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Book of Mormon/Authorship theories/Clumsy or amateurish
< Book of Mormon | Authorship theories
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Questions
Critics charge that even a cursory examination reveals the Book of Mormon to be a clumsy, amateurish forgery.
To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here
Answer
This criticism now rarely heard since the Book of Mormon is obviously not a simple text. But, it is important to remember that early critics made this claim, but most have been forced to retreat from it.
Detailed Analysis
The obvious complexity, textual depth, and beauty of the Book of Mormon has led most modern critics to abandon the claim that it is simply a clumsy or amateurish pastiche. This has led later critics to insist that Joseph was either much more gifted than his contemporaries believed him to be, or to attribute the Book of Mormon to another author altogether.
Notes