A brand new book in 2024: Voices in the Book of Mormon: Distinctive Testimonies of Jesus Christ. The fruit of more than a decade of research, this book compares the linguistic fingerprints of many major speakers in the Book of Mormon, from Nephi and Mormon to Jacob and Jesus Christ. It also shows voices speaking in harmony as later prophets use powerful phrases from their predecessors. Each chapter ends with thoughtful discussion of how identifying a speaker’s unique voice can spark greater understanding and application of his message.
Voices in the Book of Mormon is now available on Amazon or at Deseret Book.
The distinctive voices in The Book of Mormon highlights its textual richness and complexity, providing meaningful evidence that Joseph Smith did not write it. More importantly, it sheds new light on Book of Mormon prophets’ powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ. Consider just a few examples of how individual Book of Mormon speakers distinctively speak:
- The phrase “My Soul Delighteth” appears 11 times in the Book of Mormon, in multiple chapters, but it is only used by Nephi.
- Jacob and Nephi use the words God and Lord with statistically different patterns from each other; moreover, 2 Nephi 9-10 clearly shows Jacob’s pattern of speech rather than Nephi’s. This is significant since Jacob is the speaker in 2 Nephi 9-10, and the speech patterns in 2 Nephi 9-10 are different than 2 Nephi 4-5, 11, where Nephi is the speaker.
- When Alma teaches his son Corianton, he uses several specific phrases from Abinadi, nearly all of which relate to the concerns Corianton had. In other words, Alma uses the words of scripture/recent prophets to address his child’s needs, setting a wonderful model for modern parents.
- Jesus Christ uses the word baptize significantly more than any other individual. He consistently emphasizes baptism when he speaks, both inside and outside of 3 Nephi. This clearly shows how he views the importance of baptism.
Here’s a digital copy of the first chapter.
Buy the book today on Amazon or at Deseret Book.
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If you’ve read the book, you might be looking for the digital Appendix D. It’s here.
And if you want to explore the Voices in the Book of Mormon Database for yourself, you’re welcome to do so, it’s completely free. In the below screencast you can learn how to download and use the version for Windows. Unfortunately there is no Mac version at this time; however, if you have a Windows emulator, you can use WordCruncher on a Mac. While there is an iOS version for iPhones and iPads, it is not nearly as robust as the PC version.
Here’s a tutorial on using the Voices in the Book of Mormon Database…
Ultimately the distinctive voices in the Book of Mormon do not prove that it is God’s word. But it does provide a new lens on reading the Book of Mormon and demonstrates its textual complexity. I have found many new insights by studying the Book of Mormon in this way, and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with you. Check out Voices in the Book of Mormon: Distinctive Testimonies of Jesus Christ today.
