A Comparison of

The Book of Mormon

and the

The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain
first published Jan 11, 2014 last edited Jan 15, 2014

Joseph most likely grew up reading a school book called The Late War by Gilbert J. Hunt and it heavily influenced his writing of The Book of Mormon.

Summary
The War of 1812 was to Joseph Smith what 9/11 was to many of usvery real, and very recent in memory. Why does The Book of Mormon include so much war? Could the War of 1812 have played a part in inspiring Joseph's imagination when he wrote The Book of Mormon? We believe that like all creative works, The Book of Mormon is a remixit was remixed from ideas and books contemporary to Joseph. One of those books was Gilbert J. Hunt's The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain, a historical account of the War of 1812 published in New York in 1816. Between 1817 and 1819 it was marketed "for the use of schools throughout the United States" under the title The Historical Reader. It was a historical account of the then-recent War of 1812, written in the "scriptural style". The Book of Mormon is one book of several in this genre. When The Late War was published, Joseph would have been 12 years old. Interestingly, an academic in New York named Samuel Mitchill wrote a letter of endorsement for Hunt's work, published in the preface of The Late War. Mitchill was pleased that a historian had used the "scriptural style" as a popular means of encouraging children to turn to the Holy Scriptures. When Joseph sent Martin Harris to seek endorsements for The Book of Mormon, one of the people he visited was the same Samuel Mitchill. Could Joseph have sought Mitchill's endorsement because of his support for The Late War, a book that

held similarities to The Book of Mormon? Without a strong link between the two books, the similarities would be difficult to explain. There are over 100 rare phrases that bind The Book of Mormon to The Late War (phrases that do not show up in other contemporary booksor if they do, only once or twice per thousand books). In addition, the two books use very similar language while detailing shared events and themes such as battles at forts and rivers, weapons of curious workmanship, 2,000 soldiers (including striplings), bands of robbers, martyrs burned, righteous vs. savage natives, cataclysmic events, Christopher Columbus, false prophets, fighting for the cause of liberty, freemen vs. men of the king, and silver plates and engravings in brass, among many others (and those further documented by Ryan Thomas).

Table of Contents
TL;DR Summary Table of Contents Samuel Latham Mitchill Availability to New York Students It Came to Pass Chiasmus Description of the Americas i. Cureloms as Mammoths? 9. Warfare i. Battles at Forts ii. Battles at Rivers iii. Battle Casualties iv. Weapons of War v. 2,000 Soldiers, and Striplings vi. Band of Robbers vii. Pitching Tents viii. Burned Martyrs ix. Mourning the Dead 10. Native Americans i. Righteous vs. Savage Indians ii. Missionary Work to Natives iii. Anti-Nephi-Lehis? iv. Three Nephites? 11. Travel by Ship i. Jaredite Barges? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

ii. Faraway Lands 12. Cataclysms 13. Troubling Inception 14. Liberty i. Flocking to a Symbol of Liberty ii. Cause of Liberty 15. Spiritual Being Entering Hearts 16. Using "Lion" Figuratively 17. Christopher Columbus 18. Nephi, Fulton Build a Ship 19. Liahona? 20. Silver Plates, Brass Plates 21. False Prophets 22. Freemen vs. Kingmen 23. Tender Women 24. Rare Phrase Matches 25. BYU Study 2009 26. Linguistics i. Hebraisms ii. Cognate Accusative iii. Whirlwind iv. Adverbials v. Negative Questions vi. Construct State vii. Compound Prepositions 27. Why War? 28. Authors 29. Credits

Samuel Latham Mitchill

Joseph Smith probably directed Martin Harris to visit Samuel L. Mitchill, in addition to Martin's famed visit to Professor Charles Anthon. From the Palmyra Freeman, 1829:

So blindly enthusiastic was Harris, that he took some of the characters interpreted by Smith, and went in search of some one, besides the interpreter, who was learned enough to English them; but all to whom he applied (among the number was Professor Mitchell, of New York,) happened not to be possessed of sufficient knowledge to give satisfaction! Harris returned, and set Smith to work at interpreting the Bible.

In the preface to the 2nd and 3rd editions of Gilbert J. Hunt's The Late War Between the United States and Great Britain, Samuel Mitchill endorsed Hunt's book which was "written in the ancient historical style" or "scriptural style" (the description changed between editions). Mitchill wrote:

It seems to me one of the best attempts to imitate the biblical style; and if the perusal of it can induce young persons to relish and love the sacred books whose language you have imitated, it will be the strongest of all recommendations.

Hunt explained his own intention as well: The author having adopted for the model of his style the phraseology of the best books, remarkable for its simplicity and strength, the young pupil will acquire, with the knowledge of reading, a love for the manner in which the great truths of Divine Revelation are conveyed to his understanding, and this will be an inducement to him to study the Holy Scriptures.

Samuel Mitchill was a strong proponent of a theory of the origins of Ancient Americans that is largely compatible with the Book of Mormon: Professor Samuel L. Mitchill, formerly of Columbia College, had concluded that two main groups of people once dominated the Americasthe Tartars of northern Asia and the Australasians of the Polynesian islands. Furthermore, they fought one another for many years,

culminating in great battles of extermination in what later became upstate New York. This New York theory has much in common with the Book of Mormon. While visiting Professor Charles Anthon in New York in 1828, Martin Harris also met with Mitchill, an encounter that lent support to Harris's work on the Book of Mormon. Abstract from A Nation Now Extinct

The endorsements in The Late War are clearly an effort to give the book legitimacy, hence improving its marketability. Hunt is quite wise in getting the endorsement of Mitchill, who was well-known as a sort of human encyclopedia. The endorsement from Picket (also in the preface to The Late War) would get him into the educational market, as well. Joseph Smith may well have thought that such an endorsement from Mitchill and Anthon would legitimize the book. grindael Ultimately, Mitchill (as well as Charles Anthon), did not endorse The Book of Mormon.

Availability to New York Students

How available was The Late War to students of New York? Hunt intended to sell the book to students, but did it reach his intended audience?

1. The number of copies present in libraries today is relatively large, showing that many copies were indeed printed; and 2. Most copies which I see show considerable wear, suggesting i. that they were used heavily over the years, and ii. that most copies were logically read to death and no longer survive at all (which lends more significancefor presumed large numbers printedto the number which still survive, than if those modern survivals were all in fresh, unread condition). Rick Grunder

There are 158 copies of The Late War listed in the world's largest open library system, the OCLC:

The OCLC system lists 158 copies of the book, in its various 1816-1819 editions, in libraries worldwide. Plus, there are many smaller libraries which don't participate in the OCLC system, and then there are also individual collectors. A friend of mine has several copies and sold many more, much of these in his personal collection acquired that pre-date Hofmann. Joe Geisner

It seems the book was widely available at the right time and in the right location, but did it reach Joseph Smith in particular? The probabilistic evidence for this is clear from this research; however, there is further reason to believe that Joseph had access to the book: he was closely connected to at least 3 teachers. His father, Joseph Smith Sr. was a teacher during the off season. His wife, Emma Hale Smith, was also a teacher. In addition, Oliver Cowdery's involvement began when as a traveling teacher he lodged with the Smiths. Another way to look at this question is, given that the War of 1812 was such a prominent historical subject, one that would have been taught and discussed at great length during Joseph Smith's teenage years, what textbook other than The Late War was more likely to have been used to cover this subject matter by teachers he knew?

It Came to Pass

The Bible 390 occurrences of the phrase "it came to pass" 790,930 words total in book Density: 0.049%

The Late War 76 occurrences of the phrase "it came to pass" 59,679 words total in book Density: 0.12%

Book of Mormon 1322 occurrences of the phrase "it came to pass" 272,004 words total in book Density: 0.48%

Chiasmus
While chiasmus is a pattern that shows up in many English texts, some consider it to be an important marker that differentiates modern and ancient styles of writing. We don't believe this is the caseThe Late War contains several significant chiastic structures. For instance:

Description of the Americas

Both books share a striking similarity in their describing the Americas. The types of things worthy of mention are alikemetals, fruits, and animals. It's noteworthy that The Book of Mormon lists European animals instead of animals native to America (such as the tapir); and, oddly, in the same section that The Book of Mormon mistakenly includes elephants as native to America, The Late War mentions the elephant in comparison to mammoths. Location 20:1116 The Late War Quotation Now the land of Columbia is a most plentiful land, yielding gold and silver, and brass and iron abundantly. Likewise, all manner of creatures which are used for food, and herbs and fruits of the earth: From the red cherry, and the rosy peach of the north, to the lemon, and the golden orange of the south. And from the small insect, that cheateth the microscopic eye, to the huge mammoth that Book of Mormon Quotation Location the Lord began again to take the curse from off the land, and ... they became exceeding rich, having all manner of fruit, and of grain, and of silks, and of fine linen, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things; And also all manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and of swine, and of goats, and also many other kinds of animals which were useful for the food of man. And they also had horses, and Ether 9:17-19, 2 Nephi 5:15

once moved on the borders of the river Hudson; on the great river Ohio; and even down to the country of Patagonia in the south. Now the height of a mammoth is about seven cubits and a half, and the length thereof fourteen cubits; and the bones thereof being weighed were more than thirty thousand shekels; and the length of the tusks is more than six cubits. It is more wonderful than the elephant; and the history thereof, is it not recorded in the book of Jefferson, the scribe?

asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms; all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms. And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

Cureloms as Mammoths?
Orson Pratt said that a "curelom" was a

"mammoth":

