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Mormons believe the Bible to be the work of God, so far as it is translated correctly. We therefore readily accept the possibility of error within the Bible on the basis that there may have been mistranslations. But what about the Book of Mormon? As it was translated by a prophet of God, should we consider it to be inerrant? What effect can language have on the transmission of prophesy or in the translation of scriptures? If it is possible for even the Book of Mormon to contain errors, how are we supposed to know what is true in the scriptures? These issues are discussed in this episode.
Mormon Times is in a state of transition at this time. Therefore, the full text of this article is not currently available online.
Brother Ash is author of the book Shaken Faith Syndrome: Strengthening One’s Testimony in the Face of Criticism and Doubt, as well as the book, of Faith and Reason: 80 Evidences Supporting the Prophet Joseph Smith. Both books are available for purchase online through the FAIR Bookstore.
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I’m a regular on Better Bibles Blog which addresses the issue of translation from a Protestant perspective (though there are other people of other faiths who participate. Part of the issue is that translation is treason, to capture one element of a text you have to downplay others. Capture the phrase structure you create ambiguity of meaning.
I was surprised by his rather liberal views on historicity. I was told pretty specifically that a “testimony of the Book of Mormon” required a belief in historicity not just in truth of the underlying message.
For the record, I do believe that the Book of Mormon is historical in the sense that there were real Nephites, Lamanites, Jaredites, and that Christ visited the Americas. When people record history, however (even by inspiration) they will– as humans– include mistakes as well as vantage points that may not be entirely accurate or historical. If we were to find a text written by the Lamanites relating the same encounters we find in the Book of Mormon, there would undoubtedly be some differences in the historical information that what we currently have.
Personally, I don’t see how someone can have a testimony in the Book of Mormon unless it is grounded on a real historical people, but I know a few active LDS who have a testimony but are not sure if there really were Nephites. I don’t understand the logic of such an approach but I’m not going to call their “testimony” into question– I’ll leave such things up to the Lord.
Personally, I don’t see how someone can have a testimony in the Book of Mormon unless it is grounded on a real historical people, but I know a few active LDS who have a testimony but are not sure if there really were Nephites.
Let me give you an example that goes beyond Mormonism. Lots of people reject the existence of Judaism prior to about 600 BCE. For them the history in the Old Testament / apocrypha even starts resembling a secular history around the books of Ezra and Nehemiah the history up until then is pious fiction: no Moses, no rule of the Judges, no Davidic kingdom … That being said the OT does have accurate legends in it, and those stories and motifs do teach us a lot.
Thus some of the details are real. So for example there does appear to be a Balaam around 900 BCE, but that’s centuries too early to have been a contemporary with when the Moses story is supposed to have happened. That position isn’t unusual. You see it all the time in liberal Christianity and Catholicism.
Our problem is with the concept of “perfection”. We usually think that if even the tiniest, nit-picking fault can be found in something, then it’s not perfect, and not of God. I’d like to re-define “perfection”: That is perfect which does the job it was intended to do. For example, is the purpose of the Book of Mormon to be an exact, “global positioning location” of all the events in South / central America? No. It’s supposed to bring us to a belief in and worship of Jesus Christ, which it does quite well, thank you. On that account, it’s perfect.
Some say the human body isn’t perfect; the female pelvic opening is too tight for easy birth, our backs aren’t yet fully evolved from walking on all fours to standing, so we have lower back pain. Our eyes are in backwards. (Really!) But, the purpose of the human body is to give us spirit children of God our first experience with the material / mortal world, with all its pains, trials, and problems to solve. In that, the human body functions perfectly, thank you.
i always believed the book of morman was true till i heard about solomen spoldings book that was taken by one of the church leaders.then they made the book of morman up from it.then to there is no evidence to prove the b o m.the church sent a crew to mexico and south america in 1961 for 10years to find evidence but they found nothing..the lds church is a fraud and the profits are false..its all about money
mitt romney will not be elected president..the american people see what goes on in utah and find the true history of the church on the inter net they know the church wants to rule the country..it will never happenthe lds church is a cult.a murdering one at that mountian meadow the danites porter rockwell
Fred: if the “profits” are false, how can it be all about money? Your spelling is as accurate as your theology. The Solomon Spaulding manuscript hypothesis has been thoroughly refuted for over a century. You’re not even trying; just grasping at any negative straw that comes along.
As to the church wanting to control the country: Do you believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and that He will replace all earthly governments? If you’re a Christian, you should. We believe the same, and are working towards that goal.
Great Topic,
I think that many Mormons put the BOM above the Bible as a “purer source.” Some even think it is flawless and that Prophets are perfect. To me that is as ludicrous as the inerrancy of the Bible.
The Prophet Mormon vacillates a bit, but definately allows for error and confesses his weaknesses. “The Gentiles will mock us,” he fears in his commentary.
The book of Mormon geography of America from hill Cumorah to the narrow ithsmus that separates the north from the south, makes no sense. But yet its geography of Africa and the Sahara not only has identifiable cities, but a perfect time frame for Lehi’s party to make the voyage. That is the beauty of the book of Mormon. It allows the use of not only the reader’s spiritual imagination, but also for the development of his faith.
It is the voices of the Book of Mormon that speak to me and that light and delightsome feeling that it generates that makes it real!
I know not what is literal, factual history, typical, metaphorical or just the limited view of one author (Mostly Nephite and certain biased) who speaks to me about my world and tells me what I need to change to become more like Christ (that God man of the Book of Mormon.)
I’m just glad Joseph Smith loused up enough to give me such a text. I will never figure out (other than believing it is a translation) how such an illiterate man managed it (;
Language is a huge barrier, even for the first hand account. I have experienced things I cannot find words for, or I use quite different vocabulary to describe them at times.
The BofM itself warns about condemning errors if we find them, since they are “errors of men”.