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Possible 19th Century influences on Book of Mormon
Other Possible 19th-Century Influences on the Book of Mormon
Summary: Many alleged nineteenth-century influences on the Book of Mormon rely on superficial parallels rather than compelling evidence of borrowing. This page addresses several common claims, including similarities between Lehi's vision and a dream attributed to Joseph Smith Sr., comparisons between King Benjamin and Methodist revivalist preaching, alleged dependence on John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, and connections to contemporary ideas about Native American origins. Critics often identify broad themes—such as visions, sermons, persecution, or conversion—and then treat those similarities as proof of literary dependence, while overlooking major contextual differences. Some of the strongest alleged parallels, such as Joseph Smith Sr.'s dream of the tree of life, come from sources recorded many years after the Book of Mormon was published, making the direction of influence uncertain.
Similarities indeed exist between the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's nineteenth-century environment, but they do not necessarily demonstrate authorship or plagiarism. Many proposed parallels are either coincidental, dependent upon selective comparisons, or explainable by common biblical and Christian themes rather than direct borrowing. While acknowledging that early Latter-day Saints—including Joseph Smith himself—sometimes interpreted archaeological discoveries, mound-builder traditions, and Native American origins through the lens of the Book of Mormon, these interpretations do not show that the book originated from those ideas. These alleged nineteenth-century influences are an accumulation of weak or inconclusive parallels rather than persuasive evidence that Joseph Smith created the Book of Mormon from contemporary sources.
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Question: Did Joseph Smith plagiarize Josiah Priest's The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed?
There is so little of The Wonders of Nature that has parallels with the Book of Mormon that it would provide a forger with little help
It is claimed that Joseph Smith plagiarized Josiah Priest's The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed in order to write portions of The Book of Mormon.
Matthew Roper makes several observations regarding this claim:
- There is no evidence that Joseph Smith ever read Priest's book before he translated the Book of Mormon.
- That there are very few ways to describe an isthmus. Roper states, "In his 1828 dictionary, Noah Webster defines the word neck as 'a long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts; as the neck of land between Boston and Roxbury.' "[1]
Narrow neck
| The Wonders of Nature(1825) | Book of Mormon | Other similar phrases |
|---|---|---|
| For instance, in many places, such as the isthmus of Darien, a narrow neck of land is interposed betwixt two vast oceans. (p. 598) | And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. (Ether 10:20) | A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts; as the neck of land between Boston and Roxbury. (Webster's Dictionary (1828) |
Vapour and darkness
| The Wonders of Nature(1825) | Book of Mormon | Other similar phrases |
|---|---|---|
| "Darkness which may be felt.... vapours ... so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating an extraordinary thick mist. ... no artificial light could be procured ... vapours would prevent lamps, etc. from burning. ... [T]he darkness lasted for three days." (p. 524) | "[They] could feel the vapour of darkness, and there could be no light ... neither candles, neither torches, ... neither the sun ... for so great were the mists of darkness ... [I]t did last for the space of three days." (3 Nephi 8꞉20-23) | They saw not one another. So deep was the obscurity, and probably such was its nature, that no artificial light could be procured; as the thick clammy vapors would prevent lamps, &c., from burning, or if they even could be ignited, the light through the palpable obscurity, could diffuse itself to no distance from the burning body. The author of the book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 2-19, gives a fearful description of this plague. He says, "The Egyptians were shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness: and were fettered with the bonds of a long night. They were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions; for neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear; but noises as of waters falling down sounded about them; and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances.
No power of the fire could give them light-only there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself very dreadful; for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. For though no terrible thing did scare them, yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear: for whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken; for they were all bound with one chain of darkness. Whether it were a whistling wind, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of tripping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear." See Psalms 78:49. To this description nothing need be added except this circumstance, that the darkness, with its attendant horrors, lasted for three days. ("Commentary on Exodus X: The Ninth Plague - Thick Darkness, Verse 23" Clarke's Commentary, Vol. 1 |
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Question: Did Joseph Smith believe that the Book of Mormon explained local legends associated with the "Mound Builders" of the Eastern United States?
When the Book of Mormon appeared, it was a natural assumption by many that the book was the story of the mysterious "Mound Builders"
Joseph Smith himself initially believed that the presence of the mounds supported the story related in the Book of Mormon. In fact, as Zion's Camp passed through southern Illinois, Heber C. Kimball and several other participants claimed that Joseph identified a set of bones discovered in one of these mounds as "Zelph", a "white Lamanite." In a letter that Joseph wrote to Emma the day after this discovery, he stated:
The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity, and gazing upon a country the fertility, the splendour and the goodness so indescribable, all serves to pass away time unnoticed.[2]
Statements made by Joseph Smith clearly indicate that his thinking regarding the actual location of Book of Mormon events evolved over time
Joseph felt that the presence of the mounds in North America and ruined cities in Central America supported the Book of Mormon. Since information about the ruined cities in Central America came to light after the publication of the Book of Mormon, it actually strengthens the theories and evidences which place the Book of Mormon in a Mesoamerican setting--Joseph was willing to consider a setting of which he apparently had no previous knowledge. The description of the ancestors of the American Indians as a highly civilized culture capable of building great cities was not a concept which would have been deduced from the contemporary beliefs regarding the Mound Builders.
The presence of numerous burial mounds in the eastern United States was the source of great speculation to those that settled there. The construction of such mounds was not considered to be within the ability of the Native Americans, who were considered to be savages. It was assumed that such sophisticated constructions constituted evidence of a long lost, highly civilized society which had long since vanished. Some even postulated the existence of separate civilized and a savage societies, with the highly civilized group eventually being destroyed by the savage one. After years of research, however, it was concluded that the mounds had indeed been constructed by the ancestors of the Indians that continued to live in the area.
Joseph clearly believed not only the region of the mounds to be part of Book of Mormon lands, but the entire continent, including Central America. The Book of Mormon itself, however, makes no mention of mounds.
In 1841, the Times and Seasons, of which Joseph was the editor at the time, commented on a popular book by John Lloyd Stephens called Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan. This book described amazing ruined cities that had been found in Central America.
Joseph Smith himself, as editor of the Times and Seasons wrote and signed (as "ED[itor]") the following on July 15, 1842. Notice that he mentions both the mounds and the ruins in Guatemala as supporting the Book of Mormon:
If men, in their researches into the history of this country, in noticing the mounds, fortifications, statues, architecture, implements of war, of husbandry, and ornaments of silver, brass, &c.-were to examine the Book of Mormon, their conjectures would be removed, and their opinions altered; uncertainty and doubt would be changed into certainty and facts; and they would find that those things that they are anxiously prying into were matters of history, unfolded in that book. They would find their conjectures were more than realized-that a great and a mighty people had inhabited this continent-that the arts sciences and religion, had prevailed to a very great extent, and that there was as great and mighty cities on this continent as on the continent of Asia. Babylon, Ninevah, nor any of the ruins of the Levant could boast of more perfect sculpture, better architectural designs, and more imperishable ruins, than what are found on this continent. Stephens and Catherwood's researches in Central America abundantly testify of this thing. The stupendous ruins, the elegant sculpture, and the magnificence of the ruins of Guatamala [Guatemala], and other cities, corroborate this statement, and show that a great and mighty people-men of great minds, clear intellect, bright genius, and comprehensive designs inhabited this continent. Their ruins speak of their greatness; the Book of Mormen [Mormon} unfolds their history.-ED.[3]
A later Times and Seasons article, published on October 1, 1842 under Joseph's editorial supervision (though not signed by Joseph Smith as editor) stated:
It would not be a bad plan to compare Mr. Stephens' ruined cities with those in the Book of Mormon: Light cleaves to light and facts are supported by facts. The truth injures no one....[4]
If someone of that era were to attempt to write a book about a history of the North American Indians, they would not have written about advanced civilizations with advanced technology
One thing that critics do not consider is that if someone of that era were to attempt to write a book about a history of the North American Indians, he or she would not have written about advanced civilizations with advanced technology. The mysterious "Mound Builders" were not considered to be the ancestors of the current "savage" race that were inhabiting the land at that time.
Some of the witnesses of the Book of Mormon realized that there were going to be problems with this assumption after the publication of the Book of Mormon. In a interview, David Whitmer said:
When we [the Witnesses] were first told to publish our statement, we felt sure that the people would not believe it, for the Book told of a people who were refined and dwelt in large cities; but the Lord told us that He would make it known to the people, and people should discover evidence of the truth of what is written in the Book.[5]
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Question: Is the Book of Mormon's anti-universalism derived merely from Joseph Smith's contemporary religious culture?
Introduction to Criticism
Critics of the Book of Mormon allege that it contains anti-universalist rhetoric and that this rhetoric was derived from Joseph Smith’s contemporary religious culture.[6]
This article will present evidence that this criticism is based on a false dilemma fallacy and that such appearance of universalism and concerns about it appear in the ancient world. If enough evidence of such a presence of universalism exists in the ancient world, then it can be used to demonstrate that there is a plausible religious context in which ideas like universalism can develop during Book of Mormon times and in which Book of Mormon prophets can respond to such ideas--thus showing that this presents no problem for a believing, orthodox Latter-day Saint's worldview that includes belief in the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon and the integrity and divine calling of its supposed translator, Joseph Smith.
Response to Criticism
Examples from the Ancient World of Universalism
There are many examples from the ancient world of universalism that can provide a context for the Book of Mormon’s words about universalism found in passages like Alma 1:3-4 and Alma 21: 6-9.
