Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (2nd Edition) by David Persuitte ISBN: 0-7864-0826-X Publisher: McFarland & Company Pub. Date: October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (10 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: From Fiction To Non-Fiction to Scripture
Comment: Joseph Smith is one of the greatest false prophets in the history of humanity. His "sacred" text called the Book of Mormon is one of the worst "scriptures" I have ever read. Its literary value is worthless and it adds nothing to the Bible (except in the many, many places where Smith copied word for word from the King James Bible).
This book offers insights into the origins of the Book of Mormon. David Persuitte is not writing to defend Christianity nor is he writing to tear down Mormonism but is writing a book about the Book of Mormon from an historical and literary point of view. His conclusion is much to what you would expect of the Book of Mormon, Smith utlizied his ability to tell strange tales about the American Indians, history of pre-Columbus America, and religious works of his day to write the Book of Mormon.
If you have never read the Book of Mormon I would encourage you to get a copy of it. Anyone with a decent knowledge of history and archeology will soon see that Smith's writing is not historical and his "truths" are nothing but lies.
For more information see also Fawn Brodie's excellent work NO MAN KNOWS MY HISTORY, Sandra Tanner's MORMONISM: SHADOW OR REALITY, and Stan Larson's THE QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN PLATES.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great background to Smith and his golden book
Comment: David Persuitte, a technical writer from Virginia, wrote the first edition of this book in 1985. Now, a decade and a half later, Persuitte has added many more facts in this, the 325-page second edition. This is extremely worthwhile reading for any serious student of Joseph Smith and the religion he founded in 1830.
Persuitte's premise is that Smith had few original bones in his body. Of course, it is obvious that Smith knew how to plagiarize because about a fifth of the Book of Mormon is copied straight out of the King James Version Bible, including the errors made by the English translators. Anyone who is honest would have to admit that Smith really didn't translate these words from the Book of Mormon "plates." But Persuitte believes that Smith also stole his ideas from the sources available to him in his day, especially from Vermont minister Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews (first published in 1823), which had been published only a few years before. Using numerous side-by-side comparisons throughout much of the book and tying in other 19th century works and ideas, Persuitte is able to write, "Considered as a whole, this material makes it quite clear that The Book of Mormon was a product of the early nineteenth century rather than being a 'history' of ancient America" (p. 3).
All in all, this is a book fully worthy of reading and marking up before putting it back on the shelf for future reference. Persuitte has done a valuable service for all who want to show that Joseph Smith's story was not his own.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Cold Hard Truth
Comment: Being a member of a large LDS Family, I naturally grew up in the Church. My experience extended to dealing directly with General Authorities and Salt Lake Offices. I became disturbed by many displays of cult influence. The church demands unwavering obedience to leaders and belief that they are "receive direct inspiration from God" but refuses to take responsibility for obvious screwups and lack of inspiration. If you question anything, you are punished! Those screwups damaged my own life enough to leave or perish. For the first time I had real happiness. The truth shall set you free. The truth is Joseph Smith was a huckster and basically shrouded con and organized crime with a mantle of religion. That is the real origin of Mormonism and that is why people didn't like Mormons. They were little more than gangsters. Joseph Smith's last night in jail was because he ordered a newspaper business destroyed that printed truth about him. The Church has tried to re-write history by just blatently denying that it happened and framing events in a warm and fuzzy way. The fact is the Book of Mormon was contrived, no one ever REALLY saw the Gold Plates. Convenient because having an artifact would provide a concrete test of his prophetic inspiration. But that concrete test exists, and has been completely ignored and glossed over. Joseph Smith was presented with fraudulent plates and he claimed they had a historic origin and started translating them. Also, the Pearl of Great Price was translated from an Egyptian Papyrus that Joseph had bought and claimed to be valuable history. The Papyrus was lost in a fire, or so the Church thought. It was actually found and Joseph Smith's translation was determined to be completely fraudulent. Joseph Smith was a con-man since he was a kid and I see nothing to suggest that he changed and became a "prophet". I won't even get into the adultery and concubines. If he's a fraud, the church is a fraud regardless of how "mainstream" they claim to have become. For all the talk about Families and Jesus Christ, it comes down to money. They simply want money. To be accepted and considered a good member you are manipulated into forking over 10% of your income to them, plus your time to help run your local church for free. This money goes to Salt Lake and has created an empire of wealth and power for a few old Mormon Families.
 |
Title: By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus: A New Look at the Joseph Smith Papyri by Charles M. Larson ISBN: 0962096326 Publisher: Inst for Religious Research Pub. Date: 01 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
 |
Title: Quest for the Gold Plates: Thomas Stuart Ferguson's Archaeological Search for the Book of Mormon by Stan Larson ISBN: 0963473263 Publisher: Freethinker Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1997 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant H. Palmer, Grant Palmer ISBN: 1560851570 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
 |
Title: Studies of the Book of Mormon by Brigham D. Madsen, Brigham H. Roberts, Sterling M. McMurrin ISBN: 1560850272 Publisher: Signature Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith : The Mormon Prophet by Fawn McKay Brodie, Peter Dimock, Fawn M. Brodie ISBN: 0679730540 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
