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Source:Echoes:Ch1:4:Pace of translation
The Book of Mormon was produced at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day
The Book of Mormon was produced at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day
Neal A. Maxwell:
One marvel is the very rapidity with which Joseph was translating—at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day! The total translation time was about sixty-five working days.[1] By comparison, one able LDS translator in Japan, surrounded by reference books, language dictionaries, and translator colleagues ready to help if needed, indicated that he considered an output of one careful, final page a day to be productive. And he is retranslating from earlier Japanese to modern Japanese! More than fifty able English scholars labored for seven years, using previous translations, to produce the King James Version of the Bible, averaging about one precious page per day. The Prophet Joseph Smith would sometimes produce ten pages per day! [2][3]
Notes
- Jump up ↑ John W. Welch, "How long did it take Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon?" I Have a Question, Ensign, January 1988, 47.
- Jump up ↑ See the bulletin Insights: An Ancient Window (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), February 1986, 1.
- Jump up ↑ Neal A. Maxwell, "By The Gift and Power of God," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 1, references silently removed—consult original for citations.