As in the case of things is, the 16thcentury occurrence rate of this pasttense verb agreement was markedly higher than the 17thcentury rate. All of the italic words that the book of mormon does include are universally reasonable additions for any english translation. Of all the pieces i saw, my two most favorite were the book of mormon, written in a maya language and the 1997 piece by joe dambrosio, oaxaca and the saguaro. On saturday, march 14, 2015, a conference was held in 251 tanner building on the byu campus in provo, utah, to report and discuss the latest investigations into a wide range of linguistic elements in the book of mormon, including expressions that do not appear to have been in use in the nineteenth century. The english text for the book of mormon comes from a dictation. When you say written in, i assume you mean translated into. Besides the magisterial discussion of literary works, there is also his highly informative discussion of early protestantism in england and scotland. Dawkins dismisses joseph smith as the enterprisingly mendacious inventor of the book of mormon, which mr. Lewiss greatest work and i love narnia, the sciencefiction trilogy, etc. What stanford carmack found in the book of mormon that was so surprising was grammar characteristic of early modern english from the 16th and 17th centuries that was not in the kjv, shakespeare or other popular 19th century publications. Dec 19, 2017 one element of the book of mormon that is troubling to some modern readers is that it rarely mentions women. Mar 05, 2015 its that the book of mormon isnt an 18th century production, but rather a 16th century one.
It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. It is not the only sacred record to be hidden and later found. Could the book of mormon be a 17th century pious fraud. The first verse of the book of mormon has a strong parallel with a 16th century book by john dee called the book of madoc. Why do italic translator words from the kjv bible appear. This supports the idea that the translated text of the book of mormon was provided to joseph in the language of his day 19th century english and in a way that the people of his day would recognize as scripture early modern english, king james english. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. Although joseph smith used the words king of kings 228 times in the book of mosiah the book that precedes alma, he never mentioned a queen until the chapter in question, alma 19, and while it appears a number of times in the book of alma, it is not used in any of the other books found in the book of mormon, but is obviously taken from a. What the records reveal about mormon history by matthew j. Its important to realize that the kjv itself makes use of earlier translations so some its language goes back to the beginning of the 16th century. Oct, 2017 and the book of mormon just happens to omit this word. Why did god reveal the book of mormon to joseph smith using. The book of mormon translated 1829 and the book of madoc.
Awesome antimormons share conclusive facts of book of. Response to carmack 2014 a look at some nonstandard book. Hunter and ferguson, in their 1950 book, ancient america and the book of mormon, did, however, publish segments of ixtlilxochitls works in englishsegments that appeared to them to correlate with the book of mormon history. When i first read the book of mormon all the way through, i had this plain english reference with me the whole time.
Mar 05, 2015 although three centuries separate the book of mormon from more and tyndale, shell analyze the book of mormons use of terms such as charity, priest and church in the light of their 16thcentury clash. The book of mormon quotes 25,000 words from the kjv old testament and over 2,000 words from the kjv new testament. So i dont think the overall issue needs a 16th century angel. I have to say that when i read the book of mormon recently, what impressed me was that this was an obvious fake, he informed an unsuspecting flowers. Apr 01, 2019 carmack sees similarities with early modern english usage as evidence that the translator of the book of mormon into modern english was not joseph smith, but a firstrate, independent philologist someone extremely knowledgeable in the linguistics and literature of earlier english 231. Book of mormon pasttense syntax could have been achieved only by following the use of largely inaccessible 16th century writings. You will recall that richard dawkins believes the book of mormon is a fraud because of its archaic english. For this article i am going to discuss an ancient literary form known as chiasmus. It is not the only thing made out of gold to be taken into heaven. Everyone with an interest in mormonism is welcome to participate in rmormondebate, including truebelieving mormons, doubting active mormons, unorthodox mormons, exmormons, non mormon christians, people of other faith traditions, and atheists. None of the nineteenth century names ranked high, but the phonemes of all pronunciations of joseph were among the least represented in book of mormon names and significantly lower than the probabilities of all the other nineteenth century names t44 2.
The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents. Which i agree with, as i think that some of the character and message of. Dec 10, 2014 if you have tried to read the bom, book of mormon only to find it leaden, like chloroform in print, if the mormon bible is an unusually effective cure of insomnia, there needs be a facelift, and david michael has lifted the face of mormonism and its mormon bible for all to see. Although three centuries separate the book of mormon from more and tyndale, shell analyze the book of mormons use of terms such as charity, priest and church in the light of their 16thcentury clash. Only six women are mentioned by name,1 and there are just over 150 passages that explicitly reference women. In order to properly consider possible meaning in the book of mormon bofm, we must use the oxford english dictionary oed. Oct 10, 2017 for me right now, that means looking for 16th century connections to the book of mormon. The book of mormon features a very complex and interesting. Dawkins, the king james idiom in the book of mormon somehow. Dont try to say that it was written in the language of the day.
