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Los Fundamentos del Libro de Mormón
Revisión del 19:02 2 nov 2007 de AndrewMiller (discusión | contribuciones) (added accents, ect. Some minor editing. Started translating more)
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Contenido
Resumen del Libro de Mormon
Articulo traducido con permiso de FAIRLDS por: Alberto Barrios
El Libro de Mormon es uno de los cuatro libros considerados escrituras sagradas para la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días, los otros tres son la Santa biblia, la Doctrina y convenios, y la Perla de gran precio. Estos libros son considerados como "obras canónicas" por los santos de los últimos días, quienes los consideran como la palabra de dios y con igual autoridad.
El Libro de Mormon es un texto de escritura antigua que fue escrito en el hemisferio occidental en los finales del siglo IV y a comienzos del siglo V d.C. Es una recopilación de un grupo específico de personas cuyos ancestros vinieron de Jerusalén a comienzos del siglo VI a.C. Aunque algunas veces se refieren al Libro de Mormon como una historia de esa sociedad, es realmente un libro religioso, con eventos históricos que suelen enseñarnos y explicarnos principios religiosos. El Libro de Mormon fue grabado sobre planchas de oro y enterradas en una caja de piedra alrededor del año 421 d.C. En 1827, José Smith, un joven que vivía en el estado de New York en los Estados Unidos de América, descubrió estas planchas y las tradujo al idomia Inglés.
El Libro de Mormon es poco menos del tamaño del antiguo testamento y es mas grande que el nuevo testamento. Las ediciones en Inglés publicadas hoy en día generalmente resultan en un libro que cubre aproximadamente 500 páginas. El Libro de Mormon ha sido traducido del Inglés a más de 105 idiomas. Aproximadamente 130 millones de copias del Libro de Mormon han sido impresas desde 1830.
Sipnopsis del Libro de Mormon
Lehi, un acomodado y fiel israelita de la tribu de Manases, vivio en jerusalem en el siglo VII AC. Habiendo oido la predicación de Jeremias y otros profetas, ora a Dios y recibe una visión. Dios le dice a Lehi que Jerusalen sera destruida y que Lehi debe sacar a sus familia y huir al desierto y que ellos serian dirigidos a una tierra prometida.
Lehi, su esposa Sariah, y sus hijos abandonan Jerusalen a viajan al Sureste. Los cuatro hijos mayores de Lehi, Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Nefi, son enviados de regreso a Jerusalen para obtener las escrituras Hebreas y otros escritos, y tambien para traer a Ismael y a su familia para que se unan al grupo de Lehi. El grupo de Lehi viaja hacia el sur hacia lo que ahora se llama Arabia Saudita y luego al este a la orilla del Mar Arabigo. Alli ellos construyen botes y viajan al hemisferio occidental.
Despues de llegar a las Americas, Lehi murio y el grupo se dividio en dos fracciones: Los Lamanitas (aquellos quienes seguian a Laman) y los Nefitas (aquellos que seguian al justo e hijo mas joven Nefi).
Los Lamanitas rapidamente cayeron en la idolatria y rechazaron su herencia y cultura religiosa. Sin embargo, Los Nefitas siguieron las tradiciones religiosas de Abraham y Moises, a pesar de que ellos a menudo caian en idolatria, materialismo y otros pecados. Una serie de profetas fueron enviados a los Nefitas para mantenerlos fieles en el Dios de Abraham, Isaac y Jacob y a las enseñanzas de Moises. Estos profetas tambien enseñaron que el Mesias seria enviado a los Israelitas en Jerusalen, y que despues de su crucifixión en Jerusalen el se apareceria a los Nefitas y les traeria paz.
Estos 2 grupos permanecieron en un estado de constante guerra, con los Lamanitas siendo significativamente mas numerosos que los Nefitas. Los Nefitas migraron al norte varias veces, y durante el tercer siglo A.C. ellos entraron en contacto con una civilizacion descendiente del grupo de los Judios que habian abandonado Jerusalen al tiempo de su destruccion (Los Mulequitas).Los Mulequitas y los Nefitas se combinaron y desde entonces todos se hicieron llamar Nefitas.
El climax del Libro de Mormon es un cataclismo de destruccion de muchos de las civilizaciones de los Nefitas y los en el tiempo de la crucifixion de Jesus en Jerusalen. Al poco tiempo despues de la destruccion el Cristo resucitado se aparece a los sobrevivientes justos. Cristo establece la iglesia entre ellos y les entrega muchas de las ensenanzas que estan contenidas en el evangelio del Nuevo Testamento.
