Official Internet edition of the Book of Mormon for the LDS Church. IMPORTANT LINKS [98][104] Benson stated that the church was still under condemnation for treating the Book of Mormon lightly. Creation and Evolution; A Witness of Prophets Secret Combinations: Evidence of Early Mormon Counterfeiting 1880-1847 by Kathleen Kimball Melonakos. The Book of Ether is presented as the narrative of an earlier group of people who had come to America before the immigration described in 1 Nephi. The Community of Christ, formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, views the Book of Mormon as an additional witness of Jesus Christ and publishes two versions of the book through its official publishing arm, Herald House: the Authorized Edition, which is based on the original printer's manuscript, and the 1837 Second Edition (or "Kirtland Edition") of the Book of Mormon. FirmFoundationExpo  Facebook Among these themes are American exceptionalism. of Latter-day Saints Archaeological Proof of a Huge Battle and more. 1. "Visions in a seer stone: Joseph Smith and the making of the Book of Mormon." To that latter end, Stanley R. Larson (a Rasmussen graduate student) set about applying modern text critical standards to the manuscripts and early editions of the Book of Mormon as his thesis project—which he completed in 1974. Reset type matching the original 1830 edition in word, line and page. One aspect of that effort entailed digitizing the text and preparing appropriate footnotes, another aspect required establishing the most dependable text. [155], Differences between the original and printer's manuscript, the 1830 printed version, and modern versions of the Book of Mormon have led some critics to claim that evidence has been systematically removed that could have proven that Smith fabricated the Book of Mormon, or are attempts to hide embarrassing aspects of the church's past,[9][10][125] with Mormon scholars viewing the changes as superficial, done to clarify the meaning of the text. However, these were merely preliminary steps to a far more exacting and all-encompassing project. [150] Larson proceeded to publish a set of well-argued articles on the phenomena which he had discovered. : The Critics and Their Theories", Elders' Journal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. First Nephi through Omni are written in first-person narrative, as are Mormon and Moroni. [58] He is said to be: "God himself [who] shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people ... [b]eing the Father and the Son—the Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—and they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. The two most significant are the LDS system, introduced in 1879, and the RLDS system, which is based on the original 1830 chapter divisions.[135]. JosephSmithPapers.orgÂ, FIRM Foundation-Rod Meldrum [125] The printer's manuscript was further edited, adding paragraphing and punctuation to the first third of the text. 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 it’s employees, and no information or opinions represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [25] After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate, and that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith repented. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Whether one wishes to accept it as divinely inspired or the work of Joseph Smith, it fits exactly into the tradition. The Church of Jesus Christ [5], According to Smith's account and the book's narrative, the Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian"[6] engraved on golden plates. [42], Smith said the title page, and presumably the actual title of the 1830 edition, came from the translation of "the very last leaf" of the golden plates, and was written by the prophet-historian Moroni. True or not, the Book of Mormon is a powerful epic written on a grand scale with a host of characters, a narrative of human struggle and conflict, of divine intervention, heroic good and atrocious evil, of prophecy, morality, and law. Based on Joseph Smith's last personally-updated 1840 version, with revisions per, Photo-enlarged facsimile of the 1840 edition. The author labored to give his words and phrases the quaint, old-fashioned sound and structure of our King James's translation of the Scriptures; and the result is a mongrel -- half modern glibness, and half ancient simplicity and gravity. The following versions are published online: Although some earlier unpublished studies had been prepared, not until the early 1970s was true textual criticism applied to the Book of Mormon. These videos are shown on an extra channel. "[59] Other parts of the book portray the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost as "one. He also collated the various editions of the Book of Mormon down to the present to see what sorts of changes have been made through time. [125][128][129] The printer's manuscript is now the earliest surviving complete copy of the Book of Mormon. "[93], Joseph Smith characterized the Book of Mormon as the "keystone" of Mormonism, and claimed that it was "the most correct of any book on earth". The original manuscript was used by Smith to further correct errors printed in the 1830 and 1837 versions of the Book of Mormon for the 1840 printing of the book.