B. H. Roberts - Studies of the Book of Mormon: Foreword by Sterling M. McMurrin

B. H. ROBERTS

STUDIES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

SECOND EDITION

WITH A NEW AFTERWORD

Edited and with an Introduction by

BRIGHAM D. MADSEN

With a Biographical Essay by

Sterling M. McMurrin

SIGNATURE BOOKS

SALT LAKE CITY

Cover design by Brian Bean

First edition 1985

Second Edition Copyright 1992, Signature Books, Inc. All rights reserved. Signature Books is a recognized trademark of Signature Books, Inc.

Published by arrangement with the University of Illinois Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry), 1857-1933

Studies of the Book of Mormon / B. H. Roberts:

edited and with an introduction by Brigham D. Madsen;

with a biographical essay by Sterling M. McMurrin.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-56085-027-2

1. Book of Mormon Criticism, interpretation, etc.

I. Madsen, Brigham D.

II. Title.

BX8627.R59 1992

289.322dc20

92-22758 CIP

Contents

Preface

The acquisition by the Marriott Library of the University of Utah of major unpublished manuscripts on the Book of Mormon by Brigham H. Roberts, together with related papers, is a matter of considerable importance. Roberts is widely regarded as the foremost historian and theologian of the Mormon Church, although some of his later and more interesting and controversial work is not available to the general public.

Two generous gifts of Robertss papers were made to the library by separate members of the Roberts family in 1979 and 1981. In the later 1970s Brigham E. Roberts, a grandson of Brigham H. Roberts and a Salt Lake City attorney, indicated his interest in presenting the manuscript A Book of Mormon Study to the university, hoping that it would be published with competent editing. Before the gift was consummated, however, Mr. Roberts died. Thereafter, his wife, Virginia D. Roberts, and his sons, William D. and Thom D. Roberts, presented a copy of the manuscript and other Roberts papers to the library. Mrs. Roberts also made a generous cash gift to assist in the preservation and publication of the manuscript material.

In the meantime, Adele W. Parkinson, widow of Wood R. Worsley, a grandson of B. H. Roberts, generously presented the university with portions of the personal library of Roberts, including correspondence and the manuscripts of the three works published in this volumeBook of Mormon Difficulties; the larger companion work, A Book of Mormon Study; and A Parallel. Each of the gifts was accompanied by written permission for the university to publish the manuscripts. As requested by the donors, the manuscripts and other materials were placed in the librarys Special Collections Department, where they are readily accessible for scholarly study.

The acquisition by the University of Utah Library of the B. H. Roberts manuscripts came during a renewal of interest in the writings and influence of Roberts, who died in 1933. While, as he indicated in a 1932 letter to his former secretary Elizabeth Skolfield, Roberts did not prepare these documents dealing with the Book of Mormon for publication, their presentation in this scholarly edition is intended to allow readers to glimpse yet another dimension of Robertss work.

Several persons encouraged the publication of these materials. Wallace N. Cooper demonstrated his interest by arranging for his secretary to make a careful transcript of the Roberts Book of Mormon manuscripts. And no one was more enthusiastic in his determination to see Robertss studies published than George D. Smith of San Francisco, who has special competence as a student of Roberts and his writings. Mr. Smith was persistent in his encouragement of the publication and presented his own analytical synopsis of the manuscripts to the community of Mormon scholars. Certainly the publication of this volume at the present time is in no small measure a result of his efforts.

The project has been under the jurisdiction of the former director of the librarys Special Collections Department who, supported by Roger K. Hanson, director of the University of Utah Libraries, and other university officials, negotiated for publication with the University of Illinois Press. Brigham D. Madsen, professor emeritus of history at the University of Utah and widely recognized for his competence as a research scholar in American history, annotated the manuscripts and prepared the requisite introductions and bibliographies. Sterling M. McMurrin, E. E. Ericksen Distinguished Professor at the University of Utah and a student of philosophy and the history of ideas, wrote the essay on Roberts as historian and theologian.

Everett L. Cooley

University of Utah

The Documents

History

The origins and chronology of the three B. H. Robertss essays now being published are briefly discussed here; further explanation is provided in the biographical essay and the introduction.

The first essay presented, Book of Mormon Difficulties. A Study, was originally 141 typed pages. It was presented to the General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on January 4, 5, and 26, 1922, and three private meetings were held with Apostles Anthony W. Ivins, James E. Talmage, and John A. Widtsoe over a period from February 2 to May 25, 1922, to discuss the subject further. The Special Collections Division of Marriott Library at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, acquired copies of the document from the Wood R. Worsley family on December 27, 1979, and from the Brigham E. Roberts family on January 19, 1981.

A Book of Mormon Study is divided into two parts. Part I was originally 170 typed pages; Part II was 114 typed pages. It is included in the Papers of Brigham Henry Roberts (1857-1933) in the Marriott Library, and it is the same document referred to by Wesley P. Lloyd in his journal. The decision by Roberts not to present this additional material to the General Authorities of the Church is acknowledged in his October 24, 1927, letter to Richard R. Lyman; according to the Lloyd journal he later sent it to President Heber J. Grant. The Special Collections Department of the Marriott Library obtained copies of the document from the Wood R. Worsley family on December 27, 1979, and from the Brigham E. Roberts family on January 19, 1981.

The final document presented here is A Parallel, which was originally eighteen typed pages. It presents similarities between the View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormons and is arranged in parallel columns. It was presented to Richard R. Lyman as recorded in the Lyman letter of October 24, 1927. A Parallel circulated in the Mormon underground during the late 1920s and through the early 1940s. Ben E. Roberts, the son of B. H. Roberts, acknowledged to Ariel L. Crowley in a letter of July 22, 1939, the existence of this document, and a public distribution of mimeographed copies of this analysis was made at the Timpanogos Club of Salt Lake City on October 10, 1946. It was subsequently published in the Rocky Mountain Mason by Mervin B. Hogan in January 1956.

Editorial Method

The correspondence written by B. H. Roberts includes unsigned carbon copies or draft letters sent to individuals. The other letters are either addressed to Roberts or are copies of letters to other individuals sent to him for his information. They are reproduced with all handwritten corrections or additions.

Book of Mormon Difficulties. A Study and Part I of A Book of Mormon Study are published from the original typewriter ribbon copies. Part II of A Book of Mormon Study and A Parallel are taken from carbon copies. The text presented here follows the copies on file in the Special Collections Department, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. In some instances they contain minor, non-substantive differences from copies of portions of these manuscripts that have been circulated over the years.