Ep329: Do The 8 Book of Mormon Word Print Studies Prove Multiple Authorship (Episode 3)

In Episode 3 of this series, Patrick begins by responding to excellent audience feedback on the 3-Voice Framework from Episode 2. He then highlights a recent Mormonism Live episode that makes a compelling case for the Book of Mormon as a 19th-century text, pointing to 34 doctrines from the early 1800s. But many of those doctrines appear directly connected to debates within Campbellism in Ohio and Pennsylvania—debates Sidney Rigdon was having with Alexander Campbell and Walter Scott. Should that raise new questions about Book of Mormon authorship? A future episode will explore the Campbellism connection more deeply. The heart of this episode focuses on stylometry, also known as wordprint analysis. Patrick explains how researchers create a digital profile of an author’s unique writing habits, then reviews two of the eight major wordprint studies. The second study includes intriguing findings about Joseph Smith’s personal writing style compared to the broader LDS canon—and even identifies a strange anomaly in the early Doctrine and Covenants during the Book of Mormon dictation period. Join us for a thoughtful look at the evidence behind one big question: who authored the Book of Mormon?This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy