Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins [Paperback]

Noel B. Reynolds (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 574 pages
• Publisher: Foundation for Ancient Research & (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093489325X
• ISBN-13: 978-0934893251
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent collection of evidences of antiquity of BofM., July 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins (Paperback)

A good understanding of the Book of Mormon is a most useful prerequisite for this book, as is some knowledge of LDS scholarship over the past several decades. This book is an anthology on a variety of topics relating to the Book of Mormon. The first section gives a brief account of its coming forth, and the background against which it was translated. It also includes first person accounts from several of the men who testified that they had seen the plates on which the Book of Mormon was written. The second section discusses alternate origin theories that people have proposed, and finds them inadequate. The third section focuses on the text itself, and discusses many of the internal evidences for ancient authorship, including chiasmus, wordprints, internal parallelism, and ancient parallels. To me, some of the most convincing physical evidence of the ancient origins of the Book of Mormon, and the impossibility of it being a nineteenth century forgery is discussed in the last section of the book. The recently uncovered location of an ancient place name (Nehem = Nahom) at exactly the right place, and with exactly the right activities occurring there anciently (burials) is remarkable. To then travel due east, as described in the Book of Mormon, and find a location on the eastern coast of the Arabian peninsula which is fruitful, well watered, and which fits a dozen other criteria described by the Book of Mormon is simply too much of a coincidence to have been dreamed up by a New York farm boy. Critics of the Book of Mormon will find explaining how Joseph Smith could have had such a clear knowledge of an area of the world unknown to the west until very recently a near impossible task. It isn't enough to dismiss the Book of Mormon out of hand. If one is going to claim an alternative origin, all of these evidences of antiquity must be accounted for.

32 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'm Not a Mormon but I liked this Book, July 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins (Paperback)

This book presents scholarly arguments in favor of the thesis that the Book of Mormon is an "ancient book," i.e., not a hoax. It certainly evidences a higher respect for scholarship than most anti-mormon rants.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Several fine papers addressing aspects of the authorship of The Book of Mormon, February 11, 2006

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins (Paperback)

Theories about the authorship of "The Book of Mormon" have sprouted ever since the rumors of the books existence reached the public in Palmyra, New York through the present day. It is natural for questions about the book would occur to believers who study the book regularly and it is understandable that non-believers would be interested in the various stories that have been concocted to explain the origins of the book.

This fine book is a series of papers by Latter-day Saint scholars addressing various aspects of the origins of the book. The papers are grouped into four parts: 1) The Nineteenth-Century Origins of the Book of Mormon, 2) The Logical Structure of the Authorship Debate, 3) Letting the Text Speak for Itself, 4) Locating the Book of Mormon Geographically and Culturally. Each of the parts includes a brief introduction by the editor.

I enjoyed this book tremendously and found the logical approaches taken to these issues quite interesting and that they opened my own study of the scripture to new insights and approaches to understanding what I was reading. The first group takes us through what we really know about Joseph obtaining and translating the plates and then publishing the book. Those who reject the book usually take one aspect of the story or another, but when the whole story is taken together, it becomes their attacks bounce off the truth.

The second part takes a look at the various theories of alternative origins for the book than Joseph's translating it or even writing it himself. Whom did he plagiarize (he didn't)? If Joseph made it up, does it contain the qualities of a fiction?

The third part is my favorite, it helps those of us who are believers and have received so much "knowledge" about The Book of Mormon from many sources, that we don't realize what we are imposing on what the book actually says. These papers help remove some of the scales from our eyes so we can see what the scripture says for itself. Very enlightening and energizing.

The fourth part looks closely at Lehi's journey with what we know from modern archaeology, how the culture as described in The Book of Mormon lines up with Mesoamerican culture, and how the discussions of warfare in the book match what we know of warfare among the civilizations in the geographical areas under discussion.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in broadening their understanding of The Book of Mormon or for anyone who has had questions raised in their mind about the authorship of this scripture. Of course, only the Spirit can confirm the truth of the book in a way that will provide faith. However, prayerful study can also yield deeper insights and allow more meaning to flow out of the book and into our souls.