The main assumption underlying stylometry is that an author. For an overview of this field of study, see michael p. This is the fourth in a series of posts looking at stylometry in the book of mormon. Bruce schaalje journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 211 2012. As a side note, we mention another book of mormon stylometry study reported in 1984 by psychiatrist ernest h. A short history, journal of the book of mormon and. Despite joseph smiths declaration that the book of mormon is the most correct book, the book of mormon actually apologizes for being poorly written, yet practically in the same sentence, brazenly condemns all who refuse to believe it.
It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormon s internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best. Ive left out some topics that were only covered with words. No single individual, modern or ancient, could have written the book of mormon. These statistical results provide striking support for the book of mormon s own claims about its authorship. They compared twentyfour book of mormon authors each having at least 1,000 words to each other, and concluded on the basis of three separate statistical tests that these authors were distinct from each other and oliver cowdery, joseph smith, jr. In order to help shed light on this issue, several studies have relied upon a type of analysis called stylometry. Two tests which deal with writing styles have produced some largely ignored results which our critics cannot explain. Jan 16, 2015 as a very brief summary, the urantia book is claimed to have come from divine beings that dictated their messages through a human mouthpiece. In another post, there was a challenge to explain away a number of evidences of the book of mormon. These statistical results provide striking support for the book of mormons own claims about its authorship. Three different types of wordprints or stylometry were used in examining the authors of the book of mormon. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 22, no.
Statisticians at brigham young university completed a computer analysis of the book of mormon. Stylometric analysis is based on the fundamental premise that authors write with distinctive, repeated patterns of word use. Book of mormon central, is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. In reexploring the book of mormon, edited by john w. Using computers for statistical analysis, they produced a wordprint like a fingerprint not only for book of mormon authors but for the pauline epistles and the book of isaiah, which helps to solve the multiple isaiah theory problem. This blog post is long 3000 words, 28 images, and it is a quick, poor, and short summary of stylometry.
Apr 10, 2018 at a book of mormon conference in provo last saturday, matt roper and paul fields set out to do just that. An improved treatment of this topic can be found in my posts at. The initial book of mormon wordprint studies were carried out by larsen, rencher, and layton. It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormons internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best stylometric evidence. A short history, journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture 21, no. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. Comparison of the book of mormon to novelists of the same time period. Thats terribly unsurprising, but truly interesting. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts d. Bruce schaalje, stylometric analyses of the book of mormon. This first article explains what stylometry is and gives readers a short history of stylometric studies performed on the book of mormon. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not.
Wordprint studies on the book of mormon book of mormon. This post will define the l voice of the book of mormon three voice hypothesis, based on computer wordprint analysis of bom text. Nov 21, 2016 this is the fourth in a series of posts looking at stylometry in the book of mormon. Wordprints and the book of mormon hilton, john l wordprints and the book of mormon. In the past, roper and fields had used stylometry to show a consistency of authorship in isaiah and the pauline epistles. The smoking gun of book of mormon geography book of mormon. Among those evidences was a reference to wordprints. Ive read a number of the wordprint studies, so i responded to it. This knowhy is the first in a series which discusses stylometry and its relevance to questions of book of mormon authorship.
What can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. The evidence for emoe in the book of mormon is interesting, but there are a few caveats. The abundance of skeptical theories about who wrote the book of mormon has led many scholars to seek scientific data to discover the answer. First, skousen makes it very clear that the book of mormon is not an early modern english text. Multiple isaiah theory and stylometry search isaiah. Joseph smith, the times and seasons, and central american. A book of mormon reevaluation brian curtis roberts brigham young university provo follow this and additional works at.
Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational. With the history of the book claiming many original authors and one or perhaps two dictators, it presents very similar stylometric claims to the book of mormon. This study of this is called analyzing word patterns, wordprinting or stylometry. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. Part of themormon studies commons, and therhetoric and composition commons this thesis is brought to you for free and open access by byu scholarsarchive.
Stylometry is the application of the study of linguistic style, usually to written language, but it has successfully been applied to music and to fineart paintings as well. The focus is placed on reexamining a wordprint study done by wayne larsen and alvin rencher wherein the book of mormon was analyzed against texts by. Jan 18, 2016 measuring style in the book of mormon this blog post is long 3000 words, 28 images, and it is a quick, poor, and short summary of stylometry relevant to the book of mormon. These patterns are typically unconscious to the author and are not easily altered. Wordprinting, or stylometry as it is more commonly known, is the science of measuring literary style. This form of stylometric analysis, called authorship attribution analysis, is what we used to solve the mormon book case. Stylometry defined stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying worduse patterns. He supports this by explaining that when he and stan carmack sat down and read early modern english texts, they kept having to look up words. Stylometry an exploration of the academic field of stylometry as it applies to book of mormon authorship. If the book of mormon was written by ancient authors, we should be able to see distinct writing styles among each different author. Jul 08, 2019 a number of scientific tests have been devised to examine the authenticity of the book of mormon.
