An Insider's View of Mormon Origins [Paperback]

From the Preface: "I, along with colleagues, and drawing from years of research, find the evidence employed to support many traditional [official Mormon] claims about the [Mormon] church to be either nonexistent or problematic."

Chap. 1 ("Joseph Smith as Translator/Revelator") concludes that Jos. Smith "mistranslated a number of documents" including the Book of Abraham, used the King James Bible extensively in constructing the Book of Mormon, also weaving in many 19th century concerns, and that the Book of Mormon is of "no value in trying to learn more about ancient America or the Middle East."

Chap. 2 ("Authorship of the Book of Mormon") concludes that the Book of Mormon is most likely a 19th-century production pieced together from sources demonstrated to be available to Smith, and therefore not a translation from ancient metal plates which, in any case, were not used and often not even present during dictation to scribes, done by looking not at plates but into a hat with a stone placed in it, often separated from his scribe by a blanket hung between them. This chapter also mentions DNA evidence demonstrating that the origin of Native Americans is not as claimed in the Book of Mormon.

Chap. 3 ("The Bible in the Book of Mormon") demonstrates the King James Bible as source for numerous reworked Book of Mormon stories, many anachronisms and King James translators' errors copied in this erroneous form into the Book of Mormon. Quote: "Why would God reveal to Joseph Smith a faulty [mistranslated] KJV text?"

Chap 4 ("Evangelical Protestantism in the Book of Mormon") concludes that numerous theological issues addressed in the Book of Mormon probably derived from Smith's Upstate New York religious environment than from the claimed ancient gold plates.

Chap 5 ("Moroni and the Golden Pot") examines a long list of parallels between a published story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and Smith's account of the angel Moroni's visits. The chapter concludes, "It would stretch credulity to believe that this [long list of parallels between Hoffmann's Golden Pot story and Smith's Moroni story] could be a coincidence, and I therefore think that a debt is owed to E.T.A. Hoffmann and the European traditions ..."

Chap. 6 ("Witnesses to the Golden Plates") concludes that, despite the LDS Church's current claims, the evidence shows that none of the eleven witnesses claimed to have actually seen the physical gold plates, instead visualizing them "with spiritual eyes" in a prayer-induced trance state.

Chap. 7 ("Priesthood Restoration") concludes that Smith's claim to have been personally ordained by John the Baptist, Peter, James and John as resurrected beings, was not at all what Smith originally claimed, but instead evolved over a number of years from the original claim that didn't involve any beings such as the above four New Testament figures.

Chap. 8 ("The First Vision") concludes that the LDS Church's official claim that Joseph Smith claimed to have been visited by God the Father and Jesus Christ as two separate beings "is not supported by the historical evidence" either in the number of beings alleged seen or in the year and circumstances as now officially claimed.

Conclusion chapter: Īt states, "The foundation events were rewritten by Joseph [Smith] and Oliver [Cowdery] and other early church officials .... This reworking made the stories more useful for missionary work and fellowshipping purposes. ... Is it right to tell religious allegories to adults as if they were literal history?"

In short, this book recommends that practicing Mormons regard their foundation stories as inspirational fictions rather than as truthful history.

"An Insider's View..." is a survey of the last thirty+ years of research done by Mormon scholars. All the big hitters are referenced: Anderson, Quinn, Jesse, Hill, Van Wagoner, Allen, Murphy, Vogel, Anderson, Bushman, (I could go on). The book is very readable, unlike some previous (informative, but overwhelming) works on Mormonism. This book could (and perhaps should) be the lesson manual for the "real" church history course in Sunday School, Seminary and Institute.

I've encountered bit's and pieces of the information presented in Palmers book in various publications and documents, but Palmer brings it all together in a single book and presents additional new information to tie things together in an understandable and interesting way. To quote Palmer, this history, "rings true".

This is the first book on Mormon history that I've felt I could give to fellow Mormon family or friends (or leave laying around the house for that matter) to help them understand what went on during the founding years of the church. Many from outside the church have attempted such a book but "An Insiders View..." is better because being a life long and presently committed member, Palmer genuinely appears to be trying to help the church be better, not hurt it.

Although the material presented in the book will be tough for members to come to grips with, the tone is open and inviting. Palmer cautiously invites readers to explore the history with him, so this in not an "in your face" anti-Mormon book. In an attempt to help members feel OK about exploring church history, Palmer appropriately quotes former First Presidency member, J. Reuben Clark: "If we have the truth, [it] cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed."

The book focuses mainly on the founding events of the church: The Book of Mormon, Book of Mormon Witnesses, Priesthood Restoration and the First Vision. Palmer devotes 5 of the 8 chapters to the Book of Mormon, and then a chapter to each of the other subjects. He gets right to heart of each topic, explaining the issue and the problems, all backed up by credible scholarship. There are copious references for those who feel the need to explore further. Apologist arguments and traditional accounts are considered and explored.

Most of the issues that the church hierarchy and membership needs to come to grips with is here: Joseph Smith's well documented treasure hunting, Bible-Book of Mormon parallels, 19th century Book of Mormon Parallels, Book of Mormon and DNA evidence, sources inspiration for the Book of Mormon, Book of Abraham translation and source issues, the Kinderhook plates incident, View of the Hebrews and B.H. Roberts, Book of Mormon Witness credibility and evolving First Vision accounts.

One wonders how the church leadership will accept Palmers efforts presented in "An Insiders View...". The church has not dealt kindly in the past with those who have tried to bring to light uncomfortable, yet accurate, information about the church's origin. Again, Palmer appeals to former church leadership (Hugh B. Brown) in hopes of finding approval: "Only error fears freedom of expression...Neither fear of consequence or any kind of coercion should ever be used to secure uniformity of thought in the church. People should...be unafraid to think without fear of ill consequences". This book will be a good test of the church's maturity in dealing with these issues.

Although much of what he says is not new, he says it in a very nice, diplomatic way. He does not offend when he states the facts. His career of service to the church in their education system and the fact that he is still a member gives him enormous credibility

He also reaches a very interesting conclusion. I found myself dying to know how he ends the book. He is still an active member and was not excommunicated (at least not yet). I completely agree with his conclusions.

I highly recommed this book to current, active members who wish to learn about the actual history of the church and not just the sugar-coated versions you get in Sunday School.

Perhaps if everyone in the LDS Church were aware of the issues with our history that Grant Palmer talks about, the leadership would be forced to address them and publicly acknowledge the errors of the past so we can save this church and move on. The RLDS Church has already done this. Are we next? Go Grant go. Please write a sequel.