Could Joseph Smith have authored the B of M?

[_deacon blues]

Isn't part of the Spaulding theory based on Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon interacting before the Book of Mormon was published? What is the best evidence for that?

[_reflexzero]

Someone wrote it. Either a guy in a loincloth, sitting in a jungle clearing and scratching stories about Christoper Columbus and Joseph Smith onto metal plates. Or a guy sitting in a cabin, writing stories about pre-Christ Christians, in loincloths, running around in the jungle.

[_Hagoth]

Who ever wrote the Book of Mormon had access to the Creeds of the 4th and 5th Creeds, and the KJV of the Bible since the Book of Mormon agrees completely with the Creeds
.

Whoever wrote the Book of Mormon also probably had access to the preface of the 1611 edition of the KJV:

KJV Preface: "...clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk... the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists..."

Helaman 5:31 "...the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse..."

Alma 19:6 "...the cloud of darkness having been dispelled..."

[_Res Ipsa]

Who ever wrote the Book of Mormon had access to the Creeds of the 4th and 5th Creeds, and the KJV of the Bible since the Book of Mormon agrees completely with the Creeds
.

Whoever wrote the Book of Mormon also probably had access to the preface of the 1611 edition of the KJV:

KJV Preface: "...clouds of darkness would so have overshadowed this Land, that men should have been in doubt which way they were to walk... the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists..."

Helaman 5:31 "...the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse..."

Alma 19:6 "...the cloud of darkness having been dispelled..."

Is the notion of a "cloud of darkness" that "overshadowed" something really so unusual that we can draw that kind of conclusions?

[_Hagoth]

Is the notion of a "cloud of darkness" that "overshadowed" something really so unusual that we can draw that kind of conclusions?

It's not the notion that's intersting, it's the wording. Not conclusive at all, but it's one of many, many coincidences between the Bible and the Book of Mormon and it's doubly interesting that the source might be the preface rather than the content.

[_Maksutov]

Is the notion of a "cloud of darkness" that "overshadowed" something really so unusual that we can draw that kind of conclusions?

It's not the notion that's intersting, it's the wording. Not conclusive at all, but it's one of many, many coincidences between the Bible and the Book of Mormon and it's doubly interesting that the source might be the preface rather than the content.

It's in the prophetic tradition. Jesus and Paul and probably others in the New Testament quote Old Testament language. It's a mark of a religionist to use the scripture memes to reassure his group of his membership and because conditioning associates them with feelings of profundity or whatever. For some reason the Abrahamic movements seem to emphasize this more than many other cultures.

[_Hagoth]

Jesus and Paul and probably others in the New Testament quote Old Testament language. It's a mark of a religionist to use the scripture memes to reassure his group of his membership and because conditioning associates them with feelings of profundity or whatever.

Like when the author of the Book of Moses uses New Testament themes and language to reassure readers that Moses was a proper Christian.

Hey... wait a minute...

[_Mormon Think]

I think there is certainly enough evidence to show that Joseph could have written the Book of Mormon. here's some thoughts:

http://www.mormonthink.com/josephweb.htm

Bill

[_toon]

The article refutes Emma Smith's declaration, many years after the fact, that "Joseph could neither write nor dictate a well-worded letter". Emma could be very self serving, as the mother or the wife of a prophet. She definitely was duplicious about polygamy.

Aren't there also other accounts about Joseph as a story teller? That seems to contradict Emma's statement.

Also, is there a difference between telling or dictating a story and dictating a well-worded letter?

[_Hagoth]

I think the fact that Joseph could generate the contents of the D&C off the top of his head is a pretty good indication that he was capable of producing the Book of Mormon, especially if he had spent the previous years working out the narrative. He could give some pretty impressive speeches out of thin air too, not to mention lost writings of Moses, John, the legend of Zelph, etc. He had the right kind of brain for it.