On average one of every nine chapters in the book of mormon is copied from the bible. Howe, in turn, published an antimormon book claiming that the book of mormon plagiarized spaldings. Native american purification rituals for warriors is offered as evidence of hebraic origins. Also, stay tuned for a bonus episode where i talked about the concerns and questions about the book of mormon. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have. Published on nov 27, 2012 kendal sheets, author of book of mormon, book of lies joins david to discuss the claims in his book that the mormon doctrine was created via. May 23, 2008 according to tanner, martin, paulson, et al. For instance, alexander campbell very early recognized, correctly, that joseph smith in creating his book. Book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, pearl of great price book. If a socalled holy book is not a myth, then we will find that the names of cities, people, and other unique details will be supported by archaeological evidence. The spalding enigma this book critically examines key historical documents and records of 19thcentury mormon history and concludes that the book of mormon is an adaption of an obscure historical novel written by revolutionary war veteran solomon spalding during the war of 1812.
It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was published 6 years later in 1829. Family statements long after spaldings death, and after the 1830 publication of the book of mormon, his family and friends gave statements that they believed the book of mormon was produced by plagiarizing spaldings novel. Smith plagiarized 478 verses from the book of isaiah, and 201 are identical to the king james bible. The book of mormon abridged for reddit ploni almoni. Nov 27, 2012 kendal sheets, author of book of mormon, book of lies joins david to discuss the claims in his book that the mormon doctrine was created via plagiarism, and more. Howes 1834 book mormonism unvailed, in which the theory was presented that the book of mormon was plagiarized from this manuscript. Interestingly, oliver cowdery, scribe, and later witness of the book of mormon, lived in poultney for 22 years until 1825. The lord covenanted with enos to bring forth the book of mormon to the lamanites, enos 1.
Book of mormon plagiarism has the book of mormon ever been processed through a plagiarism checking software. Nov 02, 2008 mormonism is based on plagiarized science fiction posted by libhom saturday, november 08, 2008 the money spent by the mormon church to pass proposition 8 has generated a lot of anger in the queer community. Howe possessed the manuscript at the time of the book of mormon publication. Looking at the spaulding manuscript mormon heretic. His presence causes a great disturbance among the citizens, and abinadi is 1 bound and thrown into prison. Doesnt this affect the credibility of smiths claim that the book of mormon. Kingmen, chiasmus, and many more elements found in the book of mormon appear in a book. Elders is the name of exmormon ryan mcilvains justpublished novel, about a mission journey gone terribly wrong. Jan 29, 2018 these citations from prominent non mormon voices concerning the book of mormon, and others like them which could be multiplied, may, however, mislead an unsuspecting reader into believing that the book is worthy of any sort of genuine scrutiny or god forbid fair, evenhanded analysis free of prejudice or ideological partiality. Sure, big sections are quoted straight from isaiah, but the character who. Mormons frequently argue that joseph smith could not have written the book of mormon himself. Joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon. Based on the historical and archeological facts and evidence, its clear that the book of mormon is a work of fiction, heavily plagiarized from books freely available at the time.
It is also claimed that joseph smith copied the name nephi from the apocrypha. The book of mormon is, in steinbergs view, a work of fan fiction, a way to imbue a new world with some of the sanctity of the holy land. The book of isaiah is plagiarized, right down to the italics in the king james. To stir you up by putting you in remembrance 2 peter 1. Is the book of mormon real ly just a plagiarism of the bible. The authorship of the book of mormon has been hotly debated since it was first published. In this theory many critics have highlighted a handful of books which they claim are the original sources for the book of mormon. Mormon author accuses another of plagiarizing novel and. Several years later, spaldings widow and daughter, other residents of conneaut, and residents of amity, pennsylvania, also signed statements indicating that spalding had. Roberts concluded, assuming a hemispheric geography theory for the book of mormon, sufficient parallels existed that future critics could claim that view of the hebrews had provided a.
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. Cowderys stepmother and three of his sisters were members of ethan smiths congregation. More on joseph smiths plagiarism in the book of mormon. Ethan smith was a minister of a congregational church in poultney, vermont from 1821 to 1826 when he wrote view of the hebrews. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when. Howe, in turn, published an antimormon book claiming that the book of mormon plagiarized spaldings novel. 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. He is the leading expert on the textual history of the book of mormon. Howe, in turn, published an anti mormon book claiming that the book of mormon plagiarized spaldings novel. The first author was the prophet nephi, who left jerusalem with his family in about 600 bc and sailed to the americas. 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. Large parts are also plagiarized from the king james version of the bible. The king james bible critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied. Dec 08, 2011 in 1978, after the book was turned into a legendary miniseries, haley was sued by author harold courlander, who said that passages of roots were taken from his novel the african.
Some mormon scholars, like grant hardy, who wrote understanding the book of mormon. The book of mormon is way more than just plagiarism of the bible. It is the first example he cites to attack the hypothesis that the book of mormon was plagiarized from or heavily influenced by other books. Chapter 9 of joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon.
It is claimed that joseph smith created the story of nephi and laban by plagiarizing concepts and phrases from the story of judith and. Digital book version available description 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. 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. Twentyseven chapters in the kjv of the bible are repeated almost verbatim in the 239 chapters of the book of mormon.
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. Sure, big sections are quoted straight from isaiah, but the character who does the borrowing says hes quoting isaiah, so that isnt really plagarism. According to socalled witnesses who had read the manuscript, spalding had written about nephi, lehi, the lamanites, and nephites nearly twenty years before. Josephs environment and the book of mormon book of mormon. Nah, the book of mormon 1830 is not clever enough to have been copied from something else. The lords words will hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, 2 ne. A readers guide, have attempted to move the discussion away from polemics to an appreciation for the books. The book of mormon was plagiarized from other books. The spalding manuscriptcritics claim that joseph smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by solomon spaulding to write the book of mormon. The book of mormon contains passages from the king james bible summary.
