A short history, journal of the book of mormon and. A book of mormon reevaluation brian curtis roberts brigham young university provo follow this and additional works at. A short history, journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 21, no. Another conceptualization defines it as the linguistic discipline that uses statistical analysis to literature by evaluating the authors style through various quantitative. In order to help shed light on this issue, several studies have relied upon a type of analysis called stylometry.
Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of. Having first been developed in the 1850s, stylometry seeks to find the wordprint of a text. Multiple isaiah theory and stylometry search isaiah. Stylometric comparisons with the late war uncovered the presence of many many short phrases in the book of mormon that are nearly unique to early 19 th century pseudobiblical writings. Book of mormon stylometry three voice hypothesis l. The book of mormon is written in pseudobiblical, 19 th century language.
Three different types of wordprints or stylometry were used in examining the authors of the book of mormon. The main assumption underlying stylometry is that an author. Using computers for statistical analysis, they produced a wordprint like a fingerprint not only for book of mormon authors but for the pauline epistles and the book of isaiah, which helps to solve the multiple isaiah theory problem. Thats terribly unsurprising, but truly interesting. This first article explains what stylometry is and gives readers a short history of stylometric studies performed on the book of mormon. Stylometry defined stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying. What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Bruce schaalje journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 211 2012. The initial book of mormon wordprint studies were carried out by larsen, rencher, and layton. Is the book of mormon like other ancient metal documents.
In another post, there was a challenge to explain away a number of evidences of the book of mormon. Apr 10, 2018 at a book of mormon conference in provo last saturday, matt roper and paul fields set out to do just that. These statistical results provide striking support for the book of mormon s own claims about its authorship. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is true. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. The abundance of skeptical theories about who wrote the book of mormon has led many scholars to seek scientific data to discover the answer. Wordprint studies on the book of mormon book of mormon. As a side note, we mention another book of mormon stylometry study reported in 1984 by psychiatrist ernest h. He assumes that these books are written completely by the authors specifically named, despite the fact that in the book of mormon prophets.
These statistical results provide striking support for the book of mormons own claims about its authorship. In his book of mormon study taves used wordpattern ratios similar to the hilton study but concluded that the texts provide no evidence. In reexploring the book of mormon, edited by john w. Part of themormon studies commons, and therhetoric and composition commons this thesis is brought to you for free and open access by byu scholarsarchive. But in this presentation, they chose to compare two novels each from jane austin, charles dickens, james fennimore cooper, mark twain with the book of mormon. The book of mormon three voice hypothesis is that the book of mormon has three distinct voices. This blog post is long 3000 words, 28 images, and it is a quick, poor, and short summary of stylometry. Stylometry is a method of statistical analysis used to determine authorship of various texts. Book of mormon central, is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture. Ive read a number of the wordprint studies, so i responded to it. Joseph smith, the times and seasons, and central american ruins.
Bruce schaalje, stylometric analyses of the book of mormon. It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormons internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best. It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormons internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best stylometric evidence. Ive not included one masters thesis that i was shown. Stylometry is the application of the study of linguistic style, usually to written language, but it has successfully been applied to music and to fineart paintings as well. This study of this is called analyzing word patterns, wordprinting or stylometry. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Rencher, and tim layton published the first complete analysis of the book of mormon using the then adolescent tool of computerized stylometry, or wordprinting. In order to fabricate the book of mormon, joseph smith would have needed the ability to create distinct fictional voices, and a talent beyond some of the greatest novelists of his time charles dickens, jane austen, mark twain, and james fenimore cooper. Book of mormon wordprint analysis three voice hypothesis.
