The Historical Jesus : A Latter-Day Saint Perspective
Hoskisson, Paul Y.
Historicity and the Latter-day Saint Scriptures
Provo, UT
Religious Studies Center, BYU
2001
171-196
"By the nineteenth century, some scholars had begun to question the origins of the New Testament. Few scholars doubt that Jesus lived, but some doubt the historicity of much that is recorded about Him. They concede that Jesus was a good teacher, but they deny His miracles and His divine mission, and they discredit words traditionally attributed to Him in the New Testament. Each critical viewpoint approaches the Bible differently: Historical criticism compares the New Testament to its contemporary documents and setting; textual criticism aims at the discovery of the oldest and most authentic manuscripts; source criticism tries to determine the sources of the New Testament, including the hypothetical Q document; form criticism focuses on the importance of oral transmission; and redaction criticism looks at the Gospel writers as editors. While these may be legitimate fields of study, the stance of some Bible critics precludes supernatural agency. Through Joseph Smith's First Vision, the Book of Mormon, and other revelations, the Restoration provides a powerful additional witness of Christ's divinity and of the New Testament." [Author's abstract]