Linguistics and The Book of Mormon - Parallelomania

Parallelomania

Critics of Book of Mormon linguistic studies often reject the claims of Mormon scholars on the grounds that the parallels they draw between Book of Mormon and other sources amounts to "parallelomania", which is defined as the "over use or improper use of parallels in the exposition of a text."

In Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, one researcher, Douglas F. Salmon, alleged that Mormon scholars' work in drawing parallels between the Book of Mormon and other sources fits this classification. Salmon notes:

There has been an exegetical trend during the last several decades to draw endless parallels to text from the ancient Near East and beyond in an attempt to validate the writings in the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price. The pioneer and leader in this effort has been the great LDS scholar Hugh Nibley. In recent years the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) has continued this legacy. The number of parallels that Nibley has been able to uncover from amazingly disparate and arcane sources is truly staggering. Unfortunately, there seems to be a neglect of any methodological reflection or articulation in this endeavor.

Douglas also notes that Nibley himself was a critic of parallelomania where it is used to disparage the Book of Mormon, despite his extensive scholarship on the subject in defense of the Book of Mormon, noting that Nibley "ignores" the fact that parallels may suggest a unity of religious thought, or simple coincidence. He also goes on to demonstrate several instances where Nibley misrepresented the parallels, and jumped to conclusions regarding the significance of his examples.

Douglas' analysis of Nibley was itself later critiqued in a response to his article from William Hamblin of FARMS . Among other things, Hamblin criticized Douglas for critiquing a few weakly supported parallels made by Nibley while ignoring both much more strongly supported parallels made by Nibley and "a broader analysis" of Nibley's arguments.

Book of Mormon linguistic and textual issues are not discussed in missionary lessons or in Sunday School, but are typically addressed in LDS institute classes and religion classes at BYU, as well as in books and magazine articles published by the Church.