The original language of the book of mormon is stated to be egyptian, but written in a script that the book of mormon writers referred to as the reformed egyptian. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, the fourth volume in professor royal skousen s ongoing book of mormon critical text project, represents the central task of the project. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. This article will summarize ten literary and linguistic evidences for the book of mormon that strike me as compelling. The book of mormon contains the purported stories of three different groups which sailed to the americas.
What is the original language of the book of mormon. Although having nothing to do with ancient inhabitants in the americas, this book was found via computer analysis to have many striking similar descriptions and word combinations with the book of mormon. The interpreter foundation currently hosts digital versions of all six parts of this volume. An egyptian linguistic component in book of mormon names. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon is the fourth volume in professor royal skousens ongoing book of mormon critical text project. Inspired by this observation and by my own internal linguistic analysis, this article proposes that in addition to zenephi, the book of mormon names zenos, zenock, and cezoram 7 incorporate the names of other book of mormon or biblical individuals and the egyptian morpheme z. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, part one. The book of mormon is written in the style of the king james version of the bible but contains many linguistic clues that indicate it has an ancient hebrew source. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been.
The nature of the original language of the book of mormon parts 3. The book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Comparing phonemic patterns in book of mormon personal. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. The adoption of biblical archaisms in the book of mormon and other. Here is a visual summary of the entire book of mormon generated by applying computational sentiment analysis to every verse and then graphing a moving average of the results. The book of mormon text contains logical impossibilities.
It is the sacred text for the 15 millionstrong church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Volume 4 of royal skousens book of mormon critical text project contains six parts that detail the textual variants found throughout the text of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a religious text which, like the bible, may be subjected to various methods of analysis. To view any of the parts, click on one of the links below. Some linguistic evidences for the book of mormon latter. And a hefty portion of its laughs come at the expense of those friendly doortodoor mormons. The current study used the same methodology to compare book of mormon names to the three name sources in the original study and found that book of mormon names seem to have more in common with the patterns found in authentic names than they do with those from fictional works. Royal skousen publications the book of mormon critical. The very surprising language of the book of mormon deseret news. When i see the word translate, it means to me that a scribe read a manuscript written in one language e. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, not in use in 1830. Linguistic anachronisms in the book of mormon are words that represent concepts that are not believed to have existed in the americas between 2500 b.
As discussed on my book of mormon evidences page, brian stubbs has published significant works showing serious connections between native american languages the utoaztecan language group and old world languages such as hebrew. Since the book of mormons publication in 1830, a number of. The book of mormon s old testament portion bmot quotes heavily from the new testament of the bible. Sure, its protagonists are a pair of missionaries in africa. Also on that page, i also quote matthew roper regarding the book of mormon term sheum for grain, which proves to. In that first work, royal skousen with the collaboration of stanford carmack, discussed all the editing that the book of mormon has undergone, in its manuscript transmission and in the. In that first work, royal skousen with the collaboration of stanford carmack, discussed all the editing that the book of mormon has. Imbedded within first nephi are 107 chiastic structures. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Thus, any greek or latin words in the book of mormon are linguistic anachronisms.
Book of mormon 1 nephi summary by awitness4jesuschrist. In 2004, a study was published by lds researchers which used statistical analysis to determine the likelihood that a chiastic. Its the calling card for thousands of missionaries, and part of the inspiration for a tony awardwinning broadway musical. It demonstrates how the titles holy ghost, spirit of god, spirit of the lord, holy spirit, and the spirit are used interchangeably to refer to the third member of the godhead. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. Careful study of the book of mormons vocabulary and grammar. Latin did not come into use in palestine until the first century b. The book of mormon says the people of zarahemla commonly called mulekites sailed across the sea from the ancient near east ca. The atheist controversialist richard dawkins has, on a few occasions, centered joseph smith and the book of mormon in his polemical crosshairs. Dawkins typically brings up the jacobean english of the book of mormon as evidence against its authenticity.
Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon. This means that nsc analysis will always deliver positive results for one of. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Smith said he has received these plates in 1827 from an angel named moroni, who identified himself to smith as a native. Definitions of linguistics and the book of mormon, synonyms, antonyms, derivatives of linguistics and the book of mormon, analogical dictionary of linguistics and the book of mormon english. This research is worthy of additional linguistic analysis.
This thesis discusses whether literary methods of analysis are applicable to a sacred text, and suggests rules which should govern such a method of analysis. T he book of mormon is a wholly american scripture. For many years, people have assumed that the book of mormon s unusual grammar was simply a product of joseph smiths rural dialect, or that it might be the result of an uneducated speaker trying to sound biblical. The book of mormon also contains work written by more than one author. The book of mormon has been translated into 88 languages, but latin and aramaic are not among them, even though latin is the prominent language for christianity, and aramaic. The book of mormon is a comingofage story of two young, extremely likeable mormons on their mission to spread the lords word. The nature of the original language nol continues the analysis of the book of mormon text that was begun in grammatical variation gv, parts 1 and 2 of volume 3 of the critical text, published in 2016. 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. Book of mormon part 1 awitness4jesuschrist michael corbett. An analysis of lexical semantic shifts in the book of mormon. Comments made by philip barlow on book of mormon language for.
The publication of that latterday scripture stands as a miracle made possible by the hand of the lord. I was commissioned to translate the dogma into latin, with a heavy emphasis on ciceronean style 100bce 100ce. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon book. The nature of the original language nol continues the analysis of the book of mormon text that was begun in grammatical variation gv, parts 1 and 2 of. For many of you, the initial reaction to this image is probably something like cool. Top 10 archaeological evidences for the book of mormon.
Conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. This study provides students of the book of mormon with the first comprehensive analysis of the many ways in which the word spirit is used in that volume of scripture. This field of research uses various statistical methods to detect linguistic patterns. The book of mormon critical text project the book of. The book of mormon is, in steinbergs view, a work of fan fiction, a way to imbue a new world with some of the sanctity of the holy land. Ive been working on it for a few months when i have had spare time. The book of mormon gets the literary treatment religion. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. How is it possible that the book of mormon is full of this ancient hebrew literary structure that was. Yet in a surprising turn, recent linguistic research has shown that almost every nonstandard word or phrase in the book of mormon shows up as proper usage in an. The author is dedicating all proceeds from the book to additional scientific geologic and engineering studies to cast further light on the ancient setting of the book of mormon. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Following these rules, the thesis provides an analysis of specific themes particular to the book of mormon and suggests how. Stylometry is a method of statistical analysis used to determine authorship of various texts.
The nature of the original language of the book of mormon. Many concepts from the book of mormon are present in this book notably 2000 stripling warriors, a liahonalike description of a metal device. The jaredites book of ether came to the new world at the time of the tower of babel. An analysis of lexical semantic shifts in the book of mormon renee bangerter introduction in the 169 years since joseph smith completed translating the book of mormon in july 1829, the english language has changed. There are at least185 quotations and 2,500 unique vocabulary words from the new testame. This volume in six parts represents the central task of the project. As john hilton put the matter, if wordprinting is a valid technique, then this analysis suggests that it is statistically indefensible to claim that joseph, oliver, or solomon spaulding wrote the 30,000 words in the book of mormon attributed to nephi and alma. Geology of the book of mormon book of mormon scientific. Critics of the book of mormon have claimed that a variety of linguistic anachronisms exist in it which cast doubt upon its historical authenticity. This book is a landmark event in book of mormon studies and is a book that must be read by every serious student of the book of mormon. This may not be an earthshattering observation, but by. Joseph smith, richard dawkins, and the language of. According to smith, the book is originally written in an otherwise unknown language called reformed egyptian on golden plates and it should be of similar importance as the bible.
Celebrating two new books in the book of mormon critical. At least three computer analyses have been completed to date in an effort to determine who wrote the book of mormon, and whether it was a single individual or a group. In an article begun in may, 2017, i summarized the ten archaeological evidences for the book of mormon i find most convincing. The book of mormon is a vulgar, ugly, offensive and. Importantly, many of these clues are linguistic patterns missing from the bible or undetected for generations, meaning the translators could not have just made it up or copied from.
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