A Stylometric Analysis of Mormon Scripture and Related Texts

Abstract

SUMMARY This paper proposes a multivariate approach to measuring the richness of vocabulary of a literary text as a tool for problems of attribution of authorship. This approach is then applied to the corpus of Mormon scripture. The historical. foundation of the Mormon Church, in particular the church's dependence on the authenticity of the story of Joseph Smith and the genesis of the Book of Mormon, has become increasingly subjected to the stress of open inquiry. This paper contributes to this questioning of the origins of the Mormon faith by assessing the stylometric evidence for or against multiple authorship of the Book of Mormon itself.