Criticism of Mormonism/Books/One Nation Under Gods/Chapter 4

Claims made in "Chapter 3: From Profit to Prophet"

A FAIR Analysis of: Criticism of Mormonism/Books A work by author: Richard Abanes

Claims made in "Chapter 5: People of Zion"

Claims made in "Chapter 4: Smith's Golden Book"

This story would prove to be one of Smith's best tales.
—One Nation Under Gods, p. 60.

∗       ∗       ∗

Page	Claim	Response	Author's sources
60 (HB,PB)	Author's quote: "This story would prove to be one of Smith's best tales."	Criticism of Mormonism/Books/Loaded and prejudicial language	Author's opinion.
62 (HB,PB)	Were the Lamanites were cursed with a "skin of blackness?"	Lamanite curse	Book of Mormon, 1830 ed., 73 2 Nephi 5꞉21-24
62 (HB,PB)	Why does Jesus used "exactly the same wording" that is found in the 1611 King James Version of the New Testament?	Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible	No source provided.
62 (HB,PB)	Were the "so-called American Indians" considered a "filthy, and a loathsome people?"	The Book of Mormon never refers to "American Indians," "so-called" or otherwise.	Mormon 5꞉15
63, 510n15 (HB) 508n15 (PB)	Was a "dark-skinned appearance" actually a curse traceable to a failure to follow God?	Lamanite curse	Oliver Cowdery, "Letter VII," Messenger and Advocate, July 1835, vol. 1, no. 10, 158, reprinted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, vol. 2, 450.
63, 510n18 (HB) 508n18 (PB)	Is the genuineness of the Book of Mormon is "largely dependent" upon Native Americans being descendants of the Israelites?	Book of Mormon and DNA evidence	David Persuitte, Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon, p. 102.
63 (HB,PB)	Was Joseph inspired by the "mound builders" to write the Book of Mormon?	Book of Mormon and the Mound Builders	Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 34. ( Index of claims )
64, 511n24 (HB) 509n24 (PB)	Did Joseph's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, say that Joseph "skillfully composed yarns about Native Americans while still just a teen; long before any golden plates had been found?" (HB) (emphasis added) ∗       ∗       ∗ Did Joseph's mother say that he "skillfully composed yarns about Native Americans while still just a teen; long before he obtained and translated any golden plates?" (PB) (emphasis added)	The paperback edition corrects the small technical error, but ignores the larger issue: Lucy Mack Smith's account clearly states, "From this time forth, Joseph continued to receive instructions from the Lord, and we continued to get the children together every evening, for the purpose of listening while he gave us a relation of the same" prior to her statement about Joseph's "amusing recitals." Joseph Smith's "amusing recitals" of ancient American inhabitants Use of sources: Tall Tales	Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for many Generations [Liverpool: S.W. Richards, 1853), 85, reprinted in Dan Vogel, ed., Early Mormon Documents [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1996], vol. 1, 296.
66, 511n31 (HB) 509n31 (PB)	According to Alexander Campbell, the Book of Mormon "commented on nearly 'every error and almost every truth discussed in New York for the last ten years.'"	Hugh Nibley notes: Now if all this was so perfectly obvious, then as now, why on earth did the critics forsake such a neat and comfortable explanation to wander for a hundred years in a wilderness of speculation and contradiction [e.g., the Spalding theory? It was because the theory of the local origin collapsed at a touch. No sooner had Mr. Campbell's explanation been received with cries of joy and relief than it was seen that the picture had not been clarified by it at all, but made much messier.[1]	Alexander Campbell, "The Mormonites," Millennial Harbinger, February 1830, 93.
68, 512n41-43 (HB) 510n41-43 (PB)	Did Joseph copy text from other contemporary works into the Book of Mormon, such as Josiah Priest's The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed?"	Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/The Wonders of Nature	Joseph Smith, Times and Seasons, June 1, 1842, vol. 3, no. 15, 813-14. Josiah Priest, The Wonders of Nature, 598, 469, 524. Book of Mormon (1830), 560, 61, 471-472.
68-70, 512n44-45 (HB) 510n44-45 (PB)	Does the Book of Mormon contain parallels to Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews?	Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews	Ethan Smith, View of the Hebrews, 172. Persuitte, 107, 122.
70-71 (HB,PB)	Did Joseph Smith plagiarize the Apocrypha?	Book of Mormon/Plagiarism accusations/Apocrypha	Reed C. Durhap, "A History of Joseph Smith's Revision of the Bible," BYU, 1965, 25 Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Joseph Smith's Use of the Apocrypha," Salt Lake City Messenger (#89), December 1995.
70, 513n52 (HB) 511n52 (PB)	Were several Bible stories reworked for the Book of Mormon?	Book of Mormon plagiarized from the Bible	Fawn M. Brodie, No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945), 62-63. ( Index of claims ) Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Joseph Smith's Plagiarism of the Bible"
72, 513n59 (HB) 511n59(PB)	Template:AuthorQutoe	Joseph Smith and money digging	Book of Mormon (1830) Helaman 13꞉35
72, 514n61 (HB) 512n61 (PB)	Could the name "Lemuel" have been derived from the name of the Smith's landlord, Lemuel Durfee?	The author simply repeats an idea posited by author Dan Vogel in one of his footnotes: It is not supported by primary sources. Prophetic Autobiography This is the fallacy of probability.	Vogel, [Early Mormon Documents] vol. 1, 321, footnote #128.
73, 514n62 (HB) 512n62 (PB)	Could the names "Moroni" and "Cumorah" have been taken from the "Comoros" Islands off the coast of Africa?	Comoros Islands and Moroni This is the fallacy of probability.	Book of Mormon (1830), 529-530 Mormon 6꞉2-11
73, 514n66 (HB) 512n66 (PB)	The 1830 Book of Mormon contains many grammatical errors.	Book of Mormon textual changes	Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism: Shadow or Reality?, 85-88.
74 (HB,PB)	Is the name "Sam" in the Book of Mormon "out-of-place?"	The author's claim is false: "While Sam is a perfectly good Egyptian name, it is also the normal Arabic form of Shem, the son of Noah."[2] Book of Mormon names:Sam	1 Nephi 2꞉5 1 Nephi 2꞉17
74, 514n67	Is the French word "adieu" out-of-place in the Book of Mormon?	"Adieu" in the Book of Mormon	Book of Mormon (1830) Jacob 7꞉27
74, 514n69 (HB) 512n69 (PB)	Why has the Book of Mormon had "nearly 4,000" textual changes despite being declared by Joseph Smith to be the "most correct of any book on earth?"	Joseph wasn't talking about grammar. He said that "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." Book of Mormon as the most correct book Book of Mormon textual changes	History of the Church, vol. 4, 461; vol. 1, 54-55.