Now to prepare them against these contingencies, and that they might, have fresh air for the benefit of the elephants, cureloms or mammoths and many other animals, that perhaps were in them, as well as the human beings they contained, the Lord told them how to construct them in order to receive air, that when they were on the top of the water, whichever side up their vessels happened to be, it mattered not; they were so constructed that they could ride safely, though bottom upwards and they could open their air holes that

happened to be uppermost" (Orson Pratt, JoD 12:340). See also wikipedia

Warfare
Battles at Forts
The elements of the Croghan/Moroni battles are very similar, sharing phraseology and a basic plot: the protagonist men prepare for battle at their fort, the enemy attacks, the ditches around the fort are filled with the enemy's bodies, the enemy flees into the forest. Some may argue that this structure is a scne a fairethat this is a basic structure common to many battles; however, there are distinctive elements to these descriptions that raise the question, how could two battles separated by nearly 2,000 years be described by two different people in so similar a manner? In the context of the strong evidence of a connection between The Late War and The Book of Mormon is it reasonable to conclude that the structure is coincidental rather than imitative? Location 29:2023 The Late War Quotation But the men of Croghan were prepared for them; and they let loose their weapons of war upon them, and set their destroying engine to work, and smote the men of Britain, hip and thigh, with great slaughter. And the deep ditch that surrounded the fort was strewed with their slain and their wounded. So the host of Britain were dismayed and overthrown, and fled in confusion from the fort into the forest; from whence, in the dead of the night, they went into their vessels, and departed from the place. Book of Mormon Quotation Location Moroni ... had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God; yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about, to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities, and the borders of their lands; Thus they were prepared, yea, a body of their strongest men, with their swords and their slings, to smite down all who should attempt to come into their Alma 48:7-8, Alma 49:2025

Now the loss of the men of Britain was about an hundred two score and ten; and of the men of Columbia there was one slain and seven wounded.

place of security by the place of entrance; and thus were they prepared to defend themselves against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that the captains of the Lamanites brought up their armies before the place of entrance, and began to contend with the Nephites, to get into their place of security; but behold, they were driven back from time to time, insomuch that they were slain with an immense slaughter. Now when they found that they could not obtain power over the Nephites by the pass, they began to dig down their banks of earth that they might obtain a pass to their armies, that they might have an equal chance to fight; but behold, in these attempts they were swept off by the stones and arrows which were thrown at them; and instead of filling up their ditches by pulling down the banks of earth, they were filled up in a measure with their dead and wounded bodies. Thus the Nephites had all power over their enemies; and thus the Lamanites did attempt to destroy the Nephites until their chief captains were all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain; while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites

which was slain. There were about fifty who were wounded, who had been exposed to the arrows of the Lamanites through the pass, but they were shielded by their shields, and their breastplates, and their head-plates, insomuch that their wounds were upon their legs, many of which were very severe. And it came to pass, that when the Lamanites saw that their chief captains were all slain they fled into the wilderness. And it came to pass that they returned to the land of Nephi, to inform their king, Amalickiah, who was a Nephite by birth, concerning their great loss.

Battles at Rivers
Location 47:2-5 The Late War Quotation And the battle raged with great violence, and the men of Britain strove hard to pass over the river called Saranac; But the men of war of Columbia, who were upon the opposite side of the water, opposed them, and slew them with great slaughter. And the brave Grosvenor, and Hamilton, and Riley, and the gallant Cronk, drove them back from crossing the bridges. Likewise, many were slain in the river, so that the waters of the Saranac Book of Mormon Quotation Location But Alma, with his guards, Alma contended with the 2:34 guards of the king of the Lamanites, until he slew and drove them back; and thus he cleared the ground, or rather the bank, which was on the west side of the river Sidon, throwing bodies of the Lamanites which had been slain, into the waters of Sidon, that thereby his people might have room to cross and contend with the Lamanites and the

were dyed with the blood of the servants of the king.

Amlicites, on the west side of the river Sidon.

Battle Casualties

Location 8:18-19

Frequent reports of the number slain appear throughout the text, rather in the style of the daily reports in the Book of Mormon. And as in the Book of Mormon, nearmiraculous differences can occur between casualty numbers of the wicked vs. the righteous. Rick Grunder, Mormon Parallels

In both books: The righteous protagonists triumph over the more numerous foe, and the enemy army consistently outnumbers the righteous protagonists. Ryan Thomas, Direct Literary Dependence? The Late War Quotation Now the slain, the maimed and the captives of the host of Britain that day, were about a thousand fighting men: And the loss of the men of Columbia was about three hundred slain and wounded. Book of Mormon Quotation Location Yea, we did go forth against the Lamanites; and in one day and a night, we did slay three thousand and fortythree; we did slay them, even until we had driven them out of our land. And I, myself, with mine own hands, did help to bury their dead. And behold, to our great sorrow and lamentation, two hundred and seventynine of our brethren were slain. And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, Mosiah 9:18-19

49:1820

Nevertheless, they received the reward of their unrighteousness, for much damage was done to their vessels, and their slain and wounded were two hundred two score

Alma 57:2526

and ten. Of the people of Columbia two only were slain and seven maimed ! ! And the valiant deeds of Samuel gained him a name amongst the brave men of Columbia.

and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds. And now, their preservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain.

49:3536

35 And the slaughter on board the ships was dreadful; and about three hundred of the men of Britain were slain, and the Hermes was blown out of the water into the air with an awful noise. The loss of the people of Columbia that day, was four slain and five maimed. Seven hundred of the servants of the king were slain; and their whole loss that day was two thousand six hundred valiant men, who had fought under Wellington, the champion of England.

Thus had Moroni and Pahoran obtained the possession of the city of Nephihah without the loss of one soul; and there were many of the Lamanites who were slain.

Alma 62:26

54:24

there was a large number which were desirous to possess the land of their inheritance; wherefore, they went up into the wilderness. And their leader being a strong and mighty man, and a stiffnecked man, wherefore, he caused a contention among them; and they were all slain, save fifty, in the wilderness, and they returned again to the land of Zarahemla. Thus the Nephites had all

Omni 1:28

54:27-

The loss of the army of

Alma

28

Jackson was only seven slain and seven maimed, a circumstance unparalleled in the annals of history: howbeit, there were about two score slain and wounded upon the other side of the river.Now the whole loss of the king's army, from the time they came against the country of Louisiana until their departure, was about five thousand.

power over their enemies; 49:23and thus the Lamanites 24 did attempt to destroy the Nephites until their chief captains were all slain; yea, and more than a thousand of the Lamanites were slain; while, on the other hand, there was not a single soul of the Nephites which was slain.

Weapons of War
Location 46:6 The Late War Quotation And they began to prepare their battering rams, their bombs and their rockets, and all kinds of instruments of destruction; and they entrenched themselves round about. Book of Mormon Quotation Location Therefore the people of the Nephites were aware of the intent of the Amlicites, and therefore they did prepare to meet them; yea, they did arm themselves with swords, and with cimeters, and with bows, and with arrows, and with stones, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons of war, of every kind. [Moroni and Pahoran] slew many of them, and took their provisions and their weapons of war. Alma 2:12

19:13

And their weapons of war were of curious workmanship [footnote: rifles], and they sent forth balls of lead; such as were unknown to Pharaoh when he followed the Children of Israel down into the red sea. Their polished steels, of fine workmanship, glittered in the sun, and

Alma 62:15

54:7

And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land,

Jarom 1:8

the movement of their squadrons was as the waving of a wheat-field, when the south wind passeth gently over it.

and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of waryea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war. And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship. And they did make all manner of weapons of war. And they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship. 1 Ne 18:1, Ether 10:27

12:12, 13:13, 50:7

Now these steam-boats were cunningly contrived, and had abundance of curious workmanship therein, such as surpassed the comprehension of all the wise men of the east, from the beginning to this day. However, the people of Columbia were pleased with the noble conduct of Jones, and for his valiant acts they gave him a sword of curious workmanship. And when Carden came on board the ship of the Columbia, he bowed his head, and offered to put his sword, of curious workmanship, into the hands of Decatur.

2,000 Soldiers, and Striplings

The Late War does not include the phrase "stripling soldiers" like the Book of Mormon; however, it does contain, in various parts, many of the elements that

make the 2,000 stripling soldiers distinctive: striplings who fight, a chosen leader, calling the soldiers a "band", and a decisive victory. Location 19:32 The Late War Quotation About this time, a stripling from the south, with his weapon of war in his hand, ran up to Zebulon, and spake unto him, saying... And to a certain chief captain called William, whose sir-name was Hull, was given in trust a band of more than two thousand chosen men, to go forth to battle in the north. And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader... And now it came to pass that Helaman did march at the head of his two thousand stripling soldiers, to the support of the people in the borders of the land on the south by the west sea. But behold, my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most desperately; yea, they were firm before the Lamanites, and did administer death unto all those who opposed them. Alma 53:1922 Book of Mormon Quotation Location

6:2

22:12

Nevertheless Harrison, and his gallant little band, fought hard against them, and drove them from before the strong hold with great slaughter.

Alma 57:19

Band of Robbers

Jean Lafitte was a "sea-robber" The Late War Location Quotation 49:3738, 1:18 About this time a band of sea-robbers and pirates, who had established themselves upon the island of Barrataria, were committing great wickedness and depredations and were ready to assist the men of Britain. But a valiant man, called Daniel, sirnamed Patterson, went against them with his small fighting vessels, and scattered them abroad, and took their vessels, and destroyed their petty establishment of searobbery. Now these things pleased the pirates and the cruisers and all the Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites. And it came to pass that it was expedient that there should be a stop put to this work of destruction; therefore they sent an army of strong men into the wilderness and upon the mountains to search out this band of robbers, and to destroy them. Helaman 6:37,Helaman 11:28,30

sea-robbers of Britain mightily, inasmuch as they could rob with impunity the commerce of Columbia, under the cloak of British honor.

