Hebrew and other ancient literary forms in the book of mormon salt lake city. The lds church founder once remarked that his writing suffered from. Literary analysis of this nature must be conducted cautiously if. Book of mormons literary style most closely matched writing samples from. We have seen that the style of his prophetic voice as evidenced by the main cluster of the textual samples studied, differs from the style of his personal writings or dictations of a personal nature. Although the book of mormon is composed of such literary elements as stories. Apr 03, 2014 the encyclopedia of mormonism entry book of mormon literature observes that the book is both coherent and polished although not obtrusively so and notes the use of chiasmus, allegory, metaphor, typology, and other literary forms. The book of mormon is a funny yet emotionfilled musical.
May 23, 2017 given that the book of mormon is also a text that purports to be a history of ancient israelities who crossed the atlantic to become american indians, hickman prods his students towards creative interpretations of the book of mormons treatment of indigenous peoples, asking them why, during the era of indian removal, an american scripture would also be a history of indians. 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. Neal rappleye is research project manager at book of mormon central and has published in interpreter. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related.
Chiasmus is the literary technique of creating double structures in which the second half of. This close reading enables the construction of a theology of the book of mormon that explores the major theological emphases that emerge from a narrative analysis of the book. Why i left the mormon church id rather be writing blog. Jul 12, 2017 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.
Mark twain once quipped that if joseph smith had left and it came to pass out of the book of mormon, the book would have been only a pamphlet 103. Deeper analysis, however, reveals that the book has complex subtexts comprehensible only when the factual nature of its real authorship is known. Mark twain, speaking of the book of mormon in general, once called it chloroform in print. Personification is a type of imagery where objects or abstract things are treated as though they were human. For nearly two centuries, faithful members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds have. Pulitzer prizewinning historian and author daniel walker howe classified the book of mormon as a powerful epic written on a grand scale with a host of characters, a narrative of human struggle and conflict, of divine intervention, heroic good and atrocious evil, of prophecy, morality and law and ranked it as among the great achievements of american literature. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Erasmuss first attempts at creating a critical text of the new. Apr 26, 2020 the book of mormon is rich in imagery. Mormon prophet joseph smith 180544 claimed that more than twodozen ancient individuals nephi, mormon, alma, etc. Even so, there are anachronisms in the book of mormon as well as many ideas. Appropriation and adaptation of j material in the book of. Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different.
Sperry, one of the most astute book of mormon scholars of the previous generation, saw little literary value in benjamins text. Chiasmus conference speakers book of mormon central. Frequencies of the 38 common words were used as data. The literary magazine of the association for mormon letters. Indeed, there is overwhelming evidence that the manuscript did not originate with suess, who likely fallaciously claimed credit for an archaic work that he or someone else surreptitiously. For the first time, studies of the book of mormons literary qualities were appearing in major journals of american literary studies.
A secret pattern in the writing of the book of mormon. Accordingly, we coded the hebrew text of the book of isaiah and a random sampling of eleven other old testament books onto computer tape. Making the best of a pimo physically in, mentally out situation in church. It is my conclusion, from the results of this research and the supporting historical evidence, that the book of mormon sprang from the prophetic voice of joseph smith himself, as did his revelations and the text of the book of abraham. For others, a literary analysis provides a subtle test of the skeptical hypothesis that this book is a unique product of early nineteenthcentury american folk culture. Dec 12, 2017 since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship.
This approach is then applied to the corpus of mormon scripture. To latterday saints there can be no objection to the careful and critical study of the scriptures, ancient or modern, provided only that it be an honest studya search for truth. 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. This may not be an earthshattering observation, but by. The book of mormon is a religious text which, like the bible, may be subjected to various methods of analysis. He next presents an extended reading of the narrative contents of the book focusing on its literary and theological dimensions. The historical foundation of the mormon church, in particular the churchs dependence on the authenticity of the story of joseph smith and the genesis of the book of mormon, has become increasingly subjected to the stress of open inquiry. The formcritical analysis of psalms, first outlined by. In this mormon stories podcast interview, historian john hamer discusses the 19th century historical and cultural contextlargely forgotten todaythat informed the composition of the book of mormon john hamer graciously created a number of slides that give important visual cues to his research surrounding literary criticism of the book of mormon, possible literary influences for the book.
The book of mormons redundancies are actually sophisticated literary features which, in many cases, are similar or identical to literary. My own experience with mormon literature and criticism began at byu in january. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Cracroft called englands 1996 book tending the garden. A literary analysis of the word liahona book of mormon. Parry combines a lifetime of insights about the old testament and book of mormon into one volume. The analyses are intended to separate chiasmus that may occur randomly over the course of a lengthy book or even chiasmus that may occur when the author is trying to mimic scriptural or repetitive. James duke, for instance, has argued that repetitive resumption in the book of mormon is not just an accidental repetition that is caused by poor writing.
