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Chris Johnson, Duane Johnson, in "A Comparison of The Book of Mormon and The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain,"[1]propose a number of parallel sentence structures between Gilbert Hunt's book The Late War and the Book of Mormon. The authors conclude that Joseph Smith read Hunt's book while in school (without any actual evidence that Joseph ever actually saw the book). They base this conclusion upon the assumption that the book was widely available, and therefore Joseph must have read it. Hence, they conclude that Joseph constructed the Book of Mormon by using structural elements of The Late War. The evidence is presented as a series of comparisons between the Book of Mormon and The Late War.
Seventy-five of the parallels identified as significant between the two texts came from the Copyright statement. Why? Because the copyright statement was a fill-in-the-blank form. It had a certain set of language that was standardized for the period. So books copyrighted in the same general area at the same general time, such at The Late War and the Book of Mormon, would have nearly identical copyright statements. And this study found 75 parallels between the two. This shouldn't surprise us, because of course, both books had copyright statements that were reliant on a common source. And we can see from this dense material that there is a relationship between the two. But anyone who actually looks at the texts will also see that this has nothing to do with what might be termed the creative content in each work.
Most of the similarities occur because they both use the language of the King James Bible. For both, the language choice seems like a stylistic decision (and not determined by the content). And in fact, the Book of Mormon quotes from Isaiah a couple of dozen chapters. This creates a relationship between the Bible and both of these books. The computer model doesn't have a way of separating style or word choice from content and meaning (and both texts can use the same phrase in different ways). We have to read it to realize that while one is simply copying the Bible (mining it for phrases), the other is creating theological discussion by taking a passage and expanding on it. 2 Nephi 2 quotes from Genesis about Adam and Eve, and then goes from there to provide commentary and discussion about the theology involved. The Late War may use the language or even quote from the Old Testament, but it never goes through commentary and theological discussion. That isn't its purpose. Sometimes the same passages get used. The Late War makes references to a specific battle and describes it as a David versus Goliath encounter. The Book of Mormon uses the David and Goliath narrative in an allusion to the Old Testament. They are very, very different ways of using the Old Testament text - even if on the surface, they use the same bit of material. All of this is important because if The Late War served as a model, or lent its language, we would expect perhaps to see other things influenced by it as well. And, we don't. But the computer model isn't capable of judging the quality of the parallels being offered.
The authors of the study present us these lists of similarities. In presenting this list, we get presented with a fallacy that is called the Texas Marksman (or the Texas Bulls Eye). Essentially, the way the reference works is that you shoot a bunch of rounds into the side of your barn, and then you go up to the holes and paint your target around them (giving you the best and tightest clustering). Usually, the way these models work in accepted applications is that you start by testing the model in situations where you already know the outcome. That way, you can see how reliable your new model is. And if it is highly reliable in known cases, then you can start cautiously applying it to unknown models (you don't create your own target this way).
By intuiting that it must be right, this model used with The Late War simply skipped the testing part. But this created one of the biggest obvious problems with the theory. They didn't stop with the Book of Mormon. They ran a test on a Jane Austin novel, and found a source (a relatively unknown book from 1810). Why is this important? Austin was a prolific writer, sending thousands of letters during her lifetime detailing what she was reading, her influences, writing about her writing, and so on. We have a huge body of literature devoted to dealing with her writing (she was one of the most important writers of the period). So when you have a statistical model that produces a brand new source, not noticed by anyone previously, not mentioned in any of her letters, and so on - there ought to be a bit of a red flag raised. But there wasn't. Had this theory been introduced to academic literary theorists - this would have been the major point of dispute (since they don't really care about the Book of Mormon).
Furthermore, the methodology employed by the Johnson's itself has been criticized by experts in the field. Consider the thoughts of Harold Love on the work of Donald W. Foster, who argued for the authorship of Shakespeare of an unattributed poem from 1612 using "a trawling of the vast electronic databases now available in search of phrasal parallels and rare vocabulary"[2]:
Love further critiqued the methodology, saying:
And also noted:
Did this model that the Johnson's used really find a previously unknown and unidentified source of Jane Austin's work? Or did it simply create the illusion of doing this by painting a bulls eye after clustering its data? Scholarly analysis places confidence in the latter position (as a side note, discovering a new source for Jane Austin would be a thesis-significant sort of discovery). The paper the Johnsons wrote was submitted to Dialogue (who are usually sympathetic, given the purpose of the journal, to these types of claims and theories) yet they rejected the proposal. All indications would tell us that the methodology used to establish connections between The Late War and and the Book of Mormon is dubious and the supposed parallels of the same caliber.
The conference at which Chris and Duane presented their findings was held in October 2013. In that same month, Latter-day Saint literary theorist Benjamin L. McGuire published a response to the findings of the brothers in Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture using similar methods—concluding that the Late War likely had little to no influence on the composition of the text of the Book of Mormon.[3] That was followed in November 2013 by a piece by Bruce Schaalje giving a Bayesian analysis of the likelihood that Joseph Smith used the Late War in the composition of the Book of Mormon—similarly concluding that it is unlikely that Joseph Smith was influenced by the Late War in the composition of the Book of Mormon.[4] Finally, in 2018, Latter-day Saint linguist Stanford Carmack compared the syntax and morphosyntax of The Late War, King James Bible, and Book of Mormon, and concluded that the Late War did not have influence on the composition of the Book of Mormon.[5] As of 2022, the Johnsons have not disputed any of these conclusions in scholarly venues.[6]
Did Joseph Smith rely on the 1819 book "The Late War" by Gilbert Hunt while dictating the Book of Mormon?
