View source for Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?

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==Question: Was the ''View of the Hebrews'' theory of Book of Mormon origin advanced during the lifetime of Joseph Smith?==
===The theory the Joseph Smith plagiarized ''View of the Hebrews'' was never advanced during Joseph Smith's lifetime===

The theory the Joseph Smith plagiarized ''View of the Hebrews'' was never advanced during his lifetime. The prevailing theory of the day was the [[Book of Mormon and Spaulding manuscript|Spalding Theory]], which quickly lost credibility upon the discovery of an actual Spalding manuscript in 1884 which bore no resemblance to the Book of Mormon. There are no records which indicate that Joseph Smith came into contact with the ''View of the Hebrews'' during the period of time that he was translating the Book of Mormon. The ''View of the Hebrews'' theory was in fact first proposed by I. Woodbridge Riley in 1902, 58 years after the death of the prophet.<ref>{{CriticalWork:Riley:Founder_of_Mormonism|pages=124&ndash;126}}</ref>

===Joseph Smith quoted ''View of the Hebrews'' as ''supporting'' the Book of Mormon===

There was, however, a reference to ''View of the Hebrews'' within Joseph Smith's lifetime, but it came from the prophet himself. In an article published in the ''Times and Seasons'' on June 1, 1842, Joseph quoted ''View of the Hebrews'' in support of the Book of Mormon:

:If such may have been the fact, that a part of the Ten Tribes came over to America, in the way we have supposed, leaving the cold regions of Assareth behind them in quest of a milder climate, it would be natural to look for tokens of the presence of Jews of some sort, along countries adjacent to the Atlantic. In order to this, we shall here make an extract from an able work: written exclusively on the subject of the Ten Tribes having come from Asia by the way of Bherings Strait, by the Rev. Ethan Smith, Pultney, Vt., who relates as follows: "Joseph Merrick, Esq., a highly respectable character in the church at Pittsfield, gave the following account: That in 1815, he was leveling some ground under and near an old wood shed, standing on a place of his, situated on (Indian Hill)... [Joseph then discusses the supposed phylacteries found among Amerindians, citing ''View of the Hebrews'' p. 220, 223.]<ref>{{TSfairwiki| author=Joseph Smith, Jr.| vol=3|num=15|article=From Priest's American Antiquities|date=1 June 1842|start=813|end=815 }} </ref>

It strains credulity to claim that Joseph drew attention to the work from which he derived most of his ideas.  Why would he call attention to the source of his forgery?
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[[Category:An Insider's View of Mormon Origins]]
[[Category:Becoming Gods]]
[[Category:Letter to a CES Director]]
[[Category:Losing a Lost Tribe]]
[[Category:MormonThink]]
[[Category:No Man Knows My History]]
[[Category:Difficult Questions for Mormons]]

[[es:Pregunta: ¿Era la teoría de que "Vista de los Hebreos" fue el origen del Libro de Mormón propuso durante la vida de José Smith?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Se desenvolveu a teoria da origem do Livro de Mórmon proveniente do "View of the Hebrews" durante a vida de Joseph Smith?]]
[[Category:Questions]]