Royal skousen opened the door to this approach, but unfortunately many have resisted accepting it as valid or have not understood the advantages inherent in it. The plain english reference to the book of mormon is an interesting project, but it includes a lot of interpolations and interpretations. For me right now, that means looking for 16th century connections to the book of mormon. Dawkins sneeringly writes off as a whole new bogus american history, written in bogus seventeenthcentury english. Aug 08, 2017 you will recall that richard dawkins believes the book of mormon is a fraud because of its archaic english. Awesome antimormons share conclusive facts of book of mormon 19th century fictional origin. However, a 16th or 17th century pious fraud model is more interesting to me because it allows for a person or persons to have labored for years to produce the book of mormon and it accounts for the early modern english in the text. The word adieu was in common use in english in joseph smiths era.
Criticism of the book of mormon wikimili, the best. Everyone with an interest in mormonism is welcome to participate in rmormondebate, including truebelieving mormons, doubting active mormons, unorthodox mormons, exmormons, nonmormon christians, people. In reality, the original text and current text of the book of mormon is a mixture of nineteenth century nonsense, plagiarism, and selected existing kjv scripture verses including its 1769 kjv edition errors as well as 17th century italics made by 17th century translators. Nick frederick will explore the complexities of the presence of new testament language within the book of mormon. I brought up the fraud model in the other post, where joseph is copying bits from a preexistent text akin to a 16th century view of the hebrews. Furthermore, the language of the book of mormon mimics the elizabethan english used in the kjv with 19th century english mixed into it. This may have been a divine nineteenth century gift to honor the sixteenth century martyr, william tyndale 14941536. I think right now the book of mormon is a puzzle for us. The book of mormon bom was first published in palmyra, new york, in 1830, its title page giving the name joseph smith, jun. He doesnt realize just how embarrassing his rationale is. Why the oxford english dictionary and not websters 1828. Its that the book of mormon isnt an 18th century production, but rather a 16th century one.
Aug 28, 20 in his aggressively antireligious book the god delusion, for example, mr. It makes the text of the work more accessible and understandable to those who are not familiar with the style used in the original book of mormon, which resembles that of the king james version of the bible. The most significant distinction between modern english and that used in the book of mormon is the use of the singular forms of the secondpe. The implications of pasttense syntax in the book of mormon. On early modern english and the book of mormon times. It was not intended to be a translation of the book of mormon into modern english, and it would fit that role poorly. Below is the modern map of the area of smiths youth. Dawkins believes, the book of mormon is a 19th century book written in 16th century english. Why did god reveal the book of mormon to joseph smith. Bad grammar in the book of mormon found in early english.
And the book of mormon just happens to omit this word. This indicated a low occurrence of the name letter effect. Aug 28, 20 i have to say that when i read the book of mormon recently, what impressed me was that this was an obvious fake, he informed an unsuspecting flowers. One element of the book of mormon that is troubling to some modern readers is that it rarely mentions women. None of the nineteenthcentury names ranked high, but the phonemes of all pronunciations of joseph were among the least represented in book of mormon names and significantly lower than the probabilities of all the other nineteenthcentury names t44 2. The coming forth of the book of mormon in the twentieth. Just as 16th century english poets were fond of the sonnet, chiasmus seems to have been preferred by many of the ancient hebrew writers. The usual method of consulting websters 1828 american dictionary of the. I felt a connection with a lot of the pieces and definitely enjoyed the experience more that day than the first day. Mar 31, 2010 but why is it written with an obvious attempt, and i emphasize attempt, to sound like the king james version of the bible. Of the many interesting responses, none have yet addressed what i believe to be an important possibility. The book of mormon contains a lot of unique sounding protestant doctrine, language, and phraseology coming from joseph smiths day of the 19th century. Dawkins sneeringly writes off as a whole new bogus american history, written in bogus seventeenth century english. The key is that the people burned in the book of mormon were burned for heresy and not for some other random reason.
