Criticism of Mormonism/Books/An Insider's View of Mormon Origins/Use of sources
From FAIRMormon
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| Index of Claims | A FAIR Analysis of: An Insider's View of Mormon Origins A work by author: Grant PalmerUse of Sources
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| Note: This is a review of claims and/or responses to misrepresentations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints found in this work. The inclusion of an author's work here does not imply that he or she is "anti-Mormon," or that none of his or her works have value. Those who do not wish to examine the claims contained in what some would consider an "anti-Mormon" work are advised to proceed no further. |
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Source Analysis, Sorted by Page Number
48
Source interpretation
The author claims that Joseph copied the story of Lamoni from the story of Lazarus in the Bible.
Author's source(s)
- No citations are provided.
Source Analysis
- It sounds as if the author has done some serious research here, and no source is cited for this data. It seems evident, however, that the author's research involved simply reading Jerald and Sandra Tanner's analysis (and corresponding use of italicization and ellipses) of the verses which he compares. This article shows a detailed comparison of the author's work with the Tanner's analysis.
- For a detailed response, see: To copy or not to copy?
83
Source interpretation
The book makes the following claim:
Oliver was Joseph's main scribe day after day and perhaps the only one who really knew if a Bible was consulted. Oliver is silent on the matter. In fact, a Bible would have been needed only when quoting long passages; so again, Cowdery may be the only witness who knew about this, and he neglected to mention it. (emphasis added)
Author's source(s)
No source provided.
Source Analysis
- Incredibly, in his zeal to provide supporting evidence for his theory that Joseph Smith consulted a King James Bible during the translation of the Book of Mormon, the author attempts to make Oliver Cowdery a "silent witness" for the prosecution by implying that he neglected to mention it!
- For a detailed response, see: The silent witness?
148-149
Source interpretation
In an attempt to show that the story The Golden Pot served as inspiration to Joseph Smith to make up a story about translating the gold plates, the author inserts the word in brackets into a quote taken from the book: " These he [Lindhorst] wishes to have copied [and translated] properly..."
Author's source(s)
- The Golden Pot
Source Analysis
- In his attempt to show a correlation between a passage from The Golden Pot and the story of the translation of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith, the author actually creates the correlation himself" by adding the words "and translated" to a phrase about copying manuscripts.
- For a detailed response, see: "Copying" becomes "translation"
179
Source interpretation
The author claims that Oliver Cowdery was a treasure hunter and "rodsman" prior to meeting Joseph Smith by claiming an association of Oliver's father with a local group of "rodsmen."
Author's source(s)
- Barnes Frisbie, The History of Middletown, Vermont (Rutland, VT:Tuttle and Co., 1867),43-64; rptd. in Abby Maria Hemenway, ed., Vermont Historical Gazetteer (Claremont, NH: Claremont Manufacturing Co., 1877),3:810-19 quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 1:599-621.
Source Analysis
- The author's source actually states, "Yet, there is no evidence which directly attributes Cowdery's rod to his father."
- For a detailed response, see: The use of the rod
195
Source interpretation
The book makes the following claim:
Far removed from our own modern empiricism, the world view of the witnesses is difficult for us to grasp. The gold plates they saw and handled disappeared when placed on Cumorah's ground.[54] The witnesses believed that a toad hiding in the stone box became an apparition that struck Joseph on the head.[55] (emphasis added)
Author's source(s)
- Dean C. Jessee, ed., "Joseph Knight's Recollection of Early Mormon History," BYU Studies 17 (Autumn 1976): 30-31
- Lucy Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 83-88
- Affidavit of Willard Chase, in Howe, Mormonism Unvailed, 242 quoted in Vogel, Early Mormon Documents, 2:67.
Source Analysis
- We know of the three and eight witnesses of the gold plates. The problem here is that the author has created an entire new class of "witnesses" based upon third-hand accounts.
- For a detailed response, see: Redefining the "witnesses"
