View source for Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 3

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|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 3
|H=Response to claims made in "Chapter 3: Changes in Revelations"
|T=[[../../]]
|A=Jerald and Sandra Tanner
|<=[[../Chapter 2|Chapter 2]]
|>=[[../Chapter 4|Chapter 4]]
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<onlyinclude>
{{H2
|L=Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 3
|H=Response to claims made in The Changing World of Mormonism, "Chapter 3: Changes in Revelations"
|S=
|L1=Response to claim: 38 - "Mormon writers" have "admitted" that revelations have been modified after they have been received
|L2=Response to claim: 39 - John A. Widtsoe said that the revelations "have remained unchanged. There has been no tampering with God's word"
|L3=Response to claim: 41-42 - David Whitmer said that the revelations in the Book of Commandments were printed correctly and didn't need to be modified later
|L4=Response to claim: 42 - David Whitmer objected to changing the revelations
|L5=Response to claim: 43 - D&C 68 was changed from its original printing in the Evening and Morning Star
|L6=Response to claim: 45 - It is claimed that Joseph Smith was not supposed to do any translating beyond the Book of Mormon, as shown in Book of Commandments 4:2, which was changed in D&C 5:4
|L7=Response to claim: 52 - The name "Urim and Thummim" was added to the revelations later
|L8=Response to claim: 59 - The United Order was simply a form of Communism
|L9=Response to claim: 59 - The United Order was claimed to have actually been Sidney Rigdon's idea
|L10=Response to claim: 62 - a section on marriage that was removed from the D&C
|L11=Response to claim: 62 - The Lectures on Faith were removed from the D&C
|L12=Response to claim: 62 - It is claimed that few LDS writers will "admit" to changes made in the D&C
|L13=Response to claim: 63 - The name "Michael" was deleted from Joseph Smith's vision of the Celestial Kingdom because Adam is Michael
}}
</onlyinclude>

==Response to claim: 38 - "Mormon writers" have "admitted" that revelations have been modified after they have been received==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
According to the authors, "Mormon writers" have "admitted" that revelations have been modified after they have been received.
|authorsources=<br>
*''History of the Church'', vol. 1, p.173
*John William Fitzgerald, "A Study of the Doctrine and Covenants," Master's thesis, BYU, 1940, p.329	
*Melvin J. Petersen, "A Study of the Nature of and Significance of the Changes in the Revelations as Found in a Comparison of the Book of Commandments and Subsequent Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants," Master's thesis, BYU, 1955, typed copy, p.147
}}
{{propaganda|The fact that the revelations were edited has been known since they were first published in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835.
}}
{{:Question: Have edits to the revelations been discussed in the present day?}}

==Response to claim: 39 - John A. Widtsoe said that the revelations "have remained unchanged. There has been no tampering with God's word"==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=According to the authors, "Mormon apostle" John A. Widtsoe said that the revelations "have remained unchanged. There has been no tampering with God's word," and that Joseph Fielding Smith, the "tenth president," said that there was no need for "there was no need for eliminating, changing, or adjusting any part to make it fit; but each new revelation on doctrine and priesthood fitted in its place perfectly to complete the whole structure, as it had been prepared by the Master Builder" 
|authorsources=<br>
*John A. Widtsoe, ''Joseph Smith—Seeker After Truth'', p.119
*Joseph Fielding Smith, ''Doctrines of Salvation'' 1:170.
}}
{{misinformation|The author's mine this quote, eliminating the portion about how information is provided "line upon line." The addition and updating of the revelations is consistent with this, as new information was revealed and integrated into what had been given previously.
Joseph Fielding Smith said,
<blockquote>
RESTORATION: LINE UPON LINE. There is a beautiful thread of consistency running through the scheme of gospel restoration. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery could not foresee the end from the beginning, but the Lord was the Architect, and made known to them little by little, as knowledge and organization were needed, until the perfect structure of the Church was restored.