But in this presentation, they chose to compare two novels each from jane austin, charles dickens, james fennimore cooper, mark twain with the book of mormon. The book of mormon three voice hypothesis is that the book of mormon has three distinct voices. Book of mormon wordprint analysis three voice hypothesis. The book of mormon is written in pseudobiblical, 19 th century language. This paper contributes to this questioning of the origins of the. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship.
In the past, roper and fields had used stylometry to show a. Theres no way that you can emulate the wordprint of another individual. Is the book of mormon like other ancient metal documents. Stylometric comparisons with the late war uncovered the presence of many many short phrases in the book of mormon that are nearly unique to early 19 th century pseudobiblical writings. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the book of mormon. Apr 23, 2018 matt roper and paul fields intrigued us with their stylometry study. Is stylometry the ultimate proof that joseph smith did not write the. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of. Wordprint studies of the book of mormon fairmormon. Senior missionary explains book of mormon wordprint analysis.
Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of. Journal of the book of mormon and other restoration scripture. Another conceptualization defines it as the linguistic discipline that uses statistical analysis to literature by evaluating the authors style through various quantitative. Using stylometry, scholars have compared the writings of joseph smith, oliver cowdery, and other contemporaries to the authors in the book of mormon. They intrigued the audience with a new study of book of mormon authorship using stylometry showing a wide variety of authors in the book. Arnold friberg, who painted that image of samuel the lamanite and eleven other paintings in the famous series on book of mormon events, specifically set his paintings in central america. Robertss study which was published posthumously in 1985 as studies of the book of mormon. Book of mormon stylometry three voice hypothesis l. In order to fabricate the book of mormon, joseph smith would have needed the ability to create distinct fictional voices, and a talent beyond some of the greatest novelists of his time charles dickens, jane austen, mark twain, and james fenimore cooper. Book of mormon and stylometry why the lds church is true.
In his book of mormon study taves used wordpattern ratios similar to the hilton study but concluded that the texts provide no evidence. Book of mormon wordprint analysis three voice hypothesis posted by churchistrue this is an introduction to a series of posts that i will be making to define the three voice hypothesis for book of mormon authorship attribution, developed from analyzing book of mormon wordprint data. How have critics responded to the stylometry study done at byu that concluded the book of mormon selections they did not resemble any suggested 19th century authors, including joseph smith. If you know where i could find it, please post a link in the comments. Having first been developed in the 1850s, stylometry seeks to find the wordprint of a text. Stylometry defined stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying. A stylometric analysis of mormon scripture and related texts. Come, follow me book of mormon lesson 11 the interpreter. He assumes that these books are written completely by the authors specifically named, despite the fact that in the book of mormon prophets. Rencher, and tim layton published the first complete analysis of the book of mormon using the then adolescent tool of computerized stylometry, or wordprinting. Feb 20, 2018 for the lord god hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. Ive not included one masters thesis that i was shown. Book of mormon stylometry in pictures and tables rational faiths. It has been used to analyze disputed works of shakespeare, contrast.
It can be responsibly concluded that the book of mormons internal claims about its authorship are consistent with the best. Oct 11, 2019 if that is what you pictured, you are experiencing the influence of this man the smoking gun of book of mormon geography. Stylometry is a method of statistical analysis used to determine authorship of various texts. Joseph smiths translation of the book of mormon was a literal translation. Stylometry examines the styles of writing in a text by identifying worduse patterns. Im looking for fact based evidence either for or against the book of mormon. Kjv isaiah in the book of mormon why the lds church is true. Peterson, the divine source of the book of mormon in the face. Mormon did not paraphrase, he quoted directly from the records he had in his possession. For the lord god hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead. Jan 16, 2018 what can stylometry tell us about book of mormon authorship. Joseph smith, the times and seasons, and central american ruins. Since the book of mormon is a translation, with all its faults, into english for englishspeaking people whose fathers for generations had known no other scriptures but the standard english bible, it would be both pointless and confusing to present the scriptures to them in any other form, so far as their teachings were correct. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon.