Like the Book of Mormon, the View of the Hebrews has statements concerning the color of the Indians: . . .

. . .

"Wonders of Nature"

Another book which Joseph Smith may have read before "translating" the Book of Mormon was written by Josiah Priest. It was entitled The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed, and was published in 1825 Albany, New York. Josiah Priest became a well known author. In fact, the Fifth Edition" of his work American Antiquities, printed in 1835, contained the statement that "22,000 volumes of this work have been published within thirty months, . . ." We know that Joseph Smith was familiar with Priest's later work, American Antiquities, because he quotes from it in the Times and Seasons, vol. 3, pages 813-814.

Priest's earlier work, The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed, was available in Joseph Smith's neighborhood prior to the time the Book of Mormon was "translated." Wesley P. Walters has sent us a photograph of an original copy of this book containing a sticker showing that it belonged to the "Manchester Library." Walters also found that library records show that this book was checked out by a number of people during the year 1827. Therefore, if must have been well known in the area of Palmyra and Manchester where Joseph Smith lived.

The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed quotes extensively from Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews. Over thirty pages are devoted to "Proofs that the Indians of North America are lineally descended from the ancient Hebrews" (The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed, Albany, New York, 1825, p. 297).

Josiah Priest's book contains a great deal of information about the Indians. It is interesting to note that this book speaks of the "isthmus of Darien" and uses the words "narrow neck of land": ". . . a narrow neck of land is interposed betwixt two vast oceans" (The Wonders of Nature, p. 598). These same words are found in the Book of Mormon: "the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land" (Ether 10:20).

“No Traveller Returns”

The book by Josiah Priest throws new light upon a controversy regarding a quotation from William Shakespeare which is found in the Book of Mormon. Since Shakespeare was not born until 1564, we would not expect the Book of Mormon to quote from his words. Anti-Mormon writers, however, feel that they have identified a quotation from his works. This is a statement made by Lehi almost 600 years before Christ: “. . . from whence no traveler can return; . . .” (2 Nephi 1:14). Notice how similar this is to the words of Shakespeare: “. . . from whose bourn no traveller returns . . .” (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1, as quoted in Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 237).

The Mormon apologist Sidney B. Sperry made this statement:

Joseph Smith has been charged by many of his critics as being an impostor . . . some of them, . . . claim that he quotes words of Shakespeare in a passage of the Book of Mormon . . . And, indeed, it would seem a bit strange to learn that Lehi could quote Will Shakespeare about 2140 years before the Bard of Avon was born! . . . The Mormon people have no objection to sholars finding parallels to Shakespeare . . . We hold that Joseph Smith translated the Nephite text of the Book of Mormon and that he used the best vocabulary at his command. If such a vocabulary demonstrated a knowledge of works of Shakespeare, so much the better. But we suggest that it would be very difficult to prove that Joseph Smith was familiar with the works of Shakespeare; . . . In fairness to critics, and in anticipation of future discussions of the problem, we wish to call attention to a particular word used in the quotations by both Lehi and Shakespeare . . . The word we have in mind is “traveller,” It stands out like a sore thumb as far as Lehi is concerned. . . . We are led to the conclusion that the only word that Joseph Smith might have put into Lehi’s mouth from Shakespeare, assuming he was exposed to the lines from Hamlet, is “traveller.” (The Problems of the Book of Mormon, pp. 123, 124, 128, 129)

The reader will notice that although Dr. Sperry admits that the word “traveller” might have been “put into Lehi’s mouth from Shakespeare,” he states that it “would be very difficult to prove that Joseph Smith was familiar with the works of Shakespeare; . . .” Although we have shown that “Shakespeare’s works, 10 vols.” were sold at the Wayne Bookstore in Joseph Smith’s neighborhood (Wayne Sentinel, January 26, 1825), we now have a much better idea of where Joseph Smith might have found these words. In examining Josiah Priest’s The Wonders of Nature and Providence Displayed, we found a story which quotes the words of Shakespeare. In quoting these words, however, they are in the wrong order, and this makes the end of the quotation almost identical to that in the Book of Mormon.

. . . from whence no traveler can return; . . . (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 1:14)

. . . from whence no traveller returns. (The Wonders of Nature, 1825, p. 464)

The reader will notice how similar the two quotations are.

While it is possible that this could be a coincidence, there is additional evidence which seems to show that Joseph Smith used Priest’s work in writing the Book of Mormon.