The Book of Mormon

According to Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon was brought forth through "the gift and power of God" and is a spirtual account of migrants to the ancient Americas. Early Mormons believed that the Book of Mormon account covered both North and South America but modern LDS scholars have come to accept the "limited geography" model proposed by John Sorensen.

Believing scholars defend the historicity of the Book of Mormon citing the presence of Chiasmus and other ancient characteristics of the book. Critics often cite the modern content present in the Book of Mormon -- especially the strong protestant and anti-universalist rhetoric -- to argue that the book is simply a production of Joseph Smith's imaginative mind. Others point out the inclusion of large portions of the KJV -- including its translation errors -- and maintain that the Book of Mormon was simply "borrowed" from existing sources.

Frankly, I think the whole argument over Book of Mormon historicity misses the point. Regardless of its origin, the Book of Mormon contains profound theological and spiritual insights especially in regard to theories of Atonement.

The complete text of the Book of Mormon can be found here.

If you are a user of Bibleworks you can download the Book of Mormon here.

Below are some of very good articles on both the origins and content of the Book of Mormon:

The Book of Mormon as a Modern Expansion of an Ancient Source - Blake Ostler -- published in Dialogue

What does Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon Prove? - John Welch

An Introduction to the Book of Mormon - Devery Scott Anderson

Journal of Book of Mormon Studies

Early American Influences on the Book of Mormon - Thomas Donofrio -- Donofrio is a Book of Mormon skeptic and presents some very interesting parallels between early american literary works, the so-called "Spaulding Manuscript" and the Book of Mormon. I'm a bit wary of the whole Spaulding theory in general but I do believe that Donofrio has pointed out some very interesting parallels in the use of language.

The Baptist Version of the Book of Mormon - Lynn Ridenhour