Book of mormon literary style

The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. If joseph smith wrote the book of mormon, we should be able to see his literary style across the entire book. Several critics have pointed to grammatical errors in the early modern english style of the book of mormon and made the argument that because the original ms, the printers ms, and the first edition of the book of mormon appear to have contained hundreds of grammatical errors, the book was therefore fabricated by smith and not divinely inspired. During a trip out west, mark twain took along the book of mormon to while away the travel hours.

It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the doctrine and covenants or other 19th century writing. Unique literary styles in the book of mormon, further. January 2, 1988 by ben crowder apocryphal works, attack, bible, bible king james version, bible quoted in book of. The style of the book of mormon has been criticized by some as being verbose and redundant, but in most cases these repetitions are orderly and effective. That said, unique literary styles in the book of mormon is not meant to satisfy all technical demands of academic scholarship. Fanfic mark twain may have savaged its literary ambitions, but a new novel from avi steinberg tries to. If the book of mormon was written by ancient authors, we should be able to see distinct writing styles among each different author. A worldfamous, nonmormon scholar called it the most stunning information ive learned concerning the book of mormon. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. The kjv was the most commonly used translation of the bible when the book of mormon was produced. Dec 12, 2017 larsen and his associates concluded that the book of mormon was written in distinct authorship styles and that none of the 19th century candidates that they tested resemble book of mormon authors in style. Book of mormon wordprint or word pattern studies parent page. The book of mormon is the doctrinal centerpiece of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The book of moron mormon is a kickass musical by trey parker and matt stone.

He teaches the book of mormon alongside herman melville s mobydick, harriet beecher stowe s dred, and lew wallace s epic benhur. It describes the full background on the coming forth of the book and its translation process using insights gained from some of the earliest documents available. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. If he copied from someone, we should see that authors writing style likewise.

It has been claimed that the books of the apocrypha were a source for the book of mormon. Book of mormon authorship the encyclopedia of mormonism. All men have heard of the mormon bible, but few except the elect have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. We find then that the lds claim that smith could not have written the book of mormon is without foundation. This volume features articles that look at literary aspects of the book of mormon, including a lyric reading of nephis psalm, the exodus pattern and moses typology in the book, the literary context that affected its acceptance in england in 1837, a comparison of the book of mormon with the narrative of zosimus, and even an analysis of the. The answer here rests on the whole literary style contained in the book of mormon compared to maya writing in the popol vuh. He didnt think much of its literary style, but he did find it useful as a cure for insomnia. Some months ago, john announced in an academic journal the remarkable discovery that an ancient and highly specialized hebrew literary style could be found throughout the book of mormon. Jul 12, 2017 was the book of mormon a great american novel. Hebrew literary patterns in the book of mormon by donald w. If the book of mormon truly is a direct translation of a text formulated in accordance with ancient hebrew learning, chiasmus might well be present as an integral part of its literary style.

The church news recently received a letter from an interested nonmember of. The term chiasmus is never used, but this book clearly shows that hebrew poetic styles were recognized and studied even before joseph smiths time. The book of mormon, annotated edition 2nd edition deseret. This volume features articles that look at literary aspects of the book of mormon, including a lyric reading of nephis psalm, the exodus pattern and moses typology in the book, the literary context that affected its acceptance in england in 1837, a. The writing style of the book of mormon is different than the bible. A literary structure known as chiasmus exists in the book of mormon. Larsen and his associates concluded that the book of mormon was written in distinct authorship styles and that none of the 19th century candidates that they tested resemble book of mormon authors in style. Today style metric studies in the book of mormon have repeatedly demonstrated that it has multiple distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself for example, the colored clouds in this graph show how the writings of major book of mormon authors form distinct clusters based on their vocabulary and on how frequently they use. The literary masterpiece called the book of mormon. The book opens with a 32page introduction, the most comprehensive of any edition of the book of mormon. Although understated as literature in its clear and plain language, the book of mormon exhibits a wide variety of literary forms, including intricate hebraic poetry, memorable narratives, rhetorically effective sermons, diverse letters, allegory, figurative language, imagery, symbolic types, and wisdom literature. Chiasmus in the book of mormon religious studies center. Some scholars believe that some of the chapters of the current book of isaiah were not written by that prophet but by one or more different authors long after isaiahs timein fact, after the time that lehi and his family left jerusalem.

