Book of Mormon Bibliography
Alphabetical by Title

A hundred years ago, the Book of Mormon was regarded by the scholarly world as an odd text that simply did not fit their understanding of the ancient world. Since that time, however, numerous ancient records have come to light, including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi texts. These discoveries have forced scholars to change their views of history, and they place the Book of Mormon in a new light as well. That is why respected Latter-day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley wrote Since Cumorah, a brilliant literary, theological, and historical evaluation of the Book of Mormon as an ancient book.

In this work the Book of Mormon is seen in a new perspective; we see it in a world setting, not in a mere local one. It takes its place naturally alongside the Bible and other great works of antiquity and becomes one of them.

On the basis of its involved structure, the author argues that the Book of Mormon is a translation of an ancient document and not a modern composition.

Thomas employs form criticism to identify the original historic core of Joseph Smith’s 1823 vision of the angel Moroni. To do this, he examines some details of the vision including Moroni’s citation of Malachi 3 and 4. He also examined some historical traditions preceding the 1823 vision including magic/money digging, 19th-century visionaries, a tradition of buried books, etc. He determined that ’no historical anachronisms exist in the original core narratives.’ He reasons that Joseph Smith ’very likely had an actual vision on the night of 21-22 September 1823.’ He then discusses what it meant in the 19th century to have a vision. From this analysis he concludes the essay with a description of the core elements of what can rationally be presumed to have happened during Joseph Smith’s 1823 vision.

This article explains the different writings that comprise the plates given to Joseph Smith. They include: (1) Mormon’s abridgment, (2) the small plates, (3) the plates (abridgment) of Mormon, and (4) the sealed plates.

Believes that the formula for understanding spiritual truth is found in Moroni 10:4-5, “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” Some of the best tools to lind spiritual truth are desire, sincerity, faith, pure living, and communication with God.

The FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 1), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, contains reviews of a FARMS publication titled Uncovering the Original Text of the Book of Mormon: History and Findings of the Critical Text Project, Terryl L. Givens’s study of the Book of Mormon titled By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion (published by Oxford University Press), three books on the Book of Abraham, and an evangelical critique titled The New Mormon Challenge, initially treated in the last Review. The FARMS Review (formerly FARMS Review of Books) also includes a study of what was known about chiasmus at the time the Book of Mormon was produced. Beginning with this issue is a section called “Book Notes,” in which brief descriptions of recent books will be given. Available in late April.

The FARMS Review (vol. 15, no. 2), edited by Daniel C. Peterson, features reviews and articles on DNA issues, the Mountain Meadows massacre, and secret combinations, as well as responses to a so-called insider’s view of Mormon origins. Available February 2004.

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon, Part 1,by Royal Skousen, is the first part of volume 4 of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. Covering the title page through 2 Nephi 10, it analyzes every significant variant in the original and printer’s manuscripts and in 20 important editions of the Book of Mormon (from the 1830 edition to the 1981 edition). The task of this volume is to use the earliest textual sources and patterns of systematic usage to recover the original English-language text. Available August 2004.

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies(vol. 13, nos. 1–2), edited by S. Kent Brown, is a special double issue devoted to the Hill Cumorah. Studies include the geologic history and archaeology of the area, early accounts of a cave in the hill, the Hill Cumorah Pageant (its history, music, and costuming), Latter-day Saint poetry, the Hill Cumorah Monument, a linguistic analysis of the name Cumorah, and the earliest photographs of the hill. Available late fall 2004.

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies(vol. 13, nos. 1–2), edited by S. Kent Brown, is a special double issue devoted to the Hill Cumorah. Studies include the geologic history and archaeology of the area, early accounts of a cave in the hill, the Hill Cumorah Pageant (its history, music, and costuming), Latter-day Saint poetry, the Hill Cumorah Monument, a linguistic analysis of the name Cumorah, and the earliest photographs of the hill. Available December 2004.

No abstract available.

An ex- member and apostle in the RLDS church gives his own history. As he matured it became increasingly diflicult to believe in the Book of Mormon, since he found that Joseph Smith was a deceit and a fraud. Favors the Spaulding theory as the origin of the Book of Mormon.

Author dogmatically asserts that the Spaulding Manuscript was the source from whence the Book of Mormon sprang. He lists twenty-two “points of perfect identity” between the two books and dismisses the witnesses’ testimonies on the grounds that they only claimed to have seen with one “eye of faith”

All must experience and be found by the power of the truths contained in the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon is a fabrication that plagiarizes from the Bible. An evidence of failed prophecy is that so few Indians have accepted the book and joined the Mormon Church. According to the author, the Book of Mormon “has made no valuable contribution to the knowledge of religion. It is a cunningly devised fable that requires ignorance, credulity, and superstition in order that one may believe in it”

Abstract: The famous Petros/petra wordplay in Matthew 16:18 does not constitute Jesus’s identification of Peter as the “rock” upon which his church would be built. This wordplay does however identify him with that “rock” or “bedrock” inasmuch as Peter, a small “seer-stone,” had the potential to become like the Savior himself, “the Rock of ages.” One aspect of that “rock” is the revelation that comes through faith that Jesus is the Christ. Other aspects of that same rock are the other principles and ordinances of the gospel, including temple ordinances. The temple, a symbol of the Savior and his body, is a symbol of the eternal family—the “sure house” built upon a rock. As such, the temple is the perfect embodiment of Peter’s labor in the priesthood, against which hell will not prevail.

A work that attempts to understand the psychological and environmental factors that influenced Joseph Smith, his early visions, and the Book of Mormon. Chapter 4 and 5 introduce possible sources behind the Book of Mormon such as Joseph Smith, Sr.’s dream of the tree of life, Ethan Smith’s View of the Hebrews, Elias Boudinot, Josiah Priest, the Westminster Confession, popular contemporary religious ideas, and others. Appendix II discusses the possibility that Joseph Smith was an epileptic, which would presumably explain his visions. Appendix III contains a discussion of the Spaulding-Rigdon theory and the author’s reasons for rejecting it in favor of a psychological explanation. [M. R.]

Deals with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, including angel Moroni’s visit to Joseph Smith, the obtaining of the gold plates, the book’s translation and publication, and the witnesses to the book and their testimonies.

The four faces of pride are the wearing of costly apparel (which may have reference to conspicuous consumption in our day), class distinctions, contention, and anti-enemy attitudes. Those who possess an anti-enemy posture may have no time for the pro-kingdom of God. Pride can be overcome by humility.

A Masters of Arts thesis that presents the process of producing the paintings of “Coriantumr resting upon his sword before slaying Shiz” (Ether 15:30), “An angel of the Lord appearing before Laman and Lemuel” (1 Nephi 3:28), “The Vision of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah” (Mosiah 27:11), and “Christ calling Nephi from among the multitude” (3 Nephi 11:18).

Many native tribes in the Western Hemisphere preserve oral traditions about the ancient appearance of a white god who came down from heaven to instruct and organize his people. Some of the most interesting versions of this tradition come from Peru, where this legendary deity is known by different names. A number of Spaniards, attempting to preserve the history and traditions of the conquered Incan empire, wrote accounts of this white god that they gathered from the wisemen and noblemen of the Incas. Synthesizing elements from various Peruvian versions of the story, an interesting portrait of the white god emerges—one that correlates rather closely with the account of the resurrected Christ to America as recorded in the Book of Mormon.

Chronicles recorded shortly after the Spaniards reached South America describe Peruvian legends of a great white god. Author parallels four prominent versions of the white god legend with the account of Christ’s visit to the Nephites shortly after his resurrection.

Proposes a location for the river Sidon and a quadrant system location of the land northward, southward, and eastward. The quadrant system is based on the idea that “the river Sidon divided the east from the west” and “the border between the Nephites and the Lamanites divided the north from the south”

Provides a chart reviewing the different editions of the Book of Mormon and their dates, an outline of the Book of Mormon, and a parallel outline of the Book of Mormon and the Bible, presenting a “bird’s eye view”

Contains 1700 study questions with answers, thirty charts, maps, and illustrations, and a summary of the contents of the Book of Mormon.

