Opponents of the book have claimed that joseph smith wrote it himself, or that an accomplice such as solomon spaulding or sidney rigdon penned it and somehow transferred it to joseph smith. Book of mormon authorship, in book of mormon authorship revisited. One may naturally wonder, though, if the book of mormons diversity of style is in any way unique or impressive. Wordprints of twelve german novellas translated by a single translator. This volume features articles on hebraisms and chiasmus in the book of mormon, as well as articles discussing emendation of the text, naturalistic assumptions, wordprint analyses, variations between copies of the first edition, and more. Hilton describes the young science of wordprinting, which is used to prove or disprove authorship, presenting its history, purposes, and development.
Reynolds, lehi as moses, journal of book of mormon studies 9, no. The understanding that the book of mormon has a divine origin is obtainable only by developing faith. Pdf online messaging provides a convenient and effective means of fast communication. In another post, there was a challenge to explain away a number of evidences of the book of mormon. The hilton wordprint study of the book of mormon mormanity. Book of mormon authorship has made a prima facie case for the ancient origins of the book of mormon. If joseph smith wrote the book of mormon, we should be able to see his literary style across the entire book. Can wordprinting show that different sections of the book of mormon were written by different authors. Comparative power of three authorattribution techniques for.
In every set comparing the book of mormon texts against these three writers, at least seven and often many more rejections were measured. These results yield strong statistical evidence that the wordprints of joseph smith, oliver cowdery, and solomon spaulding are not measurable in the book of mormon. Chiasmus and the book of mormon utah lighthouse ministry. By wordprint analysis, it is now possible with a high degree of certainty to tell which suspected authors. Fortunately the book of mormon is a nearideal document for such objective wordprint studies, provided the measurement is made correctly. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or. This criticism is answered in the book of mormon authorship version. Comparative power of three authorattribution techniques. Ive read a number of the wordprint studies, so i responded to it. Byu studies quarterly volume 30issue 3 article 15 711990 on verifying wordprint studies. This page is a continuation of book of mormon evidences, part one and part two.
November 27, 2017 what can stylometry tell us about book of. That there is no connection between the american languages and the language of any. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. This study used a generalized discriminant analysis which is an extension of the linear discriminant analysis used in the larsen study. Chiasmus and book of mormon textual studies deseret book.
A third source is a book recently published by farms entitled book of mormon authorship revisited. An introduction to the relevance of and a methodology for a study of the proper names of the book of mormon. According to mosiah priority, after the text of mosiah through the end of the book of mormon was transcribed, joseph smith returned to the beginning and transcribed 1 nephi. Does joseph smiths role as translator obfuscate patterns unique to ancient authors.
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. Does wordprint prove the book of mormon is the real deal. Ive seen tbms reference this study, numerous times, to argue that joseph smith couldnt have written the book of mormon. The problem of book of mormon authorship has challenged historians and theologians since the book was published in 1830. The most significant structural studies of the book of mormon derive from john w. Book of mormon wordprint or word pattern studies parent page. From reading this paragraph, one would think wordprint studies are solidly in favor of mormons. I saw a video that came from the book of mormon central team that showed a chart from the fields roper book of mormon wordprint study project. The authors of this book of mormon authorship article are three. The evidence and conclusions they put forward are just as persuasive today as when they were first published. For, for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming. Over the subsequent 15 years many new studies have been completed, and earlier ones have been signi. Comparing book of mormon names with those found in j.
This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by non latter day saint historians and scientists. See especially the cited sources at the end of the page. Senior missionary explains book of mormon wordprint analysis. Jan 16, 2018 to date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. Book of mormon authorship farms reprint paperback january 1, 1982.
Croft criticized the first version of the wordprint study printed in byu studies by asserting that a wordprint could not survive translation. Pdf reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. Including the mormon churches conflicting results of computer analyses of the book of mormon. From reading this paragraph, one would think wordprint studies are. I was pleased to find a copy of john hiltons article, on verifying wordprint studies. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. The theory first appeared in print in the book mormonism unvailed, published in 1834 by e. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. Book of mormon authorship on the web, as printed in byu studies, 30 summer 1990.
See hilton, on verifying wordprint studies, in book of mormon authorship revisited, 236. Thus, while valid and objective wordprinting is no substitute. How have critics responded to the stylometry study done at byu that concluded the book of mormon selections they did not resemble any suggested 19th century authors, including joseph smith. The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of. I guess the study is not published yet, but they are presenting on this in a few months. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 1997. Robertss study which was published posthumously in 1985 as studies of the book of mormon.
Wordprint studies are one tool used in author attribution research, but do authors use specific. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a. It was exciting to see the non contextual word methods explained and to see the graphs going up showing that joseph smith, oliver cowdery, sidney rigdon, and others had different stylistic signatures. However, the need for scientists and statisticians is unnecessary when making such comparisons with the book of ether.