A biblical scholar looks at the book of mormon mormons in. Isaiah in the book of mormon religious studies center. Byu scholarsarchive citation nibley, hugh 2011 classics from the past. Two studies 47 the book of mormon s own theological statements, therefore, are drawn from, depend on, expand, and explain interpretations already present in the new testament. Literary style used in book of mormon insured accurate. The book of mormon is a work of substantial complexity, however, with numerous wellspun narratives subsumed with a larger comprehensive vision there is a neat symmetry to the bible as we have received it. If so, an understanding of chiasmus should be helpful in interpreting and understanding the design of the total book. Additionally, the book of mormon reflects kjv literary and linguistic style. Many studies have investigated book of mormon authorship because the book presents itself as a composite work of many ancient authors. At johns hopkins university in baltimore, english professor jared hickman celebrates the audacity of the book of mormons style in his american bibles course. Those who reject joseph smiths claim that he translated the book through divine power assume that he or one of his contemporaries wrote the book. Could joseph smith have written the book of mormon.

From his experience working at mormon corporate headquarters in salt lake citythe church office buildingsmith concludes that the cob is an enormous inwardlyfocused, selfperpetuating machine fueled by the tithing monies of the faithful. Does chiasmus appear in the book of mormon by chance. Book of mormon literature the encyclopedia of mormonism. Book of mormon literary style in mesoamerica it came to pass. Lecture at the lds institute, utah valley state college, on june 14, 1995.

Their lack of ability, in each case, did not seem to deter them from producing works which equal, or easily surpass, the book of mormon in literary style and quality. Searching for literary wonders in the book of mormon is a bit like seeking lyrical inspiration in the books of chronicles or judges. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Even though mormon is a narrator, the actual books are written in 1st person. Jan 16, 2018 to date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. It is also one of the four main holy scriptures of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and its offshoots the other works being pearl of great price and the doctrine and covenants, alongside the king james version of the bible, and by far the easiest one to get hold of due to the lds churchs printing of.

The literary power of the book of mormon book of mormon central. A second major question is sometimes raised about the isaiah material in the book of mormon. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Literary style used in book of mormon insured accurate translation. A glance at independent studies of poetic style in the book of mormon crowell 1992. It is claimed that the presence of chiasmus in the book of mormon is either coincidental, an artifact of the observer, or not impressive since examples of chiastic patterns have been found in the doctrine and covenants or other 19th. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of.

Literary style used in the book of mormon hugh nibley. However, along with its incomparable spiritual message, the book of mormon contains a wealth of literary forms and figures of speech containing dozens of literary patterns. Welch argues in favor of ancient origins for book of mormon chiasmus, demonstrating that public awareness of this style was slight in america when the book of mormon was translated. Literature courses that prominently featured the book of mormon started to appear with more frequency in secular university course catalogues.

I would add that literary style is not just the frosting on the cake called the book of mormonit is an essential part of the cake. Mar 18, 2010 the book of mammon is a challenging read, both in content and literary style. So literary style is really not fluff after all, but an essential ingredient in communicating gods message to his children p. For example, parallelisms, which abound in the book of mormon, serve many functions. They add emphasis to twicerepeated concepts and give definition to sharply drawn contrasts. May 23, 2017 for the first time, studies of the book of mormons literary qualities were appearing in major journals of american literary studies. Book of mormonevidenceshebraismschiasmus fairmormon. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Oct 25, 2016 according to hugh nibley, the father of contemporary mormon scriptural and theological scholarship, the book of mormon can and should be tested. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry.