Joseph Smith/Translator

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Joseph Smith as a translator

Joseph Smith as a translator

Summary: It is claimed that Joseph Smith claimed to translate other texts or items, which can be checked against modern academic translations. They claim that this "cross-checking" proves that Joseph could not have translated the Book of Mormon or other ancient texts.

Joseph Smith's seer stone and the Urim and Thummim

Summary: Joseph Smith used the Nephite Interpreters as well as his own seer stone (both of which were later referred to as "Urim and Thummim") to translate the Book of Mormon.

Video published by the Church History Department.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Joseph Smith's use of seer stones as a youth
• The "Urim and Thummim" used by Joseph Smith to translate the "gold plates"
• Joseph Smith used the same "rock in hat" seer stone for translating that he used for "money digging"

Third party translation claims

Summary: Joseph Smith is claimed by others to have translated certain documents for which an actual translation was never produced. Joseph Smith is claimed to have not been given the right to have any other prophetic gift beyond translating the Book of Mormon.

Jump to details:

• Question: Did Joseph Smith misidentify a Greek "psalter" as a containing "reformed Egyptian" hieroglyphics?
• Question: Was Joseph Smith’s only mission to bring forth the Book of Mormon?

The Joseph Smith "translation" of the Bible and its relationship to the Book of Mormon

Summary: Some passages from the Bible (parts of Isaiah, for example) were included in the Book of Mormon text. However, the same passages were later revised for the Joseph Smith Translation of the Holy Bible. In some cases these passages are not rendered identically. It is claimed that if the JST was an accurate translation, it would match the supposedly more 'pure' Isaiah text possessed by the Nephites.