Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon: Religious Solutions from Columbus to Joseph Smith

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Indian Origins and the Book of Mormon
Religious Solutions from Columbus to Joseph Smith
DAN VOGEL
Paperback. 162 Pages. / 0-941214-42-7 / $8.95

Vogel raises the question of how Joseph Smith, Jr., and the Book of Mormon fit into the nineteenth-century controversy about the origin of ancient American cultures. He makes no overt attempt to discover the "sources" of Joseph Smith's thought but simply outlines the broad contours of what the public was reading at the time the Book of Mormon first appeared. The research behind Vogel's work is impressive. The annotated bibliography (worth the price of the book) contains a list of 167 books and 110 periodical articles, all of which were published in English before 1830, with comments on the origin and history of the New World Indians. The scholarly base for Vogel's work is impeccable.

Dan Vogel, since graduating from California State University, Long Beach, has authored and edited these critically-acclaimed books on Mormon themes: Early Mormon Documents: Volume One, Early Mormon Documents: Volume Two, Religious Seekers and the Advent of Mormonism, and The Word of God: Essays on Mormon Scripture. He is a contributing author to Line Upon Line: Essays on Mormon Doctrine and The Prophet Puzzle: Interpretive Essays on Joseph Smith. He lives with his wife in Westerville, Ohio, where he continues to work as an independent researcher and writer.