Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 13

Chapter 12

A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner

Chapter 14

Claims made in Chapter 13: Changes in Joseph Smith's History

Page	Claim	Response	Author's sources
398	Mormon leaders claim that "Joseph Smith's" 'History of the Church' is the "most accurate history in all the world."	Authorship of History of the Church	Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, p.199
400-401	The History of the Church was not written by Joseph Smith himself. Many instances in original documents which referred to Joseph in the third person were changed to first person to make it appear as if Joseph wrote them.	Presentism or anachronism: This technique of historical writing was standard for the time period. There was no secret that this is how it was done. The Tanners count on their audience not knowing this. Authorship of History of the Church	[ATTENTION!]
403-404	Much of the History of the Church was completed after Joseph Smith's death. This means that Joseph Smith's history is not "authentic."	Presentism or anachronism: This technique of historical writing was standard for the time period. There was no secret that this is how it was done. The Tanners count on their audience not knowing this. Authorship of History of the Church	Brigham Young University Studies, Summer 1971, pp.466, 469, 470, 472 Letter from George A. Smith to Woodruff, April 21, 1856, as cited in Brigham Young University Studies, Summer 1971, pp.470-72"
405	The "Rocky Mountain prophecy" was added to the history of the Church sometime after the original was written.||  [needs work]	History of the Church 5:85 Joseph Smith's Manuscript History, Book D-1, page 1362 Brigham Young University Studies, Summer 1971, p.469 Davis Bitton, Joseph Smith in the Mormon Folk Memory, The John Whitmer address, delivered at the Second Annual Meeting of the John Whitmer Historical Association, Lamoni, Iowa, September 28, 1974, unpublished manuscript, p.16"
====408====|| The angel that gave Joseph Smith the plates was originally identified as "Nephi" rather than "Moroni." History of the Church changed it to "Moroni."	Misrepresentation of source: Nephi or Moroni	Times and Seasons, vol. 3, p.753 History of the Church, vol. 1, p.11 Millennial Star, vol. 3, p.53 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price
415	Most of Joseph Smith's history was written by his scribes and modified to read as if it were written in the first person, therefore this history must be a forgery.	Presentism or anachronism: This technique of historical writing was standard for the time period. There was no secret that this is how it was done. The Tanners count on their audience not knowing this. Authorship of History of the Church	Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Winter 1972, p.76 Paul R. Cheesman, An Analysis Of The Kinderhook Plates, March, 1970, Brigham Young University Library