Smith wrote several books about the bible and theology. Such views were published before the book of mormon came forth from cumorah the western new york book of mormon land not just a hill on which joseph smiths family settled. The book of mormon never mentions quetzalcoatl or any of ethans details of quetzalcoatls indian traditionssuch as bare feet, pierced ears, fieryflying serpents, green plumage, and more. It is clear that joseph smith, perhaps with a collaborator, used ethan smith s descriptions and ideas and expanded on them by bringing in other material from the bible and other sources, and used his imagination to work. Another more recent theory, also open to criticism, suggests that joseph smith used ethan smiths no relation view of the hebrews, which was published during. Unfortunately not many people know who he was or solomon spaudling for that matter. Lds revelations ethan smith and the book of mormon. Ethan smith lived in poultney, vermont, the same town as oliver cowdery, who later acted as joseph smith s scribe for the book of mormon. Unfortunately, the literature about joseph smith and the book of mormon is permeated with contradiction and controversy. Oliver, remember, had left poultney for new york state about the year 1825, the same year in which the second edition of ethan smith s book was published pp. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon was available to joseph smith and contained enough parallel material to the book of mormon so as to furnish a virtual groundplan for it. There are also quite a few things that ethan smith put in his book as evidence for american indians being of hebrew descent. Thus name letter effects are not involved in his book.
Ethan smith 17621849 was a new england congregationalist clergyman. Years later, in 1985, the complete manuscript about dr. His worldview, environment, and education no doubt influenced his interpretation of scripture, how it related to his surroundings, his understanding of past and future prophecies, and his interpretation of historical events. Is the book of mormon plagiarized from view of the hebrews. Absence of joseph smith in the book of mormon religious. Criticisms related to view of the hebrews and the book of mormon. At least one critic has attempted to place oliver cowdery on the joseph smith farm beginning in 1826 based on the testimony of one lorenzo saunders to strengthen the supposed connection between ethan smith, oliver cowdery, and the origins of the book of mormon. Everything that is common or even vaguely similar between the book of mormon and the view of the hebrews could have been borrowed more easily from the bible or from. View of the hebrews was published in 1823 and a second edition was published in 1825. Smith served congregations for several years at a time in new hampshire, vermont, and massachusetts. First published in 1823, with a second edition in 1825, ethan smith s hugely popular book view of the hebrews reflects the prevailing notions of the origin of the american indians of the time.
Ever since the great american prophet joseph smith, jr. David persuitte, a technical writer from virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. This is a must read for anyone who wishes to learn more about the writing of the book of mormon or to understand joseph smith better. This video goes over the many similarities between the two books. Not a few things stuff you missed in sunday school. Ces letter incorrectly lists sharon, vermont as the location of the 1830 book of mormon. It is unknown if joseph smith had access to view of the hebrews when he dictated the book of mormon.
The scientific trend of archaeological evidence of its historic facticity indicates that the book of mormon is what joseph smith claimed it wasan ancient book. If ethan smith suspected or even wished to charge that the book of mormon plagiarized or purloined from his work, it is strange that he proceeded as if there was no relationship between the two books. It involves ethan smith and might explain how the spalding controversy began in the first place. Ethan smiths view of the hebrews a potent representation of how the book of mormon follows popular but ultimately falsified early 19th century beliefs about the native americans and a possible direct source of influence for some specific book of mormon content in 1922 lds leader bh roberts stated the following. Woodbridge riley, the sources, the founder of mormonism 1902, pp. This is because the further one reads ill view of the hebrews. His position was not uncommon among religious scholars, who based their history on the bible.
Furthermore, many of ethan smith s descriptions and beliefs about the ancient americans are also found in the book of mormon. Mark twain once said after reading the book of mormon, it is chloroform in print. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon was available to joseph smith and contained enough parallel material to the book of mormon so as to furnish a. The quote above comes from the mormon periodical times and seasons which joseph smith used to post a quote from a book called view of the hebrews, authored by the minister ethan smith no relation. Mormon challenges could the book of mormon story have come. If joseph smith composed this book, the act was a miracle. Is view of the hebrews a source for the book of mormon. May 31, 2019 the storyline outline for the book of mormon probably came from ethan smiths 1823 new york novel, view of the hebrews.
Did view of the hebrews influence themes in joseph smith. Thus neither his name letters nor the style of his manuscript give support for his authorship. Books on the book of mormon 19892011 by an authorized editor of byu scholarsarchive. Did ethan smith s view of the hebrews furnish structural material. Brodie, biographer of joseph smith, have noted similarities in the content of view of the hebrews and the book of mormon, which was first published in 1830, seven years after ethan smith s book. Ethan smith 17621849 was a new england congregationalist clergyman in the united. Ethan smith s book proposes that the american indians were the lost tribes of israel and has several apparent parallels to the book of mormon. Ethan smith lived in poultney, vermont, the same town as oliver cowdery, who later acted as joseph smiths scribe for the book of mormon. This new book of scripture and how it arrived was intended to hook new converts by seeming to clear up ambiguous and inconsistent doctrine in the new testament, and by proclaiming that jesus will return. Nov 19, 2018 did the book of mormon plagiarize or copy from other books. Once again, this is not found in the book of mormon. This book, written by a minister named ethan smith, contained stories and information proposing that the first settlers of ancient america were the lost ten tribes of israel.
