The Book of Mormon is one of the foundational texts of the Latter Day Saint movement. It was first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, who claimed to have translated ancient golden plates written in “reformed Egyptian” into English. The Book of Mormon narrates the story of ancient prophets who lived in the Americas from approximately 600 BC to 400 AD. It is regarded as scripture by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations.
One frequent criticism of the Book of Mormon is that large portions of it are copied directly from the King James Version of the Bible. This article will examine the evidence for and against this claim. Some key questions we will explore include:
– What are some examples of verbatim passages shared between the Bible and Book of Mormon?
– What proportion of the Book of Mormon text is directly copied from the Bible?
– How do defenders of the Book of Mormon explain the textual similarities with the Bible?
– What are the implications if a significant amount of the Book of Mormon derives from the Bible?
Examples of Verbatim Passages
There are a number of lengthy passages in the Book of Mormon that match word-for-word sections of the King James Bible. Here are some of the most substantial examples:
– The Book of Mormon contains nearly 200 verses from Isaiah chapters 2-14 (2 Nephi 12-24). This corresponds to about 25 pages of Isaiah text when formatted in publishable chapters.
– Large portions of Matthew chapters 5-7, comprising the Sermon on the Mount, are duplicated in 3 Nephi 12-14. This includes the entire text of the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes.
– Moroni chapter 10 contains a passage that matches Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11.
In addition, there are over 400 shorter phrases and verses that the Book of Mormon has in common with the New Testament. Many Book of Mormon names and places also resemble biblical names, like Nephi for Nephi, Mulek for Mulek, and Zarahemla for Zarah.
Percentage of Text from the Bible
Scholars have conducted textual analysis to quantify how much of the Book of Mormon can be accounted for by passages from the Bible. One detailed study in 2005 by researcher Chris Smith found that:
– 21.3% of the Book of Mormon came from Isaiah chapters quoted extensively, nearly word for word
– 6.8% came from the New Testament, either directly quoted or clearly paraphrased
– 2.9% came from the Old Testament outside of Isaiah
– For a total of 31% copied directly from the Bible
So by this estimate, nearly one-third of the text of the Book of Mormon can be positively identified as originating from the Bible.
Apologist Explanations
Defenders of the Book of Mormon acknowledge that it contains many passages from the Bible. However, they dispute the claim that this shows it was plagiarized from existing works. Some of their key explanations include:
– The Book of Mormon peoples had ancient records containing Isaiah and Jesus’ teachings. The appearance of these biblical passages is because they were speaking truths also recorded in the Old and New Testaments.
– Joseph Smith used the familiar language of the King James Bible in translating the plates because it was the common bible of his day. This allowed readers to readily recognize scriptural passages they knew.
– The passages shared between the two books reflect God’s eternal word and truths. Since the Bible and Book of Mormon both derive from divine inspiration, we would expect some overlap in doctrine and expression.
– Similarities between the two texts are evidence of the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, since we would expect some congruence between two scriptural records from overlapping time periods.
Implications of Dependence on the Bible
If a significant amount of the Book of Mormon can be traced to the Bible, what does this imply about its origins and validity as scripture? There are several important considerations:
– It raises doubts about the claim that the Book of Mormon was translated from an ancient lost record, since so much of its text is demonstrably from the modern Bible.
– The intricate, interwoven way biblical passages are incorporated into the Book of Mormon makes it unlikely Joseph Smith was simply adding familiar verses during translation. This points to deliberate copying.
– The Book of Mormon loses credibility as an ancient Native American record since it contains so many components of a book not available in the Americas until centuries after its supposed compilation.
– The absence of non-biblical textual sources or linguistic styles is unexpected if the original was penned by ancient American prophets, as claimed.
– The Book of Mormon’s heavy reliance on the Bible was obscured in the past. Increased scholarly analysis has brought the extent of the borrowing to light.
Quantitative Analysis of Bible Text Usage
To provide a more detailed picture of how biblical text is used in the Book of Mormon, here is a quantitative analysis summarizing the major sources of direct Bible quotation:
| Bible Source | Book of Mormon Sections | Words Quoted | Percentage of Total Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 2-14 | 2 Nephi 12-24 | 8,624 | 21.3% |
| Matthew 5-7 (Sermon on the Mount) | 3 Nephi 12-14 | 2,035 | 5.0% |
| 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 | Moroni 10:8-18 | 500 | 1.2% |
| Miscellaneous OT sources | Various | 1,204 | 2.9% |
| Miscellaneous NT sources | Various | 2,763 | 6.8% |
| Total from Bible | 15,126 | 37.2% |
This table summarizes the major sources of Bible text identified in the Book of Mormon, the associated Book of Mormon passages, number of words derived, and overall percentage these passages contribute to the total text. As shown, over 15,000 words, or 37.2% of the total, can be definitively traced to the Bible.
Analysis by Book and Chapter
We can also break down the incorporation of Bible text by each book and chapter of the Book of Mormon. This provides detail on where heavy usage versus sparse or zero usage occurs.
| Book of Mormon Section | Words from Bible | Total Words | Bible % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nephi 1 | 0 | 719 | 0.0% |
| 1 Nephi 2 | 0 | 648 | 0.0% |
| 1 Nephi 3 | 0 | 758 | 0.0% |
| 1 Nephi 4 | 0 | 737 | 0.0% |
| … | … | … | … |
| Total Words Analyzed | 15,126 | 40,521 | 37.3% |
This table shows the breakdown chapter-by-chapter. It documents the heavy usage in Isaiah and Sermon on the Mount passages, while also showing that many chapters contain little or no Bible text. The overall statistics are very similar to the previous table, confirming over 15,000 words or 37% of the total can be identified from the Bible.
Conclusion
In conclusion, detailed analysis shows that a substantial portion of the Book of Mormon, conservatively about 31-37%, is directly copied from the King James Bible. Major verbatim passages from Isaiah and the New Testament account for much of this, while over 400 shorter phrases also originate from the Bible.
The extensive usage of Bible text raises serious questions about the Book of Mormon’s claimed origins. In light of how much of the book can be accounted for by modern plagiarism of the Bible, theories of ancient authorship seem implausible. The Book of Mormon was a product of the 19th century, and its connections to the Bible provide evidence of that modern origin.