View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Chapter 2

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{{H1
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Chapter 2
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 2: Authorship of the Book of Mormon"
|T=[[../../|An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
|A=Grant Palmer
|<=[[../Chapter 1|Claims made in "Chapter 1: Joseph Smith as Translator/Revelator"]]
|>=[[../Chapter 3|Claims made in "Chapter 3: The Bible in the Book of Mormon"]]
}}
[[File:Chart.insiders.view.chapter 2 authorship.png|center|frame]]
<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Index/Chapter 2
|H=Response to claims made in An Insider's View of Mormon Origins, "Chapter 2: Authorship of the Book of Mormon"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 39 - the church has encouraged a 'thorough and impartial examination' of the Book of Mormon, including questions regarding its authorship
|L2=Response to claim: 40 - B.H. Roberts stated that Joseph Smith was intellectually capable of writing the Book of Mormon himself
|L3=Response to claim: 40 - B.H. Roberts is claimed to have wondered if the Book of Mormon stories were just inspirational tales
|L4=Response to claim: 41-42 - Joseph claimed that a skeleton found was that of a "white Lamanite" named Zelph
|L5=Response to claim: 42 - Joseph reported that the Kinderhook Plates contained a genealogy back to Ham
|L6=Response to claim: 42 - Joseph gave many descriptions of heroes and their treasures hidden in the New York hills
|L7=Response to claim: 42 - B.H. Roberts concluded that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the Book of Mormon
|L8=Response to claim: 48 - The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is the source of Alma 19
|L9=Response to claim: 49 - "The evidence indicates that the Book of Mormon is in fact an amalgamation of ideas that were inspired by Joseph's own environment"
|L10=Response to claim: 55 - The decapitation of Laban parallels the story of Judith in the Apocrypha
|L11=Response to claim: 57 - The author claims that the LDS position is that the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians
|L12=Response to claim: 57, n38 - No Hebrew or Egyptian writing or language has been discovered in the New World
|L13=Response to claim: 58, n40 - B.H. Roberts thought that View of the Hebrews could be a basis for the Book of Mormon
|L14=Response to claim: 60 - Roberts concluded that a copy of View of the Hebrews could have been supplied by Oliver Cowdery
|L15=Response to claim: 60-64 - B.H. Roberts' parallels between View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon
|L16=Response to claim: 65-66 - Joseph Smith received a revelation to send people to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright
|L17=Response to claim: 66 - The writing of the 116 pages served as an "apprenticeship" to learning to write the Book of Mormon
}}
</onlyinclude>
==Response to claim: 39 - the church has encouraged a 'thorough and impartial examination' of the Book of Mormon, including questions regarding its authorship==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|"...the church has encouraged a 'thorough and impartial examination' of the Book of Mormon, including questions regarding its authorship."}}
|authorsources=<br>
*Talmage, ''The Articles of Faith'', 273.
*Widtsoe, ''In Search of Truth: Comments on the Gospel and Modern Thought'', 80.
*Quinn, ''J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years'', 24.
}}
{{disinformation|This is an absurd claim. The Church does not encourage members to question the authorship of the Book of Mormon.
}}

==Response to claim: 40 - B.H. Roberts stated that Joseph Smith was intellectually capable of writing the Book of Mormon himself==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
B.H. Roberts stated that Joseph Smith was intellectually capable of writing the Book of Mormon himself.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=10, 243, 247, 262-263}}
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts was deliberately stating the position that critics would take - this did not represent his personal belief.
}}
{{:Question: Did B.H. Roberts state that it was possible for Joseph Smith to have come up with the Book of Mormon on his own?}}

==Response to claim: 40 - B.H. Roberts is claimed to have wondered if the Book of Mormon stories were just inspirational tales==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
B.H. Roberts is claimed to have wondered if the Book of Mormon stories were just inspirational tales, and questioned whether it was history or the product of a "pious but immature" mind.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=272-273}}.
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts was deliberately stating the position that critics would take - this did not represent his personal belief.
}}
{{:Question: Did B.H. Roberts lose his faith in the Church and the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: 41-42 - Joseph claimed that a skeleton found was that of a "white Lamanite" named Zelph==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
Joseph claimed that a skeleton found was that of a "white Lamanite" named Zelph
|authorsources=<br>
*''History of the Church'', ed. B. H. Roberts, 2:79-80.
}}
{{information|This is correct.
}}
{{:Question: What is the story of Zelph?}}
{{:Question: How reliable are the accounts of the discovery of Zelph?}}