Early Church fathers Clement of Alexandria and Origen, as early as the second and third centuries respectively, “held the possibility of even Satan being restored.”[7] "In the fourth century, Basil of Caesarea had 'to confess that most ordinary Christians have been beguiled by the Devil into believing…that there will be a time-limit' to suffering in hell. Two of these 'ordinary Christians' were 'Gregory of Nazianzus, who on occasion seems to wonder whether eternal punishment is altogether worthy of God, and Gregory of Nyssa, who sometimes indeed mentions eternal pains, but whose real teaching envisages the eventual purification of the wicked, the conquest and disappearance of evil, and the final restoration of all things, the Devil himself included.'”[8]
Some of our earliest extant writings from the ancient world attest to the idea of universal salvation. Latter-day Saint scholar and apologist Martin S. Tanner discusses The Good Fortune of the Dead, “a text that sets forth the ancient Egyptian belief that, upon death, all find a fulfillment of the good things of this life. Regarding the peaceful place to which the Egyptians believed that the soul goes after death…we find it written, ‘All our kinsfolk rest in it since the first day of time. They who are to be, for millions of millions, will all have come to it. . . .There exists not one who fails to reach yon place. . . .Welcome safe and sound!”[9]
Early Zoroastrianism espoused the idea of universal salvation.[10]
“There are also Old Testament passages which have been interpreted as authority for the idea of universal salvation.[11] These would have been familiar to Lehi and his descendants as part of the brass plates taken to the New World which were part of the Nephite culture (1 Nephi 19:21-23; Alma 37:3-4).”[12]
Did the Anti-Universalist Bent Change After the Publication of the Book of Mormon?
A tangential criticism can be dealt with here. Gerald and Sandra Tanner in their book Mormonism: Shadow or Reality allege that Joseph Smith aligned himself with universalist doctrine subsequent to the publication of the Book of Mormon and thus contradicted The Book of Mormon's anti-universalist bent. Latter-day Saint apologist Barry Bickmore has soundly refuted them in this FairMormon publication.
Conclusion
Clearly there is enough historical evidence to demonstrate how this criticism relies on a false dilemma fallacy. Most accusations of plagiarism or the imputation of outside cultural influence to the Book of Mormon rest on such a fallacy. Critics and defenders will need to be aware of this moving forward as Book of Mormon scholarship advances.
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Notes
- ↑ Matthew Roper, "Unanswered Mormon Scholars (Review of Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism Raised by Mormon Defenders)," FARMS Review of Books 9/1 (1997): 87–145. [{{{1}}} off-site]
- ↑ Dean C. Jessee, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, revised edition, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 2002), 324.
- ↑ Joseph Smith (editor), "AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES.," Times and Seasons 3 no. 18 (July 15, 1842), 860, (emphasis added). off-site GospeLink
- ↑ [Editor], "ZARAHEMLA.," Times and Seasons 3 no. 23 (Oct. 1, 1842), 927. off-site GospeLink
- ↑ Interview with James H. Hart, Richmond, Mo., Aug. 21, 1883, as recorded in Hart's notebook; reprinted in Lyndon Cook (editor), David Whitmer Interviews: A Restoration Witness (Orem, Utah: Grandin Books, 1991), 76.
- ↑ Gerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 1972), 197. Dan Vogel, “Anti-Universalist Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon,” New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology, ed. Brent Lee Metcalfe (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1993), 21–52.
- ↑ Vogel, “Anti-Universalist Rhetoric,” 27n8.
- ↑ Barry R. Bickmore, "The Tanners on the Hereafter: A Case Study in 'Studied Ignorance'," <https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/the-tanners-on-the-hereafter-a-case-study-in-studied-ignorance> (2 September 2020). Citing J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, rev. ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), 483–484.
- ↑ Martin S. Tanner, “Is There Nephite Anti-Universalist Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon?” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 6, no. 1 (1994): 418–33. Citing "The Good Fortune of the Dead," in James B. Prichard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3d ed. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974), 33–34; A. H. Gardiner, The Attitude of the Ancient Egyptians to Death and the Dead (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1935), 32.
- ↑ George A. Mather and Larry A. Nichols. "Unitarian-Universalist Association (UAA) History," Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religion and the Occult (Grand Rapids: Harper Collins, 1993), 286. Cited in Tanner, “Is There Nephite Anti-Universalist Rhetoric?” 433n29.
- ↑ Genesis 18:18; Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 9:26; 32:29; 21:8; Psalm 22: 25-29; 33:15; 65:2-4; 66:3-4; 72:18; 86:9 90:3; 130:8; 138:4; 145:9-10; Isaiah 2:2; 52:10; 43:1; 44:22; 45: 17, 23; all Israel to be redeemed; other passages have been interpreted to mean that all mankind will be saved (Isaiah 19:14-25; 25:6-8; 46:10 50:2; 52:3; Hosea 13:14; 1 Samuel 14:6; 1 Chronicles 16:23; Psalm 28:9; Proverbs 16:9; 19:21; Isaiah 25:9, 35:4; 45:8; 49:6); see also Paul Heinisch, Theology of the Old Testament (St. Paul: North Central Publishing, 1955), 12, God's covenant with Abraham did not involve Abraham only, or Israel only, but promoted the divine plan for universal salvation (emphasis added); James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1983), 1:302, Israel, gentiles, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.
- ↑ Tanner, “Is There Nephite Anti-Universalist Rhetoric?” 433.