Anthony A. Hutchinson

Hutchinson proposes that the creation narratives in Moses and Abraham are Smith’s creative reworking of the King James Bible, shaped by his developing theology and knowledge of Hebrew. He argues that modern composition and pseudonymous authorship need not exclude inspiration, and that the texts’ theological meaning deserves attention independently of their ancient-origin descriptions.

• Anthony A. Hutchinson, “A Mormon Midrash? LDS Creation Narratives Reconsidered,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 21, no. 4 (1988): 11–72.

But inspiration, indeed revelation, can occur through such a process,

Hutchinson proposes accepting the Book of Mormon as scripture inspired by God while understanding Joseph Smith as its human author. He argues that its religious authority need not depend on its being a historical record of ancient American peoples.

• Anthony A. Hutchinson, “The Word of God Is Enough: The Book of Mormon as Nineteenth-Century Scripture,” New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology (1993): 1–19.