There follows a period of about 200 years of peace and harmony, after which the people begin again to break apart into factions. By the mid 4th century A.D., the people are again divided into Lamanites and Nephites, but both having rejected Christ and His teachings. There is a major battle around the year A.D. 385 which destroys nearly all of the Nephites. The book ends with the writings of Mormon and his son Moroni, the two last Nephite prophets. They create the Book of Mormon by abridging the records of their civilization and writing the text on gold plates. The final entry in the Book of Mormon is written around A.D. 421 by Moroni and indicates that God instructed him to bury the plates and that they will be found and translated in the future.
There is one additional civilization that is discussed in the Book of Mormon. The Jaredites were a group that left the Old World around the time of the Tower of Babel and were led by God to the Americas. This culture lasted from approximately 2200 B.C. until the 4th or 5th century B.C. The Mulekites had met a survivor of the Jaredites, and the Nephites found a written history of that people as recorded by a Jaredite prophet named Ether. Moroni’s abridgement of, and commentary on, this record appears within the Book of Mormon as the Book of Ether.
Los Autores del Libro de Mormon
El Libro de Mormon fue primeramente escrito y compilado por Mormon, un Nefita que vivio en America durante el siglo IV d.C. Mormon formo el Libro de Mormon de la compilacion de los registros de su pueblo, los que habian sido guardados desde el ano 600 a.C. aproximadamente hasta su epoca. Los libros de Mosiah, Alma , Helaman, Tercer Nefi, Cuarto Nefi, y los siete primeros capitulos de Mormon fueron escritos por Mormon los cuales constituyen una compilacion de los registros guardados por los "reyes" de su pueblo. Estos libros cubren un periodo aproximado desde el ano 130 a.C. hasta casi el ano 385 d.C. La primera parte de la compilacion de Mormon, que cubre el periodo que va desde el año 600 a.C. hasta el 130 d.C., fue perdido por Jose Smith y Martin Harris durante el proceso de la traduccion en 1827, lo cual explica el por que encontramos en el libro de Mormon de nuestro tiempo un registro que solo cubre registros que comienzan desde el ano 130 d.C.
Los libros de 1 Nefi, 2 Nefi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, y Omni son los escrcritos de varios líderes religios de los nefitas desde el año 600 a.C. hasta 200 a.C. Cada uno de estos libros se llama por el autor, menos Jarom y Omni que también incluyen los escritos de personas además que Jarom y Omni. Estos libros todos fueron escritos en planchas que se llaman "las planchas menores de Nefi."
Mormon had attached these plates (apparently without editing) to the end of his own writings, which made it possible for the modern translation of the Book of Mormon to contain some of the earlier history and prophecies. After the first part of the record had been lost, Joseph Smith was instructed to translate the “small plates” from the end of the record and to place that translation where the earlier part of Mormon’s record had been.
The Words of Mormon is a short book by Mormon that was written to connect the narrative of the small plates, which end with the book of Omni, to the rest of the book, beginning with Mosiah. The Words of Mormon were written by Mormon in around A.D. 385 but deal with the events between Omni and Mosiah during the 2nd century B.C.
After Mormon died, his son Moroni completed the Book of Mormon as we have it today by adding four pieces. First, Moroni finished his father’s record (the Book of Mormon section within the overall Book of Mormon) by adding what are now chapters 8 and 9. Second, Moroni added the Book of Ether, his condensed summary of, and his commentary on, an ancient record from an earlier civilization, called the Jaredites, that existed from approximately 2200 B.C. to around the 4th or 5th century B.C. Third, Moroni added his own book to the end of the compilation of his father. And finally, Moroni added to the end of the record what is now the title page of the Book of Mormon.
The last recorded date in Moroni’s writings corresponds roughly to A.D. 421.
It should be noted that in the period between the 2nd century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. there were six generations of men who contributed to the books of Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, 3rd Nephi, and 4th Nephi. They were Alma, Alma the Younger (son of Alma), Helaman (son of Alma the Younger), Helaman (son of Helaman), Nephi (son of the second Helaman), and Nephi (son of Nephi). The first Alma’s story is included in the second half of the Book of Mosiah. The Book of Alma is named for Alma the Younger and contains both his record and the record of his son Helaman. The Book of Helaman is a record of Helaman, son of Helaman. The books of 3rd and 4th Nephi refer to the ministries of the two Nephis respectively, though the Book of 4th Nephi covers a period long beyond the mortal ministry of Nephi son of Nephi.
Book of Mormon Textual Divisions
The Book of Mormon is divided into books, chapters, and verses, similar to how the Bible is now published, but only the division into books is from the original text. The title page and the individual book introductions are part of the original Book of Mormon text. The Book of Mormon introduction, chapter headings, footnotes, modern year correspondences, supplementary materials, and the division into chapters and verses were added in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century, and those portions are not considered part of the revealed text of the Book of Mormon.
