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| − | {{Articles FAIR copyright}} {{Articles Header 1}} {{Articles Header 2}} {{Articles Header 3}} {{Articles Header 4}} {{Articles Header 5}} {{Articles Header 6}} {{Articles Header 7}} {{Articles Header 8}} {{Articles Header 9}} {{Articles Header 10}} | + | {{Main Page}} |
| − | {{Resource Title|Book of Mormon textual changes}} | + | {{Navigation:Book of Mormon}} |
| − | {{BoMPortal}}
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{Criticism label}}
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| − | The published text of the Book of Mormon has been corrected and edited through its various editions. Many of these changes were made by Joseph Smith himself. Why was this done?
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| − | {{CriticalSources}}
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{ChurchResponseBar
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| − | |summary=Many Revelations Were Later Revised by Joseph Smith through Inspiration. Over the course of the first five years of the Church, Joseph and others under his direction made changes and corrections to some of the early revelation texts in an attempt to more closely portray the intent of the revelation. Other times, especially as the revelations were being prepared for publication, Joseph was inspired to update the contents of the revelations to reflect a growing Church structure and new circumstances. At times this process resulted in substantial additions to the original text. As early as November 1831, a Church conference resolved that “Joseph Smith Jr. correct those errors or mistakes which he may discover by the Holy Spirit while reviewing the revelations and commandments and also the fullness of the scriptures.”
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| − | |author=Gerrit Dirkmaat
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| − | |title=Great and Marvelous Are the Revelations of God
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| − | |publication=Ensign
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| − | |date=January 2013
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| − | |link=http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/01/great-and-marvelous-are-the-revelations-of-god?lang=eng
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| − | }}
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{Conclusion label}}
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| − | The authenticity of the Book of Mormon is not affected by the modifications that have been made to its text because the vast majority of those modifications are minor corrections in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. The few significant modifications were made by the Prophet Joseph Smith to clarify the meaning of the text, not to change it. This was his right as translator of the book.
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| − | These changes have not been kept secret. A discussion of them can be found in the individual articles linked below, and in the references listed below, including papers in ''BYU Studies'' and the ''Ensign''.
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{Subarticles label}}
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| | <onlyinclude> | | <onlyinclude> |
| − | {{SummaryItem | + | {{H2 |
| − | |link=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of" | + | |L=Book of Mormon textual changes |
| − | |subject="the Son of" added to 1 Nephi 11:18, 1 Nephi 11:21, 1 Nephi 11:32, and 1 Nephi 13:40 | + | |H=Book of Mormon textual changes |
| − | |summary=The earliest edition of the Book of Mormon referred to Jesus as "God." Joseph Smith later changed some, but not all, of these to "the Son of God." It is claimed by some that this is evidence that Joseph Smith changed the Book of Mormon to conform to his changing beliefs about the Trinity, claiming that Joseph was originally a solid Trinitarian (perhaps even a Modalist), and as he later began to teach that the Father and Son were two separate beings, he had to change the Book of Mormon to support his new doctrine. | + | |S= |
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| + | |L1=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/Why were these changes made |
| − | {{SummaryItem
| + | |L2=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of" |
| − | |link=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"or out of the waters of baptism" | + | |L3=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure" |
| − | |subject="or out of the waters of baptism" added to 1 Nephi 20:1
| + | |L4=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" |
| − | |summary=The phrase "or out of the waters of baptism" was added to 1 Nephi 20:1 in the 1840 edition Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith.
| + | |L5=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30" |
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| − | {{SummaryItem
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| − | |link=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure" | |
| − | |subject="white" changed to "pure" in 2 Nephi 30:6 | |
| − | |summary=The phrase "white and delightsome" was changed to "pure and delightsome" in the Book of Mormon. As a result, some accuse the Church of attempting to hide a racially offensive statement.
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| − | }}
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| − | {{SummaryItem
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| − | |link=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"
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| − | |subject="Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" in Mosiah 21:28 and Ether 4:1 | |
| − | |summary=In the text currently found in Mosiah 21:28 of the Book of Mormon, the 1830 edition reads "Benjamin", while all subsequent editions read "Mosiah." Likewise, a reference to Benjamin in what is now Ether 4:1 was changed to "Mosiah" in 1849.
