ETHAN SMITH'S "A VIEW OF THE HEBREWS"

Question 13—Does not Ethan Smith's book "A View of the Hebrews," first written or published in 1823, furnish the pattern and plot for Joseph Smith to write the Book of Mormon?

Answer—It is claimed that there were books available in 1825 that could have furnished the necessary information for Joseph Smith to write the Book of Mormon, that the theory of the Indians being of lsraelite origin was well known, and that Ethan Smith's book "A View of the Hebrews," published in 1825, (second edition) furnished the necessary plot and information from which Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon.

A major theory and belief of the American frontier was the Hebraic origin of the American Indian. Books were published in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by the Spanish Padres and later writers espousing this theory. In 1823 Ethan Smith, a Vermont pastor, wrote his "A View of the Hebrews." It is now being claimed that Joseph Smith obtained the necessary information for concocting the Book of Mormon from Ethan Smith's book.

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has, in its headquarters library in The Auditorium, Independence, Missouri, an 1825 edition of Ethan Smith's "A View of the Hebrews" on microfilm. This writer, (Roy Weldon) carefully went over the contents of that book, with the following condensed results.

Ethan Smith's "A View of the Hebrews" was evidently in circulation in New York at the time the Book of Mormon was written. However, I am firmly convinced, for the following three reasons, that Joseph Smith did not read it:

A. There is no external or historical evidence that has ever been offered that he read the book.

B. The internal evidence in the Book of Mormon's contents is overwhelmingly against Joseph Smith having been influenced by either Ethan Smith's "A View of the Hebrews" or Baron von Humboldt's "Researches in America" (published in 1814 and extensively quoted by Ethan Smith).

C. The New York State Library lists sixty-eight libraries established in the State of New York prior to 1829. The list contains no mention of a library either in Palmyra or Manchester. It therefore appears Joseph Smith had no opportunity of seeing the book before he brought forth the Book of Mormon.

We list some of the reasons why we believe that Joseph Smith was not influenced by either of the two above-mentioned books:

I. In his "A View of the Hebrews" (page 2), Ethan Smith said the Indians were descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel. The Book of Mormon shows them to be descendants of the tribe of Manasseh, and definitely states that the ten lost tribes were in another region of the earth (3 Nephi 7: 13-26).

2. Ethan Smith says "the stick of Ephraim" of Ezekiel 37 applies to the ten lost tribes (p. 53). The Book of Mormon applies it to the tribe of Manasseh.

3. Ethan Smith says the Indians were to be restored to Palestine (p. 64). The Book of Mormon designates their Zion to be in America, which Joseph Smith identified to be at Independence, Missouri (Doctrine and Covenants 57:1).

4. Ethan Smith says the Indian traditions indicate they migrated to America "through a region where it was always winter, snow and frozen" (p. 78). The Book of Mormon indicates they came to America in a ship across the Pacific with no mention of any winter, snow or ice.

5. Ethan Smith says the Indians practiced circumcision (p. 85). The Book of Mormon mentions circumcision only once (Moroni 8:9), saying that it had been done away.

6. Ethan Smith repeatedly says they crossed the Bering Strait and offers proofs: "Relative to their tradition of coming where there was an abundance of copper; it is a fact, that at, or near, Bering Strait there is a place called Copper Island from the vast quantities of this metal there found" (p. 115) . . . If Joseph Smith read Ethan Smith's book and was influenced by it, why didn't he have the Nephites cross Asia and enter America via the Bering Strait region?

7. Ethan Smith lists numerous alleged Indian rites which are Mosaic in character, such as eating blood of animals forbidden, surviving brother marries sister-in-law, eternal fire preserved in temple, the daily sacrifice, punishment for adultery, cities of refuge, burying of the dead, and clean and unclean animal food. (See pp. 119-152) . . . Not one of these things is mentioned in the Book of Mormon.

8. Ethan Smith makes several mentions of imitations of the Urim and Thummim (see pp. 150, 166, 167). The words "Urim and Thummim" are not found in the Book of Mormon.

9. Ethan Smith says: "Some have felt a difficulty arising against the Indians being the Ten Tribes, from the ignorance of the mechanic arts, of writing and of navigation" (p. 17) . . . The Book of Mormon has the ancient Americans using "machinery," great numbers of books, and ships capable of transporting several hundred people.

10. Ethan Smith cites the avenger-of-blood in the Mosaic law (p. 176). The Book of Mormon does not mention this.

11. Ethan Smith quotes Humboldt on the immense pyramids, including the size of the pyramid of Cholula, and notes that Israel knew the pyramids of Egypt (p. 179). If Joseph Smith was using Ethan Smith's "A View of the Hebrews" for his pattern and plot, how did he pass over this one? There is no mention of pyramids in the Book of Mormon.

12. Ethan Smith quotes Humboldt on dikes and canals in South America (p. 179). The Book of Mormon mentions neither.

13. Ethan Smith tells the Quetzalcoatl story and says that Quetzalcoatl was Moses (p. 206). The Book of Mormon says Jesus Christ visited ancient America.

14. Ethan Smith says of Quetzalcoatl: "He dwelt twenty years among them" (p. 205). The Book of Mormon says Jesus was with the Nephites only a few days.

15. Ethan Smith quotes Isaiah 18:1, "the land shadowing with wings," as applying to America (p. 237). The Book of Mormon is estimated to quote half of the Book of Isaiah, but does not quote Isaiah 18 about "the land shadowing with wings which is beyond the the rivers of Ethiopia." If Joseph Smith was influenced by this book. how could he have passed this by?

16. Ethan Smith says: "We are to expect no new revelations from heaven and the days of miracles are thought to be past" (p. 168). This, of course, is diametrically opposed to the message of the Book of Mormon.

17. Ethan Smith quotes tables of words from Indian languages allegedly showing Hebrew affinity, from writings by Boudinot, Adair, et cetera (p. 90). The Book of Mormon makes no such attempts. Finally, we ask, if Joseph Smith drew on Ethan Smith's "A View of the Hebrews" or Humboldt's "Researches," why did he not use at least one of the Indian names and words used by these writers? Humboldt alone lists no less than 330 Indian names and words, no one of which is found in the Book of Mormon, although the book literally introduced hundreds of new names and words into the English language.

For a scholarly treatment of the Book of Mormon and "A View of the Hebrews," involving points not treated here, see an article by church historian, Charles A. Davies, in the Saints' Herald for August 1, 1962. This writer goes along with Brother Davies' conclusion: "The only significant similarity between Ethan Smith's work and the Book of Mormon is the assertion that American Indians are descended from the Hebrew people."