The Creation of the Book of Mormon : A Historical Inquiry [Hardcover]

Lamar Petersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

This book provides a fresh examination of the origin of the Book of Mormon. It uses the best available to focus on Joseph Smith's early visions, his use of seer stones, the search for buried treasures, the discovery of golden plates, the witnesses of the Book of Mormon, the process of translation, and various responses to the book--both positive and negative.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

LaMar Petersen was born in Ogden, Utah, on 23 December 1910--exactly 105 years after the day of Joseph Smith's birth. Petersen has written "Problems in Mormon Text" and "Hearts Made Glad," as well as articles on Mormon history. He was a member of the Advisory Board of Editors for the "Utah Historical Quearterly" for eighteen years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: Freethinker Pr (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 189068600X
• ISBN-13: 978-1890686000
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,248,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars AN EXCELLENT CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF EARLY LDS SOURCES, August 30, 2011

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Creation of the Book of Mormon : A Historical Inquiry (Paperback)

Although now excommunicated, Lamar Petersen (born 1910) was a member of the Advisory Board of Editors for the Utah Historical Quarterly for eighteen years; he also directed the Mozart School of Music for thirty years "and has been for seventy years a professional organist in Salt Lake churches." He is also the author of Hearts Made Glad: The charges of Intemperance against Joseph Smith the Mormon prophet and Problems in Mormon text: A brief study of changes in important Latter-day Saint publications including the Book of Mormon ... with references to controversial ... the priesthood and Mormon concepts of deity.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 2000 book, "In the following pages the attempt has been made to explore, and possibly to illumine, the origin of the Book of Mormon. Particular attention has been paid to the statements of those who were instrumental in building the church and to those who were interested spectators. The personal bias of each individual must, of course, be considered and also the time and circumstance under which his information was given... It is not to be supposed that the information presented is final or conclusive."

Here are some quotations from the book:

"Most Mormons consider the traditional account of Joseph Smith's First Vision ... Usually there is very little discussion of the historical development ... of the early visions of Joseph Smith. The most traditional approach is simply to bear a testimony to its truthfulness." (Pg. 21)
"Did Joseph Smith receive a unique instrument through angelic interposition in 1827---known to the ancients as Urim and Thummim and likewise known to Joseph from the time he removed it from Cumorah---or did the stone found in the well of Willard Chase become a Urim and Thummim to him several years after the founding of the church?" (Pg. 40)
"If the affidavits and the eighty or more signatures that (Hurlbut) obtained are ignored, the remaining accounts of Joseph's interest in mystic arts still form a formidable challenge to church history. Even if true, however, they may not be a crippling indictment; they do not obviate his right or his ability to establish a church, but they do make his claims to divine guidance suspect." (Pg. 53)
"Either theory regarding the particular metal (the "golden plates" were made of) and its weight poses a problem in considering Joseph's run through the woods while repelling assailants, or Emma's moving the plates about in order to dust." (Pg. 84)
"Martin (Harris) was a joiner. During the 1840s he became a follower of Ann Lee and the Shakers, then switched allegiance to James Jesse Strang, claimant to Joseph's mantle, and served as a missionary in England for Strangite Mormonism. Altogether he joined eight different groups." (Pg. 89)
"The most drastic damage to the accepted image of the three witnesses is the very real possibility that their testimony may have been based on a visionary or mental experience, and not a physical one." (Pg. 94)

30 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beware the FARMS phonies, July 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Creation of the Book of Mormon : A Historical Inquiry (Hardcover)

The first reviewer of this book stated that it was full of "question-begging assumptions." He provides no examples of this, as indeed he cannot. The work is even-handed. Because the author comes to a conclusion that some Mormons are uncomfortable with, they will buck and moan. Read it if you are interested in a balanced approach. Do not read it if you are looking for the faith-promoting pabulum of FARMS writers.

11 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ignores contemporary Book of Mormon scholarship, October 24, 2006

By 

Bobby Boylan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Creation of the Book of Mormon : A Historical Inquiry (Paperback)

The Petersen book is a cut above from the anti-Mormon fare, not engaging in the more out-dated claims offered against the Book of Mormon, such as the inane "adieu" and "Land of Jerusalem" argument critics offer against Book of Mormon antiquity, notwithstanding such claims being outdated for several decades now. However, it fails to engage with Book of Mormon scholarship that reveals that it could not have been fabricated by anyone from the 19th century.

The question of Book of Mormon material culture arises in the text, but such arguments have, too, been answered and have been outdated for some time. I suggest one to track down "An ancient American setting for the Book of Mormon" by John L Sorenson to see how plausible Book of Mormon material culture (e.g., flora and fauna) is in light of its ancient Mesoamerican setting.

Petersen fails to answer questions that critics have been obfuscating from for some time now. For instance, how did Joseph Smith know so much about Arabia? How did he know of the presence of a continually flowing river south-south-east of Jerusalem in Arabia, when, for decades, critics have derided such (and, in their ignorance, continue to do) as an impossibility 9see 1 Nephi 2:5-8)? How did he know of a burial site, *NHM* in the same direction, corresponding to "Nahom" where Ishamel was buried in 1 Nephi 16:34? Furthermore, on this point, lime altars have been found in this region, attesting to the historicity of the name and burial site pre-dating the Book of Mormon volume, serving as the first archaeological evidences attesting Book of Mormon antiquity. In addition, how could Smith have known of a lush garden spot east of Nahom, and describe all its physical and material cultural characteristics, when, again, critics have derided Bountiful in Arabia as another impossibility?

In terms of Book of Mormon antiquity, I am only scraping the barrell. However, this should be suffice to show that critics have some way to go before they will be taken seriously by knowledgeable Latter-day Saints.

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