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| − | }}
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| − | {{SummaryItem
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| − | |link=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"
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| − | |subject="Words missing in Alma 32:30"
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| − | |summary=Thirty-five words at the end of Alma 32:30 in the original manuscript were omitted from previous editions of the Book of Mormon. The text was restored in the 1981 edition of the Book of Mormon.
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| | }} | | }} |
| | </onlyinclude> | | </onlyinclude> |
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| − | == ==
| + | The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the Book of Mormon text. The majority of these are typographical. Few of the changes are significant. We examine the more noteworthy changes. |
| − | {{PerspectivesBar
| + | {{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/Why were these changes made}} |
| − | |link=http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2012-fair-conference/2012-do-we-need-to-make-changes-to-the-book-of-mormon-text
| + | {{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of"}} |
| − | |author=Royal Skousen
| + | {{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure"}} |
| − | |authorlink=http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/authors/skousen-royal
| + | {{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"}} |
| − | |title=Do We Need to Make Changes to the Book of Mormon Text?
| + | {{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"}} |
| − | |publication=Proceedings of the 2012 FAIR Conference
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| − | |date=August 2012
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| − | |summary=There have been three important findings in the critical text project of the Book of Mormon. The first is that Joseph Smith received an English-language text word for word, which he read off to his scribe. The second finding is that the original English-language text itself was very precisely constructed; where textual error has occurred in its transmission, the earliest reading is usually the superior reading. The third finding is the recent identification of 256 changes in the text that make a difference in the meaning or in the spelling of a name, ones that would show up in any translation of the book. Ultimately, these findings have led me to the conclusion that any serious study of the Book of Mormon requires the most accurate text possible.
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| − | }}
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| − | == ==
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| − | {{Response label}}
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| − | [[FAIRwiki:Table_of_contents#Joseph_Smith.2C_Jr.|Joseph Smith]] taught "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."{{ref|mostcorrect}} As the end of the preceding quote clarifies, by "most correct" this he meant in ''principle and teaching.'' The authors of the Book of Mormon themselves explained several times that their writing was imperfect, but that the teachings in the book were from God ({{scripture|1|Nephi|19|6}}; {{scripture|2|Nephi|33|4}}; {{scripture||Mormon|8|17}}; {{scripture||Mormon|9|31-33}}; {{scripture||Ether|12|23-26}}).
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| − | ===Insignificant changes===
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| − | If one counts every difference in every punctuation mark in every edition of the Book of Mormon, the result is well over 100,000 changes.{{ref|skousen2002}} The critical issue is not the ''number'' of changes that have been made to the text, but the ''nature'' of the changes.
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| − | Most changes are insignificant modifications to spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and are mainly due to the human failings of editors and publishers. For example, the word ''meet'' — meaning "appropriate" — as it appears in {{scripture|1|Nephi|7|1}}, was spelled "mete" in the first edition of the Book of Mormon, published in 1830. (This is a common error made by scribes of dictated texts.) "Mete" means ''to distribute'', but the context here is obvious, and so the spelling was corrected in later editions.
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| − | Some of these typographical errors ''do'' affect the meaning of a passage or present a new understanding of it, but not in a way that presents a challenge to the divinity of the Book of Mormon. One example is {{scripture|1|Nephi|12|18}}, which in all printed editions reads "a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea, even the ''word'' of the justice of the Eternal God," while the manuscript reads "the ''sword'' of the justice of the Eternal God." In this instance, the typesetter accidentally dropped the ''s'' at the beginning of ''sword''.
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| − | The current (1981) edition of the Book of Mormon has [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/explanation this notice] printed at the bottom of the page opposite 1 Nephi, chapter 1:
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| − | :Some minor errors in the text have been perpetuated in past editions of the Book of Mormon. This edition contains corrections that seem appropriate to bring the material into conformity with prepublication manuscripts and early editions edited by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
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| − | ===Significant changes===
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| − | [[Image:Printing_BoM1.jpg|frame|right|Some Book of Mormon changes were corrections of transcription or printing errors.]]