Ethan smiths book was published in the adjoining county west of windsor. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life after. The spalding theory on the origin of the book of mormon had its start in 1834, when eber d. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesview of the hebrews. A pastor who lived near cowdery, ethan smith, had written view of the hebrews, another work that has been posited as a source for the book of mormon. View of the hebrews is an 1823 book written by ethan smith, a congregationalist minister in. When ethan smiths name letters were compared to the unique names in the book of mormon, a 45 percent correspondence was found with consonants and 25. It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in. To order this book directly from amazon, click here.
Published on may 31, 2019 the storyline outline for the book of mormon probably came from ethan smiths 1823 new york novel, view of the hebrews. Though cowdery lived for a time near ethan smith and the book preceded the book of mormon by seven years, no evidence confirms that cowdery or joseph smith had any knowledge of the work. Since the book of mormon was first published in 1830, its critics have endeavored to find explanations for it other than the one given by joseph smith. The primary source of smiths latterday 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. When ethan smith s name letters were compared to the unique names in the book of mormon, a 45 percent correspondence was found with consonants and 25. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at. The author ethan smith was the pastor of the religious congregation in which the oliver cowdrey family attended. Joseph smith was born in vermont, but the book of mormon was first published in palmyra new york, a good distance away. Ethan smith also pastored the congregational church that cowderys family attended from 1821 to 1826 while he was writing view of the hebrews.
View of the hebrews flooded the area in which joseph smith lived. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. As noted repeatedly in various sections of this book, josephlike all prophets was, in part, a product of his milieu. If the view of the hebrews served as the basis for the book of mormon, one would think that the bible scriptures used by ethan smith would be mined by joseph smith for the book of mormon. A new piece of documentation relating to the spalding theory turned up as this book was being completed. In conclusion, ethan smith pleads that the suppliants of god in the west be faithful and helpful in bringing scattered israel to the place of the name of the lord of hosts, the mount zion. Alleged relationships of view of the hebrews to the book of mormon have attracted interest periodically through the years.
It seems after reading these posts that the only possible answer is that the book of mormon happened just like joseph and others claim. 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. Roberts conducted an exhaustive comparison and analysis of these two books and concluded there is merit to this criticism. Where do exmomons believe the book of mormon came from. Oliver cowdery was a thirdcousin of lucy mack smith, joseph smith s mother. Ethan equates the whitebearded god, quetzalcoatl, with moses. The host of this website does not in any way sympathize with nor support the antijewish sentiments of ethan smith, as expressed in his book. Therefore, an apologist answer that both joseph smith and ethan. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon 2nd edition and also in kindle.
Now, a decade and a half later, persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325page second edition. View of the hebrewsethan smithoriginal book of mormon. Ethan smith, pastor of the congregational church in poultney, vermont, argued that the native americans were scattered israelites who would soon be restored into the gospel fold. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon, 2d ed. How philosopher emanuel swedenborg, reverend alexander campbell, professor john smith of dartmouth, solomon spalding, and ethan smith influenced sidney rigdon and joseph smith to plagurize the book of mormon from manusript found, view of the hebrews, the late war, the golden pot, and the bible. Ethan smith republished view of the hebrews, revised and enlarged, in 1835. Even if ethan smith s book was not readily available around josephs home town, there was a reasonable period of time in which oliver cowdery could have supplied joseph with a copy. In the 1920s, latterday saint general authority and author b.
As i see it, joseph smith did not write the book of mormon, it cannot be understood through recourse to his biography, and his biography cannot be recovered by studying the book. If joseph smith were going to borrow material to help him write the book of mormon, there were certainly sources other than ethan smith s book to which he could have gone. Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural. Scripture use in view of the hebrews and the book of mormon. Ethan smith was a minster at a church in a neighboring community in vermont when joseph smith came up with the idea to write and publish the. Ethan smith was a minster at a church in a neighboring community in vermont when joseph smith came up with the idea to write and publish the book of mormon.
Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. Some critics claim that joseph smith copied much of the structure and content of the book of mormon from the 1823 book view of the hebrews by ethan smith no relation to joseph smith. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that joseph smith ever knew anything about this book. The messiah did not visit the americas in view of the hebrews. Smith, the book of mormon, cleveland plain dealer april 24, 1887 spaulding smith story saints herald july 30, 1887 lorenzo dow hickey letter saints herald aug.
Ethan smith, a pastor of a church in poultney, vermont, was by no means the first to advance the idea that the indigenous americans were descended from the hebrews. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon is based. A potent representation of how the book of mormon follows popular but ultimately falsified early 19th century beliefs about the native americans and a possible direct source of influence for some specific book of mormon content in 1922 lds leader bh roberts stated the following. Ethan smith and the authentic literary setting for the book of mormon how to make nephite cement lies darned lies and statistics.