A literary analysis of the word liahona the book of mormon breaks several rules that are critical to works of fiction. Visions in a seer stone is an excellent and important addition to mormon studies. Over the next thirtyfive years, six more anthologies of mormon writing would. Duke, the literary masterpiece called the book of mormon springville, ut.
New approaches to the book of mormon explorations in critical methodology edited by brent lee metcalfe. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. The book of mormon as a really interesting, well, piece of. Oct 27, 20 first, the algorithm measures the number of fourword phrases that each text shares with the book of mormon. New computer study purports to detect literary influences. Jan 16, 2018 these statistical results provide striking support for the book of mormon s internal claims about its authorship. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of the book of mormon, both in favor of and against the books claimed origins. The book of mormon seemed to be compelling evidence that. The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. Im not the most qualified person to write on the literary aspects of the book of mormon, but im not a neophyte either.
Widtsoe, council of the twelve apostles, in search of truth. Journal of book of mormon studies byu scholarsarchive. A high number of shared ngrams relative to total wordcount indicates that a text may have some kind of significant literary relationship to the book of mormon. This study explores the influence of the king james bible kjv on the book of mormon bm by examining how the bm appropriates and adapts the text of the j source of the pentateucha narrative strand from genesis to deuteronomyand weaves phrases, ideas, motifs, and characters into the text.
Three different types of wordprints or stylometry were used in examining the authors of the book of mormon. If the book of mormons source texts were truly written by a large number of ancient prophets over the course of a 1,000 years, then that would naturally explain why its voice diversity is greater than the composite diversity achieved by four of the most distinguished novelists of the 19th century. Welchs discovery in 1967 of chiastic structures in the book of mormon was to that date the most important literary discovery regarding latterday scripture since the beginning of the restoration, and it continues to be a singular event in the scholarship of the text of the book of mormon. Absence of joseph smith in the book of mormon religious. He said that the heavenly being moroni appeared to him and directed him to some buried gold p. Utilizing a computer to identify wordprints or word use patterns that scientifically differentiate between individual writing styles, researchers have. One uniqueness of the mormon religion is that it was the first church to have begun in the united states. In 2004 darron smith, a critical black church member, contends in his book, black and mormon, that the church refuses to acknowledge and undo its racist past. Youre kidding yourself if you think joseph smith wrote the book of. A full and complete history of the mormons, a work critical of the lds church. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. I identify the full range of influence of the j source of the pentateuch on the text of the bm in part. In no way does the use of literary criticism suggest that his gospel is only a story. Its local color is extremely plausible, describes a state of social organization which agrees exactly with archaeological and documentary evidence, the personal names are satisfactory for that period and region, and finally, there is nothing unreasonable in.
Literature courses that prominently featured the book of mormon started to appear with more frequency in secular university course catalogues. We have seen that the style of his prophetic voice as evidenced by the main cluster of the textual samples studied, differs from the style of his personal writings or dictations of a. Book of mormon in general, once called it chloroform in. If the book of mormons source texts were truly written by a large number of ancient prophets over the course of a 1,000 years, then that would naturally explain why its voice diversity is greater than the composite diversity achieved by four of the. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of the book of mormon, both in favor of and against the book s claimed origins. History and analysis of mormonism in america church of jesus christ of latterday saints was officially organized by joseph smith in western new york on april 6, 1830, and by 1978, spread to more than seventy nations. However, the study of hebrew poeticsthe classification and analysis of.
A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts. This means that nsc analysis will always deliver positive resu. The book of mormon as brilliant literature meridian magazine. This cluster analysis was for the 24 book of mormon authors using one observation consisting of each authors total words combined. John hamer graciously created a number of slides that give important visual cues to his research surrounding literary criticism of the book of mormon, possible literary influences for the book of mormon, multiple 19th century instances of writers attempting to tie ancient american artifacts to israel, and much more. This paper introduces some literary skills focused around the narrator and characters that can enhance scripture teaching, followed with a model of how to use these methods in a classroom. A thorough literary analysis of the book of mormon reveals abundant and rich imagery and personification. The american scripture that launches a new world religionalthough that work is a reception history of the book of mormon instead of a literary analysis and richard dilworth rusts feasting on the word. The recent discovery in the book of mormon of its characteristically ancient literary structure or technique known as chiasmusa rhetorical device overlooked by biblical scholarship until decades after joseph smiths deathis another powerful indicator of the records antiquity. Criticism of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints wikipedia. It wasnt until i began reading more critical texts of the book of mormon. I dont think that the book of mormon itself has ever been taught for an entire.
