Many latterday saints have not had access to sources which communicate how recent research has changed our understanding of the book of mormon as an ancient document. Larsen is an old testament scholar who holds a phd from the university of st andrews scotland. Woody brings linguistic analysis, experience as an officer in the church of latter day saints, and a massive selftaught knowledge of scripture to bear on his analysis of the book of mormon. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. There are a few technical issues with the video that need to be fixed we hope to have an updated version soon chris johnsons website and research. The following affiliates have contributed to book of mormon central by providing access to articles, images, and various other resources to further the cause of book of mormon research. It is to the variants that we will give our attention here. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Oct 25, 20 there are a few technical issues with the video that need to be fixed we hope to have an updated version soon chris johnsons website and research. 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. Mormon included in his compilation the first six books as they were written. Critics of the church have claimed that a variety of linguistic anachronisms exist in the book of mormon which cast doubt upon its historical authenticity.
Relevant usage in the 1832 history is typical of modern english, i. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification. Sjodahl 18531939, in their sevenvolume commentary on the book of mormon reissued 19551961, investigated the plausibility of the claims of the book of mormon by examining external evidences of a historical, cultural, linguistic, or religious nature from the old world and the new. The historical case against sidney rigdons authorship of the. One of the most compelling evidences for the authenticity of the book of mormon is the extensive use of ancient hebraisms, especially chiasmus, which is an unusual parallelistic literary structure that was completely foreign to the english language of joseph smith, and was in fact only rediscovered in recent years. He said that the heavenly being moroni appeared to him and directed him to some buried gold p. Top 10 literary and linguistic evidences for the book of mormon. This book is a landmark event in book of mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the book of mormon. Book of mormon central collaborates with various organizations also interested in furthering research and study of the book of mormon. Our efforts were entirely independent and our methods highly dissimilar, but we both ended up in the same place. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon.
Comparing book of mormon names with those found in j. The very surprising language of the book of mormon deseret news. According to the text, the nephites and the lamanites initially spoke hebrew 600 bc and might have spoken a modified semitic language until at least 400 ad, when the book of mormon ends. Yorgasons book little known evidences of the book of mormon published in an aaf newsletter. The book of mormon comprises fifteen books, each named after its principal writer. The book of mormons old testament portion bmot quotes heavily from the new testament of the bible. 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. New etymological and scientific evidence now provides a method of establishing a more detailed geography of the land northward referred to throughout the book of mormon, the old world point of departure of the jaredites, and olmec cultural elements reflected in the book of mormon text. Nov 01, 2016 through methodical and farreaching linguistic analysis, richins comes to the same conclusion that san martin pajapan is a likely candidate for ramahcumorah. Many also are unaware of some rather surprising new discoveries supporting the book of mormon which have been brought about by the advanced methods of science. One challenge in performing a linguistic analysis of the book of mormon is that no original text is available for analysis. Three archaic, extrabiblical features that occur quite frequently in the book of mormon are not present in the history, even though there was ample opportunity for use. This thesis discusses whether literary methods of analysis are applicable to a sacred text, and suggests rules which should govern such a method of analysis. The two books are both published by incredibly small presses, and the paper hosted on the byu website doesnt appear to have ever even been seen by the academic linguistics community, being published in the journal of book of mormon studies.
The book of mormon came forth under miraculous circumstancesand has been a topic of scholarly debate ever since. The book of mormon is remarkable for the sheer volume of intertextual references, and for the creative, meaningful ways the nephite record weaves the two texts together. 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 600 bc to ad 421. Some 58 are paraphrased and 11 others are variants and or paraphrases. The language of the original text of the book of mormon. The book of mormon also contains work written by more than one author. In the old testament, male pronouns he and his are mentioned 6.
