only true christian religion. Mormonism and plagiarism, by jerald and sandra tanner plagiarism in the book of mormon the skeptics annotated book of mormon isaiah in the book of mormon. Why do mormons plagiarize a book they dont believe in. Alma 5 and the book of mormons plagiarism of the new. Several commentators on mormon history and the book of mormon, including lds church general authority b.
Jun 18, 2015 he could have been honing the story of the book of mormon over many years. Did joseph smith plagiarize from shakespeare when writing the. Plagarism and contradictions book of mormon youtube. His worldview, environment, and education no doubt influenced his interpretation of scripture, how it related to his surroundings, his understanding of past and future prophecies, and his interpretation of historical events.
Did joseph smith write the book of mormon by getting ideas from contemporary sources. Aug 23, 2017 critics argue that the large number of similarities between the book of mormon and the bible suggest that joseph smith is guilty of plagiarism. A closer look, zenos publications, ogden, utah, 1983. It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other. The former has joseph smith forgetting what he had given in the 116 lost pages and having to avoid discussing the same topics, lest he contradict what he had dictated earlier. Did joseph smith plagiarize from shakespeare when writing the book of mormon. The latter assumes that joseph smiths fantastic memory enabled him to recall biblical expressions and incorporate them wholesale into the book of mormon. The book of mormon contains passages from the king james bible summary.
There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. No, the book of mormon was translated by joseph smith, through the power of god, from an ancient record. It depends to some extent on the provenance of the book of mormon. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when writing the book of mormon by jeff lindsay. The truth about the authorship of the book of mormon. Did the book of mormon plagiarize the kjv bible answers. And finally, nephi says hes going to swipe a couple of chapters from the book of isaiah as a bit of filler for his plates of brass. It was a book of poems based on their phd, and i recognised some of the lines in it as possibly plagiarised. Some critics claim that joseph smith copied much of the structure and content of the book of mormon from the 1823 book view of the hebrews by ethan smith no relation to joseph smith. Now, a decade and a half later, persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325page second edition. Kingmen, chiasmus, and many more elements found in the book of mormon appear in a book called the late war published in 1811.
Dec 21, 2016 nah, the book of mormon 1830 is not clever enough to have been copied from something else. Doesnt this affect the credibility of smiths claim that the book of mormon was the product of divine. Does the book of mormon blatantly plagiarize the king james. David persuitte, a technical writer from virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. 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. Foundation of the book of mormon series book of mormon plagiarism if ive said it once ive said it a thousand times. The fact that alma 5 was clearly written by someone who knew and borrowed heavily from the new testament even while altering its teaching demonstrates that the story of the book of mormon isnt true. 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. A journal of mormon thought, spring 1987, page 6667 external links non mormon. Joseph smith is often accused of creating the book of mormon by plagiarizing various contemporary sources such as the spalding manuscript or ethan. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon. Aug 08, 2017 in his letter to a ces director, jeremy runnells claims that the story of samuel the righteous lamanite preaching repentance to the apostate nephites in helaman 16 demonstrates joseph smith was guilty of plagiarizing ethan smiths book view of the hebrews. Much of the content of the book of mormon was plagiarized from the bible and joseph smiths own life experiences e.
A ferrous industry is a whole system of doing something. Alma 5 and the book of mormons plagiarism of the new testament. The falsity of mormonism what about the book of mormon. 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. Additional information from part 1 of joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon, pages 3738 in 2008 another computer study was done by matt jockers, craig criddle and daniela witten, comparing various authors word prints, including solomon spalding and sidney rigdon, with that of the book of mormon. Could the bom be processed and compared against a view of the hebrews, the late war and the kjv of the bible.
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