Some also postulate a link between ethan smith and oliver cowdery, since both men lived in poultney. It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was published 6 years later in 1829. Roberts 18571933, a prominent lds apologist and historian, was asked to answer nonbelievers five critical questions by lds apostle james e. 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. Did view of the hebrews influence themes in joseph smith. Learn more view of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america 2nd edition. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life after. Alleged relationships of view of the hebrews to the book of mormon have. View of the hebrews contrary to popular belief, the book of mormon was not the first to suggest.
This book is significant for it contains parallels to the content of the book of mormon. Similarities between the book of mormon and view of the hebrews book duration. Roberts privately researched the link between the book of mormon and the view of the hebrews, josephs father having the same dream in 1811 as lehis dream, and other sources that were available to joseph smith, oliver cowdery, martin harris and others before the publication of the book of mormon. You can see for example, i give charts that show side by side comparisons from the book of mormon to the king james bible, also to the apocrypha that was available at. Joseph smith was born in vermont, but the book of mormon was first published in palmyra new york, a good distance away. Numerous commentators on mormon history, from lds church general authority b. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets.
More on joseph smiths plagiarism in the book of mormon. 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. There was a reference to view of the hebrews within joseph smiths lifetime coming from the prophet himself. This book is a faithful and accurate reproduction of the 1825 second edition of view of the hebrews. View of the hebrews 1825 edition introduction mormons.
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. Newview of the hebrewscd ebook pdfdid joseph smith. The view of the hebrews is a 1823 book written by ethan smith, a united states congregationalist minister. Book of mormonauthorship theoriesview of the hebrews. 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. View of the hebrews 1825 by ethan smith this book, written by a. Interestingly, oliver cowdery, scribe, and later witness of the book of mormon, lived in poultney for 22 years until 1825. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels life. Roberts concluded that this book, originally published in poultney, vermont in 1823 7 years prior to the book of mormon. First of 15 parts of online version of 1824 book view of the hebrews by ethan smith. 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 of mormon, published in 1830, and ethan smiths 1823 book view of the hebrews parallel each other in some two dozen general themes.
View of the hebrews and the book of mormon book of mormon. Newview of the hebrewscd ebook pdfdid joseph smith steal. View of the hebrews1823 book of mormon1829 very very similar stories. 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. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when.
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. Lds revelations view of the hebrews book of mormon 1. Indisputable proof that the book of mormon was written after 1611 and clearly not twelve centuries before. 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.
View of the hebrews and the book of mormon book of. Ethan smith republished view of the hebrews, revised and enlarged, in 1835. Roberts took the position of examining the book of mormon from a critical perspective in order. If ethan smith suspected or even wished to charge that the book of mormon plagiarized or purloined from his.
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. He writes about those who oppose the church who may believe that joseph smith copied large portions of the book of mormon from a book called a view of the hebrews. Brodie, biographer of joseph smith, have noted similarities in the. Book of mormon and view of the hebrews parallels 04242014 by lifeafterministry if such may have been the fact, that a part of the ten tribes came over to america, in the way we have supposed, leaving the cold regions of assareth behind them in quest of a milder climate, it would be natural to look for tokens of the presence of jews of some. Nov 05, 2011 view of the hebrews 1823 book of mormon 1829 very very similar stories. Is the book of mormon plagiarized from view of the hebrews. In the book the view of the hebrews, what counterarguments h.
The book of mormon, published in 1830, and ethan smiths 1823 book view of the hebrews parallel each other in some two dozen general. No one seems to have suggested any connection between ethan smiths view of the hebrews hereafter vh and the book of mormon until 1903. Many publications and materials predated the publication of the book of mormon. These dissimilarities, which far outnumber any alleged similarities, are too many to list here. Some critics claim that joseph smith copied much of the structure and content. Is view of the hebrews a source for the book of mormon. View of the hebrews was published in 1823 and a second edition was published in 1825. Roberts did his work on the two in 1922, interest in the. The book portrays a similar overall narrative to the book of mormon with many details surprisingly congruent with the book of mormon. It has many uncanny parallels with the book of mormon that many think it was the foundation for the book of mormon.
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. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. Similarities between the book of mormon and the view of the hebrews. 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. Jesus ben anunus did not have stones thrown at him. Pdf view of the hebrews ebooks includes pdf, epub and. While some have claimed it to be a source for the book of mormon, no direct connections between this book and the book of mormon have been demonstrated. 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. The two books, view of the hebrews and the book of mormon have been undergoing comparisons for decades. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon. For almost 200 years now, critics have been scrambling to prove that the book of mormon is nothing but a work of fiction.
