Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. Missionaries shifted from memorized discussions to teaching through preach my gospel. If you ever saw a book of mormon you will see that they changed it afterwards. This should not have been necessary, however, given the manner in which joseph is supposed to have produced this book. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. And finally, nephi says hes going to swipe a couple of chapters from the book of isaiah as a bit of filler for his plates of brass. How could they feel so certain when she felt so unsure. In fact when the tanners state that joseph smith tried to change the book of mormon to support his concept of a plurality of gods, they are merely guessing.
It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. In reality, though, the kind of stylistic accuracy achieved by these changes has little to do with what joseph meant when he called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints announced the excommunication of one of its top leaders, james hamula. Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. The original text betrays its new england origin in many ways, from inconsistent spelling to incorrect use of tenses and number, as well as. Overview of mormonism exposes some of the unchristian doctrine of the mormon church, changes in lds scripture and false prophecies that have been uttered by various mormon authorities. Book of mormon word change christian research institute. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421.
Smith, they will say, translated the book of mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in new york in the early 1800s. The meaning of the word church in the book of mormon is more comparable to usage in the bible than modern english. References to ordinances, as well as meaningful examples of them, can be found in numerous book of mormon passages. In 2009, the gospel principles manual also underwent. A photoreprint of the original 1830 edition of the book of mormon with all changes marked compared to a 1964 edition. Changes in the lds scriptures 20 at the end of february, 20, the deseret news featured an amazing article. Jun 11, 2009 a recent word change to the introduction of the book of mormon has once again brought attention to the question regarding the historical reliability of one of mormonisms most sacred texts. This study will show that there have been thousands of changes in the book of mormon and that joseph fielding smith is the one who.
Interestingly, in addition to the changes in the actual text of the book of mormon, there are changes that have taken place in the introductory material as well. The book of mormon spooky mormon hell dream lyrics by azmad202. Book of mormon study guide for homestudy seminary students. There is continual evidence that the first mormon leader taught a form of bitheism. Polygamy was practiced sporadically by prophets such as abraham and jacob in the old testament.
The reasons why this church flew under the radar for so long are as numerous as the changes made to its premiere canon. One interesting example of change occurs in 1 nephi 20. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. There also have been many important changes in the pearl of great price. The book of mormon also makes a strong point for gods spiritual and eternal unity see alma 11. Jul 14, 2019 this video discusses the 5 types of changes that have occurred with the text of the original book of mormon translation and why they should not be of any concern. An early mormon doctrine by jerald and sandra tanner. The book of mormon what is the mark of cain in the. Certainly the introduction of the current book of mormon is not there by mistake or accident. Jul 23, 2018 policies change, culture changes, leaders change, numbers change, technology changes, and weve seen some huge changes just in the last year that mormons worldwide are pretty excited about. Plagiarism in the book of mormon the annotated bible. The earliest text, the definitive scholarly edition of the book of mormon, published in 2009 by yale university press. The book of commandments, published in july 1833, was a compilation of early lds revelations. Some of the revelations that appear in the doctrine and covenants have had hundreds of words added to them.
The approach will be to discuss the type of change. The vast majority of mormons who are even aware that the book has been changed at all believe that there has been, at most, a grammatical correction here or there andor a clarification of an ambiguity or two. Lds leaders have made thousands of changes to their own. How could there be so many witnesses of the book of mormon and the plates and not one of them deny their testimony even when some of them became bitter toward joseph smith. Think joseph smith could have gotten that right by sheer chance. Although the fact of the changes cannot be questioned, the reason for them and their significance as asserted by the tanners are certainly questionable. For generations, it was known as the mormon tabernacle choir. Im first going to describe the critical text project, some of its major findings. The book of mormon by joseph smith, paperback barnes. In that part of the original article here presented with some minor editing, i first describe the different kinds of changes that have occurred in the book of mormon. Another early work of smith is the lectures on faith183435. Facts the mormon church doesnt want you to know 4mormon. The original phrase and the changes are noted in red and bold for emphasis.
Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. 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. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e. Critical texts have previously been prepared for important historical and literary works but until fairly.
Facts the mormon church doesnt want you to know examining the claims of mormonismis the church of jesus christ of latterday saints the true church. To give you an idea of just how many changes have happened, here are fifty of them that have happened in the last 50 years. In fact, the only thing id change about the book of mormon is the incessant vulgarity emerging from its african characters mouths, a case of much too much where considerably less would have done the trickand still gotten laughs. In addition, the lincoln hypothesis reveals documented evidence that abraham lincoln did, in fact, check out the book of mormon as he struggled with making some of the most critical decisions of his presidency. The concept of a church, meaning a convocation of believers, existed among the house of israel prior to christianity. Another change affirms the teaching that the book of mormon alone contains the fullness of the gospel. Most cultists will turn you off if you begin to preach to them, however, asking questions gives them hope that you are genuinely interested in learning more about their religion. A sampling of the 39 changes made to the inspired book of mormon. It made a comeback in the early days of the lds church and has since gone away again. To understand why some words were altered, reference will be made to the original and the printers manuscripts. To demolish the mormon urban myth that there have been few, if any, changes to the book of mormon since its publication. The land was preserved for a righteous people, explicitly kept from the knowledge of other nations ether 2. Although there have been thousands of changes made in the book of mormon, the changes made in some of the other mormon books are of a more serious nature.
Another wish list for changes in the mormon church wheat. Changes to the bible in comparison most scholars agree that there are about 24,000 changes between 1611 version and the 1769 version of the kjv bible. A popular charge of antimormons is that the church is guilty of fraud because of changes in the book of mormon, or that the book of mormon cant be true and divine because corrections have been made. Changes in the book of mormon book of mormon central. There are only two options when it comes to the book of mormon. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Lets shift our missions to be more service oriented maybe 50 50 service to proselyting. Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. Today, the lds church is most prevalent in the united states, latin america, canada, europe, the.
Much like lamoni calls approach in the 1890s, jerald tanner sat down eighty years later with an 1830 edition and a 1964 edition of the book of mormon and annotated all changes he could identify. The book is divided into smaller books that read as narratives. The book of mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics and book by trey parker, robert lopez, and matt stone. The lds church buys a controlling interest in a salt lake city radio station, which it changes from kzn to ksl and still maintains today. In fact when the tanners state that joseph smith tried to change the book of mormon to support his concept of. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. This is a timeline of major events in mormonism in the 20th century. If the book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, as joseph smith said, why does it contain over 4000 changes from the original 1830 edition. How many changed has the book of mormon been changed. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes the.
First staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. Multiple revisions of the book of mormon and the temple endowment ceremony are two examples. The church has in its possession wilford woodruffs original copy, but for generations prohibited viewing. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. When mormon missionaries properly called latter day saints or simply lds come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the book of mormon and tell you about its author, joseph smith. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Dingers book begins with a foreword by stan larson that provides some historical background to larsons own earlier work on the book of mormon text, plus a list of significant textual changes that come, for the most part, from the current book of mormon critical text project. During the sacrament, jennifer said a silent prayer.
The book of mormon what is the mark of cain in the book. Three difficult questions for mormons catholic answers. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with thats the purpose of this page. Everyone else at church seemed to know the book of mormon was true. In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,9 changes made in the book of mormon from the time it was first published in 1830. Jun 11, 2012 our local mormon stories group had a womens book discussion this week for 50 shades of grey. A survival guide to the 2020 book of mormon come follow. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. As stated earlier, the mormon church has made many changes to the book of mormon in order to correct josephs poor grammar and spelling. The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the word changes made in the book of mormon during the three major editions printed during the lifetime of the prophet joseph smith.
Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. Ensign, a book with a promise, may 2008 the book of mormon is a book with a purpose. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with. Martin harris acted as joseph smiths scribe from 12 april to 14 june 1828, and at the end of this period they had written out 116 pages. Instead of being the principal ancestors of american indians, lamanites are nowamong the ancestors of the american indians. Mormon is mortally wounded in the battle at a place called cumorah, and the nephites are nearly obliterated, but moroni survives another 36 years and adds material to the book of mormon before. Jerald and sandra tanners 1965 publication, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, has probably had a greater influence. Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that. The book of mormon, doctrine and covenants and the pearl of great price are usually printed in what is called a triple combination, and the three books are also found in what is termed a quad, which includes the bible, both old and new testaments.
But the federal government chose utah, after the ute tribe. Miller author matthew roper when the book of mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals such as swine and cows were out of place. Utah was buzzing with people trying to determine what had been changed and why. Jul 01, 2011 grammatical, spelling and syntactical changes. I think the disconnect between the scriptural text and the curriculum is going to be even stronger this year because the book of mormon is, at heart, a single story, an epic thousandyear saga of. The lds church has and continues to quietly make changes to its doctrinal teachings. These passages help demonstrate how essential ordinances are to christs gospel and heavenly fathers plan of salvation. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. An original first edition book of mormon has been photographed and is available for viewing at. Only a handful of copies were distributed before the press was destroyed. Yet, many changes in the text of the book of mormon can be detected when. I have a copy of the original book of mormon and all the changes in it next to it. Joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through the gift and power of god.
The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. Sep 28, 2015 50 more problems with the mormon church duration. Then i would like to turn to the issue of changes in the text to the book of mormon. One of the most famous singing groups in the world is. Joseph smith as author of the book of mormon, forthcoming. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. Royal skousen, a professor of linguistics at byu and a recognized expert of the textual history of the book of mormon, has identified 5,280 variations in all editions of the book of mormon. Contains a 16page introduction by jerald and sandra tanner which shows that the changes are not in harmony with the original text.
Was the book of mormon a key factor in lincolns success and the healing of a nation. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. Recent changes to the book of mormon regarding race, blackness, skin color, etc thats not all. One of the first publications documenting the massive changes, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon was produced by the tanners you can order a copy at utah lighthouse ministry. The book of mormon is the only explanation for this scripture. She was worried that she was even asking the question. The book of moses is not found in the book of mormon. The minister just smiled with a big ivegotyounow smile and. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept.
From the title page we read that the book of mormon was written by way of commandment and by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation to come forth by the gift and power of god to the convincing of each of us that jesus is the. A recent word change to the introduction of the book of mormon has once again brought attention to the question regarding the historical reliability of one of mormonisms most sacred texts. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon. Book of mormon is book of lies life after ministry. This change appears particularly problematic, as the book of mormon itself clarifies the lands to be uninhabited except for jaredites, mulek and the family of lehi. In early 1830 joseph smith published the book of mormon. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when comparing the original 1830 edition to the 1964 edition. Citizens overwhelmingly preferred calling their new state deseret, a name found in the book of mormon. I was going through my notes when i found this paper that my trainer from my mission gave me. According to the book of mormon, this exchange happened in jerusalem, around 600 b. According to the book of mormon, jesus christ appeared and preached to the nephites in the americas after his crucifixion. Few mormons are aware of the thousands of word changes and nature of the changes that have been made in the book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price since the first editions.
Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of joseph smith. Or as the book of mormon musical says ridiculously but powerfully our reputation is to be really ing nice to everyone. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. One of the most famous singing groups in the world is changing its name. At the conclusion of the original article, i provide some specific numbers for the different types of changes in the history of the book of mormon text, including the number of changes introduced in the book of mormon. If the book of mormon contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel, why does the lds church need additional works. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever. The word ordinance in the book of mormon often refers to laws that were received by covenant, as was common in the ancient near east.