Tag: Book of Mormon origins
A Simple Example from the Book of Mormon Showing Why Scholarship Is Needed
Many Latter-day Saints seem unaware of the great body of scholarship that can strengthen faith and understanding for members of the Church and those exploring it. Such scholarship can be…
An Update in the Scholarship Regarding the Archaic Language in the Book of Mormon
One of the most interesting puzzles about the Book of Mormon is the recent discovery that much of the language is archaic in ways not easily explained by imitating the…
Plagiarism Made Harder, or, The Book of Ether and the Genius of Joseph’s Plagiarism
Students of the Book of Mormon have long noted that the brief book of Ether is quite different in its content and style than the rest of the Book of…
Ifs, Ands, or Buts: A Reminder on the Origins of the Book of Mormon
In a past Maxwell Institute publication, Daniel Peterson made a great point about the nature of the language in the Book of Mormon that seems to defy theories of Joseph…
“A Strange Piece of Work” Poorly Explained by a Non-LDS Witness of the Book of Mormon Translation
Critics of the Book of Mormon like to dismiss the detailed accounts of Book of Mormon witnesses by saying it’s simply impossible to know today what really went on back…
The Town of Palmyra vs. the City of Helam: A Subtle but Meaningful Contrast in Communities and Culture
A couple days before Christmas when it was Joseph Smith’s birthday, I reflected briefly upon his life in rather small towns in New York and elsewhere prior to publication of…
Matthew Bowen’s New Name as Key-Word Offers a Stunning Surge in Book of Mormon Word Plays Related to Names
While attending the 2018 FairMormon Conference in Provo this summer, I was fortunate to be able to get a copy of a popular new book that sold out on its…
Two Witnesses, Witnessed by Sally Parker
The vast body of scholarship on the witnesses to the Book of Mormon paints a consistent story of real people who really saw something and, in spite of whatever problems…
Joseph the Amusing Teller of Tall Tales: Lucy Mack Smith’s Puzzling Statement in Perspective
One of the pillars of disbelief for critics of the Book of Mormon is the notion that Joseph Smith was well known as an imaginative story teller. He was allegedly…
Exposed: Ironic Inconsistency in the Book of Mormon
Given all the complexities of preparing the Book of Mormon — multiple ancient sources combined, redacted, then translated into English that is verbally dictated and written by a scribe, then…