Ethan smith, pastor of the congregational church in poultney, vermont, argued that the native americans were scattered israelites who would soon. Roberts conducted an exhaustive comparison and analysis of these two books and. View of the hebrews1823 book of mormon1829 very very. Learn more view of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america 2nd. New evidence furnished of the divinity of the bible 169 appendix. 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. Would you respond to the theories that the book of mormon is. 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.
Roberts conducted an exhaustive comparison and analysis of these two books and concluded there is merit to this criticism. View of the hebrews, or, the tribes of isreal in america and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Reverend ethan smith was the author of view of the hebrews. Therefore, an apologist answer that both joseph smith and ethan. Despite the churchs claims, the roots of mormonism, rather than being ancient and old world, are often. Ethan smith was a minister of a congregational church in poultney, vermont from 1821 to 1826 when he wrote view of the hebrews. The book portrays a similar overall narrative to the book of mormon with many details surprisingly. 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. 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. It was first published in 1823 the book of mormon was. 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.
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. Could joseph smith have used ethan smiths view of the hebrews as a guideline for creating the book of mormon. In the book the view of the hebrews, what counterarguments. This great clue of israelitishness is also absent from 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. View of the hebrews flooded the area in which joseph smith lived. The full title of the 1825 edition is view of the hebrews. The intent in publishing it has been to make it available to all.
The book of mormon shares some thematic elements with view of the hebrews. 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. 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. The author ethan smith was the pastor of the religious congregation in which the oliver cowdrey family attended. The view of the hebrews theory was examined in detail by b. 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. He also warns the authorities that they need to look at his research because it will cause problems for the church in the future if they dont answer the questions he has posed. View of the hebrews maintains that the indians knew a distinguished. Alleged relationships of view of the hebrews to the book of mormon have attracted interest periodically through the years.
Despite the churchs claims, the roots of mormonism, rather than being ancient and old world, are often instead nineteenth century and very american. For example, view of the hebrews asserts repeatedly that the ten tribes came to america via the bering strait, which they crossed on dry land. 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. Criticisms related to view of the hebrews and the book of mormon it is claimed that a 19th century work by ethan smith, view of the hebrews. You can see for example, i give charts that show side by side comparisons from the book of mormon to the king james bible, also to the apocrypha that was available at the time, he plagiarized from that, also from a book called view of the hebrews, and another book called the wonders. 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.
View of the hebrewsethan smithoriginal book of mormon. 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. Posted in book of mormon, tagged bh roberts, book of mormon, ethan smith, false gospel, joseph smith, parallels between book of. Critics often ignore the many dissimilarities between the view of the hebrews and the book of mormon. Hardly any of these points are found in the book of mormon, as one would expect if joseph smith were using view of the hebrews or trying to make his book persuasive. 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. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon.
View of the hebrews 1825 edition introduction mormon general authority b. As one example, nothing in the view of the hebrews explains the rich semitic complexity of the book of mormon. One of the mormon evidences is to ask you to consider if joseph smith could have fabricated the book of mormon. Joseph quotes view of the hebrews in support of the book of mormon. 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. This book, written by a minister, ethan smith, demonstrates that the book of mormon was not. The excommunication of the hebrews deeply affecting 154 2. In short, similarities between view of the hebrews and the book of mormon do not require the dependance of one upon the other but are most easily explained as two reflections of common nineteenthcentury assumptions about the american indians.
Ethan smiths book was published in the adjoining county west of windsor county, where joseph smith was born and lived from 1805 to 1811. These dissimilarities, which far outnumber any alleged similarities, are too many to. Joseph smith quoted view of the hebrews as supporting the book of mormon. There are many, many differences between the book of mormon and ethan smiths view of the hebrews one widely available essay comments upon 84 striking and fundamental disagreements between the two textsand the similarities are vague and unimpressive.
Ethan smiths book was published in the adjoining county west. 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. Jul 24, 2019 for almost 200 years now, critics have been scrambling to prove that the book of mormon is nothing but a work of fiction. 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. In fact, this would have been much more likely, since joseph smith and his family were avid readers of the bible. Consider the similarities between the book of mormon and view of the hebrews as. The messiah did not visit the americas in view of the hebrews. Did view of the hebrews influence themes in joseph smiths. Could joseph smith have written 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 book of mormon. The view of the hebrews is a book written by the minister ethan smith and published in 1823. Did joseph smith plagiarize from view of the hebrews when writing the book of mormon by jeff lindsay. 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.