The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, the fourth volume in professor royal skousen s ongoing book of mormon critical text project, represents the central task of the project. Stylometrists analyze literature using statistics, math formulas and artificial intelligence to determine the style of an authors writing. This essay was the first serious critique of the mormon system which walter martin kingdom of the cults once called a polytheistic nightmare draped in the garment of christian terminology. The correspondence is specific and features some detail in both books, especially in the book of mormon in keeping with the fact that the principal editor of the book of mormon was the commander of the armies of his people during nearly his entire adult life. A ferrous industry is a whole system of doing something. Thanks for exploring this supersummary plot summary of the book of mormon by transl. Jan 18, 2016 once again, multiple authors in the book of mormon. Alexander campbell gets little press from historians today, but his impact on american religious history was profound, and this work should be obtained by anyone studying the impact of mormonism upon. The book of mormon girl book by joanna brooks official. Byu studies, naturalistic explanations of the origin of the book of mormon. This book was available and advertised in joseph smiths neighborhood in 1823 1826. When they say directly support, they typically mean that they are looking for a direct corroboration, such as the presence of the name nephi or zarahemla in association with ancient american archaeological data.
In fact, research suggests that the book was written by numerous distinct authors. In 1980, researchers at brigham young university used stylometric techniques they called wordprint analysis to examine the possible authors of the book of mormon. A modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, supersummary offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Three different types of wordprints or stylometry were used in examining the authors of the book of mormon. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the. Oct 27, 20 first, the algorithm measures the number of fourword phrases that each text shares with the book of mormon. Peterson, chairman and president of the interpreter foundation speaking on behalf of the interpreter foundation, i can say that its a great honor and a privilege for the foundation to host volume 4 of royal skousens book of mormon critical text project analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, or atv on its website. Volume 4 considers every significant textual change that has occurred in the english book of mormon over the 175 years since. In recent years, rigorous statistical analysis strongly indicates that neither joseph smith nor any of his known associates composed the english text of the book of mormon. Some early claims assumed that joseph was clearly the book of mormon s only author. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint, oldfashioned sound and structure of. Mar 21, 2012 this book is part of a new series published by princeton university press called lives of great religious texts, in it the author paul gutjahr presents an evenhanded biography of the book of mormon. One summary lists 7 names from the book of mormon that are found in this book. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon is the fourth volume in professor royal skousens ongoing book of mormon critical text project.
Geology of the book of mormon book of mormon central. 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. Fields study scrutinizes a 2008 paper published in the journal of literary and linguistic computing, written by matthew jockers, craig criddle. It has been used to analyze disputed works of shakespeare, contrast books of the bible, identify the authors of twelve. While the book is written to an audience unfamiliar with mormonism, those interested in mormon studies will find it a valuable resource for reflecting on the text of the book of mormon as a narrative. This work represents the central task of the critical text project, to restore by scholarly means the original text of the book of mormon, to the extent possible.
In her groundbreaking biography of joseph smith, no. Book of mormon authorship the encyclopedia of mormonism. As part of his prophetic call, the author produced what. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi.
The online version of analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, part six. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Response to the book of lehi by christopher marc nemelka. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. There is generally no direct support amongst mainstream historians and archaeologists for the. The reader of the book of mormon will do well to remember that it is a translation of a record inscribed on gold plates, which was an abridgment made from more extensive records kept by the ancient civilized peoples of americachiefly by the people known in the book of mormon as nephites. In this book, the traits that set each book of mormon author apart from the others are analyzed.
This volume in six parts represents the central task of the project. For control and comparison purposes we analyzed the writing of several nineteenthcentury authors. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon part six. A quick summary of the book of mormon comeuntochrist. Matheny, response at book of mormon archaeology sunstone symposium, 25 august 1984, typed copy transcribed from tape recording, pp. New computer study purports to detect literary influences. Volume 4 of the critical text of the book of mormon.
They reached the conclusion that none of the book of mormon selections they studied resembled writings of any of the suggested nineteenthcentury authors, including joseph smith. The book of mormon another testament of jesus christ. Intriguing literary analysis of the book of mormon later on. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. Each reads very much like the bible in type and breadth of thematic concerns and literary forms history, law, psalm. The purpose in combining each author s words was to determine how the authors relate to each other. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, 2nd. It is a common claim by critics that there is absolutely no archaeological evidence to support the book of mormon. Jun 18, 2015 in 2014, a computer analysis compared the book of mormon to over 100,000 books from the pre1830s era. That it never did wasnt because calls for its study as literature werent being made, either. Jan 16, 2018 the following graph shows the diversity of voices in the book of mormon, with ellipsoid clouds demonstrating how the writings of major book of mormon authors form distinct clusters. A chronological arrangement a study of the book of mormon by ronald thayn hall 1 as want to read. Laman and lemuel, the oldest sons, dont believe their dad.
Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational. Captive judah will arise from the dust and sit down upon a royal throne. The first nation, known as the jaredites, claims to have. In 1732 john walker published a book called critical pronouncing dictionary, listing hundreds of biblicallike names and how to pronounce them. As part of his prophetic call, the author produced what he claims is a translation of the lost 116 pages, or book of lehi. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and. Little known in 1829, this literary form creates inverted parallelism such as is found in this biblical passage in leviticus 24. Mormon included in his compilation the first six books as they were written.
Without the book of mormon account of this story, the reader would not see the important punch line, that many of the people died because they took lightly. The great strength of the book is that it provides a wellargued perspective based on the geology of natural disasters that is new to the analysis of the book of mormon one that adds to the reality of book of mormon events and opens new doors for potential research and understanding of the geography of the book of mormon. Pdf reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. The book includes extensive details and a professional academic technical analysis of volcanoes, fault systems, meteorology, and unlike many approaches that cherry pick conveniently to fit preconceived ideas, the author takes on and explains and documents all book of mormon. Jul 30, 2018 having surveyed the parallels between moronis writings and the new testament in part 1, in part 2 i offer an analysis of this evidence. Here is a quick rundown of those ten lines of evidence. The book of mormon adds, the labor which they had to perform was to look. New computer study purports to detect literary influences on. May 27, 2011 many studies have investigated book of mormon authorship because the book presents itself as a composite work of many ancient authors. The record tracks the history of two civilizations.
The book of lehi fails even a cursory analysis when checked against what is known about joseph smiths translation of the same material. Fields, and atul nepal, joseph smith, the times and seasons, and central american ruins, journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 22. Frequencies of the 38 common words were used as data. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible.
Itiscalledthebookofmormon,anaccountwrittenbythehand of mormon upon platestaken from theplatesofnephi,wherefore it is an abridgement oftherecordofthepeoplenephi, and also ofthelamantles. In this book, thomas balances critical inquiry with charitable reading with great success. This cluster analysis was for the 24 book of mormon authors using one observation consisting of each author s total words combined. Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. For the 24 book of mormon authors included in the analysis, see larsen, rencher, and layton, who wrote the book of mormon. The author reasons that if the writings of latterday prophets reflect their authors personal characteristics, then records left by ancient prophets should also contain features that distinguish their authors as individuals. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Apr 29, 2014 the book of mormon sermon, therefore, clearly echoes this poetic refrain from isaiah 52. An analysis of wordprints, book of mormon authorship 1982 matthew roper, paul j. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. An analysis of the book of mormon signed copy ziegler, wesley on. This six book set, entitled analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon atv, fulfills the central task of the critical text project, to restore the original text of the book of mormon to the extent possible using scholarly means. Many concepts from the book of mormon are present in this book notably 2000 stripling warriors, a liahonalike description of a metal device. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. Dec 12, 2017 since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. This analysis discovered a book named the late war between the united states and britain contains many phrases and ideas that are also found in the book of mormon. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi is a sacred text of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds. The book includes extensive details and a professional academic technical analysis of volcanoes, fault systems, meteorology, and unlike many approaches that cherry pick conveniently to fit preconceived ideas, the author takes on and explains and documents all book of mormon references to geology and meteorology. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon part. The following graph shows the diversity of voices in the book of mormon, with ellipsoid clouds demonstrating how the writings of major book of mormon authors form distinct clusters.
The book of mormon is a good example of a text with a great deal of repetition think. The most significant structural studies of the book of mormon derive from john w. While the results of the oldest book of mormon stylometry study overstate the evidence for multiple authorship not intentionallythe field has progressed a lot since 1980, it too found multiple authorship and a lack of 19 th century authorship. Mormon prophet joseph smith 180544 claimed that more than twodozen ancient individuals nephi, mormon, alma, etc. What 2 engineers discovered after using statistical analysis to. Alexander campbell gets little press from historians today, but his impact on american religious history was profound, and this work should be obtained by anyone studying the impact of mormonism upon american culture. I found it to be a great overview, it is surprisingly comprehensive for such a short book. From 2004 through 2009 he published the six books that make up volume 4 of the critical text, analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. In total, the book of mormon contains 28 distinct voices that are detectable using stylometric analysis. God warns lehi in a dream to take his family and leave jerusalem because the city will be destroyed. In the six books of atv, skousen discusses every substantive change to words or phrases in the text as well. In this book, the traits that set each book of mormon author. The late war against the book of mormon the interpreter. This analysis yields ten distinct lines of evidence that the book of mormon had one modern author who made extensive use of the kjv new testament.
Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the. It was translated and produced by joseph smith who founded the church in 1830. The author of the book of lehi claims to have been commanded to translate the sealed portion of the book of mormon, as well as the lost 116 pages. Wordprint analysis and the book of mormon deseret news. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Aug 08, 2012 the latterday saint canon consists of four books. For nearly two centuries, faithful members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds have.
In order to counter any bias in favor of the book of mormon, the authors apply a strongly skeptical prior assumption that the book of mormon. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture. A high number of shared ngrams relative to total wordcount indicates that a text may have some kind of significant literary relationship to the book of mormon. The book of mormon comprises fifteen books, each named after its principal writer. They intrigued the audience with a new study of book of mormon. Those who believe that joseph smith translated the book of mormon by the gift and power of god naturally have accepted that its source texts were written by multiple ancient prophets. The book of mormon, the founding document of the latter day saint movement and one of the four books of scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, is an account of three groups of people. Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the book of mormon.
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