Salon.com > Joe Smith http://www.salon.com Wed, 22 May 2013 16:31:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Who really wrote the Book of Mormon? http://www.salon.com/2012/10/31/who_really_wrote_the_book_of_mormon/ http://www.salon.com/2012/10/31/who_really_wrote_the_book_of_mormon/#comments Wed, 31 Oct 2012 23:01:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13059074 Los Angeles Review of Books WHO WROTE THE BOOK OF MORMON? For nearly two centuries, faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) have claimed that Joseph Smith translated the text from the writings of ancient prophets, while critics have endlessly recycled inadequate theories of plagiarism or co-authorship. What has rarely been addressed is that for much of his language and narrative structure, Smith turned to the most read and memorized author of the late seventeenth century, John Bunyan. He did so in such imaginative ways that the resulting work transcends any easy charge of plagiarism and calls upon us to reimagine the rich oral traditions of early America.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2012/10/31/who_really_wrote_the_book_of_mormon/feed/ 79