Josephs plagiarism in book of mormon and other revelations. While some have claimed it to be a source for the book of mormon. Lets say that joseph smith wrote the book of mormon. Lots of answers here with an incredible amount of evidence. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when. Joseph smith quoted view of the hebrews as supporting the book of mormon. A book of mormon place name found in the eastern united states. Book of mormon published the latter part of march, 1830. He develops a hypothesis that joseph smith used this book to base his book on and then tries to find what supporting or not supporting evidence there is to back up the hypothesis. The following is a selection of quotes from ethan smith s view of the hebrews or the tribes of israel in america second edition, 1825 which give pre book of mormon outlooks on the destruction of the more civilized israelite society in northern america, and the eventual peopling of central and south america by later migrations from the north. Some also postulate a link between ethan smith and oliver cowdery, since both men lived in poultney, vermont while smith served as the pastor of the church that oliver. Items do not represent the official views of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints or of book of mormon central.
Some also postulate a link between ethan smith and oliver cowdery, since both men lived in poultney, vermont while smith served as the pastor of the church that oliver cowderys family attended at the time that view. It is claimed that a 19th century work by ethan smith, view of the hebrews, provided source material for joseph smith s construction of the book of mormon. Ethan smith was a minister of a congregational church in poultney, vermont from 1821 to 1826 when he wrote view of the hebrews. He didnt claim to be a prophet or claim voth was scripture. Interestingly, oliver cowdery, scribe, and later witness of the book of mormon, lived in poultney for 22 years until 1825. View of the hebrews is an 1823 book written by ethan smith, a congregationalist minister in vermont, who argued that native americans were descended from the ten lost tribes of israel, a relatively common view during the early nineteenth century. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life. Joseph smith and the origins of the book of mormon, 2d ed. Well, if joseph smith used ethan smiths view of the hebrews as the main source for the book of mormon, as many critics claim, it is a miracle for the same.
Some have suggested that the source for much of the history and theology in the book of mormon was an early nineteenthcentury book entitled view of the hebrews, by ethan smith. This book includes a long selection from ethan smiths book and attempts to establish a. It is claimed that a 19th century work by ethan smith, view of the hebrews, provided source material for joseph smiths construction of the book of mormon. Roberts, spurred by rileys theory, began a concerted study of book of mormon criticisms.
Could joseph smith have used ethan smiths view of the hebrews as a guideline for creating the book of mormon. The book of mormon storyline was inspired from the combined works of solomon spalding and ethan smith, both students of professor john smith. After his death, his son delivered copies of these parallels to some mormon intellectuals. Therefore, during the past thirty years some nonmormon scholars, realizing the weakness of the spaulding manuscript theory, have postulated that joseph smith might have gained some of the ideas for the book of mormon from a book by ethan smith entitled view of the hebrews, first published in vermont in 1823, with a revised, enlarged edition published in 1835. Hollands conference talk the name ethan smith has been more active across the blogosphere than normal.
He used the ministers book as proof in 1842 to further his claim that the lost ten tribes of israel had migrated over the behring strait to build a new life on the american continent. Born 1762 in massachusetts, ethan smith was a continental soldier during the revolutionary. 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. View of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america. The book view of the hebrews was published in 1823, 7 years before the book of mormon.
For almost a century critics of the authenticity of the book of mormon have claimed that view of the hebrews, first published by ethan smith in 1823 2d ed. Numerous commentators on mormon history, from lds church general authority b. Ethan smith s book never claims to be anything more than his arguments for the origins of the native americans. This book, written by a minister, ethan smith, demonstrates that the book of mormon was not unique in its assertion that the native americans were descended from the house of israel within a religious history framework. Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural material for joseph smiths book of mormon. Similarities between the book of mormon and view of the. Ethan smith s book was published in the adjoining county west of windsor county, where joseph smith was born and lived from 1805 to 1811.
Ethan smith s view of the hebrews, published seven years before the book of mormon is thought to be source material for joseph smith s book of mormon. Larry morris, an lds scholar, has argued that the theory of an ethan smithcowdery. Joseph smith, josiah priest and the times and seasons ohio decalogue hoax. Ethan smith, pastor of the congregational church in poultney, vermont, argued that the native americans were scattered israelites who would soon. Ethan smith 17621849 was a new england congregationalist clergyman in the united states who wrote view of the hebrews 1823, a book that argued that native americans were descended from the ten lost tribes of israel. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon is. It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was published 6 years later in 1829. Ethan smith also pastored the congregational church that cowderys family attended from 1821 to 1826 while he was writing view of. Therefore, during the past thirty years some non mormon scholars, realizing the weakness of the spaulding manuscript theory, have postulated that joseph smith might have gained some of the ideas for the book of mormon from a book by ethan smith entitled view of the hebrews, first published in vermont in 1823, with a revised, enlarged edition. Brodie, biographer of joseph smith, have noted similarities in the content of view of the hebrews and the book of mormon, which was first published in 1830, seven years after ethan smiths book. His book contained reports from missionaries and traders who lived among the indians. It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other. Robertss analysis of ethan smith s book was published, with permission from his family, by the university of illinois press under the title studies of the book of mormon.