Using stylometry, scholars have compared the writings of joseph smith, oliver cowdery, and other contemporaries to the authors in the book of mormon. This form of stylometric analysis, called authorship attribution analysis, is what we used to solve the mormon book case. Senior missionary explains book of mormon wordprint analysis. Jan 16, 2015 as a very brief summary, the urantia book is claimed to have come from divine beings that dictated their messages through a human mouthpiece. In the past, roper and fields had used stylometry to show a. The focus is placed on reexamining a wordprint study done by wayne larsen and alvin rencher wherein the book of mormon was analyzed against texts by. First, skousen makes it very clear that the book of mormon is not an early modern english text. Since the book of mormon is a translation, with all its faults, into english for englishspeaking people whose fathers for generations had known no other scriptures but the standard english bible, it would be both pointless and confusing to present the scriptures to them in any other form, so far as their teachings were correct. This is the fourth in a series of posts looking at stylometry in the book of mormon. Im looking for fact based evidence either for or against the book of mormon. Jul 08, 2019 a number of scientific tests have been devised to examine the authenticity of the book of mormon. They compared twentyfour book of mormon authors each having at least 1,000 words to each other, and concluded on the basis of three separate statistical tests that these authors were distinct from each other and oliver cowdery, joseph smith, jr. Jan 18, 2016 measuring style in the book of mormon this blog post is long 3000 words, 28 images, and it is a quick, poor, and short summary of stylometry relevant to the book of mormon.
It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormon s internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best. Joseph smiths translation of the book of mormon was a literal translation. It has been used to analyze disputed works of shakespeare, contrast. How have critics responded to the stylometry study done at byu that concluded the book of mormon selections they did not resemble any suggested 19th century authors, including joseph smith.
Among those evidences was a reference to wordprints. He supports this by explaining that when he and stan carmack sat down and read early modern english texts, they kept having to look up words. Book of mormon and stylometry why the lds church is true. Wordprinting, or stylometry as it is more commonly known, is the science of measuring literary style. Stylometry defined stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying worduse patterns. Nov 21, 2016 this is the fourth in a series of posts looking at stylometry in the book of mormon. Wordprints and the book of mormon hilton, john l wordprints and the book of mormon. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. Ive left out some topics that were only covered with words. Come, follow me book of mormon lesson 11 the interpreter. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. For the lord god hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.
Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the book of mormon. Apr 23, 2018 matt roper and paul fields intrigued us with their stylometry study. They intrigued the audience with a new study of book of mormon authorship using stylometry showing a wide variety of authors in the book. Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational faiths. The smoking gun of book of mormon geography book of mormon. Feb 20, 2018 for the lord god hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian.
Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of. Mormon did not paraphrase, he quoted directly from the records he had in his possession. This paper contributes to this questioning of the origins of the. Joseph smith, the times and seasons, and central american. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 22, no. These patterns are typically unconscious to the author and are not easily altered.
This post will define the l voice of the book of mormon three voice hypothesis, based on computer wordprint analysis of bom text. Two tests which deal with writing styles have produced some largely ignored results which our critics cannot explain. No single individual, modern or ancient, could have written the book of mormon. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the book of mormon. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts. Theres no way that you can emulate the wordprint of another individual. Robertss study which was published posthumously in 1985 as studies of the book of mormon. For an overview of this field of study, see michael p.
The evidence for emoe in the book of mormon is interesting, but there are a few caveats. Arnold friberg, who painted that image of samuel the lamanite and eleven other paintings in the famous series on book of mormon events, specifically set his paintings in central america. An improved treatment of this topic can be found in my posts at. If the book of mormon was written by ancient authors, we should be able to see distinct writing styles among each different author. Despite joseph smiths declaration that the book of mormon is the most correct book, the book of mormon actually apologizes for being poorly written, yet practically in the same sentence, brazenly condemns all who refuse to believe it. In the past, roper and fields had used stylometry to show a consistency of authorship in isaiah and the pauline epistles. If you know where i could find it, please post a link in the comments. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. Stylometry an exploration of the academic field of stylometry as it applies to book of mormon authorship. Oct 11, 2019 if that is what you pictured, you are experiencing the influence of this man the smoking gun of book of mormon geography. Jan 16, 2018 what can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Stylometric analysis is based on the fundamental premise that authors write with distinctive, repeated patterns of word use.
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