Writing styles in the book of mormon

The word gentiles does not appear with equal frequency throughout the book of mormon. Both sides also cite archaeological evidence to defend their points of view. Tvedtnes, specialist in near eastern studies and instructor at the brigham young universitysalt lake center. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Can you explain the multiple writing styles in the book of. Includes ancient hebrew literary writing styles such as idioms and chiasmus. Perhaps the most practical method of looking at book manuscripts is with a. The logic tree of life, or, why i cant manage to disbelieve daniel c. And furthermore, with a little luck, the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon just might. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is. Yet numerous phrases from the new testament appear in sections of the book of mormon ostensibly dating to hundreds of years before the birth of jesus.

The translation of the book of mormon did not really take place in less than three months. Having read tens of thousands of pages of material, pro and con, here in a nutshell is my current \best guess\, included with a preface that i don\t care what anyone has to \refute\ my position. Unique literary styles in the book of mormon, further. Nephi described the writing system of his people as a combination of the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians.

According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury 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. Its the calling card for thousands of missionaries, and part of the inspiration for a tony awardwinning broadway musical. There are two styles for citing sources in chicago. Citing scripture is the same in chicago and turabian formats. To date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. This paper identifies four distinct writers, and when you know what to look for, a casual reading of the book of mormon will illustrate the point. Suffice it to say, these two books have totally different objectives and writing styles. The book of mormon does indeed have authentic semitic constructions in it, but lds need to tread cautiously in establishing them. Not because the spirit tells me so or because the book. Larsen and his associates concluded that the book of mormon was written in distinct authorship styles and that none of the 19th century. Today style metric studies in the book of mormon have repeatedly demonstrated that it has multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself for example, the colored clouds in this graph show how the writings of major book of mormon authors form distinct clusters based on their vocabulary and on how frequently they use. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon.

Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Examples of both are included in this handout, but religious and historical papers usually require a notesbibliography citation style. Recent research demonstrates that its diversity of styles is unusually high, even greater than the combined. Jan 03, 2011 you cant get an opinion if you dont read it. Writing the book of mormon 46 literary dependence on the bible the twentyseven books of the new testament were originally written between about 50100 c. Oct 27, 2018 concerning that line in mosiah, he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land shilom, which had been a resort for the children of nephi at the time they fled out of the land. Jun 26, 2012 the second observation i have about the book of mormon is the use of firstperson and thirdperson writing styles. Anyway, its been proven the book of mormon has multiple writing styles, not one. The genesis of the book came when i noticed that there are 543 questions asked in the book of mormon, many of which can provide important nourishment for our souls. Smith claimed the angel moroni, a prophet in the book of mormon, directed him in the 1820s to a.

It appears more frequently than key words such as baptize, resurrection, zion, and truth. Apr 23, 2020 book of mormon wordprint studies have been used by both critics and apologists to provide valuable insights into the text of the bom. Moreover, previous stylometric studies have demonstrated that none of the 19th century writers usually suspected of authoring the book of mormon have writing samples that match any of its distinct styles. That book shows four major authors or abridgers, who between them go on include many more writing styles from other book of mormon. A number of scientific tests have been devised to examine the authenticity of the book of mormon. Accordingly, the historical setting is not the focus. On this page you can find links to download articles ive written about this amazing book. There are many ways at looking at book writing styles. If the book of mormon was written by ancient authors, we should be able to see distinct writing styles among each different.

The annotated book of mormon and book of jasher its. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormons different styles are in any way unique or impressive. Refer to the writing an effective scholarship essay guide for additional help. The book of first nephi, the first book in the volume, describes the actions of lehi and his family in leaving jerusalem before its destruction, following the counsel of the lord, and wandering through the wilderness for several years before embarking on a transoceanic voyage to somewhere in or near central america. Although part of the book of mormon purports to have been written in. Insight pages highlight and validate joseph smith as a prophet, seer and revelator. Roughing it, hartford, conn american publishing co. Book of mormon apologists find evidence of hebrew and other ancient writing styles in the book, but detractors point to the grammatical mistakes in the earlier editions as evidence that there could have been no miraculous translation. I\ve read both sides many times over, and i can argue the pro mormon side just as easily as the no mormon side, with the prime diference being. The book of mormon begins in a wellknown location, jerusalem, in 600 b.

Stylometry defined stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying. Utilizing a computer to identify wordprints or word use patterns that scientifically differentiate between individual writing styles, researchers have uncovered what they claim is conclusive evidence that the book of mormon is the work of many authors. You probably know that custom writing uk is a thriving niche with lots of companies that simply do business. If he copied from someone, we should see that authors writing style likewise. Concerning that line in mosiah, he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land shilom, which had been a resort for the children of nephi at the time they fled out of the land. There are, however, some very good reasons behind the usage of the phrase. Jul 08, 2019 a number of scientific tests have been devised to examine the authenticity of the book of mormon. The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. They intrigued the audience with a new study of book of mormon authorship using stylometry showing a wide variety of authors in the book. Once we have a foundational testimony of the book of mormon, then. Is the writing in the book of mormon characteristic of the. The book of mormon is the true word of god, another testiment of jesus christ our beloved saviour who was given as a sacrifice by god the eternal father to ultimately atone for and pay the price of the sin of the whole world, ye the whole of mankind from the time of adam to the present day and beyond. Many ancient authors contributed to the book of mormon, each with his own style. Somebody on quora asks how did joseph smith write the.

