Did Joseph Smith Plagiarize Part of the JST? 

In his Bible translation project, did Joseph Smith plagiarize the work of a prominent British scholar named Adam Clark? Or, if you don’t want to call it plagiarism, did Joseph Smith borrow or appropriate phrases or ideas from Adam Clark’s Bible commentary without attribution which are found in our JST footnotes today? This is the question at the heart of the biggest modern controversy surrounding Joseph Smith’s Bible translation. In today’s episode of Church History Matters, we trace the origins of this controversy back to a series of interviews and articles by BYU professor Thomas Wayment and his research assistant Haley Wilson-Lemmon, beginning in 2017 and culminating in a book chapter published in 2020. And, as we are inclined to do with all things related to Joseph Smith’s Bible translation, we’ll look to expert Kent Jackson for his take on the claims of Wayment and Wilson-Lemmon in an article he published as a critique and refutation of their research.
This is the third episode of our 10-part podcast series on Joseph Smith's Revelations and Translations. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/podcast-episode/did-joseph-smith-plagiarize-part-of-the-jst/
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Originally published September 5, 2023
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