New evidence furnished of the divinity of the bible 169 appendix. The book view of the hebrews was published in 1823, 7 years before the book of mormon. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that joseph smith ever knew anything about this book. Woodbridge riley argued joseph smith and oliver cowdery worked from ethan smiths view of the hebrews, a book tracing american indian descent to the lost tribes of israel. In an article published in the times and seasons on june 1, 1842, joseph quoted view of the hebrews in support of the book of mormon. View of the hebrews1823 book of mormon1829 very very. The book of mormon, published in 1830, and ethan smiths 1823 book view of the hebrews parallel each other in some two dozen general themes.
The author ethan smith was the pastor of the religious congregation in which. The excommunication of the hebrews deeply affecting 154 2. Numerous commentators on mormon history, from lds church general authority b. Ethan smith republished view of the hebrews, revised and enlarged, in 1835.
Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural material. 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. For almost 200 years now, critics have been scrambling to prove that the book of mormon is nothing but a work of fiction. Thus it was that the further i read in view of the hebrews, the greater the distance between it and the book of mormon appeared. 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. Thus it was that the further i read in view of the hebrews.
Pdf view of the hebrews ebooks includes pdf, epub and. This wellwritten book is relevant to every member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Joseph smith quoted view of the hebrews as supporting the book of mormon there was, however, a reference to view of the hebrews within joseph smiths lifetime, but it came from the prophet himself. In addition, fawn brodies book, no man knows my history, and g. Parallels between view of the hebrews and the book of mormon it has been argued that there are significant parallels between view of the hebrews and the book of mormon. We cannot guarantee that view of the hebrews book is in the library, but if you are still not sure with the service, you can choose free trial service. Interestingly, oliver cowdery, scribe, and later witness of the book of mormon, lived in poultney for 22 years until 1825. Could joseph smith have used ethan smiths view of the hebrews as a guideline for creating the book of mormon. The book of mormon view of the hebrews the king james bible the book of mormon tells the story of inspired seers and prophets. This was a relatively common view during the early nineteenth century, as most europeans and americans had a view of history as biblical. The book and the man, joseph smith, kindled a religion that today numbers over nine million members. Alleged relationships of view of the hebrews to the book of mormon have.
The two books, view of the hebrews and the book of mormon have been undergoing comparisons for decades. In fact, this would have been much more likely, since joseph smith and. 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. It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was published 6 years later in 1829. Ethan smith was a pastor in poultney, vermont when he wrote and published the book. Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural material for joseph smiths book of mormon. Is the book of mormon plagiarized from view of the hebrews. Harrisons fictitious book, mormons are peculiar people, raised public awareness about some similarities between the two books. Joseph smith quoted view of the hebrews as supporting the book of mormon. You can read view of the hebrews online at no charge at in addition to that theres a lot of great information at the website as well. The author ethan smith was the pastor of the religious congregation in which the oliver cowdrey family attended.
Alleged relationships of view of the hebrews to the book of mormon have attracted interest periodically through the years. Is view of the hebrews a source for the book of mormon. The intent in publishing it has been to make it available to all. Learn more view of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesview of the hebrews. Despite the churchs claims, the roots of mormonism, rather than being ancient and old world, are often instead nineteenth century and very american. Jesus ben anunus did not have stones thrown at him. The view of the hebrews is a 1823 book written by ethan smith, a united states congregationalist minister. But persuittes parallels certainly fall short of proving his contention that the resultant preponderance of evidence demonstrates conclusively that the book of mormon had its conceptual origins in view of the hebrews.
Therefore, an apologist answer that both joseph smith and ethan. 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 prevailing beliefs at that time. The book of mormon states in a rather late passage that lehi was a descendant of manasseh, the son of joseph alma 10. Had joseph smith believed this, why is the book of mormon silent on. View of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. 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. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when writing the book of mormon by jeff lindsay. View of the hebrews is an 1823 book written by ethan smith, a united states congregationalist minister, who argued that native americans were descended from the ten lost tribes of israel. Roberts did his work on the two in 1922, interest in the parallels grew.