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| − | Changes that would affect the ''authenticity'' of the Book of Mormon are limited to:
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| − | *those that are substantive AND
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| − | **could possibly change the doctrine of the book OR
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| − | **could be used as evidence that the book was written by Joseph Smith.
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| − | There are surprisingly few meaningful changes to the Book of Mormon text, and all of them were made by Joseph Smith himself in editions published during his lifetime. These changes include:
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| − | *'''[[Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of"|"the Son of"]]''' added to {{scripture|1|Nephi|11|18}}; {{scripture|1|Nephi|11|21}}, {{scripture|1|Nephi|11|32}}, and {{scripture|1|Nephi|13|40}}.
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| − | *'''[[Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"or out of the waters of baptism"|"or out of the waters of baptism"]]''' added to {{scripture|1|Nephi|20|1}}.
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| − | *'''[[Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure"|"white" changed to "pure"]]''' in {{scripture|2|Nephi|30|6}}.
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| − | *'''[[Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"|"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"]]''' in {{scripture||Mosiah|21|28}} and {{scripture||Ether|4|1}}.
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| − | *'''[[Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"|"Words missing in Alma 32:30"]]{{ref|juddstoddard}} {{scripture||Alma|32|30-31}}
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| − | The historical record shows that these changes were made to ''clarify'' the meaning of the text, not to ''alter'' it.
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| − | Many people in the church experience revelation that is to be dictated (such as a patriarch blessing). They will go back and alter their original dictation. This is done to clarify the initial premonitions received through the Spirit. The translation process for the Prophet Joseph may have occurred in a similar manner.
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| − | ==See also==
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| − | {{CESLetterResponseItem
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| − | |link=Criticism of Mormonism/Online documents/Letter to a CES Director/Book of Mormon Concerns & Questions
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| − | |subject="The Book of Mormon taught and still teaches a Trinitarian view of the Godhead"
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| − | |summary=The Book of Mormon taught and still teaches a Trinitarian view of the Godhead. Joseph Smith’s early theology also held this view. As part of the over 100,000 changes to the Book of Mormon, there were major changes made to reflect Joseph’s evolved view of the Godhead.
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| − | }}
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| − | {{SummaryItem
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| − | |link=Mormonism and the Bible/Textual criticism
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| − | |subject=Textual criticism
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| − | |summary=What can textual criticism tell us about the Bible? Does it have anything to say about the Bible being without error, as some Christians claim?
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| − | }}
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| − | =={{Endnotes label}}==
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| − | #{{note|mostcorrect}}{{WWJ1|vol=2|start=139}} Quoted in {{HoC1|vol=4|start=461}} See also {{TPJS1|start=194}}
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| − | #{{note|skousen2002}}Royal Skousen, "Changes In the Book of Mormon," 2002 FAIR Conference proceedings.{{fairlink|url=http://www.fairlds.org/FAIR_Conferences/2002_Changes_in_the_Book_of_Mormon.html}}
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| − | #{{note|juddstoddard}}Daniel K. Judd and Allen W. Stoddard, "Adding and Taking Away 'Without a Cause' in Matthew 5:22," in ''How the New Testament Came to Be'', ed. Kent P. Jackson and Frank F. Judd Jr. (Provo and Salt Lake City: Religious Studies Center and Deseret Book, 2006),159-160 ISBN 1590386272
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| − | {{FurtherReading}}
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| − | [[es:Cambios_textuales_en_el_Libro_de_Morm%C3%B3n]] | + | [[de:Das Buch Mormon/Textänderungen]] |
| − | {{Articles Footer 1}} {{Articles Footer 2}} {{Articles Footer 3}} {{Articles Footer 4}} {{Articles Footer 5}} {{Articles Footer 6}} {{Articles Footer 7}} {{Articles Footer 8}} {{Articles Footer 9}} {{Articles Footer 10}}
| + | [[es:El Libro de Mormón/Cambios en el texto]] |
| − | [[de:Textänderungen im Buch Mormon]] | + | [[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Alterações textuais]] |
| − | [[fr:Book of Mormon/Textual changes]] | |