And it came to pass in the commencement of the eighty and first year they did go forth again against this band of robbers, and did destroy many; and they were also visited with much destruction.

There are numerous references to destroying robbers in the Book of Mormon and none in the Bible. While there are no doubt other potential sources (and I wouldn't make the claim that the robbers in the Book of Mormon are solely based on this one passage) it is interesting that both the Late War and the Book of Mormon speak of going against the band of robbers and destroying them. Hasa

Pitching Tents on the Borders

Location 11:17 The Late War Quotation And the army of Columbia went into winter quarters; for the earth was covered with snow, and the waters of the great lakes, on the borders of which they had pitched their tents, were congealed. Book of Mormon Quotation Location ... And it came to pass Alma that Teancum and his 51:32 men did pitch their tents in the borders of the land Bountiful; and Amalickiah did pitch his tents in the borders on the beach by the seashore, and after this manner were they driven.

Burned Martyrs
Location 14:3941 The Late War Quotation For the savages put the burning brand to the houses, from which they could not flee, and burnt them alive therein. And the flames and the smoke arose! and their cries and their groans Book of Mormon Quotation Location And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us Alma 14:1011

reached the high chancery of heaven, Where they will stand recorded, until the coming of that Day for which all other days were made.

stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames. But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day. ... Now it came to pass that when the bodies of those which had been cast into the fire, were consumed, and also the records which were cast in with them

Mourning the Dead

Location 19:5760 The Late War Quotation Oh! earth, how long shall thy inhabitants delight in warfare? when shall the old men cease to weep for their children? Behold you lonely widows; they weep for their husbands and their children; but they shall see their faces no more! The fair daughters of Columbia Book of Mormon Quotation Location And my soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye Mormon 6:16-20

sigh for the return of their beloved. Seest thou those little ones? they fly to their disconsolate mother, they leap with joy at the name of the father! but he shall never return!

had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return. And it came to pass that Jacob many means were devised 7:24 to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain, for they delighted in wars and bloodshed, and they had an eternal hatred against us, their brethren. And they sought by the power of their arms to destroy us continually.

Native Americans
Righteous Indians vs. Savage Indians
Location The Late War Quotation Book of Mormon Quotation Location But it came to pass in the Helaman fifty and sixth year of the 4:4 reign of the judges, there were dissenters who went up from the Nephites unto the Lamanites; and they succeeded with those others in stirring them up to anger against the Nephites; and they were all that year preparing for war.

1:19 Furthermore, have not the (Grunder servants of the king p. 731) leagued with the savages of the wilderness, and given unto them silver and gold, and placed the destroying engines in their hands? Thereby stirring up the spirit of Satan within them, that they might spill the blood of the people of Columbia;

even the blood of our old men, our wives, and our little ones!

Missionary Work to Natives

The Late War Location Quotation 26:18-21 Now there were some (Grunder, amongst the tribes of p. 731) the savages who had been instructed in the ways of God, and taught to walk in the path of righteousness; For the chief governor of the land of Columbia, and the great Sanhedrim of the people, had taken them under their care, And sent good men amongst them to preach the gospel, and instruct them in the sublime doctrine of the Saviour of the world. And they hearkened unto the preachers, and were convinced, and their natures were softened. Book of Mormon Quotation Location yea, having been instructed in the same knowledge of the Lord ... Now it came to pass that after the sons of Mosiah had done all these things, they took a small number with them and returned to their father, the king, and desired of him that he would grant unto them that they might, with these whom they had selected, go up to the land of Nephi that they might preach the things which they had heard, and that they might impart the word of God to their brethren, the Lamanites-and [Ammon] also made known unto them concerning the coming of Christ ... And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words. 26:21 And they hearkened unto the preachers, and were convinced, and their natures were And behold, I [the Lamanite king] thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Alma 24:8 Alma 47:36, Alma 18:1,39,40

softened.

Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

Anti-Nephi-Lehis?
Location 26:2228 The Late War Quotation Amongst these tribes [the tribes of the savages who had been instructed in the ways of God, see above] were those who were called, the Six nations of NewYork Indians: And their eyes were opened, and they saw the evil and the wickedness of Britain. So their chiefs and their counsellors rose up and made war against the province of Canada, and fought against the hired savages of the king of Britain. But in all their acts they suffered not the spirit of barbarians to rule over them. They remembered the good counsel given to them by their aged chief. And when the red savages and the men of Britain fell into their hands, they raised neither the tomahawk nor the scalping knife. Nay, they treated them kindly; and those who were slain in battle they disturbed not; and their humanity exceeded the humanity of the white men of Britain. Book of Mormon Quotation Location Now there was not one soul among all the people [the Anti-Nephi-Lehis] who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war; yea, and also their king commanded them that they should not. And now it came to pass that when the king had made an end of these sayings, and all the people were assembled together, they took their swords, and all the weapons which were used for the shedding of man's blood, and they did bury them up deep in the earth. And thus we see that, when these Lamanites were brought to believe and to know the truth, they were firm, and would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin; and thus we see that they buried their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of war, for Alma 24:6, 17, 19

peace.

Three Nephites?
Location 35:19 The Late War Quotation And he marched with his army through the wilderness more than an hundred miles, to a town built upon a place called by the savages the HolyGround, where three of the Indian prophets dwelt. Book of Mormon Quotation Location And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father? ... Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me. Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven. Therefore the true believers in Christ, and the true worshipers of Christ, (among whom were the three disciples of Jesus who should tarry) were called Nephites, and Jacobites, and Josephites, and Zoramites. 3 Nephi 28:4-7, 4 Nephi 1:37

Travel by Ship

Jaredite Barges?
Location 52:4, 28:12, 15:30 The Late War Quotation Now they sat their engines to work with dreadful violence; but in about the third part of an hour the barges of the king's ship were overcome. Book of Mormon Quotation Location Ether 2:17, Ether 2:23, Ether 6:7

And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren, and built barges after the manner which they had built, according to the instructions of the Lord. Howsoever, they cut And they were small, and down the tall trees of the they were light upon the forest, and hewed them, water; and they were built and built many more after a manner that they strong vessels; although were exceeding tight; they had no gophar-wood even that they would hold amongst them in these water like unto a dish; and days. And they made the bottom thereof was stories to them, even to tight like unto a dish; and the third story, and they the sides thereof was tight like unto a dish; and put windows in them, the ends thereof were and they pitched them peaked; and the top within and without with thereof was tight like unto pitch; after the fashion of a dish; and the length the ark. thereof was the length of And the fish of the sea, a tree; even the mighty whales, O Lord, behold I have fled from the noise of the done even as thou hast ship. commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold, there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness? And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared, What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye

shall not go by the light of the fire: for behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep, there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah;

Faraway Lands
Location 15:2-3, 6-7 The Late War Quotation It came to pass, that one of the strong ships of the king had approached the country of the south, which lieth many thousand miles off. And the ship was called Java, after one of the sweet scented islands of the east; where the poppy flourishes, where the heat of the sun is abundant, and where the Bohon Upas emits its deadly poison ... So as he passed along, nigh unto the coast of Brazil, where the sun casteth the shadow of a man to the south at noon day: (A place unknown to the children of Israel, in the days of Moses) Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass Alma that one other ship also 63:8-9 did sail forth; and whither she did go, we know not. And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and eighth year.

Cataclysms
The Late War Book of Mormon

Location 19:3744

Quotation But as the young man returned to where the army stayed, behold! the black dust in the hold caught fire, and it rent the air with the noise of a thousand thunders: And the whole army fell down upon their faces to the earth; and the stones, and the fragments of rocks, were lifted high; and the falling thereof was terrible even unto deaths Yea, it was dreadful as the mighty earthquake, which overturneth cities. And the whole face of the earth round about, and the army of Zebulon, were overshadowed with black smoke; so that, for a time, one man saw not another: But when the heavy clouds of smoke passed away towards the west, behold the earth was covered with the killed and the wounded. Alas! the sight was shocking to behold; as the deed was ignoble. About two hundred men rose not: the stones had bruised them; the sharp rocks had fallen upon them: They were wedged into the earth: their weapons of war were bent down into the ground with them; their feet were turned towards heaven; their limbs were lopped off.

Quotation ... in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead. Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up; And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder. And the city of Zarahemla did take fire. And the city of Moroni did sink into the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof were drowned. And the earth was carried up upon the city of Moronihah, that in the place of the city there became a great

Location Helaman 14:7, 3 Nephi 8:6

mountain. And there was a great and terrible destruction in the land southward. But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth; And the highways were broken up, and the level roads were spoiled, and many smooth places became rough. And many great and notable cities were sunk, and many were burned, and many were shaken till the buildings thereof had fallen to the earth, and the inhabitants thereof were slain, and the places were left desolate. And behold, the rocks were rent in twain; they were broken up upon the face of the whole earth, insomuch that they were found in broken fragments, and in seams and in cracks, upon all the face of the land. And it came to pass that when the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the storm, and the tempest, and the quakings of the earth did ceasefor behold, they did last for about the space of three hours; and it was said by some that the time was greater; nevertheless, all these

great and terrible things were done in about the space of three hours and then behold, there was darkness upon the face of the land. And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all; And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land. In both books we have references to: thunder, large groups of people falling to the earth, rocks being raised and falling causing deaths, fragments of rocks, the face of the earth, and thick darkness which prevents anyone from seeing each other or anything around them. It is also interesting that there are mentions of sinking and drowning in the Book of Mormon which would make more sense if The Last War was being used since it includes descriptions of water battles. Hasa

Troubling Inception
Both The Late War and The Book of Mormon share an anecdote of leaders considering a problem which has never been dealt with before. In The Late War, it is a military leader, captain Carden, who is troubled with the capture of a British war ship as he contemplates the geopolitical implications of the act. In The Book of Mormon, it is a spiritual leader, Alma, who contemplates what should be done with dissenters who are causing trouble in the church, in the context of separation of church and state.

