An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
Grant H. Palmer · 2002 · 281 pages
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Some book links are affiliate links; you pay the same price and we may earn a small commission.
About this book
"The author of this exceptionally clear & thoroughly documented book is an active, fourth-generation Mormon, a 34-year professional historian and Mormon-studies director at college-level religious institutes. From the Preface: 'I, along with colleagues, and drawing from years of research, find the evidence employed to support many traditional [official Mormon] claims about the [Mormon] church to be either nonexistent or problematic.' Chap. 1: (Joseph Smith as Translator/Revelator) concludes that Jos. Smith 'mistranslated a number of documents' including the Book of Abraham, used the King James Bible extensively in constructing the Book of Mormon, also weaving in many 19th century concerns, and that the Book of Mormon is of 'no value in trying to learn more about ancient America or the Middle East.' Chap.^ 2: (Authorship of the Book of Mormon) concludes that the Book of Mormon is most likely a 19th-century production pieced together from sources demonstrated to be available to Smith, and therefore not a translation from ancient metal plates which, in any case, were not used and often not even present during dictation to scribes, done by looking not at plates but into a hat with a stone placed in it, often separated from his scribe by a blanket hung between them. This chapter also mentions DNA evidence demonstrating that the origin of Native Americans is not as claimed in the Book of Mormon. Chap. 3: (The Bible in the Book of Mormon) demonstrates the King James Bible as source
Appears in these reading paths
Understanding Mormonism: Best Books to Read, in Order
Related reading guides
Reader reviews
Ratings and notes from readers — tagged with how deep into the subject they were.
Loading reviews…