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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. | 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. | ||
| − | [[Joseph Smith]] taught "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth." | + | ==Introduction== |
| + | |||
| + | [[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]). | ||
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). | 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). | ||
| − | There are, of course, thousands of insignificant changes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. For example, the word ''meet'' -- meaning "appropriate" -- 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. "Mete" means ''to distribute'', but the context here is obvious, and so the spelling was corrected in later editions. | + | There are, of course, thousands of insignificant changes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. For example, the word ''meet'' -- meaning "appropriate" -- 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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| + | This article will examine: | ||
| + | *changes that are substantive AND | ||
| + | **could possibly change the doctrine of the book OR | ||
| + | **could be used as evidence that the book was written by Joseph Smith. | ||
| − | + | ==Examples of substantive changes== | |
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| − | |||
| − | + | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. | |
| − | + | ==Conclusion== | |
| − | + | Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te esse. | |
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
Revision as of 16:39, 16 August 2005
This article is a draft. FairMormon editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.
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.
Contents
Introduction
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 (1 Nephi 19:6; 2 Nephi 33:4; Mormon 8:17; 9:31-33; Ether 12:23-26).
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).
There are, of course, thousands of insignificant changes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. For example, the word meet -- meaning "appropriate" -- as it appears in 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.
This article will examine:
- changes that are substantive AND
- could possibly change the doctrine of the book OR
- could be used as evidence that the book was written by Joseph Smith.
Examples of substantive changes
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat.
Conclusion
Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te esse.
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
FAIR web site
- FAIR Topical Guide: Changes in the Book of Mormon
External links
Printed material
- Royal Skousen, "Changes In the Book of Mormon," 2002 FAIR Conference proceedings.
- Stan Larson, "Changes in Early Texts of The Book of Mormon," Ensign, September 1976, pp. ??-??.