Could joseph smith have written the book of mormon. The coming forth of the book of mormon, foretold by ancient prophets, began with an angelic visitation in 1823 to 17year old joseph smith. Many people close to the process were moved by the books message and eagerly waited for a renewing of old. Joseph smith was the founder and first president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
Latterday saints are accustomed to speaking of joseph smith as the inspired translator of the book of mormon. Emma smiths copy of the book of mormon found joseph. Oliver cowdery was joseph smiths distant cousin, whose familys minister was ethan smith of poultney, vermont, author of the 1823 view of the hebrews. In the unfolding book of mormon text, joseph smith found answers to some of the questions that had brought him to the sacred grove as a 14year old boy. They say theres no way joseph couldve written the book of mormon. Hullinger, a lutheran minister, argued similarly in his 1980 book, mormon answer to skepticism. Mormon founder joseph smith was 14 years old when he said the god the father and jesus christ appeared to him in response to a prayer 200 years ago. A fair biography of the mormon prophet, joseph smith, written from the perspective of an admitted member of the church, in 7677. Lets say that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon. May 30, 2012 the spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18year old con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Lucy mack smith 17751856, mother of the prophet joseph smith, was a committed believer in her sons divine calling. Seven years later, in 1830, this scriptural canon of the latterday saints was published for the world. A claim being disputed is that joseph smith was a pedophile.
In a times and seasons editorial, october 1, 1842, the prophet joseph smith, after progressive study. And it came to pass that as ammon and lamoni was a journeying thither alma 20. Towards the end of her life, and not long after the deaths of her sons joseph, hyrum, and samuel in 1844, lucy, perhaps in part as a salve to her grief, and at the behest of the quorum of the twelve, began recording her familys story. The book of mormon, another testament of jesus christ, contained the fullness of. And youll notice that he never quoted from it in his speeches. Joseph smith was only 23 years old when he dictated the book of mormon, and had about 7 years of formal education, with almost all of that homeschooled. The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18year old con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Rigdon, sidneys son, asks his dad if he wrote the book of mormon or if josephs story about golden plates is true. In his 1835 and 1842 accounts of the first vision, joseph identified himself as being, respectively, about 14. Rigdon, the son of sydney rigdon visited utah and spent the winter among the mormons.
When he was 24, smith published the book of mormon. How joseph smith and the early mormons challenged american. He and five associates formally organized the church at fayette, new york, on 6 april 1830. Smith was the sixth prophet of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, the mormon church. Many concepts from the book of mormon are present in this book notably 2000 stripling warriors, a liahonalike description of a metal device, the freeman movement, rod of iron, standard of liberty, brass plates, cataclysmic earthquakes followed by great darkness, chiasmus, and many, many more. Smith apparently collected these plates, took them home, and subsequently translated them into the book of mormon which he then published in 1830. Since joseph smiths first vision, teens have played key. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Mormon wrote the book of mormon, quoting, condensing, and summarizing from many ancient records as the spirit directed. October 1st is the anniversary of a little known event in early church history that i believe, in consequence of significant research progress, now deserves recognition for identifying a region of major book of mormon lands and for initiating book of mormon archaeological historicity research. Joseph smith did not sign more than a handful of copies of the book of mormon, said brother fox.
He didnt have the time, education or wherewithal to do this. Joseph smith the prophet saw god and jesus in first vision. And joseph smith translated the ancient word by gift and power of god and proclaimed it to all men, and to the seed of joseph in particular. 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. Mormon apologists will immediately recognize this as the counterpart to the socalled book of mormon challenge. Today, the book of mormon has been translated from english into over 100 languages see book of mormon in 110 languages, ensign, may 2015, 7. The spalding enigma part 1 did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18year old con artist joseph smith the mormon bible, as he claimed. Joseph smith himself, two years after the book of mormon was published, wrote that he was mearly instructid in reading and writing and the ground rules of arithmatic heres what joseph wrote in 1832 original spelling retained. Later joseph smith translated the book of mormon from ancient gold plates. Now, some critics also claim that smith gained most of his theories from a manuscript of a novel written by solomon spaulding.
Did joseph smiths mother believe he could have written. In short, there is no reference in joseph smiths own words to his claiming authorship for the book of mormon,11 and so, to prevent confusion he changed author and proprietor to translated by when the time came to reprint the book the being safely retained. Alexander campbells delusions and the mormon response. In the 7 february 1831 millennial harbinger, less than a year after the printing of the book of mormon and organization of the church of christ, alexander campbell published what he considered a reasoned refutation of smith and the book of mormon. Sometimes, reading tolkien, i am reminded of the book of mormon. Lots of answers here with an incredible amount of evidence. Apr 20, 2020 in his 1835 and 1842 accounts of the first vision, joseph identified himself as being, respectively, about 14. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religion that continues to the present with millions of global adherents.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates. Sidney rigdons final confession about joseph smith and the origin of the book of mormon. Sidney rigdon was a campbellite minister when he met joseph smith, and brought his entire congregation into the church in kirtland. Aug 25, 2019 adams wrote in the book of mormon he received, the above is the autograph of the chief of the mormons who gave me this book at nauvoo on the 15th of may 1844. How old was joseph smith at the time of the first vision. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon.
