Difference between revisions of "Book of Mormon/Authorship theories"

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{{Resource Title|Attempts to explain Book of Mormon authorship by non-miraculous means}}
 
{{Resource Title|Attempts to explain Book of Mormon authorship by non-miraculous means}}
 
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===== =====
 
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|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Overview
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Overview
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|summary=An overview of the various authorship theories that critics have created to explain the existence of the Book of Mormon.
 
|summary=An overview of the various authorship theories that critics have created to explain the existence of the Book of Mormon.
 
}}
 
}}
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{{SummaryItem
 
{{SummaryItem
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Spalding manuscript
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Spalding manuscript
 
|subject=Spalding manuscript
 
|subject=Spalding manuscript
 
|summary=Some claim that Joseph Smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by Solomon Spaulding to write the Book of Mormon. There is a small group of critics who hold to the theory that the production of the Book of Mormon was a conspiracy involving Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and others. These critics search for links between Spalding and Rigdon. Joseph Smith is assumed to have been Rigdon's pawn.
 
|summary=Some claim that Joseph Smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by Solomon Spaulding to write the Book of Mormon. There is a small group of critics who hold to the theory that the production of the Book of Mormon was a conspiracy involving Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and others. These critics search for links between Spalding and Rigdon. Joseph Smith is assumed to have been Rigdon's pawn.
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|sublink1=Question: What is the Spalding Theory of Book of Mormon authorship?
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|sublink2=Question: Is the Spalding theory of Book of Mormon authorship credible?
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|sublink3=Question: What do most critics think of the Spalding theory of Book of Mormon origin?
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|sublink4=Question: Did Solomon Spaulding's doctor state that Spaulding talked to him about the Nephites in his manuscript?
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|sublink5=Question: Did Joseph Smith know Sidney Rigdon prior to 1830?
 
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|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/View of the Hebrews
 
|subject=View of the Hebrews
 
|subject=View of the Hebrews
 
|summary=Some claim that a 19th century work by Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews, provided source material for Joseph Smith's construction of the Book of Mormon. Critics also postulate a link between Ethan Smith and Oliver Cowdery, since both men lived in Poultney, Vermont while Smith served as the pastor of the church that Oliver Cowdery's family attended at the time that View of the Hebrews was being written.
 
|summary=Some claim that a 19th century work by Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews, provided source material for Joseph Smith's construction of the Book of Mormon. Critics also postulate a link between Ethan Smith and Oliver Cowdery, since both men lived in Poultney, Vermont while Smith served as the pastor of the church that Oliver Cowdery's family attended at the time that View of the Hebrews was being written.
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|sublink1=Question: Could Joseph Smith have used Ethan Smith's ''View of the Hebrews'' as a guideline for creating the Book of Mormon?
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|sublink2=Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?
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|sublink3=Question: What did B.H. Roberts say about ''View of the Hebrews'' and the Book of Mormon?
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|sublink4=Question: What are the similarities and differences between ''View of the Hebrews'' and the Book of Mormon?
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|sublink5=Question: Has the book ''View of the Hebrews'' been readily available?
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|sublink6=Question: Is there a link between Ethan Smith, author of ''View of the Hebrews'', and Oliver Cowdery?
 
}}
 
}}
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|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Epilepsy
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Epilepsy
 
|subject=Epilepsy
 
|subject=Epilepsy
 
|summary=Some have claimed that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon while under the influence of an "epileptic fit," thus perpetuating a fraud without knowing it.
 
|summary=Some have claimed that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon while under the influence of an "epileptic fit," thus perpetuating a fraud without knowing it.
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|sublink1=Question: Could Joseph Smith have written the Book of Mormon under the influence of an "epileptic fit?"
 
