Only 28 percent of the original manuscript now survives, including a. All opinions, speakers and presenters represent and express their own individual opinions, and not necessarily the opinions of firm foundation, book of mormon evidence, or its employees, and no information or opinions represent the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. While joseph smith described the book of mormon as a translation of text written on golden plates, smith had not studied ancient languages and did not translate in the traditional sense of the word. This was certainly so with faithful and loyal hyrum smith. I will suggest another explana tion later in this essay, but let me first use the presence of kjv language in the book of mormon as a jumpingoff point for discussing gardners rather complex theory on how the book of mormon was translated. Nelson said, the details of this miraculous method of. Accounts vary of the way in which smith dictated the book of mormon. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of. The mormon church is for the first time publishing photos of the stone it believes. Matthews and benjmins translation method is particularly interesting for book of mormon translation theories, since some of the biggest issues in discussions of book of mormon translation are. Interest in the manner of the translation of the book of mormon is still alive among many thoughtful students. Dynamically equivalent translation and the book of mormon. The details of the book of mormon translation are not known. The book of mormon came into the world through a series of miraculous events.
A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. Book of mormon translation challenge home facebook. The approximate book of mormon translation timeline was an interesting article to research. It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 book of mormon had supposedly come directly from god. Book of mormontranslationmethodmainly italics altered. As of march 2015, the lds church continues to publish at least portions of the book of mormon in 110 languages. The book of mormon is presently in print in over eighty languages and is now being translated or prepared for publication in many, many more. Hebrew translations of the bom by common consent, a.
The disagreement between the book of mormon and what scripture reveals concerning the lost tribes is another illustration of discrepancies between mormon teaching and the bible. Only 28 percent of o including most of 1 nephi, much of alma, and little else is. Terry the book of mormon translation puzzle 181 nephite idioms mormon actually used. I know very few churchattending mormons who have not read at least major parts of the book of mormon and understand the basic claims. This really isnt the kind of thing you want to mess up. Emma smith on the book of mormon translation process, quote 2. Maxwell quorum of the twelve many who read the book of mormon understandably desire to know more about its coming forth, including the actual process of translation. Statements of the exact methods used in translation vary depending upon the account. Joseph smith translating the book of mormon by looking at a seer stone in a hat.
Again, it is the rate of translation, approximately 6. The resulting translation was published in 1830 as the book of mormon. When i see the word translate, it means to me that a scribe read a manuscript written in one language e. Above all, were these words given by the gift and power of god. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from store a list of other lds materials in arabic can be found on. A picture of a smooth, brown, eggsized rock is shown in the printers manuscript of the book of mormon. There is no evidence that joseph owned a bible during the book of mormon translation.
Smith claimed a divine origin for his ability to translate. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. The book of mormon relates the religious history of the nephite nation for a thousand years until widespread apostasy about 400 ad. How the book of mormon was translated let us reason. Witnesses to josephs translation method insist that he never referred outside. The translation miracle of the book of mormon book of.
It is an attempt to put an at least approximate date on each of those events which were recorded from the time joseph smith received the book of mormon plates, until the time that the translation was completed. The earliest newspaper accounts do not differ significantly from this scenario. The bible is not a book but a collection of 66 books, written over a span of 1600 years across 3 continents, by over 40 writers inspired by god in 3 languages yet it has one primary theme the glory of god and salvat. The lds church released an essay on 1230 concerning the translation method of the book of mormon. The following letters on the subject are, therefore, both timely and engagingeditors. The book of mormon contains many linguistic similarities to the king james bible kjv. This manuscript corroborates josephs statements that he dictated the text from another language within a short time frame.
Did joseph own a bible at the time of the book of mormon translation. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. The original book of mormon transcript the book of. The p rocess of translating the book of mormon j oseph fielding mcconkie prof essor of ancient scripture, byu c raig j. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Designed for multiple use as study guides, handouts, and masters for creating projectable images, the charts convey a wealth of information that will enrich personal study and teaching. This assertion can mislead people into believing the book of mormon production process was nothing short of miraculous. This evidence of the actual book of mormon translation method has been discussed in at least six different scholarly articles and several books by mormon historians over the past 30 years. For this step in the translation of the book of mormon into english, we would need to choose between accepting a more modern version of english as the target language and accepting a nonnative speaker of an earlier version of english as the editor.