74, 514n70-71 (HB) 512n70-71 (PB)	The Book of Mormon mentions synagoges "after the manner of the Jews," despite Lehi's group leaving Jerusalem before the Babylonian captivity.	The author's claim is false: Synagogues are known before the Babylonian captivity, past views to the contrary notwithstanding: Book of Mormon anachronisms/Synagogues	Book of Mormon (1830), 268 Alma 16꞉13 J.D. Douglas, rev. ed. and Merrill C. Tenny, gen. ed., The New International Dictionary of the Bible, 972.
74 (HB, PB)	The author claims that the Book of Mormon "describes Arabia as being 'bountiful' because of its fruit and wild honey. The fact is that Arabia has never had bountiful supplies of either fruit or honey."	This is an absurd statement to make. The Book of Mormon does not describe Arabia as being bountiful in fruit and honey. It talks of a place within the Arabian peninsula which was bountiful in fruit an honey—such a location does indeed exist. Book of Mormon geography—Old World—Bountiful Absurd claims	No source provided.
74, 514n72(HB) 512n72(PB)	How could the Book of Mormon mentions a "continually flowing" river that runs to the Red Sea, when there is no such river in Arabia?	The author's claim is false: Such a river has been found, if that is indeed the proper reading: Valley of Lemuel	Thomas D.S. Key, Sc.D., Ed.D. (Biology), Th.D. (1985), "A Biologist Looks at the Book of Mormon," Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, June 1985, XXX-VIII, 3.
74, 514n73 (HB) 512n73 (PB)	Why does the Book of Mormon mention animals such as cows, oxen, asses, horses, and goats as existing in the New World 600 years before Christ, when it is known that none of these animals existed in the New World at the time?	Book of Mormon anachronisms/Animals	Key, 3.
514n73 (HB) 512n73 (PB)	Author's quote: "Mormon apologist John Sorenson has suggested that Smith mistranslated numerous words from the Book of Mormon golden plates. For example, cattle and oxen should have been rendered deer and bison. Moreover, horses should also have been translated deer, while swine more accurately refers to the wild pig."	Saying things that the source never said	John Sorensen, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, 191-276, 299.
75, 514n75 (HB) 512n75 (PB)	Is there no archaeological evidence to support the Book of Mormon?	Book of Mormon archaeology	Michael D. Coe, letter to William McKeever, Aug. 17, 1993, printed in William McKeever, "Yale Anthropologist's Views Remain Unchanged," Mormonism Researched (Winter, 1993), 6.
75, 515n77 (HB) 512n77 (PB)	The Smithsonian Institution issued a statement refuting "any claims of BOM historicity."	Smithsonian statement on Book of Mormon archaeology	Richard N. and Joan K. Ostling, Mormon America: The Power and the Promise, (New York:HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 260-261. ( Index of claims )
75, 515n78	Is is true that "Mormon scholars, such as Dee F. Green," have admitted that Book of Mormon archaeology does not exist?	More correctly, Green argued in 1969 that nothing that had been done thus far qualified as Book of Mormon archaeology. He went on to argue that a broader anthropological perspective was needed—just as it was with the Bible: Use of sources: No Book of Mormon archaeology For an up-to-date assessment of the Book of Mormon and archaeology, see: John E. Clark, "'Archaeology, Relics, and Book of Mormon Belief'," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/2 (2005). [38–49] link Book of Mormon archaeology	Dee F. Green, "Book of Mormon Archeology: the Myths and the Alternatives," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 4 no. [2] (Summer 1969), 72-80.
75, 515n79	Did a lack of Book of Mormon archaeological evidence cause B.H. Roberts and Thomas Stuart Ferguson to "abandon their faith in the Book of Mormon?"	B.H. Roberts' testimony of the Book of Mormon On Ferguson, see below.	Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "B.H. Robert's Doubts," Salt Lake City Messenger (#84), April 1993. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Ferguson's Two Faces," Salt Lake City Messenger (#69), September 1988. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Ferguson's Rejection of the Book of Mormon Verified," Salt Lake City Messenger (#76), November 1990. Jerald and Sandra Tanner, "Quest for the Gold Plates," Salt Lake City Messenger (#91), November 1996.
75	Was Thomas Stuart Ferguson an "icon" of Latter-day Saint scholarship?	Ferguson was an amateur without a rigorous research method or realistic ideas about what secular research could or could not provide: John Gee, "The Hagiography of Doubting Thomas (Review of Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 158–183. off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "On the New World Archaeological Foundation (Review of: Behind the Mask of Mormonism)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 221–234. off-site Daniel C. Peterson and Matthew Roper, "Ein Heldenleben? On Thomas Stuart Ferguson as an Elias for Cultural Mormons (Review of: Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 175–220. off-site	No source provided.
76, 515-6n81-84	Did B.H. Roberts actually conclude that Joseph Smith was inspired by Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews?	Book of Mormon and View of the Hebrews B.H. Roberts' testimony of the Book of Mormon	B.H. Roberts, Studies of the Book of Mormon, 243, 271. Wesley P. Lloyd, Private Journal of Wesley P. Lloyd, August 7, 1933. Truman G. Madsen, "B.H. Roberts and the Book of Mormon," BYU Studies [Summer 1979] vol. 19, 427-445.
77-80, 516n88-90 (HB) 514n88-90 (PB)	Thomas Stuart Ferguson wrote a letter stating "Perhaps you and I have been spoofed by Joseph Smith. Now that we have the inside dope -- why not spoof a little back and stay aboard [the Church]."	John Gee, "The Hagiography of Doubting Thomas (Review of Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 158–183. off-site Daniel C. Peterson, "On the New World Archaeological Foundation (Review of: Behind the Mask of Mormonism)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 221–234. off-site Daniel C. Peterson and Matthew Roper, "Ein Heldenleben? On Thomas Stuart Ferguson as an Elias for Cultural Mormons (Review of: Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson’s Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 175–220. off-site	Ferguson, "Written Symposium on Book-of-Mormon Geography: Response of Thomas S. Ferguson to the Norman & Sorenson Papers," 4, 7, 29, reprinted in Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Ferguson's Manuscript Revealed. Feb. 20, 1976 letter to Mr. & Mrs. H. W. Lawrence. Thomas Stuart Ferguson, letter dated February 9, 1976.

