The recent publication of B. H. Roberts's personal papers on similarities between the Book of Mormon and the View of the Hebrews has raised again a question that has circulated for several years among certain critics: Did B. H. Roberts lose faith in the Book of Mormon? The editor of the Roberts studies, Brigham Madsen, reports that the record is "mixed," that "whether or not Roberts retained his belief in the Book of Mormon may never be determined." A closer look at the evidence, however, yields a much different assessment.

A critical issue is determining when Roberts wrote Studies. This is important because the earlier that Roberts wrote it, the less evidence there is that he worked on it for a long time as a serious and troubling project. The editor figures it was an ongoing project for Roberts during his mission presidency in New York (1922-1927). Newly discovered evidence, however, proves that position false. This evidence-obvious only on the original documents themselves—shows definitively that Roberts began the study in January 1922 and finished it (except for a few minor proofreading changes) before he left for the Eastern States Mission on May 29, 1922.

Consider these points:

1. The first page of Roberts's typescript originally read: "A number of years ago-thirteen years ago, to be exact — in . . . New Witnesses for God, I discussed .. .." Since New Witnesses was published in 1909, thirteen years later was 1922. Roberts says, “thirteen years ago, to be exact." The newly printed version of the study, however, omits this crucial phrase, apparently because when Roberts proofread the typescript, he crossed these words out. Still, this telltale phrase clearly dates the writing of the study to 1922.

2. We can tell that Roberts wrote the study before he knew the date of the first edition of View of the Hebrews. At that time he had only the second edition and could only speculate that the first was published around 1820. In five handwritten changes, Roberts later changed “1820" to “1823." When did Roberts learn of the date of the first edition of View of the Hebrews? From notes he took in a New York Library, we know he learned this shortly after his arrival in New York, in June 1922.

3. In a letter from Roberts dated October 24,1927, to Apostle Richard R. Lyman, Roberts says he “dropped" the study when his mission call came. On March 14, 1932, Roberts wrote of the study that it "was from research work I did before going to take charge of the Eastern States Mission."

All these facts and several other similar points show that one should not view the study as a long-time project of Roberts while in New York.