[125]. The first edition print-run was 5,000 copies. A portion of the text on the plates was also "sealed" according to his account, so its content was not included in the Book of Mormon.[22]. The Book of Mormon is a work of substantial complexity, however, with numerous well-spun narratives subsumed with a larger comprehensive vision. Stated on the title page, the Book of Mormon's central purpose is for the "convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations. Its content is similar to the Book of Mormon published by the LDS Church, but the versification is different. LegacyToursandTravel.com. Legacy Tours & Travel In addition to Smith's account regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they saw the golden plates and, in some cases, handled them. In 1829, work resumed on the Book of Mormon, with the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, and was completed in a short period (April–June 1829). 2. List of Reorganized Restorationist churches, Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) history, Doctrine and Covenants (Book of Commandments), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Book_of_Mormon&oldid=1006275651, Works in the style of the King James Version, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2009, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The LDS Church had not sought to purchase the manuscript. [96], The Book of Mormon is one of four sacred texts or standard works of the LDS Church. [20] Additionally, the plates were not always present during the translating process, and when present, they were always covered up. [165], The initial printing of the Book of Mormon in 1830 produced 5000 copies. [105][106] In an August 2005 message, church president Gordon B. Hinckley challenged each member of the church to re-read the Book of Mormon before the year's end. "Third European edition". The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve,[11] the nature of the Christian atonement,[12] eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death,[13] and the organization of the latter-day church. Translations into languages without a tradition of writing (e.g., Kaqchikel, Tzotzil) are available on audio cassette. Used by the early. Andrew M. Shields, "Official Minutes of Business Session, Wednesday March 28, 2007," in 2007 World Conference Thursday Bulletin, March 29, 2007. Multiple Worlds with Multiple Gods. The Words of Mormon contains editorial commentary by Mormon. However, they were never to "give an offense," or to "raise their sword ... except it were to preserve their lives. The latter is awkward and constrained; the former natural, but grotesque by the contrast. Their written testimonies are known as the Testimony of Three Witnesses[23] and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses. Stanley Larson, “Early Book of Mormon Texts: Textual Changes to the Book of Mormon in 1837 and 1840,”. The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas shortly after his resurrection. The owner and employees of this site are members of the LDS Church and in good standing. In 2001, Community of Christ president W. Grant McMurray reflected on increasing questions about the Book of Mormon: "The proper use of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historical authenticity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity. "[132] In 1895, Whitmer's grandson George Schweich inherited the manuscript. New verses and corrections based on printer's manuscript. Its matter is drawn directly from the American frontier, from the impassioned revivalist sermons, the popular fallacies about Indian origin, and the current political crusades. FIRM Foundation Conferences & Events   [42] Within the Latter Day Saint movement there are several apologetic groups that disagree with the skeptics and seek to reconcile the discrepancies in diverse ways. In the late-19th century the extant portion of the printer's manuscript remained with the family of David Whitmer, who had been a principal founder of the Latter Day Saints and who, by the 1870s, led the Church of Christ (Whitmerite). The majority of what remains of the original manuscript is now kept in the LDS Church's Archives. [16][17], Accounts vary of the way in which Smith dictated the Book of Mormon. Thus far, Skousen has published complete transcripts of the Original and Printer's Manuscripts,[153] as well as a six-volume analysis of textual variants. On Sale Now - The Annotated Book of Mormon - Book of Mormon Evidence - Ezra Taft Benson 48.3 Come Follow Me (Moroni 7-9) Book of Mormon Evidence - Lori Bean Henderson 49.1 Come Follow Me (Moroni 10) Book of Mormon Evidence - Larry Cerenzie A fifty page book delivered by an angel is no less miraculous than a thick volume; it's the heavenly messenger part that makes it hard to believe.