According to joseph smith, the founder of mormonism, in 1823 the angel moroni guided him to some golden plates buried on a hill near to where he lived. Sidney rigdons final words about joseph smith and the. Joseph smith didnt quote from the book of mormon, since it completely disagrees with him when it comes to the godhead, god the father being an exalted man and the rock which the church is built on. In essence, the challenge states that the critic should produce a text of like character to the book of mormon, before he assumes that smith could have been the sole author. Established a devoted flock of religious followers while remarkably continuing his snake oil ways until the day he was killed. When the great biography of joseph smith appears, wrote daryl chase several years ago, its author will be a firstrate scholar in the field of christian church history and a specialist in the heretical religious movements which have originated in new england. Sep 23, 2015 mormon wrote the book of mormon, quoting, condensing, and summarizing from many ancient records as the spirit directed.
His manner of living was not greatly different from that of the ordinary farm boy of his day, except that he was often referred to. When did joseph smith write the book of mormon answers. Jesus christ is subordinate to his father, but not because of the statements of the nicene creed. Several investigations and studies which set out to prove that joseph wrote the book of mormon have actua. Concerning joseph smiths life between the time of the first vision and the appearance of the angel moroni, elder gordon b. Aug 19, 20 mormons dont even consider the possibility that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon. Emma smiths copy of the book of mormon found joseph smith. How joseph smith and the early mormons challenged american democracy. He presided over the church until 27 june 1844, when he was martyred. Sacred geography or a description of the places mentioned in the old and new testament, intended to promote a knowledge of the holy scriptures, accompanied by three maps. The man is now a saint and founder of the mormon church. He testified that he was only able to translate the book by the gift and power of god book of mormon translation, gospel topics, topics. Since 1830 millions of people have read the book of mormon and have joined the church of jesus christ of latterday saints because of the book of mormons witness of the savior.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Charles dickens wrote the following novels in the 19th century. Jul 30, 2019 the book of mormon claims that moroni, a prophet, originally wrote the book and that it was translated by joseph smith. Mormons dont even consider the possibility that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon. Oct 31, 2012 joseph smith stated that the book of mormon was the keystone of our religion, to which the former lds prophet ezra taft benson added, just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed.
Created his own religion based on ideas he borrowed stole from an unpublished novel and the mason sect. Sidney rigdons final words about joseph smith and the origin. In 1820 a 14year old boy named joseph smith lived near palmyra, new york. December 23, 1805 june 27, 1844 was an american religious leader and founder of mormonism and the latter day saint movement. It seems after reading these posts that the only possible answer is that the book of mormon happened just like joseph and others claim. T he language in the sections of the book of mormon that correspond to parts of the bible is quite regularly selected by joseph smith, rather than obtained through independent translation. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religion that continues to the present. Many people close to the process were moved by the books message and eagerly waited for a renewing of old covenants and the restoration of christs church. The book is also evidence that joseph smith was a prophet of god and that the savior leads his church today. Oliver cowdery was joseph smith s distant cousin, whose familys minister was ethan smith of poultney, vermont, author of the 1823 view of the hebrews.
Though young, he was concerned about his standing before god and confused by the claims of various christian religions that sought converts by discounting the claims of the others. The book of mormon was first published in early 1830, prior to the official organization of the church of jesus christ in new york on april 6 of that year. It does portray the life of the uniquely american figure joseph smith jr. As the mind and the will of the voice of him by whom salvation comes.
While its easy to throw that word around in light of todays problems with child abusing priests in the catholic clergy, the fact remains that pedophilia is defined as t he act or fantasy on the part of an adult of engaging in sexual activity with a child or children. Pre1830 works that possibly influenced the book of mormon. Who really wrote the book of mormon part 1 youtube. Campbell was correct in stating that neither the prophet mormon nor joseph smith taught arianism.
The book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, joseph smith stated, and the keystone of our religion. Since 1830 millions of people have read the book of mormon and have joined the church of jesus christ of latterday saints because of the book of mormon s witness of the savior. Adams wrote in the book of mormon he received, the above is the autograph of the chief of the mormons who gave me this book at nauvoo on the 15th of may 1844. Hinckley, then a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles, wrote. Under his leadership, church membership grew from six to over 26,000. Well, first of all, joseph was 24 when the book of mormon was first published, not 14. The earliest writers in opposition to the church accepted joseph smith as the author of the book. I believe that smith believed he was called of god, yet occasionally engaged in fraudulent activities in order to preach gods word as effectively as possible. Similar grammatic peculiarities also appeared in the first edition of the book of mormon, such as. Tolkien who wrote the threevolume work, the lord of the rings. Born on november, 1838, to hyrum joseph smiths elder brother and mary fielding smith, he experienced upheaval and hardships early in life.
At age 33 he wrote an autobiography which became a favorite read of joseph smith describing his successful adventures at the following conartist. It was a book he wrote to try to sell, to make money for his family. Yes, he was reading the bible since 1817 joseph smiths 1832 account. Did joseph smiths mother believe he could have written the. Apr 22, 2016 t he language in the sections of the book of mormon that correspond to parts of the bible is quite regularly selected by joseph smith, rather than obtained through independent translation. Joseph had never published book or story or anything that we know of. In nauvoo, illinois, smith established a theocracy, ran for president, and tested the limits of religious freedom. Joseph smithearly smith family historyeducation fairmormon. The official story, of course, is that smith and cowdery had never met, and that cowdery just happened to get a job teaching school in palmyra and boarded with the smith family. Joseph smith s golden plate story debunked reasons for jesus. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. For example, when dictating his own history, he wrote. Joseph smith was first named the translator of the book of mormon on the title page in the.