An Insider's View of Mormon Origins is a 2002 book about the origins of Mormonism by Grant H. Palmer, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a Church Educational System instructor and Institute director with a master's degree in history. Palmer's stated purpose in writing the book was to incorporate recent critical historical and scholarly studies of LDS history in an orthodox defense of the faith. He states that his aim is to "increase faith, not diminish it".

Overview

The book concludes that: Palmer's book suggests that the foundation events were rewritten by Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery and other early church officials. This reworking made the stories more useful for missionary work. Palmer asks, "Is it right to tell religious allegories to adults as if they were literal history?"

LDS response

Mark Ashurst-McGee, an LDS member, states that Palmer presents only one side of an issue and only uses evidence that supports his own views, such as using the Hurlbut affidavits from Eber Dudley Howe's book Mormonism Unvailed for the purpose of "overlaying run-of-the-mill treasure lore" onto Joseph Smith's original account of the recovery of the golden plates.

Counterpoint

Responding to five negative reviews of Palmer's book by FARMS (the LDS affiliated Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), Ron Priddis asks: "Is nothing beyond the reach of sarcasm by FARMS polemicists?" He refers to the reviews as "tabloid scholarship".

Against Palmer

Palmer was disfellowshipped from the church in December 2004. He said he still loves it and is pleased he was not excommunicated. A disfellowshipped member retains church membership but loses certain privileges. In 2010, he resigned his membership in the church and did not reinstate it before his death in 2017.