--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews…" description: "\"Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/b-h-roberts-42473_book_did-ethan-smith-s-view-of-the-hebrews-fu_2834193.png" --- # Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural… ![“Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other.Not a few things merely, one or two, or half…” quote by B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/b-h-roberts-42473_book_did-ethan-smith-s-view-of-the-hebrews-fu_2834193.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/b-h-roberts-42473_book_did-ethan-smith-s-view-of-the-hebrews-fu_2834193.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/b-h-roberts-42473_book_did-ethan-smith-s-view-of-the-hebrews-fu_2834193.png) > “Did Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews furnish structural material for Joseph Smith's Book of Mormon? It has been pointed out in these pages that there are many things in the former book that might well have suggested many major things in the other.Not a few things merely, one or two, or half dozen, but many; and it is this fact of many things of similarity and the cumulative force of them that makes them so serious a menace to Joseph Smith's story of the Book of Mormon's origin” [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions possible influence of Ethan Smith’s 19th‑century work on Joseph Smith’s scripture, noting many similarities that challenge the latter’s claim of divine origin. **In simple terms:** It suggests the Book of Mormon may have borrowed ideas from an earlier book. Key Takeaway Consider the evidence of literary borrowing. Themes religion history literary influence authenticity Mood skeptical inquisitive analytical Type critical historical When to use this quote - academic research - faith debates - textual analysis - comparative religion - public discourse Key Concepts intertextuality cultural transmission historical criticism Questions to Reflect On - What criteria determine genuine inspiration versus plagiarism? - How do we assess historical influence on religious texts? A Different Perspective The argument depends on subjective similarity judgments and may overlook independent revelation claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-mormon/) [Book Of Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-of-mormon/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cumulative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cumulative/) [Dozen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dozen/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Former](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/former/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Hebrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew/) [Hebrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrews/) [Hebrews Furnish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrews-furnish-3679294/) [Joseph smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joseph-smith/) [Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Menace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/menace/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mormon/) [Mormon Origin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mormon-origin-3679293/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Similarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/similarity/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [View Hebrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/view-hebrews-3679292/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [“Reverend Ethan Smith’s 1823 View of the Hebrews”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-palmer/reverend-ethan-smith-s-1823-view-of-the-hebrews/) [Grant Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-palmer/) > [There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators... they are all of one breed and brand;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/there-were-other-anti-christs-among-the-nephites-but-they-were-more/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [Had the Hebrews not been disturbed in their progress a thousand and more years ago, they would have solved all the great problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-mayer-wise/had-the-hebrews-not-been-disturbed-in-their-progress-a-thousand-and/) [Isaac Mayer Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-mayer-wise/) > [“Therefore, while the promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear so that none of you should miss it. Hebrews 4:1”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/therefore-while-the-promise-remains-of-entering-his-rest-let-us-fear/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“Jesus lived the way he did in this world, for this world, because his hope was set beyond this world; that is the secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/jesus-lived-the-way-he-did-in-this-world-for-this-world-because-his/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize man than any other nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/i-will-insist-that-the-hebrews-have-done-more-to-civilize-man-than/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“BE NOT FORGETFUL TO ENTERTAIN STRANGERS. HEBREWS 13:2 KJV”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-c-cook/be-not-forgetful-to-entertain-strangers-hebrews-13-2-kjv/) [David C. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-c-cook/) > [“He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Hebrews 11:10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/he-was-looking-forward-to-the-city-that-has-foundations-whose/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“For three centuries the life of the Hebrews was like the life of a man who insists upon living in the middle of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/for-three-centuries-the-life-of-the-hebrews-was-like-the-life-of-a/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“He adds: “I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.” Hebrews 10:17”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/he-adds-i-will-never-again-remember-their-sins-and-their-lawless-acts/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“For the Greeks, beauty is truth; for the Hebrews, truth is beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/for-the-greeks-beauty-is-truth-for-the-hebrews-truth-is-beauty/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [“Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/hebrews-4-13-says-nothing-in-all-creation-is-hidden-from-god-s-sight/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) > [The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist, and believed blind eternal fate, I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-hebrews-have-done-more-to-civilize-men-than-any-other-nation-if-i/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [A defining reality for me is what Scripture teaches in Hebrews 12, that God is our father, and that a sign that he loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/a-defining-reality-for-me-is-what-scripture-teaches-in-hebrews-12/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/who-in-the-days-of-his-flesh-when-he-had-offered-up-prayers-and/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) ## More by B. H. Roberts > [ \[T\]he kingdom of God... is to be a political institution that shall hold sway over all the earth; to which all other governments will… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/t-he-kingdom-of-god-is-to-be-a-political-institution-that-shall-hold/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [First, we believe that God is a being with a body in form like man's; that he possesses body, parts and passions; that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/first-we-believe-that-god-is-a-being-with-a-body-in-form-like-man-s/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [“Missouri in her treatment of the Latter-day Saints during the years 1833-9, sowed the wind; in the disastrous events which overtook her during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/missouri-in-her-treatment-of-the-latter-day-saints-during-the-years/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [There were other Anti-Christs among the Nephites, but they were more military leaders than religious innovators... they are all of one breed and brand;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/there-were-other-anti-christs-among-the-nephites-but-they-were-more/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [Faith is trust in what the spirit learned eons ago…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/faith-is-trust-in-what-the-spirit-learned-eons-ago/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [I can conceive of no reason for all this administration of the higher to the lower, unless it be for the purpose of advancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/i-can-conceive-of-no-reason-for-all-this-administration-of-the-higher/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [The Seer Stone referred to here was a chocolate-colored, somewhat egg-shaped stone which the Prophet found while digging a well in company with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/the-seer-stone-referred-to-here-was-a-chocolate-colored-somewhat-egg/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [The Manifesto was a cowardly proceeding, the more I thought of it the less I liked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/the-manifesto-was-a-cowardly-proceeding-the-more-i-thought-of-it-the/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) > [“These unwise utterances, however, were made, for the most part, by the overzealous and ignorant. Men who had no grasp of the real genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-roberts/these-unwise-utterances-however-were-made-for-the-most-part-by-the/) [B. H. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) [Explore all 10 B. H. Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-roberts/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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