==Response to claim: 42 - Joseph reported that the Kinderhook Plates contained a genealogy back to Ham==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
Joseph reported that the Kinderhook Plates contained a genealogy back to Ham.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=243-50}}.
}}
{{information|This is correct, although this information did not come by revelation. Joseph deduced this from a single character that has a corresponding explanation in the Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar. Joseph did not realize that the Kinderhook Plates were forged.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to translate the Kinderhook Plates?}}

==Response to claim: 42 - Joseph gave many descriptions of heroes and their treasures hidden in the New York hills==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
Joseph gave many descriptions of heroes and their treasures hidden in the New York hills.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=243-50}}.	
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts is talking about the stories Joseph was reported to have told by his mother after his interviews with the angel Moroni. He is presenting the critical perspective that Joseph had sufficient imagination to produce the Book of Mormon. Again, this was not Roberts' own belief, but his description of the arguments that future critics would try to use.
}}
{{:Question: Was the young Joseph Smith a teller of "tall tales"?}}

==Response to claim: 42 - B.H. Roberts concluded that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
B.H. Roberts concluded that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the Book of Mormon.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=243-50}}.
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts concluded that the ''critics'' would conclude that Joseph Smith was capable of writing the Book of Mormon. This did not represent Roberts' own belief.
}}
{{:Question: Did B.H. Roberts state that it was possible for Joseph Smith to have come up with the Book of Mormon on his own?}}

<!-- ====46====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=The Book of Mormon reflects evangelical Protestantism.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Alexander Campbell, ''Delusions: An Analysis of the Book of Mormon'', 19.	
}} -->

==Response to claim: 48 - The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is the source of Alma 19==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is the source of Alma 19.
|authorsources=<br>
#None cited, however, this section almost precisely matches the analysis shown in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=117}}.	
}}
{{propaganda|Assertion is not an argument.  The author needs ''evidence''.
}}
{{:Question: Does the Book of Mormon plagiarize the King James Bible?}}

<!-- ====48====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=Alma 19 is claimed to have been derived from evangelical conversion experiences common in the 19th century.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]	
*[[Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}} -->

==Response to claim: 49 - "The evidence indicates that the Book of Mormon is in fact an amalgamation of ideas that were inspired by Joseph's own environment"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
{{AuthorQuote|Joseph said the Book of Mormon was translated "by the gift and power of God," coming "forth out of the treasure of the heart ... thus bringing forth out of the heart, things new and old." The evidence indicates that the Book of Mormon is in fact an amalgamation of ideas that were inspired by Joseph's own environment (new) and themes from the Bible (old).}} 
|authorsources=<br>
#''Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate'', Vol. 2, No. 3, p. 229.
}}
{{misinformation|The author misrepresents the source that he cites. He neglects to note Joseph's inclusion of covenants and the Bible in his statement in order to strengthen his own conclusion that the ''Book of Mormon'' came from Joseph's own heart. It is a stretch to interpret this phrase as some sort of admission by the Prophet that he actually created the ''Book of Mormon'' from his own mind and experience.
}}
*From the cited source ''Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate'', Vol. 2, No. 3, p. 229:
<blockquote>
For the work of this example, see the book of Mormon, '''coming forth out of the treasure of the heart'''; also the covenants given to the Latter Day Saints: also the translation of the bible: '''thus bringing forth out of the heart, things new and old''': thus answering to three measures of meal, undergoing the purifying touch by a revelation of Jesus Christ, and the ministering of angels... {{ea}}
</blockquote>

<!-- ====49====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=Alma 32 is claimed to have been derived from Jesus's parable of the sower.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible]]	
|authorsources=<br>
#No source provided.
}}

====49====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=The Book of Mormon was an amalgamation of ideas from Joseph Smith's own environment.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]	
|authorsources=<br>
#Author's opinion.
}}

====50-53====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=It is claimed that many Book of Mormon stories are derived from the New Testament.
}}
*[[Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/King James Bible]]
|authorsources=<br>
#No source provided.	
}} -->

==Response to claim: 55 - The decapitation of Laban parallels the story of Judith in the Apocrypha==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=The decapitation of Laban parallels the story of Judith in the Apocrypha.
|authorsources=<br>
No source provided.
|provenance=Although not attributed, this information matches the claim made by the Tanners in {{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=114}}.	
}}
{{propaganda|There is no evidence that Joseph utilized the story of Judith as inspiration for the decapitation of Laban.
}}
{{:Question: Did Joseph Smith create the story of Nephi and Laban by plagiarizing concepts and phrases from the story of Judith and Holofernes in the Apocrypha?}}

