Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (2nd Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Great background to Smith and his golden book
Review: David Persuitte, a technical writer from Virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. Now, a decade and a half later, Persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325-page second edition. This is extremely worthwhile reading for any serious student of Joseph Smith and the religion he founded in 1830.

Persuitte's premise is that Smith had few original bones in his body. Of course, it is obvious that Smith knew how to plagiarize because about a fifth of the Book of Mormon is copied straight out of the King James Version Bible, including the errors made by the English translators. Anyone who is honest would have to admit that Smith really didn't translate these words from the Book of Mormon "plates." But Persuitte believes that Smith also stole his ideas from the sources available to him in his day, especially from Vermont minister Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews (first published in 1823), which had been published only a few years before. Using numerous side-by-side comparisons throughout much of the book and tying in other 19th century works and ideas, Persuitte is able to write, "Considered as a whole, this material makes it quite clear that The Book of Mormon was a product of the early nineteenth century rather than being a 'history' of ancient America" (p. 3).

All in all, this is a book fully worthy of reading and marking up before putting it back on the shelf for future reference. Persuitte has done a valuable service for all who want to show that Joseph Smith's story was not his own.

Rating:
Summary: Nail in the Coffin
Review: If Joseph Smith did not rely extensively (perhaps even exclusively) on Ethan Smith's "View of the Hebrews" in writing the Book of Mormon, then the two (unrelated) Smiths are parties to the greatest literary coincidence in history.

Persuitte is so detailed in his comparison of the two books that he has put to rest any doubt that "View of the Hebrews" is father to the Book of Mormon.

Persuitte also demonstrates that Joseph Smith's plan for the Book of Mormon evolved from a non-religious "history" of the pre-Columbians to a sacred text.

Going beyond the Book of Mormon, Persuitte does a very thorough job of summarizing the evidence against the other famous Smith "translation" - the Book of Abraham from the Chandler papyri.

This book is well researched and cogently written. It won't change the opinions of the faithful, but no book written on Mormonism by a "gentile" ever will.

Rating:
Summary: From Fiction To Non-Fiction to Scripture
Review: Joseph Smith is one of the greatest false prophets in the history of humanity. His "sacred" text called the Book of Mormon is one of the worst "scriptures" I have ever read. Its literary value is worthless and it adds nothing to the Bible (except in the many, many places where Smith copied word for word from the King James Bible).

This book offers insights into the origins of the Book of Mormon. David Persuitte is not writing to defend Christianity nor is he writing to tear down Mormonism but is writing a book about the Book of Mormon from an historical and literary point of view. His conclusion is much to what you would expect of the Book of Mormon, Smith utlizied his ability to tell strange tales about the American Indians, history of pre-Columbus America, and religious works of his day to write the Book of Mormon.

If you have never read the Book of Mormon I would encourage you to get a copy of it. Anyone with a decent knowledge of history and archeology will soon see that Smith's writing is not historical and his "truths" are nothing but lies.

For more information see also Fawn Brodie's excellent work NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY, Sandra Tanner's MORMONISM: SHADOW OR REALITY, and Stan Larson's THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN PLATES.