}}
 
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{{SummaryItem
 
{{SummaryItem
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Automatic writing
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Automatic writing
 
|subject=Automatic writing
 
|subject=Automatic writing
 
|summary=Some attempt to explain the complexity of the Book of Mormon through appeals to "automatic writing" or "spirit writing."
 
|summary=Some attempt to explain the complexity of the Book of Mormon through appeals to "automatic writing" or "spirit writing."
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|sublink1=Question: Could Joseph Smith have written the Book of Mormon through a process known as "automatic writing?"
 
}}
 
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|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Golden Pot
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Golden Pot
 
|subject=The Golden Pot
 
|subject=The Golden Pot
 
|summary=Former LDS Church Education System (CES) teacher Grant Palmer argues that Joseph Smith developed his story of visits by Moroni and the translation of a sacred book from The Golden Pot, a book by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann.
 
|summary=Former LDS Church Education System (CES) teacher Grant Palmer argues that Joseph Smith developed his story of visits by Moroni and the translation of a sacred book from The Golden Pot, a book by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann.
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|sublink1=Question: Did Joseph Smith develop the story of Moroni's visit based upon information contained in the story ''The Golden Pot''?
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|sublink2=Question: What influences led to the development of Grant Palmer's "Golden Pot" theory of Book of Mormon origin?
 
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|link=Book of Mormon/Early reactions to
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Early reactions to
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|summary=Early critical reaction to the Book of Mormon is instructive, both because of what it did say (e.g., Joseph Smith could not have produced it unaided) and what it did not say.
 
|summary=Early critical reaction to the Book of Mormon is instructive, both because of what it did say (e.g., Joseph Smith could not have produced it unaided) and what it did not say.
 
}}
 
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|link=Book of Mormon/Early reactions to/Joseph Smith the author
 
|link=Book of Mormon/Early reactions to/Joseph Smith the author
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[[de:Das Buch Mormon/Autorschaft Theorien]]
 
[[de:Das Buch Mormon/Autorschaft Theorien]]
 
[[en:Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]
 
[[en:Book of Mormon/Authorship theories]]
 
[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Teorías Autoría]]
 
[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Teorías Autoría]]
 
[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Teorias de Autoria]]
 
[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Teorias de Autoria]]

Revision as of 12:50, 12 April 2017

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Attempts to explain Book of Mormon authorship by non-miraculous means


Secular authorship theories for the Book of Mormon


An overview of secular authorship theories for the Book of Mormon

Summary: An overview of the various authorship theories that critics have created to explain the existence of the Book of Mormon.

Spalding manuscript

Summary: Some claim that Joseph Smith either plagiarized or relied upon a manuscript by Solomon Spaulding to write the Book of Mormon. There is a small group of critics who hold to the theory that the production of the Book of Mormon was a conspiracy involving Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and others. These critics search for links between Spalding and Rigdon. Joseph Smith is assumed to have been Rigdon's pawn.

View of the Hebrews

Summary: Some claim that a 19th century work by Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews, provided source material for Joseph Smith's construction of the Book of Mormon. Critics also postulate a link between Ethan Smith and Oliver Cowdery, since both men lived in Poultney, Vermont while Smith served as the pastor of the church that Oliver Cowdery's family attended at the time that View of the Hebrews was being written.

Epilepsy

Summary: Some have claimed that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon while under the influence of an "epileptic fit," thus perpetuating a fraud without knowing it.

Automatic writing

Summary: Some attempt to explain the complexity of the Book of Mormon through appeals to "automatic writing" or "spirit writing."

The Golden Pot

Summary: Former LDS Church Education System (CES) teacher Grant Palmer argues that Joseph Smith developed his story of visits by Moroni and the translation of a sacred book from The Golden Pot, a book by German author E.T.A. Hoffmann.

An analysis of early critical reaction

Summary: Early critical reaction to the Book of Mormon is instructive, both because of what it did say (e.g., Joseph Smith could not have produced it unaided) and what it did not say.

Early claims about Joseph Smith as author

Summary: Some early claims assumed that Joseph was clearly the Book of Mormon's only author; others assumed that it was clear he could not have written it.