Joseph Smith & The Apocrypha
Recently, I was gifted this book by one of my in-laws. Because Mormon apologetics is fun to read (in the same way books about UFOs and Atlantis are fun to read) I gave it a read.
The argument in the book is that the books in the Pearl of Great Price bear great resemblance to apocryphal texts, even ones that Joseph wouldn't have had access to. This can't be a coincidence, Therefore it shows Joseph was a legit prophet. Furthermore, it shows that the nephite brass plates had a more legit version of Genesis, uncorrupted by the evil scribes who were hell-bent on removing Mormonism from ancient Judaism.
There are some problems with the argument without yet getting into the specifics:
- Most of the apocryphal books cited were written in the 1st to 3rd centuries, long after Genesis. They are fanfiction additions to Genesis, not some original uncorrupted genesis. The PoGP and the Apocrypha are similar, but only in the sense that they are both pseudepigraphical books written long after the original story.
- Many of the parallels are vague and Barnes does some real reaches. Much of the book seems like your average paralellomania.
- Even if Joseph didn't have access to the apocryphal texts that Barnes cites because they were undiscovered at the time, it is possible that Joseph could have had access to other apocryphal books which had similar themes.
Has anyone analyzed the claims in this book? Or am I going to have to do it myself?