27 And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship.
The Late War Chapter 19 (p. 67):
13 And their weapons of war were of curious workmanship, and they sent forth balls of lead; such as were unknown to Pharaoh when he followed the Children of Israel down into the red sea.
Note that the Book of Mormon mentions weapons, and then mentions additional objects that were of "curious workmanship." The Late War, on the other hand, is describing weapons of war (in this case guns that fire "balls of lead") as being perceived to be of "curious workmanship." The presentation of the Book of Mormon passage, however, is altered by the critics to make it appear that the Book of Mormon is talking about "weapons of war....of exceedingly curious workmanship." This is done in an attempt to enhance the perceived similarity of the passages.
In Exodus 35:32 we read:
And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass.
The Bible also describes at least one object as being "curious" in Exodus 28꞉8 and Exodus 39꞉5. Exodus 28:8:
And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Exodus 39:5:
And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the Lord commanded Moses.
The authors note that "The Late War does not include the phrase 'stripling soldiers' like the Book of Mormon; however, it does share the same context as the distinctive Book of Mormon story: striplings in battle, including a band of 2,000 courageous soldiers who volunteer in a desperate fight for the freedom of their country against an oppressive king (Amalickiah / King George III)."[10]
This passage from the Late War does not mention "striplings" or "stripling soldiers".
18 Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend their country.
19 And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader.
20 And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
21 Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him.
22 And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of the people in the borders of the land on the south by the west sea.
The Late War Chapter 35 (p.126):
5 Immediately Jackson took two thousand hardy men, who were called volunteers, because they had, unsolicited, offered their services to their country, and led them against the savages.
6 Now the men of war who followed after him were mostly from the state of Tennessee, and men of dauntless courage.
From Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary:
STRIPLING, n. [from strip, stripe; primarily a tall slender youth, one that shoots up suddenly. ] A youth in the state of adolescence, or just passing from
In order to find the word "stripling," one must go to back to Chapter 19:32, or Chapter 28:2:
The Late War Chapter 19 (p. 69):
32 About this time, a stripling from the south, with his weapon of war in his hand, ran up to Zebulon, and spake unto him, saying
The Late War, Chapter 28 (p. 99):
2 And the vessels of war of Columbia that were upon the waters of the lake were not yet prepared for the battle; the name of their commander was M'Donough, a stripling.
In light of other evidence against the Late War, the mention of “2000” may likely be a coincidence
The Book of Mormon also mentions other dates in the same manner:
One critic claims that both books describe "cataclysmic earthquake followed by great darkness"[13]
6 And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder.
7 And there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land.
8 And the city of Zarahemla did take fire.
9 And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned.
10 And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great mountain.
11 And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward.
12 But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth;
13 And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough.
14 And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate.
15 And there were some cities which remained; but the damage thereof was exceedingly great, and there were many in them who were slain.
16 And there were some who were carried away in the whirlwind; and whither they went no man knoweth, save they know that they were carried away.
17 And thus the face of the whole earth became deformed, because of the tempests, and the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the quaking of the earth.
18 And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land.
19 And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did cease—for behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours—and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land.
20 And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;
21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;
22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.
23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them.
37 But as the young man returned to where the army stayed, behold! the black dust in the hold caught fire, and it rent the air with the noise of a thousand thunders:
38 And the whole army fell down upon their faces to the earth; and the stones, and the fragments of rocks, were lifted high; and the falling thereof was terrible even unto death.
39 Yea, it was dreadful as the mighty earthquake, which overturneth cities.
40 And the whole face of the earth round about, and the army of Zebulon, were overshadowed with black smoke; so that, for a time, one man saw not another:
41 But when the heavy clouds of smoke passed away towards the west, behold the earth was covered with the killed and the wounded.
42 Alas! the sight was shocking to behold; as the deed was ignoble.
43 About two hundred men rose not: the stones had bruised them; the sharp rocks had fallen upon them:
44 They were wedged into the earth: their weapons of war were beat down into the ground with them; their feet were turned towards heaven; their limbs were lopped off.
Recently, the Exmormon Foundation held their annual conference in Salt Lake City. A presentation by Chris and Duane Johnson proposed a new statistical model for discussing authorship of the Book of Mormon. The study attempts to connect the Book of Mormon to a text published in 1816: The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain. The latter is a history of the war of 1812 deliberately written in a scriptural style. A traditional (non-statistical) comparison between this text and the Book of Mormon was apparently introduced by Rick Grunder in his 2008 bibliography Mormon Parallels. I will discuss only the statistical model presented by the Johnsons here.
Useful steps when thinking about any difficult or disconcerting issue are to state the components of the issue as clearly as possible, and combine them in a way that is logically and mathematically justified.
Such an issue is the recent claim that an 1816 scriptural-style history of the War of 1812 entitled The Late War between the United States and Great Britain (LW) had an influence on the Book of Mormon.
Notes
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