[167]. They were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, as "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires. [20]:42, Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold". The Book of Mormon has occasionally been analyzed in a non-religious context for its literary merits. The book or section within the greater Book of Mormon dealing with events during Mormon's life is also called the Book of Mormon. [48] The account describes a group of families led from the Tower of Babel[49] to the Americas, headed by a man named Jared and his brother. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. [69] Later, the prophet Mormon worked to convince the faithless people of his time (AD 360) of Christ. The original 1830 publication did not have verse markers, although the individual books were divided into relatively long chapters. ", "Intro change in Book of Mormon spurs discussion", "The Book of Mormon - Skousen, Royal; Smith, Joseph", "A New Approach To Studying The Book Of Mormon - Rosenvall, Lynn A. "[55] Jesus is mentioned every 1.7 verses and is referred to by one hundred different names.[56]. [1][2] It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi. "A History of All the Important Things" (D&C 69:3): John Whitmer's Record of Church History | Religious Studies Center", "Book of Mormon manuscript may be world's most expensive book | The Kansas City Star", "Historian: At $35M, original printer's manuscript of Book of Mormon a bargain - The Salt Lake Tribune", "Church Releases New Edition of English Scriptures in Digital Formats", "The Restored Covenant Edition of the Book of Mormon—Text Restored to Its Purity? [76], The book recommends monarchy as an ideal form of government, but only when the monarch is righteous. By 1979, with the establishment of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) as a California non-profit research institution, an effort led by Robert F. Smith began to take full account of Larson's work and to publish a critical text of the Book of Mormon. Smith himself implied that he read the plates directly using spectacles prepared by the Lord for the purpose of translating. The book describes Jesus, prior to his birth, as a spirit "without flesh and blood", although with a spirit "body" that looked similar to how Jesus would appear during his physical life. [87] The Book of Mormon provided theological backing to this proposition, and suggested that the lost Tribes of Israel would be found in other locations throughout the world as well. Community of Christ, 2007. In Trey Paker and Matt Stone, The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd, Mound_Builders § Alternative_explanations, Historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon, Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. BookofMormonEvidence.org B. In 2015, this remaining portion was published by the Church Historian's Press in its Joseph Smith Papers series, in Volume Three of "Revelations and Translations"; and, in 2017, the LDS Church bought the printer's manuscript for US$35,000,000.[133][134]. Smith reluctantly acceded to Harris's requests. [70] The Book of Mormon claims this meant that the Nephites and other remnants of the lost tribes of Israel throughout the world were to be visited by Jesus after his resurrection. By 1903, Schweich had mortgaged the manuscript for $1,800 and, needing to raise at least that sum, sold a collection including 72-percent of the book of the original printer's manuscript (John Whitmer's manuscript history, parts of Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible, manuscript copies of several revelations, and a piece of paper containing copied Book of Mormon characters) to the RLDS Church (now the Community of Christ) for $2,450, with $2,300 of this amount for the printer's manuscript. [53] These passages contain doctrinal and philosophical teachings on a wide range of topics, from basic themes of Christianity and Judaism[54] to political and ideological teachings. If he had left that out, his Bible would have been only a pamphlet. Its structure shows elaborate design, its narrative is spun coherently, and it demonstrates throughout a unity of purpose. First RLDS edition. Garlinghouse, Thomas, "Revisiting the Mound Builder Controversy", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSilverberg1969 (. [66] At another place, the faithful members of the church at the time of Captain Moroni (73 BC) were called "Christians" by their enemies, because of their belief in Jesus Christ. [108], As of October 2020, the LDS Church has published more than 192 million copies of the Book of Mormon.[109]. In 2001, the LDS Church reported that all or part of the Book of Mormon was available in the native language of 99 percent of Latter-day Saints and 87 percent of the world's total population.[157]. There is a neat symmetry to the bible as we have received it. [85], Most early European Americans had a biblical worldview, and numerous attempts were made to explain the origin of the Native Americans biblically.