2002
Revised April 12, 2005

Sources and Further Reading

The internet is a good place to start if you want to check out anything I have claimed. My first recommendation is www.zarahemlacitylimits.com, where this present book is published online, along with many other excellent essays by a variety of writers. When I first encountered these issues, www.lds-mormon.com was indispensable, and is one of the best places to start. This excellent site covers all of the major issues, is quite accurate, and gives great links and references for further information. It was put up by someone who has gone through an experience similar to mine, not some evangelical trying to bring Mormons to Jesus. You can also find the complete text 1833 Book of Commandments (including a side by side comparison with the revelations as published in today's D&C), A View of the Hebrews, and the 1830 Book of Mormon on this site. Images of the Book of Abraham papyri and some of the manuscripts are available on the internet as well. While the internet is helpful, I prefer the better documented information in books. If you want to look further, check out the following books:

New Approaches to the Book of Mormon, edited by Brent Metcalfe (Signature Books, 1993). This is the most significant critical work on the Book of Mormon out there. You won't find it at Deseret Book because it's banned. The writers are primarily Mormon (or at least they were before being excommunicated for their writing). FARMS put out an almost 600 page rebuttal to this book, which is some indication of the impact they were afraid it would make. Metcalfe and Dan Vogel have recently come out with another volume of essays on the Book of Mormon, American Apocrypha (Signature Books, 2002), and Dan Vogel edited an earlier of volume of essays on the same theme called The Word of God. American Apocrypha contains David Wright's essay on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon that I quoted from, an essay on Lamanite genetics, the issue of the Three Witnesses, and much more.

In Sacred Loneliness, by Todd Compton (Signature Books, 1997). This award-winning book gives mini biographies of each of Joseph's wives, presenting just about all of the documentary evidence we have concerning their involvement in polygamy. It is a substantial contribution to our understanding of early polygamy.

Mormon America by Richard and Joan Ostling (Harper, 1999), reporters who have covered the church for decades. I found this book to be accurate and fair, and it will give you a good overall view of the strengths and weaknesses of the modern church, as well as many references for further study.

The Mormon Hierarchy volumes 1 (Origins of Power) and 2 (Extensions of Power), by Dr. D. Michael Quinn (Signature Books, 1997 and 1998), former BYU professor, excommunicated in part for his work in church history. (After his excommunication, Quinn later became openly homosexual. I am skeptical of claims that this was known at the time of his church court; Quinn had been married with children.) I think Quinn frequently goes too far in his conclusions, but he provides massive amounts of data and references (many of which though are currently under restricted access in the church archives). These books cover many of the changes in the revelations as Joseph's idea of the church developed, as well as many issues in the modern day church like Benson's conflicts with other general authorities. His Early Mormonism and the Magic World View (Signature Books, 1998) is also very informative, but like Quinn's other books sometimes goes too far beyond the evidence in its conclusions.

Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon, 2nd edition, by David Persuitte (McFarland & Co., 2000). This book has great documentation for Joseph's 1826 trial, and other circumstances concerning the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He gives an extensive comparison of the Book of Mormon with Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews, although I think he overstates his case for direct plagiarism. Evidence for literal copying from Ethan Smith is not so strong, but the parallels are so striking that it is difficult to argue that Joseph was not familiar with the ideas in the work. This comment also applies to other parallels Persuitte discusses, such as those in the Book of Abraham. I don't buy his portrayal of Joseph as a completely deliberate plotter; I think Joseph believed in himself more than Persuitte gives him credit for, especially in light of Joseph's later abilities as a religious leader.

Adventures of a Church Historian, the memoirs of former Church Historian Leonard Arrington (University of Illinois press, 1998) gives an insider's account of the fiasco with the professionalization of the church history department. Arrington though remained a faithful and respected member until his death in 1999, and President Hinckley attended his funeral.

Book of Mormon Studies, 2nd edition, edited by Brigham Madsen (Signature, 1992). These works of B.H. Roberts, edited by Brigham Madsen, show that almost all of the criticisms of the Book of Mormon I discussed above were known in the 1920's. B.H. Roberts struggled with these problems; after reading some of his later writings it is very hard to believe he retained a belief in the book's historicity, although he continued to affirm in public his testimony of the book.

Historian John Brooke's prizewinning The Refiners Fire: The Making of Mormon Cosmology (Cambridge University Press, 1994) is one of the best books on Mormon history by a non-Mormon historian. This book, which received one of the highest awards bestowed by professional historians, was panned as the worst book of the year by FARMS. It places Joseph Smith's theology in historical context, and provides an excellent discussion of the influence of Masonry and other theological trends on Joseph Smith's thinking. This book demonstrates a deep understanding of 19th century Mormon cosmology; Dr. Brooke's description matched my own doctrinal understanding which I gained through studying the teachings of Joseph Smith.

Books of primary documents are very helpful, such as The Papers of Joseph Smith, vols 1 and 2 (Jessee, ed.), Early Mormon Documents, vols. 1-5 (Vogel, ed.), The Words of Joseph Smith (Ehat and Cook, ed.) and sets of diaries by William Clayton, William McClellin, Eliza R Snow, etc.

Regarding archaeology, DNA, and other scientific issues, textbooks and papers written by professionals who are totally unconcerned with Mormonism amply verify the utter lack of evidence for Old World animals, crops, metallurgy and writing in the New World. These scientists don't spend much time, if any, thinking about the Book of Mormon and if someone found convincing evidence for steel in the ancient Americas this would be a tremendous accomplishment forcing a major reevaluation of ancient American history. On these issues Mormon apologists resort to the same tactics Creationists use when fighting evolution, such as exaggerating the uncertainty of the science and putting forth unverified or disproved claims as evidence. FARMS evidence for Book of Mormon era horses falls into the same class as Creationists' evidence for fossilized human footprints next to dinosaur tracks.

Contact me at palmitoylating@yahoo.com