Endnotes

1. [note]  Hugh W. Nibley, The Prophetic Book of Mormon (Vol. 8 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1989), 148. ISBN 0875791794.. Nibley continues: Note first of all that it was quickly realized, not only by the Mormons, but by the anti-Mormons as well, that Joseph Smith by his own wits could not possibly have written the Book of Mormon—and so farewell to Mr. Campbell's sublime certitudes: "I cannot doubt for a single moment but that he is the sole author and proprietor of it!" Note in the second place the admission that this obvious fact left the critics in a quandary—they "wondered much." And since quandaries are intolerable to critics, who are never at a loss to invent explanations, it is not the least surprising that "the wonder grew into a suspicion." From embarrassment to wonder and from wonder to suspicion: is there any doubt what the next step will be? Is suspicion ever at a loss to discover villainy? All at once, and last of all, comes the evidence: "almost simultaneously" people everywhere start remembering a certain unpublished and unregretted novel, a dull, befuddled composition that no one had the patience to read but the names of whose characters were remembered with crystal clarity by people who had forgotten all about the book until then. Then another "double-take" made it necessary to explain how Smith could have got hold of the book, and, presto! another brain-wave hit the public, and here and there people suddenly remembered a "mysterious stranger" who used to visit the Smiths by night, some three to ten and more years before! There is your answer, and no funny business, either: "There was no opportunity of collusion" between the "witnesses."
2. [note]  Hugh W. Nibley, Lehi in the Desert, the World of the Jaredites, There Were Jaredites, edited by John W. Welch with Darrell L. Matthew and Stephen R. Callister, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1988), 39.

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