In 1830 Joseph Smith presented the world with a novel called The Book of Mormon (BkM) that today bears the label of ‘Another Testament of Jesus Christ’. In the first printing he was listed as the author on the title page (see www.inephi.com/1.htm )1, but in later printings Smith changed his claim on the title page from author to translator. In those later printings Smith claimed to have actually translated golden plates upon which twenty-two recorded authors through fifteen separate books followed the lineage and chronicles of a man named Nephi, his father Lehi, and their descendents. The BkM is the alleged production from those golden plates. Was Smith the author, or was he the translator of golden plates?
This book will examine evidence from the Holy Bible and from within the BkM that will show the true author of the BkM must have been Joseph Smith himself.2 It will be discovered that not one of the alleged twenty-two authors within the book ever existed. If they did not exist they could not have penned the words found in the BkM. They who have never existed cannot tell the truth! Who then was Nephi’s author by proxy? Was it Joseph Smith?
The issue of who authored the BkM would be of little importance except for the plagiarized teachings within its pages that have been credited to Jesus Christ. Apparently Joseph Smith copied sections of the Holy Bible and inserted hundreds of verses into his story in whatever manner he chose to apply them. Readers of the BkM who do not realize this and have only limited knowledge of the Bible often accept the messages of the BkM as teachings from Jesus. The truth of the matter is that somebody other than the recorded authors within the pages of the Book of Mormon authored it. The real author plagiarized, altered, and inserted Bible verses into the story to suit his fancy while misinterpreting and misrepresenting many of those verses. The reader does not even get the privilege of reading the words of Jesus in the context that Jesus spoke them before the true author of the BkM interpreted and applied them according to their own understanding. They are not the true teachings of Jesus but apparently the adaptation of the teachings of Jesus by Joseph Smith concerning what he thought Jesus meant set into a fiction novel.
If Smith was the author of all fifteen books within the BkM as this book will seek to prove, then one must reject the altered teachings credited to Jesus within its pages and turn instead to the true record of Jesus’ teachings found in the Holy Bible. A wise person will build their spiritual house upon the true sayings of Jesus as he taught men to do:
“Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man, which built his house upon a rock:”3 (NOTE)4
Jesus made it clear that the human race will be judged by his spoken words:
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:
the word that
I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”5
This world will not be judged by Joseph Smith’s plagiarized altered version of Jesus’ words found in the BkM. People who have trusted their eternity to the words penned by Smith have been deceived. For this reason, the truth about who authored the BkM becomes critically important.
Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, took upon himself the punishment for the sins of men. Crucified on an old rugged cross outside the city of Jerusalem he bore the sins of men in his own body. His death as the sacrificial lamb was the ultimate consummation of God’s desire to satisfy God’s justice against rebellious men. God longed to shower his love upon humanity, but his justice had to be satisfied first. Jesus took the punishment in our place! All the sins of the whole world were imputed to his account and punished that day. Jesus’ sacrifice opened the door for any repentant sinner who desires to be reconciled with God. Jesus’ righteousness can now be imputed to the true believer’s account, which will make the believer acceptable in God’s presence. Where once condemnation before God was the only sentence available to men, now peace between God and men can be found because Jesus was punished in every man’s place. No greater love has ever been shown than his love for us. This is the central theme of God’s Holy Bible.
Because of the great love God has for men he has promised to preserve his Holy Word that men might discover the truths within its pages. God wants people to find him! God wants men and women to learn about his great love for them and how he manifested that love through the sacrifice Jesus endured on Calvary long ago! God desires to shed his grace upon every man who will repent and turn to Jesus asking for mercy. It was God’s love for humanity that gave us his Holy Bible, and it was his great love for men that promised to preserve his message until heaven and earth pass away. Heaven and earth have not passed away yet, and God is still faithfully preserving his Holy Word as he promised.
Some men like Joseph Smith do not believe that God has preserved the Bible. Because a small percentage of ancient Bible manuscripts have evidence of tampering they have decided that evil men changed every ancient script. They give no credit to the multitude of verses throughout the Bible that declare God’s intent to preserve his message. They refuse to consider that many Christian scribes feared God enough to copy his message exactly as they received it. In their opinion the original message is obsolete, and God apparently does not care what men do with it now.