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. View of the hebrews and the book of mormon book of. The only reason why this book continues to be in print is because its been cited as a possible source of influence on the writers of the book of mormon. 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.
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. Indisputable proof that the book of mormon was written after 1611 and clearly not twelve centuries before. In order to read online or download view of the hebrews ebooks in pdf, epub, tuebl and mobi format, you need to create a free account. Posted in book of mormon, tagged bh roberts, book of mormon, ethan smith, false gospel, joseph smith, parallels between book of mormon and view of the hebrews, view of the hebrews on 04242014 1 comment. I have on my possession the spaulding manuscript and everybody could buy it in every deseret book store, there is nothing to resemble the book of mormon story. Did view of the hebrews influence themes in joseph smith. The book of mormon shares some thematic elements with view of the hebrews. The view of the hebrews is a book written by the minister ethan smith and published in 1823. 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. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when. View of the hebrews flooded the area in which joseph smith lived. The view of the hebrews theory was examined in detail by b. Reverend ethan smith was the author of view of the hebrews.
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. Recent imputations against joseph smith contain the charge that the isaiah chapters of the book of mormon were purloined by the prophet from a popular book first published in 1823 by a protestant clergyman named ethan smith, under the title view of the hebrews. Photo reprint of the 1825 edition that is believed to have influenced joseph smith during his creation of the book of mormon. The book of mormon, of course, makes precisely this claim about baptism, along with several others that likewise cannot be reconciled with the nineteenthcentury model explaining indian origins. Did ethan smiths view of the hebrews furnish structural material for joseph smiths book of. Roberts 18571933, a prominent lds apologist and historian, was asked to answer nonbelievers five critical questions by lds apostle james e. The book portrays a similar overall narrative to the book of mormon with many details surprisingly congruent with the book of mormon. View of the hebrewsethan smithoriginal 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. Ethan smiths book proposes that the american indians were the lost tribes of israel and has several. This book is a faithful and accurate reproduction of the 1825 second edition of view of the hebrews. View of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america. The book provides an honest comparison of the source material available to joseph smith, a book titled view of the hebrews, that preceded the book of mormon. 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.
Roberts took the position of examining the book of mormon from a critical perspective in order to alert the general authorities to possible future avenues of attack by critics. It was not long, however, before a number of people realised that the view of the hebrews and the book of mormon had some rather startling similarities. View of the hebrews was published in 1823 and a second edition was published in 1825. View of the hebrews1823 book of mormon1829 very very similar stories. Lets face it, they say, joseph smith was an uneducated young man living in poverty with almost no access to books, and he dictated the entire text of the book of mormon in 63 days. In the 20th century, mormon scholars noted the parallels between view of the hebrews and the book of mormon and suggested that joseph smith had used view of the hebrews as a source in composing the book of mormon, or that he was at least influenced by the popular 19thcentury ideas expounded in the earlier work.
Ethan smiths book was published in the adjoining county west of windsor county, where joseph smith was born and lived from 1805 to 1811. View of the hebrews talks of indian traditions that state that their fathers were able to foretell the future and control nature. View of the hebrews maintains that the indians knew a distinguished hebraism, namely laying the hand on the mouth, and the mouth in the dust. Joseph smith was born in vermont, but the book of mormon was first published in palmyra new york, a good distance away. This great clue of israelitishness is also absent from the book of mormon.
Roberts conducted an exhaustive comparison and analysis of these two books and. One of the mormon evidences is to ask you to consider if joseph smith could have fabricated the book of mormon. Similarities between the book of mormon and the view of the hebrews. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life. Ethan smiths view of the hebrews, published seven years before the book of mormon is thought to be source material for joseph smiths book of mormon. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life after. 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.
Roberts conducted an exhaustive comparison and analysis of these two books and concluded there is merit to this criticism. The messiah did not visit the americas in view of the hebrews. 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. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon is based. Also contains the parallels between view of the hebrews and the book of mormon by mormon historian b. Similarities between the book of mormon and view of the hebrews book duration.