Location 13:17

The Late War Quotation And after they had eaten and drank, Carden opened his mouth, for he was troubled in his mind, and spake unto Decatur, saying: Lo! if this thing which hath happened be known unto the king, that one of the vessels of Britain hath struck her flag, and become captive to a vessel of the United States, what shall be done unto the captain thereof? for such a thing hath not been heard of among the nations of the earth.

Book of Mormon Quotation Location Now there had not any such thing happened before, in the church; therefore Alma was troubled in his spirit, and he caused that they should be brought before the king. Mosiah 26:10

Liberty
Flocking to a Symbol of Liberty
The context for the passages in both books is people choosing sides in a civil war between one side that is loyal to a king and the other side that is in favor of "freedom" from kings. Juggler Vain Location 6:14 The Late War Quotation And it came to pass, that a great multitude flocked to the banners of the great Sanhedrim. Book of Mormon Quotation Location And behold, I have sent a proclamation throughout this part of the land; and behold, they are flocking to us daily, to their arms, in the defence of their country and their freedom, and to avenge our wrongs. And it came to pass that thousands did flock unto his standard, and Alma 61:6, Alma 62:5

did take up their swords in the defence of their freedom, that they might not come into bondage. p. 184, 2nd ed. What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, as it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? [Moroni] rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon itIn memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, And the star-spangled and our childrenand banner in triumph doth he fastened it upon the end of a pole... and he wave. O'er the land of the free, and the home of took the pole, which had on the end thereof his the brave. O! thus be it ever when freemen shall rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he stand, Between their bowed himself to the lov'd home, and the earth, and he prayed war's desolation. Blest mightily unto his God for with vict'ry and peace, may the Heaven rescu'd the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so land, praise the Power long as there should a that hath made and band of Christians preserv'd us a nation! remain to possess the Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, land ... A chosen land, and this be our motto and the land of liberty. "In God is our trust;" [Moroni caused the flag to be] hoisted upon every tower which was in all the land, which was possessed by the Nephites; and thus Moroni planted the standard of liberty among the Nephites. Alma 46:12,36 (Grunder p. 729)

Cause of Liberty
Location 24:15 The Late War Quotation But if, peradventure, we should be overcome, even then shall not the sacred cause of LIBERTY Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go against those king-men, Alma 51:17

perish, neither shall the people of Columbia be disheartened.

to pull down their pride and their nobility and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the cause of liberty. And it came to pass that the Lamanites promised unto Alma and his brethren, that if they would show them the way which led to the land of Nephi that they would grant unto them their lives and their liberty. Mosiah 23:36

54:13

And Jackson spake, and said unto his captains of fifties, and his captains of hundreds, Fear not; we defend our lives and our liberties, and in that thing the Lord will not forsake us.

Spiritual Being Entering Hearts

Location 3:17 The Late War Quotation Moreover, Satan entered into the heart of one of the governors of the east, and he was led astray by the wickedness thereof, even Caleb the Strong. Book of Mormon Quotation Location And behold, the Holy Spirit did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as with fire, and they could speak forth marvellous words. Helaman 5:45

Using "Lion" Figuratively

Location 17:3, 33:11 The Late War Quotation They hid themselves in the wilderness; they couched down as a lion; and as a young lion, they watched for their prey. But the army of Columbia rushed upon them with the fierceness of lions. Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that the battle became exceedingly sore, for they fought like lions for their prey. Mosiah 20:10

55:21

And it came to pass, when the news of peace was spread abroad, that the temples of the Lord were opened, and the people of Columbia praised God for his goodness; yea, they thanked him that he had strengthened their arms, and delivered them from the lion's paw. But the wickedness of the kingdom of Great Britain, and the cruelty of the princes thereof, towards the peaceable inhabitants of the land of Columbia, may be likened unto the fierce lion, when he putteth his paw upon the innocent lamb to devour him. Now the people having Alma heard a great noise came 14:29 running together by multitudes to know the cause of it; and when they saw Alma and Amulek coming forth out of the prison, and the walls thereof had fallen to the earth, they were struck with great fear, and fled from the presence of Alma and Amulek even as a goat fleeth with her young from two lions; and thus they did flee from the presence of Alma and Amulek.

2:7

That they both use 'lion' isn't particularly strange since the bible is full of figurative language around the subject. What strikes me about this is that there were actually no lions in the Americas at any time during the Book of Mormon period.

So for Joseph to have used lions figuratively is anachronistic in my opinion. It makes no sense for him to have used them, it makes no sense for Jesus to have spoken to the Nephites about Lions, since they wouldn't have been familiar with them, and it makes no sense for Mormon to have used them since he wouldn't have known about them either. (Or am I wrong?) It does make sense if Joseph was being influenced by the Bible and The Late War. Interestingly, Joseph doesn't use 'eagle' (as does Hunt and the Bible) which wouldn't have been anachronistic in a Book of Mormon setting. Mary

Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was a controversial figurewas he a brutal slave master, or an inspired leader? Whatever he was, The Late War and The Book of Mormon share the same high regard for Columbus. The Late War esteems him so highly that,

Location 20:35,9-10

Hunt almost always refers to America as the land of "Columbia," following the example of Richard Snowden. Rick Grunder, Mormon Parallels, p. 732 The Late War Quotation Moreover the name of the country was called after the name of a great man, who was born in a place called Genoa; being in Italia, on the sea-coast. His name was Christopher, sir-named Columbus. As the righteous man struggleth against wickedness, so did he against ignorance and stupidity. Now when the people heard that Columbus had found a new land, they were astonished beyond measure, for it was many thousand miles off; moreover, Book of Mormon Quotation Location And I looked and beheld a 1 Ne 13:12 man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.

some of them strove to rob him of the honor, and he was treated wrongfully. But his name was lifted up above his enemies, and it shall not be lost.

Nephi, Fulton Build a Ship

Location 50:3-7

The Late War Quotation Now the name of this man was Robert, surnamed Fulton; ... like other men of genius, in these days, he was spoken of but slightly at first; for the people said, Lo! the man is beside himself and they laughed at him; nevertheless, he exceeded their expectations. For it came to pass, that ... he was enabled to construct certain curious vessels, called in the vernacular

Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall shew thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters. ... And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great 1 Nephi 17:8,1718, 18:1-2,4

tongue, steam-boats. Now these steam-boats were cunningly contrived, and had abundance of curious workmanship therein, such as surpassed the comprehension of all the wise men of the east, from the beginning to this day;

waters. And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord. ... and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. ... And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceeding fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

Liahona?
Location 50:24 The Late War Quotation Now these wonderful torpedoes were made partly of brass and partly of iron, and were cunningly contrived with curious works, like unto a clock; and as it were a large ball. Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness. And now my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a 1 Nephi 16:10, Alma 37:39

ball, or director; our fathers called it Liahona, which is interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it. And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

Silver Plates, Brass Plates

Did The Late War inspire Joseph to consider brass as a storage medium for the deeds of an ancient people?

Historical inscriptions or records engraved on brass surfaces are not mentioned in the Bible, but are highly important throughout the Book of Mormon in the brass plates of Laban. Rick Grunder, Mormon Parallels, p. 732

Engraved silver "plate" awarded to Oliver Perry

In addition to mentioning brass as a medium of record, The Late War refers to a "silver plate" awarded to Captain Oliver Perry from the people (the government of Pennsylvania).

Location 36:26, 31:33

The Late War Quotation But the imaginary evils which the children of men commit are oftentimes graven in brass, whilst their actual good deeds are written in sand. Likewise, the people gave him [Oliver Perry] much silver plate, with gravings thereon, mentioning his deeds.

Book of Mormon Quotation Location And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem? And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did engraven the record of my father, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them. And they brought a record with them, even a record of the people whose bones they had found; and it was engraven on plates of ore. 3 Nephi 10:17, 1 Nephi 19:1, Mosiah 21:27

False Prophets
Location The Late War Quotation Book of Mormon Quotation Location Now when Alma had said Alma these words, Korihor 30:50,59 was struck dumb, that he could not have utterance, according to the words of Alma. and as he went forth amongst them, behold,

35:29 Manahoee, their chief (Grunder, prophet, was smitten in p. 731) the mouth, and slain, and two other false prophets were slain with him.

he was run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead. 4:11-13, 35:20 Now, there was a certain hypocrite whose name was Elijah, and he was a false prophet in the east, and led astray those of little understanding: moreover, he was an hireling, and preached for the sake of filthy lucre. And he rose up and called himself a preacher of the gospel, and his words were smooth, and the people marvelled at him; But he profaned the temple of the Lord, and he strove to lead his disciples into the wrong way. Now there were lying prophets among the savages, even as there were in the days of old, among the children of Israel; and they prophesied according to their own wishes; O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? And after there had been false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people, and all these having been punished according to their crimes ... Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them. Mormon 8:38, WoM 1:16, Mosiah 11:7

Freemen vs. Kingmen

The War of 1812 has also been called the "2nd War of Independence" because it settled once and for all the sovereinty of the United States of America, and separated the nation from Great Britain. During this conflict, however, the question of loyalty arose among the colonists once morewould they be true to their new and fledling nation ("freemen"), or yield to the strong ties that they had to their mother country ("Tories")? This division plays out in The Book of Mormon as a battle of might and will between the "freemen" and the "kingmen". Location The Late War Quotation Book of Mormon Quotation Location

3:15-18, 38:18

Now it happened about this time that there were numbers of the inhabitants of the country of Columbia whose hearts yearned after the king of Britain. These men were called Tories, which signifieth, in the vernacular tongue, the blind followers of royalty. Inasmuch as he put the wise men of the king to their wits end ; for they were unable to out-sail him and take him captive.