==Response to claim: 57 - The author claims that the LDS position is that the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The author claims that the LDS position is that the Lamanites are the principal ancestors of the American Indians.
|authorsources=<br>
#Book of Mormon, xii, "A Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon."
}}
{{misinformation|The introduction to the Book of Mormon, which was not part of the original Book of Mormon text, asserted this. It has since been changed from "are the principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors." 
}}
{{:Gospel Topics:Book of Mormon and DNA Studies:The Book of Mormon...does not claim that the peoples it describes were either the predominant or the exclusive inhabitants of the lands they occupied}}
{{:Question: Why did the Church modify the introduction to the Book of Mormon from "principal ancestors" to "among the ancestors?"}}

==Response to claim: 57, n38 - No Hebrew or Egyptian writing or language has been discovered in the New World==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
No Hebrew or Egyptian writing or language has been discovered in the New World. The Book of Mormon provides too short a time for the disappearance of the Nephite/Lamanite language.
|authorsources=<br>
*Thomas Stuart Ferguson, "Written Symposium on the Book of Mormon Geography: Response of Thomas S. Ferguson to the Norman and Sorenson Papers," 12 Mar. 1975, printed and updated in Stan Larson, ''Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon'', 175-268
*{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=91-94}}.
}}
{{propaganda|Why would 1000 years be "too short a time" for evidence of Hebrew or Egyptian to disappear?
}}
{{:Question: Is finding links between Hebrew and ancient American languages realistic?}}
{{:Question: Have any relationships been found between New World languages and Hebrew?}}

==Response to claim: 58, n40 - B.H. Roberts thought that View of the Hebrews could be a basis for the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
B.H. Roberts thought that View of the Hebrews could be a basis for the Book of Mormon. Roberts concluded that there was a great probability that the Smith family read View of the Hebrews.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=28-29, 151-54}}.
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts was providing arguments from the perspective of a critic in order to inform Church leaders of possible attacks on the Book of Mormon. Roberts stated that this did not represent his own beliefs.
}}
{{:Question: What did B.H. Roberts say about ''View of the Hebrews'' and the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: 60 - Roberts concluded that a copy of View of the Hebrews could have been supplied by Oliver Cowdery==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
Roberts concluded that a copy of View of the Hebrews could have been supplied by Oliver Cowdery.
|authorsources=<br>
*''Studies'', 27, 151-61.
*"Poultney Church Records," bk. 3, Poultney Vermont, 1793-1828, Poultney Historical Society.	 
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts was providing arguments from the perspective of a critic in order to inform Church leaders of possible attacks on the Book of Mormon. Roberts stated that this did not represent his own beliefs.
}}
{{:Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?}}

==Response to claim: 60-64 - B.H. Roberts' parallels between View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
B.H. Roberts' parallels between View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Roberts:Studies|pages=240-242}}.
}}
{{misinformation|Roberts was providing arguments from the perspective of a critic in order to inform Church leaders of possible attacks on the Book of Mormon. Roberts stated that this did not represent his own beliefs. Roberts' parallels also only had validity if one assumed a hemispheric model for the Book of Mormon.
}}
{{:Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?}}

==Response to claim: 65-66 - Joseph Smith received a revelation to send people to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
Joseph Smith received a revelation to send people to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright for $8000. After expenses, the money was to go to the Smith family.
|authorsources=<br>
*Hiram Page to William E. McLellin, 2 Feb. 1848, in RLDS Library Archives.
*Whitmer, ''An Address to All Believers in Christ'', 30-31.	
}}
{{information|This is correct. The text of the actual revelation has recently been found among the Joseph Smith Papers.
}}
{{:Question: Are there any eyewitness accounts of the events that resulted in the trip to Canada to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?}}

==Response to claim: 66 - The writing of the 116 pages served as an "apprenticeship" to learning to write the Book of Mormon==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
|claim=
The writing of the 116 pages served as an "apprenticeship" to learning to write the Book of Mormon.
|authorsources=<br>
#}}
{{propaganda|This is simply the author's opinion, without evidence to support it.
}}
{{:Question: Was Joseph Smith afraid to reproduce the text of the lost 116 pages of Book of Mormon manuscript because he could not do so?}}


{{endnotes sources}}