Chiasms appear in greek, latin, english and other languages, but it was most highly developed in hebrew. In reality, the original text and current text of the book of mormon is a mixture of nineteenthcentury nonsense, plagiarism, and selected existing kjv scripture verses including its 1769 kjv edition errors as well as 17th century italics made by 17th century translators. The original book of mormon language in english was not 19th century, but 16th and 17th century, only coming more fully into the 19th century after revisions to grammar and phraseology were made in the 1837 and subsequent editions. A nonmember reads the book of mormon david michael. Joseph smith, richard dawkins, and the language of. This was a 19th century book written in 16th century english. Thats not the way people talked in the 19th century its a. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Joseph smith, richard dawkins, and the language of translation. As a result of twentyseven years of investigations by royal skousen. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. Lds, why is the book of mormon written in 17th century.
What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. Wells jakeman and thomas ferguson acquired the services of a man named arnulfo rodriguez to translate segments of the. Joseph smith could have translated the text in 10th century english, 11th century english, th century chinese, etc. It does not bill itself as a replacement for the real thing.
Smith, then 24 years old, claimed that he had not composed the text of the book, but that he had translated it from a set of golden plates which he had dug out of a nearby hill under the. The book of mormon is a good 16th century match at a deep syntactic level. It was produced in a way previously found in the bible. Book of mormon plain english version wikisource, the. The book of mormon is now the product of over 100,000 changes over the. Why are so few women mentioned in the book of mormon. The book of mormon does not include the italicized word her, which is further proof that the book of mormon does not copy italicized portions word for word. The book of mormon is supposed to be a history of real people living in a real place. If the kings english was good enough for lucretius, its. Congregations, the church educational system, individuals, and families are focusing on the book of mormon with unprecedented enthusiasm, largely because of the leadership of president ezra taft benson. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Sep 19, 2017 awesome antimormons share conclusive facts of book of mormon 19th century fictional origin.
Welcome to rmormondebate this community operates a little differently than many, so please take a moment to read and learn how to contribute. For the first 150 years of mormonisms existence, everyone thought it was a story about a people who left the middle east and came to south or central america, and who fought wars clear up into new york state where. But smote is specifically noted in the oed as functioning as a past participle for centuries in english, beginning in the 16th century. Mar 06, 2015 it occurred to me there is a fifth possible reason why the text of the book of mormon was originally dictated in early modern english. Digital collections 19thcentury publications about the book of mormon 18291844 literature related to the views of the book of mormon during its earliest years of publication. Lets look a little further into this idea and then lets. Thats not the way people talked in the 19th century its a fake. English, but rather it was translated into 16th century english. Royal skousen opened the door to this approach, 1 but unfortunately many have resisted accepting it as valid or have not understood the advantages inherent in it. There are many positions on which century the book of mormon originated in, but most seem to fall into two general camps. Dynamically equivalent translation and the book of mormon. Absence of joseph smith in the book of mormon religious. As the twentieth century draws to a close, the book of mormon clearly holds center stage in latterday saint scriptural study and appreciation.
Third, the form can be very pleasing aesthetically. Lets look a little further into this idea and then lets explain some of the problems it presents. Dawkins has used the 19th century book written in 16th century english rationale in mocking the book of mormon several times. It occurred to me there is a fifth possible reason why the text of the book of mormon was originally dictated in early modern english. Were 19th century scholars aware of the anachronisms in the book of. Wikidata item this is a version of the book of mormon adapted into plain english by timothy b. Why is the book of mormon written in 16th century english. Awesome antimormons share conclusive facts of book of mormon. But mimicry of lost syntax is difficult if not impossible, and so later writers who consciously sought to imitate biblical style failed to match its didusage at a deep, systematic level. The book of mormon uses an archaic vocabulary and grammar that reflects 16th and 17thcentury usage jacobean english as opposed to the 19thcentury american english. Examples include the use of the word require to mean to request in enos 1. Further these linguistic structures were also not found in any other 19th century text including transcripts. Exploring complexities in the english language of the book of. Book of mormon pasttense syntax could have been achieved only by following the use of largely inaccessible 16thcentury writings.
In his aggressively antireligious book the god delusion, for example, mr. Domestic goats were introduced on the american continent upon the arrival of the europeans in the 15th century, years after the conclusion of the book of mormon, and nearly 2000 years after they are last mentioned in the book of mormon. The classic work of criticism on 16th century english literature excluding drama and probably c. The original book of mormon text has three examples of things which was, along with 12 instances of things which were none with the relative pronoun that. Although the form was recognized and published as early as 1820 in london, it was not until 1854 in a study by john forbes the symmetrical structures of. Adieu is simply one english word among many in the book of mormon translation. The book of mormon uses an archaic vocabulary and grammar that reflects 16th and 17th century usage jacobean english as opposed to the 19th century american english. Royal skousen on the nature of the original language of the. Exploring complexities in the english language of the book. Some claim that because adieu is french, it shows that joseph smith composed the book of mormon, and not an ancient author.