JOSEPH SMITH AND THE BOOK OF ENOCH; THE INFLUENCE ON MORMON THEOLOGY

The sources of Joseph Smith’s literary works remain the most enigmatic aspect of Mormon history. Joseph Smith’s “translation projects,” the Book of Mormon, Book of Moses, the Inspired Bible and Book of Abraham, include prophecies, visions and allusions to the ancient biblical prophet Enoch. Before Joseph Smith began writing his visions of Enoch, Oxford professor Richard Laurence revived interest in the prophet through his 1821 English translation of and early Ethiopic text, known as the Book of Enoch (or 1 Enoch).

For decades, some historians have denied that Joseph Smith ever had access to the Book of Enoch, but many reserve the possibility that it directly influenced Smith’s works. This book documents the many similarities between the Book of Enoch and Smith’s Mormon texts. Using source analysis and historical context, the author identifies the uniquely Mormon words, storylines, imagery and concepts that appear in Richard Laurence’s translation of the ancient religious text.