The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Sometimes the quotation is explicit, as in the second book of nephi, which contains 18 quoted chapters of the book of isaiah other significant connections between the two books include book of mormon words and phrases that only appear in. The leaders of the mormon faith teach that joseph smith translated ancient golden plates to get the foundation scriptures of the faith, namely the book of mormon. Weve discovered that artifacts and historical sites are a way to give a sense of reality to things that are otherwise somewhat ethereal. Some had waited all of their lifetimes to read the book of mormon in afrikaans. A commentary on the doctrine and covenants and other modern revel ations salt lake city, ut.
It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Dna studies also provide evidence against the idea of native american indians descending from a lost tribe of israel. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth. Modern discovery and translation of the book of mormon. See more ideas about book of mormon, scripture study and lds scriptures. Much can be known about the coming forth of the english text of the book of mormon through a careful study of statements made by joseph smith, his scribes, and others closely. What is the difference between the bible and the book of. The difficult financial circumstances of josephs family during the book of mormon translation are well known. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon translation was performed by the gift and power of god the lost 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript. April 06, 1829 to june 16, 1829 translation of the book of mormon at this point we move to a daily analysis of the translation of the book of mormon. From that humble beginning, today the church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. The above donut chart shows percentages of the book of mormon. Consistent with that definition, the translation of the book of mormon by joseph smith is indeed a modernday miracle. Introduction to the approximate book of mormon translation.
Maybe this translation of the book of mormon into hebrew project is one of those things that just has to wait until the right time. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church. The book of mormon opens in the first year of the reign of zedekiah, ten years before the fall of jerusalem. Translation of the book of mormon chinese simplified characters joseph smith on. The details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. The full book of mormon is currently available in 88 languages, including other middleeastern languages like persian farsi and turkish. Book of mormon translation response to an essay on the mechanical process in which the book of mormon was translated was put in the topical guide of the website on 1230. Apparently for convenience, joseph often translated with the single seer stone rather. This is an annotated version of the article book of mormon translation at. The book of mormon translation puzzle byu scholarsarchive. Adherents of latter day saint movement generally believe the book of mormon has a miraculous origin. Joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon is his translation of an ancient book written on gold plates. Discovery of what is hidden or obscure by supernatural or magic means. Translation of the book of mormon chinese simplified characters.
Much can be known about the coming forth of the english text of the book of mormon through a careful study of statements made by joseph smith, his scribes, and others closely associated with the translation of the book of mormon. Welchs excellent article entitled the miraculous translation of the book of mormon, from opening the heavens, accounts of divine manifestations 18201844, p. Translating the book of mormon by the gift and power of god, smith dictated to his scribe the english text that appeared beneath the reformed egyptian signs. Additionally, the plates were not always present during the translating process, and. The modern discovery, translation, and editions of the book of. But beginning about 182728, smith and his followers began to change how they talked about the translation process, transforming it from magical treasure lore into christian epic. The article is fairly brief and only superficially addresses the problem. Why new testament words and phrases are in the book of mormon part 9. How the book of mormon translation story changed over time. While the translation of the book of mormon may come directly from god, this does not preclude the role that joseph would play in adapting the language of the book of mormon to a cultural and linguistic framework that would both establish that the text was authentic and inspired while also communicating the book s message clearly. Those skeptical of joseph smiths claims sometimes insist that his account of the coming forth of. Ostler as sistant professor of church history and doctrine, byu from revelations of the restoration.
Various accounts from witnesses to the translation process exist, including david whitmer and martin harris, two of the three witnesses. In some cases, entire passages are duplicated in the book of mormon. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, not in use in 1830. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. The book of mormon is published in 112 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online in march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e.
Mormons read from the book regularly in sacrament meetings, sunday school and the other auxiliary organizations. Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. Interesting correspondence on the subject of the manual theory. Having established its roots in this historical moment, the book of mormon proceeds to create an entirely new history, weaving together biblical lore with material from an. The book of mormon begins about 600 bc with a small group who fled jerusalem, landed in america, and quickly split into two antagonistic nations, the nephites and the lamanites.
Book of mormon translator converted the mormon urban. When joseph smith began the book of mormon translation, he acted in his capacity as a treasure seer and used the tools of that trade. The mechanics of the method by which the book of mormon was claimed to have been translated have been examined by various scholars in order to determine how words were chosen. It is refreshing for them to include the use of the seer stone.
1436 59 1101 609 506 1300 698 1012 949 566 1181 889 985 924 1370 23 1386 396 777 1090 1328 939 52 670 1262 934 540 1339 495 1473 987