And it came to pass that those who were desirous that Pahoran should be dethroned from the judgment seat, were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government, and to establish a king over the land. And it came to pass that Moroni commanded that his army should go against those king-men, to pull down their pride and their nobility and level them with the earth, or they should take up arms and support the cause of liberty. And those who were desirous that Pahoran should remain Chief Judge over the land, took upon them the name of freemen; and thus was the division among them: for the freemen had sworn or covenanted to maintain their rights, and privileges of their religion, by a free government. And except ye grant mine epistle, and come out and show unto me a true spirit of freedom, and strive to strengthen and fortify our armies, and grant unto them food for their support, behold I will leave a part of my freemen to maintain this part of our land, and I will leave the strength and the blessings of God upon them, that none other

Alma 51:5,17

51:7, 38:2627, 48:12

Nevertheless, it was so that the freemen who came to the defence of the city, built strong holds and forts, and raised up fortifications in abundance, inasmuch as the whole place was as it were one camp. Nevertheless, David said unto the captains of the king, Come singly, and not like cowards, upon me ; then shall ye receive the thunders of the freemen of Columbia abundantly; And her liberty shall not suffer, although in the contest ye may destroy my vessel upon the face of the waters. With the spirit of freemen, they grasped their weapons of war in

Alma 51:6, Alma 60:25

their hands, and went out to meet them without fear ; resolved to conquer or to die.

power can operate against them

Tender Women
The Late War reveals a cultural attitude toward women that is shared by The Book of Mormon. Women are often spoken of as "tender" and "fair", prey to the lusts of men. Location 21:4043, 21:4, 35:28 The Late War Quotation Instead of protecting the tender women, the fairest work of God, the life of the world; behold! What hast thou done? See! The shrieking matron cast herself into the waters that she may escape thy brutal violence: but all in vain; her garments are torn from her; she becomes a prey to thy savage lust. Not she alone, but her daughter, and her fair sisters, have fallen into the unhallowed hands, and been defiled! Oh, Britain! The voice of violated chastity riseth up against thee; the mark of the beast is indelibly printed in thy forehead: Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that those who tarried with their wives and their children caused that their fair daughters should stand forth and plead with the Lamanites that they would not slay them. And it came to pass that the Lamanites had compassion on them, for they were charmed with the beauty of their women. Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives, and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi, and granted unto them that they might possess the land ... Mosiah 19:13, Jacob 2:7

And also it grieveth me that I must use so much And the old men, the little boldness of speech children, and the women, concerning you, before yea, the fair daughters of your wives and your children, many of whose Columbia, were feelings are exceedingly compelled to fly from the tender and chaste and wickedness of the delicate before God, barbarians. which thing is pleasing Seven hundred and fifty of unto God; the savage warriors were And I will not suffer, saith

found slain in battle; and two hundred two score and ten women and children became captives to the army of Columbia.

the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts. For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts. ... Ye have broken the hearts of your tender wives, and lost the confidence of your children, because of your bad examples before them; and the sobbings of their hearts ascend up to God against you. And because of the strictness of the word of God, which cometh down against you, many hearts died, pierced with deep wounds.

Rare Phrase Matches

These phrases are raremeaning that they are not found in other contemporary books of Joseph's time, and that they are not found in the King James Version of the bible. The strength of the argument that The Book of Mormon is a remix of The Late War rests on the cumulative improbability of finding all of these phrases somewhere else. No other book, aside from The First Book of Napoleon, approaches the density of rare phrases (4grams, specifically) that are shared by The Book of Mormon.

(For further information about this graph, see Hidden in Plain Sight on AskReality.) Note that there are perhaps thousands of matching phrases between The Late War and The Book of Mormon, but we do not consider "common phrases" to be important in linking the two books. For example, phrases from the bible that are found in both books such as "Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God" do not meaningfully connect the twoit's simply understood that they have a common ancestor, and we ignore those influences. Word phrases that match exactly are bold red; words that are synonymous, or have some connection (but not an exact match) are italicized orange. Location 34:10 The Late War Quotation But it came to pass, in the same year, that the people of Columbia were revenged of the evil: Book of Mormon Quotation Location And it came to pass that in the same year that the people of Nephi had peace restored unto them, And because they turned their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have despised the Holy one of Israel, they shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a hiss and a by-word, and be hated among all nations. Laman was angry with Alma 50:37

Comparison of 2:9Book of And if, peradventure, the The 80 people of Columbia go out not to battle against the king, then will the manifold wrongs committed against them be increased tenfold, and they shall be as a mock and a bye-word among all nations. 3:33-34 Now the smooth words of

1 Nephi 19:14

1 Nephi

Satan tickled Caleb mightily, and he hearkened unto the counsel of the wicked one. For the good counsel given unto him was as water thrown upon a rock.

me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolish of men! When they are learned, they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves. Wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness, and it profiteth them not. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go, we know not. And it came to pass that in this year there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding fury; and there were many slain on both sides; yea, and Moroni was wounded and Jacob was killed. And it came to pass that he fought with Lib, in which Lib did smite upon his arm that he was wounded; nevertheless, the army of Coriantumr did press forward upon Lib, that he fled to the borders upon the seashore.

3:28, 2 Nephi 9:28

15:2,7

It came to pass, that one of the strong ships of the king had approached the country of the south, which lieth many thousand miles off... (A place unknown to the children of Israel, in the days of Moses) The officers and soldiers of Columbia fought bravely, and there were many slain and wounded on both sides; Nevertheless, the army of the United States rested nigh unto the place.

Alma 63:8-9

23:2425

Alma 52:35, Ether 14:12

43:1112

For, in the mean time, Hardy had sent a messenger to the inhabitants, saying, If ye will not prove wicked, and will refrain from sending your evil torpedoes amongst our vessels, then will we spare your town. AND it came to pass, on the fourth day of the seventh month, which is the birth day of Columbian Liberty and Independence, Then shall thy name be proclaimed with the sound of the trumpet throughout all the earth ; and thou shalt be a prince and a ruler over this people. Nevertheless, the lamb shall not be slain; for the Lord will be his deliverer.

But God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son; I went on rebelling against God, in the wickedness of my heart, even until the fourth day of this seventh month, which is in the tenth year of the reign of the judges. ...on the morrow I shall proclaim unto this my people out of mine own mouth that thou art a king and a ruler over this people, whom the Lord our God hath given us.

Alma 12:33

26:1

Alma 10:6

3:32

Mosiah 1:10

2:8

Now we see that Ammon Alma could not be slain, for 19:23 had said unto the Lord Mosiah, his father: I will spare him, and it shall be unto him according to thy faiththerefore, Mosiah trusted him unto the Lord. And it came to pass that they gathered themselves together, and did consecrate Amlici to be their king. And it came to pass that they gathered together all their people; yea, all the people of the Lord ... And they journeyed in the Omni Alma 2:9, Alma 27:14

53:4

So it came to pass, that they gathered together their army ... and the name of the chief captain of the navy was Cochrane

35:42

For although the king,

who calleth himself our father, across the great waters, did put the instruments of death into our hands, and give us the black dust in abundance; nevertheless he deceived us; 19:3,7 And the vessels of war of Columbia that were upon the waters of the lake called Ontario, were commanded by a brave man, whose name was Chauncey. ... On the same day the sails of the vessels were spread to the winds of heaven, and they moved towards a place called Little York, in the province of Canada. And in the hope that the war might speedily cease, and an end be made of the shedding of blood, the great Sanhedrim of the people wished to push their armies into the heart of the provinces of the king, even to Montreal. Now when the men of Columbia heard that Ross, the chief captain of the king, was slain, and the host of Britain was compelled to flee from before the city, they were exceedingly rejoiced. And the brave defenders of Baltimore had great praise and honor given them throughout the land.

wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them;

1:16

And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land, while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind;

Ether 6:8

36:5

And it came to pass that Moroni and Pahoran went down with their armies into the land of Zarahemla, and went forth against the city, and did meet the men of Pachus, insomuch that they did come to battle. And it came to pass that when the servant of Laban beheld my brethren, he began to tremble, and was about to flee from before me and return to the city of Jerusalem. and they were exceedingly rejoiced because of the liberty which had been granted unto them. Behold, now it came to pass that the people of