Nov 01, 2016 as a result, if the book of mormon can be proved to be manmade, then the church is manmade. See more ideas about book of mormon, scripture study and lds books. The different writing styles disappear when you account for progressive voice i. Critics believe this supports their claim that smith knew about chiasmus, and that it may have been a characteristic of his personal writing style. None of the writing styles were those of joseph smith or any of his scribes when compared with their other contemporary writings. I actually dealt with this topic in another answer how could joseph smith write the book of mormon. The word gentiles appears 141 times in the book of mormon the singular gentile appears only five times. As a result, if the book of mormon can be proved to be manmade, then the church is manmade. That book shows four major authors or abridgers, who among them go on include many more writing styles from other book of mormon contributors. On the other hand, if its origin is godgiven, then joseph smith was a prophet, and if he was a prophet, then the church of jesus christ of latterday saints is true. I believe that the existing of in the book provides strong evidence that this book was not just a fabrication of the illeducated twenty five year old joseph smith jr. Previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself.

Book of mormon central teamed up with artist katie payne to create a beautiful and engaging video called the plates of mormon. The annotated edition of the book of jasher parallels the style and formatting of the annotated edition of the book of mormon. It might be the funniest thing in the world to me when someone tells me with absolute certainty that the book of mormon isnt true after having admitted never actually reading the book themselves. If joseph smith wrote it then it would have just one writing style seeing how everyone has a certain writing style. Zeniff went back to possess the land that nephi had settled in 2 nephi 5 according to omni 1. Brad wilcox and i wrote a book called 52 lifechanging questions from the book of mormon. One may naturally wonder, though, if the book of mormons diversity of style is in any way unique or impressive. One may naturally wonder, though, if the book of mormon s diversity of style is in any way unique or impressive. Why is the phrase and it came to pass so prevalent in. In the classroom the teacher sometimes is not able to focus on the individual matters of each student. If one other person wrote a part of the book of mormon, then joseph smith wrote none of it. The second observation i have about the book of mormon is the use of firstperson and thirdperson writing styles. They were taking the word of their pastor, or mom, or friend and writing off the book for good.

A thousand years later, moroni recorded that his people still spoke hebrew but that the plates were being written in a script. Conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. If joseph smith wrote the book of mormon, we should be able to see his literary style across the entire book. As it turned out, we began to encounter problems in the book of mormon which made it increasingly difficult to continue in the course we had planned.

Stylometrists analyze literature using statistics, math formulas and artificial intelligence to determine the style of an authors writing. The isaiah passages in the book of mormon a non aligned text the above title and link refers to a 2001 masters thesis. Book of mormon wordprint studies have been used by both critics and apologists to provide valuable insights into the text of the bom. Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship.

The more familiar we became with the bible, the more questions we had concerning the book of mormon. The golden plates, now the book of mormon, has multiple authors. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. For example, the book of mormons principal focus is to testify of jesus christ and his doctrine. In 1980,8 wayne larsen, alvin rencher, and tim layton relied on three different statistical methods9 which used noncontextual words10 to distinguish writing styles among the book of mormon s internally designated authors, including nephi, alma, mormon, and moroni, as well as several 19th century candidates, including joseph smith, sidney. Included in the book are old testament artwork from master painters and illustrators, confirming the parallel history of the text. Stylometry can assess the similarity of writing styles among authors, but it cannot prove personal. Both sides also cite archaeological evidence to defend their points of. These writers include sidney rigdon, solomon spalding, w. Book of mormon and stylometry why the lds church is true. May 03, 2008 writing style of the book of mormon the writing style of the book of mormon is different than the bible. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. Previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the. Even though mormon is a narrator, the actual books are written in 1st person.

The purpose of this page is to show the amazing complexity of the book of mormon. Dec 12, 2017 since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. Further, writing style is not singularly specific to a person. According to joseph, this translation was of mormons abridgement of the large plates of nephi a thirdperson narrative with quotes from firstperson.

The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Theres plenty of inconsistencies that have been edited out over the years, for instance forgetting who is talkingwriting in the original text switching from mormon to moroni for example. For example, mormon as a writer contributed about 36% of the words in the book of mormon with a central theme around war. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of honest mormons have discovered that this claim simply is not true. Writing style of the book of mormon the writing style of the book of mormon is different than the bible.

Apr 10, 2018 at a book of mormon conference in provo last saturday, matt roper and paul fields set out to do just that. Using only the text of the book of mormon as the narration, get a. Therefore, book of mormon scholars look for evidence of the book of mormon s ancient hebrew origins by identifying phrases or expressions which are not typical for an english speaker of joseph smiths day which may reflect a direct translation of the underlying semitic style language of the book of mormon. No credible person can claim that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon, and it does not require a phd or a computer to prove it. T he book of mormon is a wholly american scripture. It is the sacred text for the 15 millionstrong church of jesus christ of latterday saints. A hebraism is a way of speaking or writing that uses the grammatical or rhetorical styles of hebrew. As we know, martin harris lost the first 119 pages of josephs translation. Why is it impossible for joseph smith to have been the. Some have wondered, though, if the book of mormon s different styles are in any way unique or impressive. Refer to the writing an effective scholarship essay guide for.

Jan 16, 2018 previous studies have shown that the book of mormon contains multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated in the text itself. Mark twain once joked that if joseph smith had left out the many instances of and it came to pass from the book of mormon, the book would have been only a pamphlet. Some observers might view style as dependent on country of origin, while others could link the writing to a literary giant such as hemingway or twain. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the. Two tests which deal with writing styles have produced some largely ignored results which our critics cannot explain.