Introduction

Richard Bushman, well-known Mormon historian, stated:¹

… there is phrasing everywhere–long phrases that if you google them you will find them in 19th century writings. The theology of the Book of Mormon is very much 19th century theology, and it reads like a 19th century understanding of the Hebrew Bible as an Old Testament …

And Blake Ostler, another well-known Mormon scholar, has noted:²

Many Book of Mormon doctrines are best explained by the nineteenth-century theological milieu.

In many ways, at least, the theological debates, doctrines, and themes advanced in the early 1800’s milieu seem to be reflected—sometimes quite substantially—in the Book of Mormon.

Shorter documents with more narrow focus

Each of these analyses is significant in its own right, but these are comparatively minor compilations and analyses. Please consult the extensive compilations to fully appreciate the extent of the parallels.

1. Echoes (pdf)
2. Of The State of the Dead Chapter III compared to selected verses from Alma 40 (relevant text) (churchistrue)
3. 19th Century Protestant Phrases in the Book of Mormon (churchistrue)
4. Anachronistic Christian Doctrine (churchistrue)
5. Similarities with Jonathon Edwards Sr/Jr sermons
6. Moroni quotes sections of Mark that are of dubious origin (bwv549)
7. The Book of Ether and A Key to the Chronology of the Hindus (Keri Toponce)
8. 650 phrases from the New Testament in the BoM (BYU Professor Nick Frederick)
9. Creation of the Book of Mormon (mormonorigins.com)

Extensive compilations or analyses

1. Book of Mormon - Google Book Cross References (tompainesbones)
2. Book of Mormon parallels to the KJV Bible v1.02 - exhaustive project (auricularisposterior)
3. The Book of Mormon’s dependence on the KJV (ImTheMarmotKing)
4. Similarities with late war and analysis
5. Historical Influences and Religious Influences (Thomas Donofrio)
6. Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon (Dan Vogel)
7. New Approaches to the Book of Mormon
8. Comparative literature studies by Colby Townsend:
   • Appropriation and Adaptation of J Material in The Book of Mormon (Honors Thesis)
   • Malachi in the Book of Mormon (Dialogue 2018)
   • Rewriting Eden with the Book of Mormon (MA Thesis)
   • “The Robe of Righteousness”: Exilic and Post-Exilic Isaiah in The Book of Mormon (Dialogue)
9. The Book of Mormon: Likely Sources (Dan Wees)
10. The Book of Mormon: A Voice from 19th Century Dust (Ray Anderson)
11. Mormon Parallels (Rick Grunder)
12. King James Verses in the Book of Mormon
13. Book of Mormon Origins project
14. Anti-universalist Rhetoric in the Book of Mormon (Dan Vogel)
15. Digging in Cumorah (Mark D. Thomas) (review by Grant Hardy)

See also

• Alex Douglas “Afterword: The Old Testament and the Book of Mormon”
• Other pre-1830 sources reminiscent of the Book of Mormon
• How could Joseph Smith have composed the Book of Mormon?
• Recent LDS Scholar observations favoring a modern origin for the Book of Mormon

1. Richard Bushman frequently implies that he believes the Book of Mormon to possess an ancient core, so these statements of his should be understood in that context, as I discuss with more nuance in the introduction here. ↩

2. Blake Ostler frequently defends the Book of Mormon as an ancient record, so his statement should be understood within that context. I discuss the tension between what an LDS scholar might concede and what they might believe about the modern and ancient influences on the Book of Mormon with more nuance in the introduction here. ↩