Joseph Smith and Book of Mormon copyright

From FAIRMormon

Contents 1 Criticism 2 Response 3 Conclusion 4 Further reading 4.1 FAIR wiki articles 4.2 FAIR web site 4.3 External links 4.4 Printed material

Criticism

Critics charge that Joseph Smith slipped up by listing himself as the "author and proprietor" of the Book of Mormon on the title page of the first edition.

Response

Copyright law in 1830 in New York, where the Book of Mormon was first published, provided for the granting of copyrights to "authors and proprietors" but did not offer the same to translators. In order to secure the copyright, Joseph had to apply as the "author and proprietor." The first edition of the Book of Mormon contained a transcript of the secured copyright making this clear:

Northern District of New York, to wit:

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the eleventh day of June, in the fifty-third year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1829, JOSEPH SMITH, JUN., of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a Book, the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit: "The Book of Mormon: an account written by the hand of Mormon, upon plates taken from the Plates of Nephi. Wherefore it is an abridgment of the Record of the People of Nephi; and also of the Lamanites; written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the House of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of Prophesy and of Revelation. Written, and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed; to come forth by the gift and power of God, unto the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God; an abridgment taken from the Book of Ether. Also, which is a Record of the People of Jared, which were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to Heaven: which is to shew unto the remnant of the House of Israel, how great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever: and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile, that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations. And now if there be fault, it be the mistake of men; wherefore condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ.—By Joseph Smith. Jun. Author and Proprietor."

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned;" and also the act, entitled, "An act supplementary to an act, entitled, "An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints."

R. R. LANSING

Clerk of the Northern District of New York

Notice in the first paragraph of the copyright form above that even though Joseph Smith legally claimed his right as "author" he still inserted information making it clear that the text originated from an ancient, pre-written "abridgment" that came forth to the modern world "by the gift and power of God" and through an act of "interpretation" or translation.

It should also be pointed out that in the Preface of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon the Prophet Joseph Smith designated himself as the "Author" but also indicated no less than six times that he was the translator of the text. Likewise, it can be seen in the 1830 testimony of the Eight Witnesses that Joseph Smith is called the "Author and Proprietor of this work" but it is also said that he "translated" the golden plates in order to obtain the text of the Book of Mormon.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, critics would be angry with Joseph Smith if he were to apply for the copyright and assign "God" or "the angel Moroni" as the "author and proprietor". This complaint is not a serious issue, but merely an effort to find fault. Critics would do better engaging the text of the Book of Mormon, which Joseph always insisted was not his production, but a translation performed "by the gift and power of God."

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

• Did Joseph Smith attempt to sell the Book of Mormon copyright?

Book of Mormon authorship theories

• Authorship theories (Summary page)
  • Automatic writing
  • Epilepsy
  • Joseph Smith as "author and proprietor"
  • Joseph Smith, Sr.'s dream and Lehi's vision
  • Seer stones, use of
  • Wordprint studies

Book of Mormon plagiarism accusations—wiki articles

• Plagiarism accusations (Summary page)
  • Apocrypha
  • The King James Bible
  • The Golden Pot
  • The Westminster Confession
  • The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed by Josiah Priest
  • The Spalding manuscript
    • Vernal Holley (1983) geography
  • View of the Hebrews
  • North American place names
  • The Comoros Islands and Moroni

FAIR web site

FAIR Authorship links

• FAIR Topical Guide: Authorship and Evidences FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Environmental Influences FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: New World Context FAIR link
  
• FAIR Topical Guide: Old World Context FAIR link
  
• Daniel C. Peterson, "The Divine Source of the Book of Mormon in the Face of Alternative Theories Advocated by LDS Critics" FAIR link
• Daniel C. Peterson, "The Protean Joseph Smith" FAIR link

External links

Book of Mormon authorship general links

• Philip A. Allred, "Alma's Use of State in the Book of Mormon: Evidence of Multiple Authorship," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/1 (1996): 140–146. off-site PDF link wiki
• Richard Lloyd Anderson, "The Modern-Text Theory (Review of "A Rhetorical Approach to the Book of Mormon: Rediscovering Nephite Sacramental Language" by Mark D. Thomas," FARMS Review of Books 6/1 (1994): 379–419. off-site PDF link
• Kevin L. Barney, "A More Responsible Critique (Review of: Does the Book of Mormon Reflect an Ancient Near Eastern Boackground?)," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 97–146. off-site PDF link
• Kevin Christensen, "Truth and Method: Reflections on Dan Vogel’s Approach to the Book of Mormon (Review of: Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon)," FARMS Review 16/1 (2004): 287–354. off-site PDF link
• James E. Faulconer, "Takayama: Restoration Revelation as Poetry rather than Fraud," FARMS Review of Books 13/1 (2001): 127–132. off-site PDF link
• Alan Goff, "Dan Vogel's Family Romance and the Book of Mormon as Smith Family Allegory (Review of: Joseph Smith: The Making of a Prophet)," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 321–400. off-site PDF link
• Garth L. Mangum, "The Economics of the Book of Mormon: Joseph Smith as Translator or Commentator," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 2/2 (1993): 78–89. off-site PDF link wiki
• Larry E. Morris, "'I Should Have an Eye Single to the Glory of God’: Joseph Smith’s Account of the Angel and the Plates (Review of: "From Captain Kidd’s Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism")," FARMS Review 17/1 (2005): 11–82. off-site PDF link
• L. Ara Norwood, "Review of Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon by David Persuitte," FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): 187–204. off-site
• Gary F. Novak, "Examining the Environmental Explanation of the Book of Mormon (Review of Joseph Smith's Response to Skepticism by Robert N. Hullinger)," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 139–154. off-site PDF link
• Daniel C. Peterson, "Editor's Introduction—Not So Easily Dismissed: Some Facts for Which Counterexplanations of the Book of Mormon Will Need to Account," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): xi–lxix. off-site PDF link
• Noel B. Reynolds, "The Book of Mormon Today (Review of By the Hand of Mormon)," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 5–17. off-site PDF link
• Stephen D. Ricks, "Testaments: The Literary Riches of the Book of Mormon (Review of: Testaments: Links Between the Book of Mormon and the Hebrew Bible)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 55–58. off-site PDF link
• Matthew Roper, "The Mythical "Manuscript Found" (Review of: Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Spalding Enigma)," FARMS Review 17/2 (2005): 7–140. off-site PDF link
• Sidney B. Sperry, "Literary Problems in the Book of Mormon involving 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and Other New Testament Books," farms.byu.edu off-site
• John L. Sorenson, "A Rare Gem (Review of By the Hand of Mormon)," FARMS Review 15/1 (2003): 15–17. off-site PDF link
• John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, "Joseph Smith's Use of the Apocrypha: Shadow or Reality? (Review of Joseph Smith's Use of the Apocrypha by Jerald and Sandra Tanner)," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 326–372. off-site PDF link
• Richard N. Williams, "The Spirit of Prophecy and the Spirit of Psychiatry: Restoration or Dissociation? (Review of The Sword of Laban: Joseph Smith Jr. and the Dissociated Mind)," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 435–444. off-site PDF link

Printed material

• John W. Welch, "Joseph Smith: Author and Proprietor," in John W. Welch, Reexploring the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Co. ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 154–156. ISBN 0875796001. GospeLink

Book of Mormon authorship general printed works

• Louis Midgley, "Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? The Critics and Their Theories," Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, (Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997), 101–139 ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GospeLink
• John W. Welch, "Joseph Smith: Author and Proprietor," in Reexploring the Book of Mormon, edited by John W. Welch, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1992), 154–156. ISBN 0875796001 off-site FAIR link GospeLink GL direct link