Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (2nd...

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 335 pages
• Published by: McFarland & Company
• Edition: 2nd Edition October 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 078640826X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0786408269
• Book Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 1.3 pounds

Book Description
Just as a growing interest in millennialism at the turn of the century has rejuvenated religious debate and questions of the fate of the world, so did Mormonism develop from millennial enthusiasm early in the nineteenth century. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and a provocative, even controversial figure in history, believed that he had been given the authority to restore a corrupted Christianity to the true church. The primary source of Smith's latter-day revelation is The Book of Mormon, and to fully understand his role as the founder of the Mormon faith, one must also understand The Book of Mormon and how it came to be. Unfortunately, the literature about Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon is permeated with contradiction and controversy.
This impressive work, now in an expanded and revised second edition incorporating new findings, presents new biographical information about Smith and resolves many of the controversies concerning his character. Through an extensive comparative analysis it posits as a probable conceptual source for The Book of Mormon, a book written by New England minister Ethan Smith entitled View of the Hebrew; or the Tribes of Israel in America. The results of this research were presented together for the first time ever in the first edition of this work and are instrumental in shedding much new light on the path Joseph Smith took toward founding the Church of the Latter-day Saints.

About The Author
David Persuitte is a technical editor living in Arnold, Maryland.

Reader Reviews
David Persuitte provides an excellent introduction to the historical and literary issues raised by the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830. Using primary and secondary sources with skill he presents in detail the argument that the Book of Mormon is a work of creative literature that draws on and reflects in myriad details the cultural and literary milieu of its period. In doing so he reviews and confronts the claims of Joseph Smith and his defenders that the book was translated from buried plates containing the history of the descendants of a family of Jews who immigrated to America centuries before Christ. This is not, however, an anti-Mormon book, except insofar that any criticism of Mormon origins can be regarded as an attack. Persuitte has no interest in defaming Mormons or their founders, although he does not hesitate to point out the not infrequent troubles with the law they encountered (through shady financial dealings, not from "religious persecution" as Mormons usually claim). His point is to understand how the Book of Mormon came to be as a product of early nineteenth-century American creativity, and he marshals an overwhelming body of evidence showing how the book reflects early American culture, and notably fails to reflect anything which we have subsequently learned about pre-Columbian American history. While much of the book covers ground familiar from other critical works, Persuitte's traversal of the material can be recommended as lively, accessible, and very entertainingly written. He quotes frequently and at length from the primary sources which serve both to establish his argument and add a great deal of color to the narrative. His main "original" contribution to the topic is the most detailed discussion yet published of the similarities between Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews (1823) and the Book of Mormon. But while the Smith book is given the most attention, Persuitte is also thorough in pointing out the many other literary and historical influences behind the Book of Mormon, including the King James Bible and numerous long-forgotten but once popular works of popular and speculative history. It's a fascinating detective story, well told, and with something both for the scholar and for the general reader curious about the origins of one of the world's fastest-growing religions. Highly recommended. Comment | | (Report this)