Contrary to the claims of our critics, there are impressive findings that make it difficult to explain away the book of mormon as a nineteenthcentury fraud from joseph smith. Book of mormon wordprints reexamined a look at the byu study. Book of mormon evidences, part 3 presents further evidence supporting the book of mormon as an ancient document. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. They compared twentyfour book of mormon authors each having at least 1,000 words to each other, and concluded on the basis of three separate statistical tests that these authors were distinct from each other and oliver cowdery, joseph smith, jr.
This study used a generalized discriminant analysis which is an extension of the linear discriminant analysis used in. Though the oberlin manuscript, manuscript story conneaut creek, is not the same story as manuscript found, vernon. However, does anyone have additional thoughts on the 1982 byu study. The evidence for ancient origins, edited by noel b. Book of mormon authorship in book of mormon authorship. To date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. As a result, a second volume of studies on book of. The spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship is the theory that the book of mormon was plagiarized in part from an unpublished manuscript written by solomon spalding. Even given this criticism, however, the results of the wordprint study must be explained. They show that it is statistically indefensible to propose a single author of the manuscript of the book of mormon. If he copied from someone, we should see that authors writing style likewise. Studies of the book of mormon is a collection of essays written at the beginning of the 20th century though not published until 1985 by b.
Unlike previous studies which introduced the concept of handtabulated word measurements to the book of mormon, 10 the 1980 wordprint study published by larsen, rencher, and layton was widely recognized as important both within and without the church. Remember also, that the book of mormon, unlike the bible, was supposedly written on golden plates. The book of mormon does not discuss the layout of cities, the types of buildings that people lived in, or their manner of construction. Complexity, consistency, ignorance, and probabilities melvin j. Pdf authorship verification of online messages for. Kent brown, the exodus pattern in the book of mormon, in from jerusalem to zarahemla. Since its on a byu site, im assuming that its there with permission. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, 1997, chapter 9. The book of mormon refers several times to horses and chariots, but most of the people seem to travel on foot. Mosiah priority is a theory about the creation of the book of mormon arguing that the original manuscript began not with 1 nephi found at the beginning of the book of mormon, but midway through, starting with mosiah. They show that it is statistically indefensible to propose. While i do not follow all of skousens end conclusions, i believe his analysis. This compilation of groundbreaking book of mormon articles is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies.
Quotes joseph used a peep stone and a hat to translate most of the book of mormon. The understanding that the book of mormon has a divine origin is obtainable only by byu studies 30, no. It fails, however, to respond to scholarly criticism in. Although first published in 1982, these nine essays have not been outdated or refuted by subsequent studies. Tests with nondisputed texts showed that two texts by the same author never scored. Hilton, on verifying wordprint studies, in book of mormon authorship revisited, 241. Fields roper book of mormon wordprint study general. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship wikipedia. Roberts 18571933, a general authority of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church, which examine the validity of the book of mormon as a translation of an ancient american source. The first was whether the wordprints of authors within the book of mormon differ. Literary and historical studies of the book of mormon provo, ut. Close scrutiny of the methodology of the byu authorship study reveals several areas which seem vulnerable to criticism. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing.
About 15 years ago john hilton spoke to my senior religion seminar for science majors about his statistical analysis of book of mormon authorship. Structural studies have identified an artistic literary form, chiasmus that appears in rich diversity in both the bible and the book of mormon see literature, book of mormon as. Among the few studies available on authorship verification. This first article explains what stylometry is and gives readers a short history of stylometric studies performed on the book of mormon. Two methods, one based on rates of use of noncontextual words and one based on wordpattern ratios, measure patterns consistent with multiple authorship in the book of mormon. Perhaps the wordprint analysis tells us more about computers than about the book of mormon. Wordprint studies on the book of mormon book of mormon. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification.
Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1998, 7598. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the all journals at byu scholarsarchive. Terryl givens joseph smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light. A primary takeaway seems to be that wordprint analysis is an imprecise tool for determining authorship of the book of mormon. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon.
The initial book of mormon wordprint studies were carried out by larsen, rencher, and layton. Pdf authorship verification of online messages for forensic. The understanding that the book of mormon has a divine origin is. Reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta. Story and photo by mike foley, originally published to the byuhawaii electronic newsroom, april 17, 2007 elder gale bryce, a volunteer service missionary at the polynesian cultural center, explained in the heavily attended april 17 school of computing inform meeting how two former colleagues used wordprint statistical analyses to authenticate book of mormon authorship. However, in dec 2008, oxford journals published a new study called reassessing authorship of the book of mormon using delta and nearest shrunken centroid classification. Of course, wordprint analysis, while it can measure certain facts objectively, cannot prove the holiness of the book of mormon. Along with personal communication it is being used by. Oct 08, 2005 i was pleased to find a copy of john hiltons article, on verifying wordprint studies. Among those evidences was a reference to wordprints. Modern computers have given birth to a new science of analyzing word patterns in documents whose authorship is disputed. For a brief overview, check the article on fairwiki, book of mormon wordprint studies.
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