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Book of Mormon textual changes: white or pure?
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Contents
Criticism
Source(s) of the criticism
- Contender Ministries, Questions All Mormons Should Ask Themselves. Answers
Response
This change was a deliberate editorial change by Joseph Smith to clarify the meaning of the term "white" in the original..
The 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon
The second edition of the Book of Mormon was published in 1837 at Kirtland, Ohio. The typesetting and printing were done during the winter of 1836–37, with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery taking an active part in the editing process.
In this edition numerous corrections were made to the text of the 1830 (first) edition to bring it back to the reading in the original and printer's manuscripts. Joseph Smith also made a number of editorial changes to the text, as was his right as the translator of the text.
Why was this change made?
Conclusion
Endnotes
- [note] Because of the significant number of Book of Mormon passages that speak of Jesus as God, the original readings in 1 Nephi are perfectly acceptable in their original form. Royal Skousen, editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project, has recommended that they be restored to their original readings (Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon 4/1: 233).