Almost since the moment that the book of mormon hereafter bom was published to the world in 1830, those unwilling to believe the wondrous story of its origin have tried to explain it without the miraculous events claimed by its author and proprietor joseph smith, jr. Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts mark 3. Among his goals, he hopes to 1 further strengthen the testimony of those who already believe the book of mormon. Book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, pearl of great. Doesnt this affect the credibility of smiths claim that the book of mormon was the product of divine.
A very plausible lost and missing novel by solomon spalding manuscript found, separate and distinct from the oberlin manuscript has not been ruled out by mormon apologists. Kingmen, chiasmus, and many more elements found in the book of mormon appear in a book called the late war published in 1811. Did the book of mormon plagiarize or copy from other books. Roberts authored a manuscript titled studies of the book of mormon, comparing the content of the book of mormon with view of the hebrews. Soon after the publication of the book of mormon, critics believed that joseph must have plagiarized it from another source. Although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i.
The book of mormon and the bible will grow together, 2 ne. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have come. In 1978, after the book was turned into a legendary miniseries, haley was sued by author harold courlander, who said that passages of roots were taken from his novel the. The truth about the authorship of the book of mormon. Dec 21, 2016 nah, the book of mormon 1830 is not clever enough to have been copied from something else. Ether as i show below, whitmans use of ether is in the context of an ocean voyage with barges, just as in the book of ether. We say alleged because its not clear that what theyve done constitutes bona fide plagiarismits definition has changed over time, partly as a result of cultural expectations.
A major criticism of the book of mormon is that material was taken verbatim from other sources available to joseph smith at the time. In twelve chapters, the authors lay out the evidence for the. Mar 16, 2011 did joseph smith write the book of mormon by getting ideas from contemporary sources. One of the most prominent theories since the 1830s is the spaulding or spalding theory.
If you have ever read the book of mormon or if you have never read the book of mormon, you have probably heard the theory that joseph smith plagiarized it. 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. I know the software exists and is used by high schools and universities to determine if a student is plagiarizing. Book of mormon plagiarism in the early 1800s the methodist preachers followed a conversion pattern during revivals. In fact, its simply a rework of a stolen manuscript manuscript found that was meant to be nothing more than a romantic fiction novel. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. Critics of the book of mormon claim that major portions of it are copied, without attribution, from the bible. 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. In addition to the consecutive chapters of isaiah plagiarized in 2 nephi, 2 more isaiah chapters were plagiarized in 1 nephi, another 2 in 2 nephi separate from the earlier ones, 2 more in 3 nephi, and one in mosiah, reaching 20 total chapters from isaiah in the book of mormon. Callisters purpose is to present a case for the book of mormon both intellectually and spiritually. Mar 04, 2015 in the little book of plagiarism, posner lists several examples of famous people who have allegedly plagiarized a scandalous, juicy read. There is a small group of critics who hold to the theory that the production of the book of mormon was a conspiracy involving sidney rigdon, joseph smith, oliver cowdery and others.
The hawaiian connection some of the town names in new york state and surrounding regions resemble some names in the book of mormon. The extensive use of isaiah poses several problems. A wellknown mormon author is suing a utah schoolteacher, charging she plagiarized her christian romance novel, added sex scenes to it and sold the work as her own. Preachers such as george lane, lorenzo dow, eleazer sherman wrote. The rise of plagiarism in the age of selfpublishing books. Exploring claims of plagiarism in the book of mormon part. If there is data supporting the texts, we can calculate whether the book of mormon. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths. When a reader buys a selfpublished book, amazon keeps 30 percent of the royalties and gives the rest to the authorsmeaning the company makes money whether the book is plagiarized. Exploring claims of plagiarism in the book of mormon part i. Great and marvelous are thy works, o lord god almighty. Was the book of mormon a plagiarism of a book called a.
The book of mormon is actually a collection of histories passed down from one writer to another. Howe in his book mormonism unvailed introduced a theory that smith plagiarized from the manuscript for an unpublished novel by solomon spalding. Is the book of mormon really just a plagiarism of the. Reviewed by richard packham for the association for mormon. If joseph plagiarized from ethan smith, we would expect to find that unique aspects of view of the hebrews ideas, names, stories that are not also found in the bible or other sources would have been incorporated into the book of mormon, but no such fingerprints are found. These findings are highly significant because they show beyond any reasonable doubt that the authors of the book of mormon plagiarized from the late war between the united states and great britain published in 1816, fourteen years before the book of mormon. In reply, some writers have argued that joseph smith plagiarized most of the book of mormon from a novel by solomon spalding, along with passages of the bible. Apocrypha critics claim that joseph smith created the story of nephi and laban by plagiarizing. Discouraged, he passed the project on to another antimormon, e. In many other cases, joseph smith made minor word changes or additions.
There is no real evidence of joseph relying on that text. In fact, if joseph had plagiarized the book of mormon from adair and was intrigued by the section on page 162 that mentioned three days and nights, he overlooked a golden opportunity to add plausibility to the text. Alma and as i show below, whitmans alamo section is in the context of wars and forts and valiant young men, just as in the book of alma. Oct 31, 2019 this story has no similarities to the book of mormon and reminds the reader more of an h. They present this as evidence that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon by plagiarizing the authorized king james version of the bible. Book of mormon plagiarism if ive said it once ive said it a thousand times. It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was. Nephi passed the record to his younger brother jacob, who gave it to his son enos.