In the Old Testament there is a four-part pattern used by prophets in prophesying: “(1) identification of sin, (2) need for repentance, (3) judgment of God (if people do not repent), and (4) future in Christ” The article shows how Samuel the Lamanite, Alma, Lehi, and Abinadi followed this pattern.

A chart based on world and religio-historical events. Includes events and prophets from the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price.

A polemical work against Mormonism and the Book of Mormon. The author notes several examples of what he terms anachronisms and absurdities in the book, such as the use of a compass, animals, pre-Christian knowledge of New Testament events, modern terms and phrases, lack of archaeological evidence, and Jaredite barges. The author considers it ridiculous that the Book of Mormon does not agree with the prevalent belief of biblical scholars that certain passages of Isaiah belong to the post-exilic period.

Lists fourteen objectives with scriptural references for reading the Book of Mormon. Objective examples include: records and plates, prophecy yet to be fulfilled, and Christ’s ministry among the Nephites.

4 Nephi narrates four generations of peace, a time when there could not have been a happier people (4 Nephi 1:16). It also foreshadows the later destruction of the Nephites following their gradual rejection of the gospel.

“As the final installment in the book of Mormon Symposium series, this volume examines the last four books of the Nephite record : 4 Nephi, Mormon, Ether, and Moroni. Perhaps more than any other part in the Book of Mormon, this section powerfully portrays the cycle through which the ancient inhabitants of America passed many times-the cycle that took them from righteousness to wickedness, from Zion to destruction. Twenty-five contributors here explore the details of this tragic cycle-as it occurred in both the Nephite and the Jaredite civilizations-and also discuss many related doctrinal and historical issues. Realizing the Book of Mormon’s relevance to our day, the writers further take the opportunity to point out the many modern applications.” [Publisher]

An exposé of Mormonism. The Book of Mormon plagiarizes the Bible. Its dull style makes it, for the author, a itting sleep medicine.

Although the Book of Mormon does not contain definitive statements regarding ethical and social precepts, it does contain useful teachings regarding ethics, including statements on joy, the criteria and sanction of the good, freedom of the will, and guidelines for social problems.

Robert Espinosa was approached by Royal Skousen in 1991 with a request for him to join Skousen on the critical text project of the Book of Mormon. Espinosa shares his experience working with Skousen and the developments that they were able to make. After meeting with the owners of some fragments of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, Espinosa and Skousen were able to conserve, examine, and photograph the fragments. They also carefully analyzed the physical characteristics of the printer’s manuscript.

Explains the Book of Mormon from several angles. Quotes liberally from Robert B. Downs who wrote Books That Changed America. Downs says: “Throughout the history of Mormonism, the Church’s most powerful and effective weapon has been the Book of Mormon. . . . The possession of their own scriptures . . . has proved to be the Mormons’ greatest missionary tract” Hogan presents an outline summary of the narrative of the Book of Mormon and a summary of its theological teachings, and he concludes by discussing the importance of being creative in interpreting symbolism in ancient scripture. [B.D.]

Originally presented as a talk given in the 1980s at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.
Captain Moroni was a man of peace. This chapteranalyzes war, government, management, the political tactics and strategies of Amalickiah, and the constant struggle between those who follow the ways of righteousness and those who promote wicked political agendas. Includes notes about similar political problems in ancient Mesoamerican societies.

Reprinted in The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley vol. 8.
Captain Moroni was a man of peace. This talk analyzes war, government, management, the political tactics and strategies of Amalickiah, and the constant struggle between those who follow the ways of righteousness and those who promote wicked political agendas. Includes notes about similar political problems in ancient Mesoamerican societies.

A challenge was issued in Paris, France, for members to read the Book of Mormon and then send their testimonies to James D. Fife. Over 100 people accepted the challenge.

