Trouble Enough: Joseph Smith and the Book...

Trouble Enough: Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon by Ernest H. Taves (Prometheus Books, 700 E. Amherst St., Buffalo, N.Y. 14215: $19.95) is an exceptionally thoughtful and well-written history of the beginnings of Mormonism. Taves, a psychoanalyst whose mother was a Mormon, masterfully analyses the historical records about Smith, both official Mormon doctrine and independent sources. His mission is to determine whether an angel led Smith to golden plates with the record of ancient Judeo-Christian peoples in the Americas, as Smith claimed. Taves uses computer analysis of the writing style of four Latter-day Saints Scriptures, cautiously concluding that they appear to be all written by one person, not by many ancient prophets whose writings Smith claimed he translated.