Difference between revisions of "Book of Mormon textual changes"

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The published text of the Book of Mormon has been corrected and edited through its various editions. Critics claim that this is evidence that Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were attempting to cover up errors that would expose the book as a work of man, not God.
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{{Main Page}}
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{{Navigation:Book of Mormon}}
  
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==Introduction==
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|H=Book of Mormon textual changes
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|L1=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/Why were these changes made
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|L2=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of"
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|L3=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure"
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|L4=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"
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|L5=Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"
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[[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" ('''''cite'''''). 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 ([http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=1+Nephi+19%3A6 1 Nephi 19:6]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=2+Nephi+33%3A4 2 Nephi 33:4]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=Mormon+8%3A17 Mormon 8:17]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=Mormon+9%3A31-33 9:31-33]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=Ether+12%3A23-26 Ether 12:23-26]).
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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.
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{{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/Why were these changes made}}
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{{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"the Son of"}}
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{{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"white" changed to "pure"}}
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{{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah"}}
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{{:Book of Mormon/Textual changes/"Words missing in Alma 32:30"}}
  
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The critical issue is not the ''number'' of changes that have been made to the text, but the ''nature'' of the changes. If one counts every difference in every punctuation mark in every edition of the Book of Mormon, the result is over 100,000 changes (Skousen, 2002).
 
  
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There are, of course, thousands of insignificant changes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.  For example, the word ''meet'' &mdash; meaning "appropriate" &mdash; as it appears in [http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=1+Nephi+7%3A1 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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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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==Examples of substantive changes==
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There are surprisingly few meaningful changes to the Book of Moromon text, and all of them were made by Joseph Smith himself in editions published during his lifetime. These changes include:
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[[de:Das Buch Mormon/Textänderungen]]
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[[es:El Libro de Mormón/Cambios en el texto]]
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*"the Son of" added to [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/11/18#18 1 Nephi 11:18], [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/11/21#21 11:21], [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/11/32#32 11:32], and [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/13/40#40 13:40].
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[[pt:O Livro de Mórmon/Alterações textuais]]
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*"Benjamin" changed to "Mosiah" in [http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/21/28#28 Mosiah 21:28] and [http://scriptures.lds.org/ether/4/1#1 Ether 4:1].
 
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*"or out of the waters of baptism" added to [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/20/1#1 1 Nephi 20:1].
 
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*"white" changed to "pure" in [http://scriptures.lds.org/2_ne/30/6#6 2 Nephi 30:6].
 
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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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For example, the addition of "the Son of" to four passages in 1 Nephi does not change the Book of Mormon's teaching that Jesus Christ is the God of Old Testament Israel. This concept is taught in at least dozen other passages whose readings remain unchanged from the original manuscripts. (See, for example, [http://scriptures.lds.org/1_ne/19/10#10 1 Nephi 19:10]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/7/27#27 Mosiah 7:27]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/13/28,33-34#28 13:28, 33-34]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/15/1#1 15:1]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/hel/8/22-23#22 Helaman 8:22-23]; [http://scriptures.lds.org/3_ne/11/10,14#10 3 Nephi 11:10, 14].)
 
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==Conclusion==
 
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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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==Further reading==
 
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<!--
 
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===FAIR wiki articles===
 
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===FAIR web site===
 
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*FAIR Topical Guide: [http://fairlds.org/apol/ai282.html Changes in the Book of Mormon]
 
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===External links===
 
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*Jeff Lindsay, [http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_changes.shtml Have there been thousands of changes in the Book of Mormon?]
 
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*Mike Ash, [http://www.mormonfortress.com/changeb3.html Changes in the Book of Mormon].
 
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*Stephen R. Gibson, [http://www.lightplanet.com/response/answers/changes.htm Why Were 4,000 Changes Made in The Book of Mormon?].
 
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*W. John Walsh, Robert L. Matthews, Van Hale, Stan Larson, [http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/response/qa/bom_changes.htm Changes to the Book of Mormon].
 
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*J. Cooper Johnson, [http://www.fairlds.org/apol/bom/bom03.html King Benjamin or Mosiah: A Look at Mosiah 21:28]
 
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===Printed material===
 
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*Royal Skousen, "Changes In the Book of Mormon," 2002 FAIR Conference proceedings.
 
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*Stan Larson, "Changes in Early Texts of The Book of Mormon," ''Ensign'', September 1976, p. ??.
 
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*George Horton, "[http://library.lds.org/library/lpext.dll/ArchMagazines/Ensign/1983.htm/ensign%20december%201983%20.htm/understanding%20textual%20changes%20in%20the%20book%20of%20mormon.htm Understanding Textual Changes in the Book of Mormon]," ''Ensign'', December 1983, p. 25.
 
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*Robert J. Matthews, "[http://library.lds.org/library/lpext.dll/ArchMagazines/Ensign/1987.htm/ensign%20march%201987.htm/i%20have%20a%20question.htm#LPTOC1 Why have changes been made in the printed editions of the Book of Mormon?]," ''Ensign'', March 1987, p. 47.
 
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*Douglas Campbell, "[http://www.geocities.com/marcschindler1/vignette.htm  'White' or 'Pure': Five Vignettes]," ''Dialogue'', 29/4 (Winter 1996), p. 119.
 

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Book of Mormon textual changes


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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.

Reasons for textual changes made to the Book of Mormon over the years after it was first published


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"God" changed to "Son of God" in the Book of Mormon


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"White and delightsome" changed to "pure and delightsome"


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"Benjamin" was changed to "Mosiah" in later editions of the Book of Mormon


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Words missing in Alma 32:30


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