Isaiah variants in the book of mormon religious studies center. The book of mormon is, in steinbergs view, a work of fan fiction, a way to imbue a new. Aug 05, 2016 download powerpoint presentation pdf overview many of our discussions about the translation of the book of mormon mention the nephite interpreters, and the seer stone in the hat. David bokovoys work and grant hardys understanding the book of mormon have already been mentioned and both would qualify as efforts that bracket issues of truthfulness to evaluate the literary value. The nature of the original language of the book of mormon parts 3 and 4, volume iii, book of mormon critical text project the nature of the original language nol continues the analysis of the book of mormon text that was begun in grammatical variation gv, parts 1 and 2 of volume 3 of the critical text, published in 2016. Linguistics and the book of mormon linguistics book mormon. In summary, the real task for those wishing to claim that the nonbiblical language of the book of mormon is joseph smiths english will be to concentrate on the 80 or so examples of archaic language that have thus far been identified in the original text of the book of mormon, that is, the word uses, phrases, expressions, and grammatical. A book of mormon first edition 1830 is on display during an exhibit featuring some early documents of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints in salt lake city, wednesday, sept. The nature of the original language of the book of mormon. Aug 21, 2014 only now are we beginning to appreciate the books surprising linguistic depth and breadth. What has been lacking is nontrivial descriptive linguistic analysis that focuses on less contextual and more complex.
The book of mormon has been criticized for its lack of significant female characters in the narrative. May 23, 2017 t he book of mormon is a wholly american scripture. The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. 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.
If skousen and carmack are right, believers in the book of mormons miraculous origin have solid grounds for surprise. As explained by paul hoskisson, the form of alma in the book of mormon reflects the hebrew segholate noun form. Jul 12, 2017 was the book of mormon a great american novel. 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. 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. Two factors led to my study of the isaiah variants in the book of mormon. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon.
An additional criticism of the historical authenticity of the book of mormon concerns linguistics. We have discussions about whether there was a curtain present during the translation. Sometimes we discuss potential anachronisms like the inclusion of ideas from the new. The book of mormon as myth and more on the name alma. Each each name name in in the the book book of of mormon mormon has has now now been been looked looked at at by by scholars scholars with with linguistic linguistic training. The more recent versions of the entry for cezoram in the book of mormon onomasticon an online published collection of names found in the book of mormon with a brief linguistic analysis of each name states that for cezoram, it is possible, though unlikely because it would mix languages.
Some have found strong linguistic correspondence and declared that there is an authorial relationship. Thus, any greek or latin words in the book of mormon are linguistic anachronisms. Help us create the kind of literary community youve always dreamed of. Top 10 literary and linguistic evidences for the book of.
The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific geologic and engineering studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the book of mormon. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Book of mormon studies the encyclopedia of mormonism. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. 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.
Joseph smith, the first prophet of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, the restoration of christs ancient church was led to the gold plates by a heavenly messenger named moroni. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19th century 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. Geology of the book of mormon book of mormon scientific and. The book of mormon and linguistic evolution deseret news. Similarly, analysis of linguistic, geographic, and cultural factors in the book of mormon, including phonemic patterns in its unique names, cannot prove that it is or is not a translation of an ancient record. 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. Its the calling card for thousands of missionaries, and part of the inspiration for a tony awardwinning broadway musical. What is the original language of the book of mormon. Those who regard joseph smith as the books author, however, should feel challenged and deeply perplexed. Mar 06, 2019 the book of mormon text contains logical impossibilities. How joseph smiths grammar differed from book of mormon.
However, comparative linguistic studies performed to date h. Door wide open for linguistic analysis along the scholars to compare the book of mormon s unique names with known words and ancient languages. The book of mormon is a religious text which, like the bible, may be subjected to various methods of analysis. This is not the first time this material has been challenged. In recent years the book of mormon has been compared to pseudobiblical texts like gilbert j. Deseret language and linguistic society symposium volume 25issue 1 article 18 2191999 an analysis of lexical semantic shifts in the book of mormon. This first article explains what stylometry is and gives readers a short history of stylometric studies performed on the book of mormon. Consistent patterns are intriguing, that might qualify as reformed egyptian. Some of the grammar of joseph smiths 1832 history is examined. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship.
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