Nephi is the predominant writer of personification. This means that nsc analysis will always deliver positive results for one of. Speculation on a possible poetic wordplay in the book of. Understanding the book of mormon invites comparison to terryl l. Following these rules, the thesis provides an analysis of specific themes particular to the book of mormon and suggests how they are integral to the structure of the text. Aug 23, 2019 to back this up, he showed a series of graphs illustrating his literary analysis of the book of mormon, counting verses that referenced the covenant. Speculation on a possible poetic wordplay in the book of mormon. The encyclopedia of mormonism entry book of mormon literature observes that the book is both coherent and polished although not obtrusively so and notes the use of chiasmus, allegory, metaphor, typology, and other literary forms. The book of mormon is full of repeated words and phrases. Joseph smith, the book of mormon, and the american.
Andrew hamilton, association for mormon letters a provocative work of scholarship that not only stands as a convincing reassessment of the book of mormon in its own right, but also invites future investigations into the book, its myriad contexts, and its legacy. The book of mormon is a sacred text in the latter day saint movement published by joseph smith. Intriguing literary analysis of the book of mormon later on. One kind of parallelism compares a subject or idea with another to create a contrast. The book of mormon and pentecostalism are then placed into dialogue through historical analyses of early pentecostal thought on the book and the movements it spawned, before a comparison of the theological heart of pentecostalism and the book is given. A literary approach, or literary analysis, consists of using skills normally employed in literature classes to understand scriptures. Mark twain may have savaged its literary ambitions, but a new novel from. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. Because the book of mormon exists only in translation, answering this question is not a simple matter. Scholars widely reject joseph smiths explanation of the origin of the book of mormon. The authors who used this device seem to have clearly understood that. Looking for some thoughtful perspectives on the following statistical analyses strongly suggest that several instances of chiasmus in the book of mormon and bible are not due to random chance.
Pdf reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using. The internets been abuzz with hype this week about a new computer study by duane and chris johnson which purports to identify four literary influences on the book of mormon besides the king james bible. Whenever an ancient document is found which has questionable historical authenticity, there is a standard testing process that is done to determine whether the. The literary power of the book of mormon religious studies center. How do we explain material from isaiah in the book of mormon. Joseph smith and the making of the book of mormon kindle. Integrating textual criticism in the study of early mormon texts and. Whenever an ancient document is found which has questionable historical authenticity, there is a standard testing process that is done to determine whether the document is a work of fiction or nonfiction.
New computer study purports to detect literary influences on. Hardy covers some of the same terrain as rust, but hardys method of organizing material by narrator as opposed to rusts of organizing by. The best analysis showing the revivalist origins of the book of. Written for a non academic audience, this book will provide a glimpse into some of the book of mormon s literary complexities that originate from hebrew grammar and style. Although the book of mormon has been of central importance to both of these groups for a century and a half, it is surprising to discover that very few members of either group. Many of these repetitions have to do with poetic structures called parallelisms. Word pairs and distinctive combinations in the book of mormon james t. The bible is certainly literature, and uses literary rhetorical devices, but. It does poke a little fun at the mormon faith, but that is not what the whole musical soundtrack is about.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who can take a few jokes here and there. He is a researcher and contributor of many articles posted on the book of mormon central website and is coeditor of knowing why. Hunt, the late war, between the united states and great britain, from june 1812, to february 1815 1816. In contrast to this scenario, the book of mormons own claims about its authorship can easily accommodate the results of this recent stylometric analysis. Both critics and promoters of the book of mormon have used linguistic methods to analyze the text. With degreed work at a bachelor and masters level in english, publication of 18 books including plays and short stories, i have some understanding and appreciation of the endeavors of shakespeare, milton, hardy and james on the england side of the language, hemingway. Nephis use of imagery nephi is the predominant writer of personification. The book of mormon is authentic because it fulfills certain conditions lending it credibility as starting off in the near east such as.
The purpose in combining each authors words was to determine how the authors relate to each other. Smith said that the text contained within the book of mormon was derived from an ancient native american record written on golden plates, and that god gave him alone the power to translate it into english. This paper introduces some literary skills focused around the narrator and characters that can enhance scripture teaching, followed with a. Hardy covers some of the same terrain as rust, but. In this article, paul hoskisson discusses the question of whether janus parallelism, a sophisticated literary form found in the hebrew bible and elsewhere in manuscripts of the ancient near east, might also be detected in the book of mormon. Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the book of mormon. While residing in bainbridge township, geauga county, ohio, in 182627, sidney rigdon reportedly became involved in what appears to be automatic writing, using a seancelike process to create text for the book of mormon. The book of mormon says that the jaredites did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee. What do wordprint studies say about the book of mormon.
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