Angel Brea explains how much the Church in South America is growing and attributes this growth to the Book of Mormon. He tells about children in South America reading the Book of Mormon and the importance of doing so.

The term friend is often used to express a covenantal agreement between two individuals. Such was the case between Zoram and Nephi (2 Nephi 1:55, RLDS versification). Other examples include Isaiah 41:8, 2 Chronicles 20:7, and Zechariah 13:6.

The term friend is often used to express a covenantal agreement between two individuals. Such was the case between Zoram and Nephi (2 Nephi 1:55, RLDS versification). Other examples include Isaiah 41:8, 2 Chronicles 20:7, and Zechariah 13:6.

A polemical work against Mormonism. The author makes much of the Book of Mormon’s condemnation of polygamy.

This book conveys in narrative form the journeys of the Book of Mormon people, beginning with the Jaredites and concluding with Moroni. Provides a chronological sequence of events contained in the sacred record.

An admonishment to read the Book of Mormon “in recognition of the centennial,” or one hundred years since the plates were received by Joseph Smith. An intense study of the scriptures will refine, strengthen, and purify all those who will participate.

Tells the story of the Book of Mormon in an epic poem.

Although both members and academics alike often think of this story as well known, recent insights and discoveries associated with the efforts by the Church History Department to publish The Joseph Smith Papers have provided a fuller, richer understanding of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. This book was written to provide a detailed explanation of how Joseph Smith and the scribes who served with him described the process of translating the gold plates and the difficulties encountered as they sought to publish the completed book. ISBN 978-0-8425-2888-7

This book provides a detailed description of the process by which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. Drawing from firsthand accounts of Joseph himself and the scribes who served with him, From Darkness unto Light explores the difficulties encountered in bringing forth this book of inspired scripture. Recent insights and discoveries from the Joseph Smith Papers project have provided a fuller, richer understanding of the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. This book helps readers understand that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was a miracle. Faith and belief are necessary ingredients for one to come to know that Joseph Smith performed the work of a seer in bringing the sacred words of the Book of Mormon from darkness unto light.

This essay analyzes examples of poetry in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon that do not conform to the standards to which prose is typically confined. Each of these poems contains a syntactic device that scholars have come to identify by the term enallage (Greek for “interchange”). Rather than being a case of textual corruption or blatant error, the grammatical variance attested in these passages provides a poetic articulation of a progression from distance to proximity.

The author relates her philosophical journey from transcendentalism to existentialism to Mormonism and explains how her studies of Emerson and modern poets prepared her for her conversion.

While recognizing the importance of that “marvelous work,” the Book of Mormon, are we content to read and reread it for its story line and its inherent spiritual power, without much more than a surface involvement? In this publication a reader can enjoy that scripture at higher levels of understanding as he brings into play Old Testament references, Book of Mormon parallels with that record, intriguing observations, and convincing inferences—all based on profound study. The result is not only a book of great interest but also a more sound and more expansive knowledge of the scripture itself. ISBN 1-5700-8650-9

An illustrated children’s story of the Book of Mormon; includes one picture per book.

Former members of the “Mormon” Church give reasons for denouncing the LDS church and joining the RLDS church. The Book of Mormon is a second witness for Christ, it states that all are the children of God regardless of race or color. The authors condemn the practice of discrimination against people of color as well as the practice of polygamy, which is also condemned by the Book of Mormon.

Dead Sea Scrolls Reader, edited by Donald W. Parry and Emanuel Tov, presents all of the nonbiblical Qumran texts along with English translations. Published by Brill Academic Publishers of the Netherlands, this six-part edition of the nonbiblical scroll fragments is an outgrowth of the FARMS Dead Sea Scrolls database. Parts 1 (religious law), 2 (exegetical texts), and 4 (calendrical and sapiental texts) are available now; parts 3 (parabiblical texts), 5 (poetic and liturgical texts), and 6 (additional genres and unclassified texts) will be available in spring 2004.

The book is divided into three parts, two of which contain a discussion of the Book of Mormon. Features a revised and enlarged edition of the author’s Book Unsealed (1892) reviews eleven works written against Mormonism, and examines six United States school histories and four encyclopedias that deal with Mormonism.