Today there are thousands of copies of ancient manuscript available for consideration. Some are in different languages than the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. There exists such an abundance of ancient script that it is nearly impossible to give full consideration to all of them. The sheer numbers of pieces of evidence make the study mind-boggling. It is true that a small percentage has been tampered with, but not all! The majority of scribes who copied ancient Biblical text showed a deep reverence for God’s message. That same respect can be found today among a multitude of believers who would not change the slightest piece of Bible text. This author is in agreement with them. Men should let God speak through his Holy Word without dishonest men’s ideologies changing the message.
God has preserved enough ancient evidence to accurately determine his original message, yet some men refuse to believe it is possible. Their opinion seems to be that anybody has the right to translate the ancient manuscripts any way they like. Apparently, honesty is not a prerequisite for modern translators. This kind of thinking has led to a multitude of modern Bible versions that only cloud the message of God with suspicion and cause confusion that leads to unbelief. Joseph Smith even revised his own copy of the Bible. In Isaiah chapter twenty-nine he inserted himself into ancient prophecy. In this way he could claim to be the fulfillment of that ancient prophecy and deceive prospective converts. Smith must have decided that God no longer cared what happened to the message God originally gave. It is apparent that he did not believe God’s promises to protect his Holy Word. The same type of ideology had led Smith to author the BkM and try to pass it off as another testament of Jesus Christ.
God’s Holy Word addresses the final judgment of men who tamper with God’s written oracles. God’s message remains pure upon earth in spite of them. He has promised its preservation until heaven and earth pass away. Some may have tampered with God’s message like Joseph Smith did, but there have been a multitude of others who have feared God and worked hard to ensure the pure message of God endures for all future generations.
God’s Holy Bible still speaks clearly for those who will listen, and God is still calling men to repent of their sin and turn to Jesus. His selfless sacrifice satisfied God’s anger against men’s sin and paved the way for men to approach God through him. God’s grace is still available to all people who will put their faith in Jesus and follow him, and his message that declares God’s love for repentant sinners will endure until heaven and earth pass away. God Promised!
It is this author’s desire that all who read this book will turn to the true words of Jesus found in the Bible and find forgiveness of sins before it is too late. Call upon him while you still can! Jesus longs to be your Savior instead of your final judge:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”6
#1 An actual photograph of the original 1830 title page showing Smith's claim to authorship of The Book of Mormon (BkM) can be found in THE RESTORED CHURCH, Twelfth Edition, C 1961, William Edwin Berrett, (pub. Deseret Book Company, Deseret News Press, no city listed, 1965, p. 40, and also at www.inephi.com/1.htm on the world wide web.
#2 History records that it may be possible that the story recorded in the BkM was actually written by a Mr. Solomon Spalding and later plagiarized and adapted by Joseph Smith into the original BkM. More information on that subject is available at or purchasable at http://www.utlm.org/booklist/titles/mormonismunvailed_ub017.htm . This author will not delve into that consideration since Joseph Smith claimed to be the author in the original 1830 printing of the BkM. It is enough to prove that the alleged authors within the BkM never truly existed and therefore the whole book is fiction.
#3 Jesus' words found in Matthew 7:24, Authorized King James version Bible (KJV). All Bible scripture quotations are taken from the Authorized KJV Bible text except where noted. God alone owns the copyright!
#4 (NOTE: Due to the nature of this book, extensive sections of the Bible and the BkM scripture will be quoted. This author has highlighted, underlined, and italicized many sections of verses throughout this entire book in order to bring emphasis to certain pertinent phrases that deal with each subject under consideration. Readers should understand that such highlighting, underlining, and italics may not be found within the original text of either the Bible or the BkM. 'Emphasis by this author' will not be seen following every verse reference that has such emphasis. 'Emphasis in the original' will be found when applicable.)
#5 Jesus' words found in John 12:48, KJV Bible
#6 Jesus' words found in John 3:16-17, KJV Bible