Inspiration is discovered in the fact that each part, as it was revealed, dovetailed perfectly with what had come before. There was no need for eliminating, changing, or adjusting any part to make it fit; but each new revelation on doctrine and priesthood fitted in its place perfectly to complete the whole structure, as it had been prepared by the Master Builder.<ref>Joseph Fielding Smith, ''Doctrines of Salvation'' 1:170.</ref>
</blockquote>
}}
{{QuoteMining|Doctrines of Salvation|1:170}}
{{:Question: Have edits to the revelations been discussed in the present day?}}
{{:Source:Brigham Young:JD 1:314:I do not even believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church, that is perfect in its fulness}}

==Response to claim: 41-42 - David Whitmer said that the revelations in the Book of Commandments were printed correctly and didn't need to be modified later==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
David Whitmer said that the revelations in the Book of Commandments were printed correctly and didn't need to be modified later.
|authorsources=<br>
#''An Address to All Believers in Christ'' p. 56.
}}
{{information|David Whitmer had fundamentalistic ideas about scripture, but these are not&mdash;and were not&mdash;binding on the Church.	
}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

==Response to claim: 42 - David Whitmer objected to changing the revelations==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
David Whitmer objected to changing the revelations.
|authorsources=<br>
#''Saints' Herald'', Feb. 5, 1887	
}}
{{information|David Whitmer had fundamentalistic ideas about scripture, but these are not&mdash;and were not&mdash;binding on the Church.
}}
{{:Question: If the Doctrine and Covenants contained quotations from God, why would Joseph Smith later edit God's words?}}

==Response to claim: 43 - D&C 68 was changed from its original printing in the Evening and Morning Star==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
D&C 68 was changed from its original printing in the Evening and Morning Star.
|authorsources=<br>
*''The Evening and the Morning Star'', October 1832
*Doctrine and Covenants—Sec. 68
}}
{{propaganda|Anyone interested in ''all'' the textual variants for ''all'' sections of the Doctrine and Covenants can see a BYU PhD thesis: Robert J. Woodford, ''The Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants'', Ph.D. dissertation (3 volumes), Brigham Young University, 1974. (CD-ROM version from [http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?ProdID=2070&Type=3 ''BYU Studies''].)  (Hard copy available from [http://wwwlib.umi.com/dxweb/gateway UMI Dissertation Express]; order number 8027231.) Note that ''BYU Studies'' allows the purchase of a digital version.  The Tanners wish to make this appear to be something hidden. The thesis was written half a decade before their volume.
}}

==Response to claim: 45 - It is claimed that Joseph Smith was not supposed to do any translating beyond the Book of Mormon, as shown in Book of Commandments 4:2, which was changed in D&C 5:4==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
It is claimed that Joseph Smith was not supposed to do any translating beyond the Book of Mormon, as shown in Book of Commandments 4:2, which was changed in D&C 5:4.
|authorsources=<br>
#Book of Commandments 4:2; {{s||D&C|5|4}}
}}
{{misinformation|Revelatory material was added "line upon line."
}}
{{:Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?}}

<!-- ====47====
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title={{check}}
|claim=Joseph Smith claimed to have translated a parchment written by the Apostle John. According to the authors, LDS writers cannot explain why this revelation was changed.
}}
*{{Fundamentalism}}
* [[Doctrine and Covenants/Textual changes/Changes to "translation" in D&C 7|Changes to "translation" in D&C 7?]]
*[[Doctrine and Covenants/Textual changes#Added material or expansions|Doctrine and Covenants textual changes&mdash;Added material or expansions]]
|authorsources=<br>
#Book of Commandments'' 6; {{s||D&C|7|}}
}} -->