Alma 62:7

48:3435

1 Nephi 4:30, Mosiah 29:39, Alma 45:1

Nephi were exceedingly rejoiced, because the Lord had again delivered them out of the hands of their enemies; therefore they gave thanks unto the Lord their God; 44:21 Lo! we are stronger than the host of Columbia; therefore, let us go with all our might against their chief city, and make capture thereof Now Lloyd, who commanded the Plantagenet, was the chief captain of the squadron of the king And thirty of the barbarians were slain, among whom was their chief captain, whose name was Rais Hammida 41:10 The huge engines of destruction roared as the loud thunder, and the blaze thereof was like unto flashes of lightning. Now, after the servants of the king were taken from the wreck And thus we did go forth with all our might against the Lamanites, who were in the city of Manti Now Gid was the Chief Captain over the band which was appointed to guard them down to the land. Zerahemnah, who was their Chief Captain, or their chief leader and commander and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end And it came to pass that all they who loved the king, when they heard these words, came forth and pursued after the servants of the king. And it came to pass that on the morrow they did go again to battle, and great and terrible was that day 1 Nephi 15:30 Alma 58:13

49:15, p. 311

Alma 57:29, Alma 43:44

15:27

Alma 47:28

10:19

Nevertheless, the same day a mighty host of savages and soldiers of the king, came forth again to battle, and rushed upon the people of the United States However, he fought

Ether 15:17

53:17

[Moroni] did cause that

Alma

bravely against them, and slew numbers of them;

his men should march forth against them, and slew many, and surrounded many others, and took them prisoners And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God... They were a wild, and ferocious, and a bloodthirsty people and a part thereof, brought forth wild fruit

62:25

55:36

However, when he saw the strong ships of Columbia were about to destroy the town, he paid the money...

Mosiah 27:10

p. 44 when a mighty and a Footnote blood-thirsty enemy appeared before his battlements 40:3 And a part thereof moved towards Plattsburgh, on lake Champlain He looked around, and behold! he saw two of the strong ships of Britain approaching And the place where the host of Columbia landed was to the west of the town, about twenty and four furlongs

Mosiah 10:12

Jacob 5:45

38:23

And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people I defended thy servants and thy flocks, and slew seven of their brethren with the sling and with the sword ...the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read

Helaman 5:36

19:11

Mormon 1:3

21:33

Nevertheless, they prevailed over him, and slew seven of his men, and wounded others the great Sanhedrim of the people honored him for his gallant exploits and gave unto him and his brave officers and mariners, an hundred thousand pieces of silver Moreover, they were a nation of savages that dwelt in the back-woods

Alma 18:16

p. 314

1 Nephi 1:11

34:5

Therefore the Lamanites could have no more possessions only in the

Alma 22:34

and the wilderness round about the states of Georgia, Tennessee, and the Mississippi Territory. 6:11 From this place, he sent forth a Proclamation, which the great Sanhedrim had prepared for him; and the wisdom thereof appeareth even unto this day. [he made a proclamation,] and the words thereof pleased the young men, so that they went in numbers and joined Alexander Now when Carden heard these words, his heart leaped with joy;

land of Nephi, and the wilderness round about. ...

And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof

1 Nephi 11:35

11:4

the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned

2 Nephi 27:19

13:20

Now when he had said these words, his heart was swollen within him, and he sunk again with joy; [Moroni and Pahoran] slew many of them, and took their provisions and their weapons of war. [King Benjamin] dismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to their families, to their own houses. Now the heads of the Lamanites were shorn; and they were naked, save it were skin which was girded about their loins And he shall stand with fear, and wist not what to say.

Alma 17:29

19:13

And their weapons of war were of curious workmanship, and they sent forth balls of lead; And they were eager to be led onto the battle ; but the term for which their services were engaged expired, and they returned every man to his own house. And the place was inhabited by wild savages, and they were naked.

Alma 62:15

37:3

Mosiah 6:3

20:8

Alma 3:5, Mosiah 10:8

15:36

The wise men and the orators were mute; they gaped one upon another, and wist not what to

Helaman 9:30, 3 Nephi 11:8

say.

and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant And ye shall never endure the pains of death; ... 3 Nephi 28:8

15:11

Therefore, if ye go over to fight against them, ye will be as sheep going to the slaughter, and ye shall never again return to the house of your fathers, for ye will be destroyed. [Washington] where the great Sanhedrim assemble themselves together. However, while they were yet carrying them away, there came a band of men Gird on your swords and go forth to battle against the king; even against the strong powers of Britain; and the Lord God of Hosts be with you. Wilkinson, the chief captain who went before the host of Columbia, had been sick many days, and was unable to go forth against them himself. But the storm arose, and the sea beat upon the vessels, and they were cast away, and they parted asunder, upon an island which lieth far to the south, and both vessels were lost. And Henry and Zebulon, whose surname was Pike, were the chief captains of the host of Columbia.

44:11

... as often as it was in their power to assemble themselves together after some years had passed away, there came a man among the people of Nephi

Mosiah 18:25

26:10

Jacob 7:1

2:11

and he went to battle Ether against the king, Amgid, 10:32 and they fought for the space of many years

36:16

yea, we will go forth against them in the strength of the Lord, and we will put an end to this great iniquity. and the wild branches began to be plucked off, and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof, equal, according to the strength thereof. And thus he did appoint chief captains of the Zoramites, they being the most acquainted with the strength of the Nephites

Alma 61:18

13:30

Jacob 5:73

19:6

Alma 48:5

48:1

all the barbarities they committed at Washington, the chief city the host of Britain was compelled to flee from before the city, they were exceedingly rejoiced. Now the wise men of Britain heard those things with sorrow; and they spake one to another concerning the matter: But they wist not what to do; it came to pass, in the fourteen hundred and ninety-second year of the Christian era, that he crossed the waters of the mighty deep after she departed from the land of Columbia, and passed a great way to the south From whence they sent forth the weapons of war and the black dust among the savages, to destroy the people of Columbia And they essayed to go against the city of NewOrleans And the Decree was signed with the hand writing of James, the chief Governor of the land of Columbia.

Amalickiah marched ... to the city of Nephi, which was the chief city Yea, even those who had been compelled to flee from the land of Manti, ... And thus being exceedingly numerous therefore there arose a warm dispute concerning the matter, but not unto bloodshed.

Alma 47:2021 Alma 59:6-7

48:34

16:3738

Alma 51:4

20:6

they were driven by Lehi into the waters of Sidon, and they crossed the waters of Sidon.

Alma 43:40

18:28

after he departed from the land of Middoni he was led by the Spirit to the land of Nephi Therefore they sent their armies forth; yea, even the king himself went before his people; and they went up to the land of Nephi to destroy the people of Limhi. Amalickiah would not suffer the Lamanites to go against the city of Nephihah to battle Now there was no lawyer nor judge nor high priest that could have power to condemn any one to death save their condemnation was signed by the governor of the land.

Alma 22:1

49:40

Mosiah 20:7

53:5

Alma 51:25

2:15

3 Nephi 6:22

49:45

Jackson, the chief captain ... granted unto him and his people, even the Spaniards. Neither did the sick and wounded escape, who had gathered themselves together in the houses, that they might be sheltered from the piercing cold And he spake unto his officers and his men that were under him , saying, Let every man be at his post ...

therefore the king of the Lamanites granted unto him and his brethren ... And it came to pass that they had gathered themselves together upon the top of the mount which was called Antipas, in preparation to battle. when Jesus had said these words, he spake unto his disciples, one by one, saying unto them, What is it that ye desire of me, after I am gone to the Father? Teancum and his men, for they were great warriors

Mosiah 24:1

14:38

Alma 47:7

8:5-6

3 Nephi 28:1

13:5

[Decatur] used no entreaty with his men, for they all loved him and the host of Britain arrayed themselves in their might to go against the hold of Jackson with their whole force the Prince Regent, who governed the nation in the name of the King his father; for, lo! the King was possessed of an evil spirit, and his son reigned in his stead. Moreover, the cowardice of his heart caused him to make a league with the slaves of the king, in the which he gave unto them the whole territory over which the people had entrusted him to preside And the band that went forth, was entrapped at Brownstown, by the cunning savages, that

Alma 51:31

53:24

they did exert themselves 3 Nephi 3:16 in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus they were free from the Alma oppressions of the king, 21:21 his father; for that his father had granted unto him that he might reign over the people who were in the land of Ishmael And he gave battle unto Shule the king, in the which he did obtain the land of their first inheritance Ether 7:16

1:14

7:16

7:20

therefore [Limhi] gathered his people together, and laid wait for them in the fields and in the forests.

