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All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few except the 'elect' have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so 'slow,' so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle - keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason.

Mark Twain#10

ReligionBeliefCriticismScriptureSkepticismText

About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker finds the Mormon Bible dull and questions its origin story.
In plain terms
The book seems boring and the story of how it was made is hard to believe.
What can you take from it?
Skepticism arises from uninteresting text and implausible claims.

Where it applies

  • reading scripture
  • comparing religions
  • historical inquiry

Putting it to work

  • read multiple sources
  • evaluate claims critically

Questions to consider

  • What makes a text credible?
  • How do you judge religious books?

Another view

Taste in writing style is subjective.

More from Mark Twain

  1. Tomorrow night I appear for the first time before a Boston audience - 4000 critics.

    Permalink to quote #9
  2. A crowded police docket is the surest of all signs that trade is brisk and money plenty.

    Permalink to quote #11
  3. Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run.

    Permalink to quote #8

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