==Response to claim: 52 - The name "Urim and Thummim" was added to the revelations later==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The name "Urim and Thummim" was added to the revelations later.
|authorsources=<br>
#Book of Commandments 9; {{s||D&C|10|1-12}}	
}}
{{information|"Urim and Thummim" was a biblical term which members adopted for seeing or revelatory instruments about three years after the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1833. When the revelations were republished, its use had become common among the Saints. The authors impose their own fundamentalist expectations on the Saints&mdash;Joseph and others made no secret that the revelations were edited, expanded, and clarified with reprintings.
}}
{{:Source:Dirkmaat:Ensign:January 2013:He...referred to it using an Old Testament term, Urim and Thummim...He also sometimes applied the term to other stones he possessed}}
{{:Source:Phelps:The Evening and The Morning Star 1:58:through the aid of a pair of Interpreters, or spectacles—(known, perhaps, in ancient days as Teraphim, or Urim and Thummim)}}

==Response to claim: 59 - The United Order was simply a form of Communism==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=The United Order was simply a form of Communism.
|authorsources=<br>
#''Book of Commandments'' 44; {{s||D&C|42|24-36}}	
}}
{{propaganda|The authors hope to cast the United Order in the same mold as an economic system run by a totalitarian regime.
}}
{{:Question: Was the United Order simply a form of communism?}}

==Response to claim: 59 - The United Order was claimed to have actually been Sidney Rigdon's idea==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The United Order was claimed to have actually been Sidney Rigdon's idea.
|authorsources=<br>
#{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=108}}	
}}
{{propaganda|The authors need to produce actual evidence, instead of simply repeating Fawn Brodies opinion.  Did Sidney ever claim it was his idea, even when estranged from Joseph?
}}

==Response to claim: 62 - a section on marriage that was removed from the D&C==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The authors claim that "thousands of words which were added, deleted or changed in the revelations," including a section on marriage that was removed from the D&C.
|authorsources=<br>
#1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants
}}
{{information|The section on marriage was replaced with Section 132 after the practice of plural marriage was made public.	
}}
{{:Question: Why did the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants include a statement of marriage that denied the practice of polygamy at a time when some were actually practicing it?}}

==Response to claim: 62 - The Lectures on Faith were removed from the D&C==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The Lectures on Faith were removed from the D&C.
|authorsources=<br>
#1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants
}}
{{information|The Lectures on Faith were never approved by the body of the Church, and they were eventually removed from the Doctrine and Covenants.
}}
{{:Question: What are the Lectures on Faith?}}
{{:Question: Who wrote the Lectures on Faith?}}
{{:Question: Why were the Lectures on Faith removed from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1921?}}
{{:Question: Were the Lectures on Faith revelations?}}
{{:Question: Are the ''Lectures on Faith'' not made available through Latter-day Saint sources?}}

==Response to claim: 62 - It is claimed that few LDS writers will "admit" to changes made in the D&C==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=It is claimed that few LDS writers will "admit" to changes made in the D&C.
|authorsources=<br>
#Authors' opinion.
}}
{{propaganda|It is no surprise that there is no source for this claim&mdash;it is just unproven opinion. As noted for [[#43|p. 43 above]], a BYU PhD student had examined ''every'' change to the D&C in 1974, well before the Tanners wrote.
}}
{{:Question: Were the changes to the revelations hidden from the Church members?}}

==Response to claim: 63 - The name "Michael" was deleted from Joseph Smith's vision of the Celestial Kingdom because Adam is Michael==
{{IndexClaimItemShort
|title=The Changing World of Mormonism
|claim=
The name "Michael" was deleted from Joseph Smith's vision of the Celestial Kingdom because Adam is Michael.
|authorsources=<br>
*Joseph Smith's Diary, January 21, 1836, p.136; original in LDS historical department (reference with Michael)
*''Deseret News'', Church Section, April 3, 1976 (reference without Michael)	
}}
{{misinformation|There is evidence that this was a scribal error.
}}
{{:Question: Why was the name "Michael" deleted from Joseph Smith's vision of the Celestial Kingdom?}}
{{endnotes sources}}



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