Mosiah 20:8

laid wait for them 41:8-9 and the battle waxed hot beyond measure. And it lasted for the space of seven hours Then began their destroying engines to utter their voices, and it was like unto the voice of mighty thunders And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder. And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen 35:32 And so the judgment of the Lord fell upon them for their unrighteousness, and for their wicked and murderous deeds. Moreover, the captain of the Hornet was a valiant man, and his name was Lawrence. and the severity of the Lord fell upon them according to his judgments, which are just Now the leader of those who were wroth against their brethren was a large and a strong man; and his name was Amalickiah. Omni 1:22 Ether 9:12

46:18

1 Nephi 17:45, 1 Nephi 11:18

18:9

Alma 46:3

2:7

But the wickedness of the kingdom of Great Britain... may be likened unto the fierce lion, when he putteth his paw upon the innocent lamb to devour him. were my strength as unimpaired as my love for my country, and that soul which still animates me, ye would not have found

And now, the words 2 Nephi which I shall read are they 6:5 which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be likened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. For I am assured that if ye Mosiah had known me ye would 7:13 not have suffered that I should have worn these bands. For I am Ammon,

51:11

me in the rostrum, but in the midst of the battle! 29:1 Nevertheless, it came to pass, that Harrison, the chief captain of the north west army, had placed a captain, a young man, in the hold called Fort Stephenson, to defend it. Nevertheless, the people of the United States, even the great Sanhedrim, were not disheartened; neither were they afraid Nevertheless, they knew not that they were to be entrapt.

and am a descendant of Zarahemla ... Nevertheless, it came to pass that Pahoran was appointed by the voice of the people to be chief judge and a governor over the people of Nephi. Helaman 1:5

7:47

Helaman Nevertheless, the people of the church did 6:3 have great joy because of the conversion of the Lamanites And they were a people Mosiah friendly one with another; 24:5 nevertheless they knew not God; Now the armies of the Lamanites, which had followed after the people of king Limhi, had been lost in the wilderness for many days. Now the army of Zerahemnah was not prepared with any such thing... Now the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites. Now the loss of men, women and children on both sides was so great that Shiz commanded his people that they should not pursue the armies of Coriantumr; wherefore, they returned to their camp. Ether 7:6 Mosiah 23:30, Alma 43:20

6:15

5:4, 33:3

Now the armies of the king of Britain, are they not numbered and written in the book of Hume, the scribe? Now the army of Proctor was mighty; for he had a thousand horsemen

20:11

Now the land of Columbia is a most plentiful land, yielding gold and silver, and brass and iron abundantly. Now the loss of the men of Britain was about an hundred two score and ten ; and of the men of Columbia there was one slain and seven wounded.

29:23

Ether 14:31

38:39

Now when the people of Columbia beheld the valiant Porter, they were rejoiced with exceeding great joy; Britain in her folly had invented a new instrument of destruction, which they called Congreve Rockets Thus committing a sin, by violating the eighth commandmant of God, which saith, THOU SHALT NOT STEAL. the battering-rams of the king began to utter their noises and the army of the king fled: and Chrystie was wounded in the palm of his hand. for the warriors of the king fled in confusion

And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts. the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated For I remember the word of God, which saith by their works ye shall know them Now the servants of the king began to murmur Now the servants of the king fled; and the servants of Amalickiah raised a cry

Mosiah 18:11

21:26

3 Nephi 1:16

28:23

Moroni 7:5

54:10

Alma 17:28 Alma 47:25

10:16, 54:21

53:16

Jackson went out with his army against them

Jacob, who was a Zoramite, would not come out with his army to meet them upon the plains. And now it came to pass in the second month of this year, there was brought unto us many provisions And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those which were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites therefore, he was about

Alma 52:20

25:6

Now it came to pass, in the second year of the war, on the twenty-third day of the sixth month, Not many days after those things, it came to pass, that the hearts of the lords and the counsellors of Britain were rejoiced. Inasmuch as it may cause

Alma 56:27

13:28

Alma 17:12

3:29

Helaman

the people to rise up one against another, and spill the blood of their own children. 32:7 And when he saw the men of Columbia approach, he destroyed the fort But when the chief governor and the great Sanhedrim of the people saw the wickedness of Caleb, their hearts were moved with pity toward him and his followers For, verily, shall we suffer these cunning Yankees to beard the mighty lion ... ? Nevertheless, David said unto the captains of the king, Come singly, and not like cowards, upon me; then shall ye receive the thunders of the freemen of Columbia abundantly; Behold! a man of Britain appeareth in the fort ; suffer me, I pray thee, to slay him, for he is busied with the destroying engines: But Zebulon said, Nay ; we are yet a great way off. Even as the wickedness of the war, which the great Sanhedrim have made, against the king, cannot prosper, so shall ye fall a prey to the folly thereof. And the beauty thereof

to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their brethren. Therefore when Zerahemnah saw the men of Lehi on the east of the river Sidon, ... they were struck with terror. Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw the wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful. And Alma cried, saying: How long shall we suffer these great afflictions, O Lord?

1:7

Alma 43:53

3:35

3 Nephi 1:10

3:5

Alma 14:26

38:26

by following your Lord 2 Nephi and your Savior down 31:13 into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; I command you to bring Abinadi hither, that I may slay him: for he hath said these things, that he might stir up my people to anger Mosiah 11:28

19:3334

15:12

Even as this scalp has Alma fallen to the earth, which 44:14 is the scalp of your chief, so shall ye fall to the earth except ye will deliver up your weapons of war and depart with a covenant of peace. and the beauty thereof 1 Nephi

55:29-

30

was as if, from the blue and spangled vault of heaven, it had showered diamonds; And all the nations of the earth beheld the glory of Columbia. So their chiefs and their counsellors rose up and made war against the province of Canada, and fought against the hired savages of the king of Britain. And the flames and the smoke arose! and their cries and their groans reached the high chancery of heaven, he took and destroyed their strong holds, and slew many of them, the captains and the host of Britain arrayed themselves in their might to go against the hold of Jackson with their whole force. The officers and soldiers of Columbia fought bravely, and there were many slain and wounded on both sides

was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof, did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow. ... for [their laws] were established according to the minds of them which was their chiefs and their leaders.

11:8

26:24

3 Nephi 7:14

14:40

they did rend the air with their cries, and their howlings, and their mournings, for the loss of the slain of their people. [robbers began to sally forth from] their strong holds, and their secret places and they did exert themselves in their might, to do according to the words of Lachoneus. And it came to pass that they fought on both hands with exceeding fury; and there were many slain on both sides; yea, and Moroni was wounded and Jacob was killed. they humbled themselves, and put their trust in the true and living God

Ether 15:17

42:20

3 Nephi 4:1

53:24

3 Nephi 3:16

23:24

Alma 52:35

15:22

But when Bainbridge, who saw this, came down upon them a second time, they humbled themselves, and drew down the British cross.

Alma 5:13

42:6

And on the fifteenth day of and they did follow the month, after they had Ammon, and they

Alma 17:32

prepared themselves, they rushed forth with all their might against the strong hold of Columbia. 34:6 So about this time they took their weapons of death in their hands, and went against the strong hold of Fort Minims when the Prince Regent, and the chief counsellors, and the wise men of Britain, heard the tidings, for a truth, that their fleet and their army were captured, they were astonished beyond measure. the slaves of Britain ... for they were like unto a giant going out against a bulrush. And he received great praise throughout the land for this gallant exploit. In the meantime, Downie, the chief captain of the fleet of Britain upon the lake, had prepared himself to assist Prevost on a certain day appointed. When he was to come out against the fleet of Columbia, which was commanded by the gallant Macdonough. Inasmuch as they were compelled to flee before the arms of Columbia: and Miller gat great honor thereby.

rushed forth with much swiftness, and did head the flocks of the king

for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader Now it came to pass that after Alma and his brethren, and his sons, had heard these prayers, they were astonished beyond all measure.

Alma 53:19

33:30

Alma 31:19

17:17

And they were like unto the Jews, which were at Jerusalem there was a cry of war heard throughout the land; for behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come And when we saw that they were making preparations to come out against us, behold, I caused that Gid, with a small number of men, should secrete himself in the wilderness

1 Nephi 2:13

39:9

Alma 16:1-2

46:9-10

Alma 58:16

7:26

And their armies were so numerous, that the remainder of the people of Nephihah were obliged to flee before them

Alma 59:8

40:9

it came to pass, that Jacob, the chief captain of the host of Columbia, ... crossed the river and captured fort Erie Now the art of printing was not known among the ancients ; for it was invented in these latter days Moreover, the wickedness which had been committed at Hampton, was noised abroad, even from the shores of Virginia to lake Champlain.

And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader ... led the Lamanites forth to battle therefore Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, for he was in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran and whosoever of those which belonged to their band, should reveal unto the world of their wickedness and their abominations, should be tried, not according to the laws of their country, but according to the laws of their wickedness, which had been given by Gadianton and Kishkumen And it came to pass that Teancum made preparations to make an attack upon the city of Mulek, and march forth with his army against the Lamanites; but he saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them while they were in their fortifications; therefore he abandoned his designs, and returned again to the city Bountiful, to wait for the coming of Moroni, that he might receive strength to his army.

Alma 52:33

45:23

Helaman 1:12

28:8

Helaman 6:24

53:1617

But, that the host of Britain might be discomfited at the onset, Jackson went out with his army against them ; but the men of war of tbe king were twofold greater than the men of Columbia, so Jackson was unable to drive them away. However, he fought bravely against them, and slew numbers of them; albeit, the slain and maimed of Columbia were about two hundred, so Jackson drew back to his entrenchments, and strengthened himself there. Although Hardy, the chief captain of the king's ships, had threatened to

Alma 52:17

43:6

may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and land,

Alma 7:27

destroy the place ; saying, Remove from the town your women and your children, who are innocent and fight not.

and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess; your women and your children, according to your faith and good works

BYU Study 2009

Sara Cranford study of The Late War, 2009
T o p i c s :B o o ko fM o r m o n ,T r a n s l a t i o n A u t h o r :G i l b e r tJ .H u n t T i t l eo fB o o k :T h eL a t eW a r ,B e t w e e nt h eU n i t e dS t a t e sa n dG r e a tB r i t a i n T i t l eo fA r t i c l e : T i t l eo fP e r i o d i c a l : P l a c eo fP u b l i c a t i o n :N e wY o r k P u b l i s h e r :D a n i e lD .S m i t h D a t eo fP u b l i c a t i o n :1 8 1 9 L i b r a r yL o c a t i o n :M i c r o f i c h eZ1 2 0 1 . S 3 2U n i t1 7 9 ,1 7 1 8 4 1 8 1 8 7

Nature of Source: Grunder describes this as an "essentially naive, jingoistic, but extremely popular panoply of American virtues in the face of British wickedness in the war of 1812." However, he justifies putting it on the list because Hunt writes his book in biblical style, which, according to Grunder, illustrates "the ease with which works that sounded like the Bible could be written and marketed in the early United States." Comment: The author admittedly tries to imitate Biblical style in his writings. He divides his book into chapters and verses and uses similar wording as the Bible. His work does not include books (like Matthew, Mark, etc.) but instead just has chapter and verse numbers. To the untrained eye, the book clearly does resemble Biblical style. However, a trained scholar in ancient texts would easily be able to pick out obvious differences. Furthermore, there is clearly a major difference in content between Hunt's book and the Book of Mormon. Joseph did not try to merely write a familiar historical event in Biblical fashion. His book was of a content never before heard, an entirely new history, and one that he claimed to be directly from God. Excerpt (pages):

"17 Now it was on the eighteenth day of the fifth month, in the same year, in the afterpart of the day..." (310). "24 Now these things happened nigh unto a place called Carthagene, on the borders of Spain, and when the Spaniards beheld the skill and prowess of the people of Columbia, they were amazed" (311).

Length of Relevant Material: 317 pps.

"2 But lo! When his fleet arrived there..." (315). "39 Now it came to pass, when Jackson heard that Pensacola, the capital of west Florida, had become a resting place for the enemies of Columbia..."(263).

Hebraisms
The presence of hebraisms and semiticisms in The Book of Mormon is important to some scholars, as well as leaders of the LDS church, who believe the Book of Mormon is a translation of an ancient record: If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readersif that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland

From the FAIR wiki: The presence of hebraisms does not prove the Book of Mormon is an ancient record, but they suggest that the translation was (at times, at least) relatively 'tight,' and require the critic to explain where Joseph Smith would have picked up such expressions in rural New York of the 1820s. For a Semiticism to be strong evidence it must be: present in the Book of Mormon, but not common to Joseph's language environment (i.e., the KJV, or English of his day.) FAIR wiki

Cognate Accusative

Location 8:21 13:4 38:39 1:10-11

the word denoting the object of a verb is sometimes derived from the same root as the verb itself. "Behold," says the prophet Lehi, "I have dreamed a dream." FAIR wiki The Late War Quotation And the great Sanhedrim honored Isaac with great honor he spake unto Decatur, saying they were rejoiced with exceeding great joy therefore they murmured, and their murmurings have been heard Book of Mormon Quotation Location Behold, I have dreamed a dream And I did teach my people to build buildings 1 Nephi 3:2 2 Nephi 5:15

Whirlwind
Claim:

Location 9:1

If Joseph had authored the Book of Mormon rather than translated it, he naturally would have used tornado rather than whirlwind as a reflection of his "vocabulary, environment, and perceptions" or his "language and vernacular." He certainly would have had no way of knowing that whirlwind was the legitimate choice as a reflection of Maya languages from Mesoamerica.... Joseph's choice of whirlwind rather than tornado went beyond his upstate New York "vocabulary, environment, and perceptions" or "language and vernacular." The Late War Quotation NOW the movements of the enemy were as the motion of a whirlwind, which passeth from the north to the south, and Book of Mormon Quotation Location for behold, the whole face of the land changed, because of the tempest, and the whirlwinds, and the thunderings, and the 3 Nephi 8:12

from the east to the west.

lightnings

Negative Questions

In Hebrew, questions that require a yes or no answer are prefixed by ha (an interrogative particle), and negative questions are prefixed by halo (the particle plus the word for no). In contrast to a "simple question, when the questioner is wholly uncertain as to the answer to be expected," these negative questions, Hebrew scholars have pointed out, sometimes have an "exclamatory nuance" or "a special force of asseveration" (i.e., they are being used for rhetorical effect, conveying positive or even emphatic force). [...] One good example of a potentially Hebrew-based negative question in the Book of Mormon comes from Helaman 9, where Nephi is accused of murdering the chief judge, Seezoram. In prophetically sending the authorities to the true assassin, Seantum, Nephi instructs them to ask Seantum, "From whence cometh this blood [on your cloak]? Do we not know that it is the blood of your brother?" (Helaman 9:32). In other words, "We do indeed know that it is the blood of your brother." Ben Spackman "Negative Questions in the Book of Mormon", by Ben Spackman, Insights, Vol. 26, Issue 4. The Late War Quotation For, lo! are not the fighting men of Britain in multitude as the sand on the sea shore? and shall we prevail against them? Are not the mighty ships of the king spread over the whole face of the waters? is not Britain the "bulwark of our religion?" Now the armies of the king of Britain, are they not numbered and written in the book of Hume, the scribe? is not their name a terror to all Book of Mormon Quotation Location For do ye not remember the priests of thy father, whom this people sought to destroy? And are they not in the wilderness? And are not they the ones who have stolen the daughters of the Lamanites? ... and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel? Mosiah 20:18

Location 3:23-24

5:4

1 Nephi 15:12

nations? 6:38 if injury can be prevented, shall we not rather with our might endeavor to help him? Lo ! are we not the faithful servants of the king, our master ? have we not given unto him the one half of our whole substance? ... Know ye not that he was holy? 2 Nephi 31:7

16:32

Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyardhave not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good?

Jacob 5:48

For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have ... ? And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our affliction, great? Now behold, how great reason we have to mourn. ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true For behold, doth not my voice shake the earth? And can ye not also behold me before you? Behold, I can tell you did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them? Now was not this exceeding joy?

Mosiah 4:19

Mosiah 7:23

Moroni 10:4

Mosiah 27:15

Alma 5:11

Alma 27:18

Is it not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto this people as well as unto their children? Is it not as easy at this time for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto us as unto our children, or as after the time of his coming? They have fled; does not this testify against them?

Alma 39:18

Alma 39:19

Alma 47:34

Construct State

Location 3:4 3:33 26:18 15:17

When English shows a possessive or descriptive relationship between two nouns, it usually puts the possessive or descriptive noun first: the king's house or wood house. Hebrew, however, uses the opposite order: house the king (which would usually be translated house of the king) or house wood (house of wood). If the Hebrew word order is kept in the English translation, the word of must be added, even though it does not exist in the Hebrew. The Book of Mormon contains a large number of what appear to be translations from the Hebrew preserving the Hebrew word order: The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon, by John A. Tvedtnes The Late War Quotation rod of iron... hewers of wood... drawers of water words of Satan ways of God... path of righteousness balls of lead... balls of iron Book of Mormon Quotation Location rod of iron words of plainness works of righteousness chains of hell 1 Nephi 8:19 Jacob 4:14 Alma 5:16 Alma 5:7

21:38

pen of iron

voice of the Spirit skin of blackness night of darkness plates of brass

1 Nephi 4:18 2 Nephi 5:21 Alma 34:33 1 Nephi 3:24

Compound Prepositions

Location 43:2

Hebrew often uses compound prepositions, made up of a preposition plus a noun, in places where English would normally use just a preposition. For example, Hebrew uses compound prepositions that would be translated literally as by the hand of and by the mouth of. English would normally use just by. The Book of Mormon contains many examples that appear to show the influence of this Hebrew use of compound prepositions: The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon, by John A. Tvedtnes The Late War Quotation But it was lighted up by the hand of heaven Book of Mormon Quotation Location ye shall be taken by the hand of your enemies I have also acquired much riches by the hand of my industry sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren Mosiah 17:18 Alma 10:4 Alma 10:3

Location

Hebrew uses another compound preposition that would be translated literally as from before the presence of or from before the face of. English would normally use simply from. The influence of the Hebrew can be seen in these Book of Mormon passages: The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon, by John A. Tvedtnes The Late War Quotation Book of Mormon Quotation Location

48:34

the host of Britain was compelled to flee from before the city

they fled from before my presence he had gone from before my presence they were carried away ... from before my face

1 Nephi 4:28 1 Nephi 11:12 1 Nephi 11:29

Adverbials

Location 7:43 8:48 14:21 17:15, 14:36 16:34 16:37

Hebrew has fewer adverbs than English. Instead, it often uses prepositional phrases with the preposition meaning in or with. The English translation of the Book of Mormon contains more of these prepositional phrases in place of adverbs than we would expect if the book had been written in English originallyanother Hebraism. The Hebrew Background of the Book of Mormon, by John A. Tvedtnes The Late War Quotation with reverence with joy with great violence in sorrow in abundance in safety with sorrow in righteousness with gladness Book of Mormon Quotation Location with patience with joy with much harshness in spirit and in truth Mosiah 24:15 Jacob 4:3 1 Nephi 18:11 Alma 34:38 1 Nephi 20:1 2 Nephi 28:28

Why War?
Lesson 31: "Firm in the Faith of Christ", Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual, (1999), p.138 "Why do you think Mormon included so much information about war in the

Book of Mormon?"

Authors
Chris Johnson Duane Johnson For further information about the computer analysis of 130,000 books that lead to the discovery of The Late War, please see our notes on the Hidden in Plain Sight study.

Credits
Rick Grunderauthor of Mormon Parallels and original researcher to find The Late War mms, Kishkumen, grindael, Shulem, Everybody Wang Chung, DrW, Gadianton, Hasa, Mary, and others on the mormondiscussions.com forum who found parallels and basically crowd sourced the research that this web page summarizes. Ryan Thomasauthor of The Book of Mormon and the Late War: Direct Literary Dependence?