An illustrated story book for children, provides a narrative of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

This paper explores several relationships between the texts in Moroni 2–6 and the words and deeds of Jesus in 3 Nephi 18. The opening chapters of Moroni contain the words that Jesus Christ spoke to the twelve when he ordained them to the high priesthood, the words used by the Nephites in administering the sacrament, and also a few words by Moroni about baptism, church membership, congregational worship, and ecclesiastical discipline. This study demonstrates that these instructions and procedures were rooted in the words and deeds of the resurrected Jesus in 3 Nephi 18 as he administered the sacrament, gave instructions to his disciples, and conferred upon the twelve the power to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. Thus, one can appreciate the extent to which Nephite ecclesiastical procedures were based directly on the Savior’s instructions and ministry. Those practices, essential to the restored gospel, came from that divine source.

A series: extracts from the pages of the Book of Mormon prior to publication of the book.

Gunderson argues that “within a significantly brief span of time, Joseph Smith Jr. first produced, proclaimed, and then effectively dismissed the Book of Mormon as the source of authoritative religious doctrine.” He never denied the Book of Mormon, but “he simply stopped using it.” He contends that Joseph Smith “rightly discerned that the Book of Mormon was brought forth by the gift and power of God.” However in his later career, Joseph sometimes tried to press this gift of prophecy “into the service of his own agenda.” When he did that he “became increasingly fallible and Joseph was increasingly left to his own devices and imagination.”

Abstract: The 1985 publication of John L. Sorenson’s An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon presented the best argument for a New World location for the Book of Mormon. For all of its strengths, however, one aspect of the model has remained perplexing. It appeared that in order to accept that correlation one must accept that the Nephites rotated north to what we typically understand as northwest. The internal connections between text and geography were tighter than any previous correlation, and the connections between that particular geography and the history of the peoples who lived in that place during Book of Mormon times was also impressive. There was just that little problem of north not being north. This paper reexamines the Book of Mormon directional terms and interprets them against the cultural system that was prevalent in the area defined by Sorenson’s geographical correlation. The result is a way to understand Book of Mormon directions without requiring any skewing of magnetic north.

A letter from John Green reporting the activities of the mission in New Jersey. The elders had borne testimony concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

Abstract: Jonathan Neville, an advocate of the “Heartland” geography setting for the Book of Mormon, claims to have identified a novel chiastic structure that begins in Alma 22:27. Neville argues that this chiasmus allows the reconstruction of a geography that stretches south to the Gulf of Mexico in the continental United States. One expert, Donald W. Parry, doubts the existence of a fine-tuned chiasmus in this verse. An analysis which assumes the presence of the chiasmus demonstrates that multiple internal difficulties result from such a reading. Neville’s reading requires two different “sea west” bodies of water: one “sea west” placed at the extreme north of the map and a second sea to the west of Lamanite lands, but neither is to the west of the Nephites’ land of Zarahemla. Neville’s own ideas also fail to meet the standards he demands of those who differ with him. These problems, when combined with other Book of Mormon textual evidence, make the geography based upon Neville’s reading of the putative chiasmus unviable.

Speaks concerning the Jaredites and the Lehites, with emphasis on the Tower of Babel and the dispersion. Claims that the Hill Cumorah is located in the state of Morelos in Mexico.

This department gives news updates on various topics related to Book of Mormon studies: evidence of Chinese voyagers in Mexico, publicity on an ancient skull of a Caucasian male discovered in Washington, excavation of an ancient basilica in Jordan, Egyptian figurines from El Salvador shown to be fakes, and the establishment of a new journal, Pre-Columbiana: A Journal of Long-distance Contacts.

Argues that Nephi made two sets of plates and that Mormon made references to both sets while compiling the Book of Mormon.

A flyer with a collection of Book of Mormon claims and facts. It is a compilation of archaeologists indings, testimonies of the witnesses, the origin of the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon fulills Bible prophecy.