Listed below are the 15 books within the Book of Mormon. The years and number of pages are approximates.
- El primer Libro de Nefi
- Autor: Nefi
- Años que cubre: 600 A.C. – 580 A.C.
- Año en que fue escrito: mediados del siglo 6th A.C.
- Numero de paginas: 52
- El Segundo Libro de Nefi
- Autor: Nefi
- Años que cubre: 580 A.C. – 544 A.C.
- Año en que fue escrito: 544 A.C.
- Numero de paginas: 64
- The Book of Jacob
- Author: Jacob (brother of Nephi)
- Years covered: 544 B.C. – 530 B.C.
- Year written: 530 B.C.
- Number of pages: 19
- The Book of Enos
- Author: Enos (son of Jacob)
- Years covered: 530 B.C.
- Year written: early 5th century B.C.
- Number of pages: 2
- The Book of Jarom
- Author: Jarom (son of Enos) and others
- Years covered: 420 B.C.
- Year written:
- Number of pages: 2
- The Book of Omni
- Author: Omni (descendant of Jarom) and others
- Years covered: 323 B.C.
- Year written: late 4th century and 3rd century B.C.
- Number of pages: 3
- Words of Mormon
- Author: Mormon
- Years covered: mid 4th century A.D. and 2nd century B.C.
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 2
- The Book of Mosiah
- Author: Mormon (using records of Mosiah)
- Years covered: 130 B.C. – 91 B.C.
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 62
- The Book of Alma
- Author: Mormon (using records of Alma and Helaman)
- Years covered: 91 B.C. – 52 B.C.
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 161
- The Book of Helaman
- Author: Mormon (using records of Helaman and Nephi)
- Years covered: 52 B.C. – 1 B.C.
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 38
- The Book of Third Nephi
- Author: Mormon (using records of Nephi)
- Years covered: A.D. 1 – A.D. 36
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 59
- The Book of Fourth Nephi
- Author: Mormon (using records of Nephi and others)
- Years covered: A.D. 36 – A.D. 322
- Year written: 4th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 4
- The Book of Mormon
- Author: Mormon and Moroni (son of Mormon)
- Years covered: A.D. 322 – A.D. 385
- Year written: A.D. 385
- Number of pages: 18
- The Book of Ether
- Author: Moroni (using records of Ether)
- Years covered: 2200 B.C. – 400 B.C.
- Year written: late 4th or early 5th century A.D.
- Number of pages: 31
- The Book of Moroni
- Author: Moroni (son of Mormon)
- Years covered: late 4th and early 5th century A.D.
- Year written: A.D. 421
- Number of pages: 14
Book of Mormon Location
The Book of Mormon begins in Jerusalem, and the route of the group to the shore of the Arabian Sea has been identified and is generally accepted by Book of Mormon scholars. However, the site of their landing in the western hemisphere is not known. Based on a variety of internal evidences, most Book of Mormon scholars today believe that the Book of Mormon narrative takes place near Guatemala and the Yucatan peninsula.
The Jaredite culture existed somewhere to the north of the Lehite cultures, but close enough so that the Nephites found some of the ruins of the Jaredite civilization within a few days or weeks of traveling by foot from the Nephite lands. (Mosiah 8:&-11; compare with Mosiah 23:1-3 and Mosiah 24:25.)
Historically, most Book of Mormon readers, including most LDS leaders, assumed that the Book of Mormon civilizations extended far into both North and South America. The primary textual support for this view has been the Book of Mormon statements regarding a “land northward” and a “land southward” separated by a “narrow neck of land.” LDS Church leaders have also frequently used Book of Mormon statements about a promised land to include the United States specifically. This view of the Book of Mormon is called the “Hemispheric Geography Theory” (HGT).
An alternate opinion of where the Book of Mormon lands are located is that the entire narrative takes place within a relatively small area, probably little more than a few hundred miles between the furthest points. This view, called the “Limited Geography Theory” (LGT) was first proposed during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, but remained a minority opinion until the second half of the 20th century. Today, nearly all Book of Mormon scholars believe the textual evidence for the LGT is overwhelming.
It should be noted that both the HGT and the LGT can either accept or reject the assumption that non-Lehite peoples and cultures existed before, during, and after the Book of Mormon cultures. Both theories can also either accept or reject the idea that all, or nearly all, of precolumbian Native Americans could have been descended, at least in part, from Lehi. And finally, neither the HGT nor the LGT imply that it should be possible to determine Lehi ancestry from modern Native American DNA.
Although many Book of Mormon scholars see references to non-Lehite cultures and peoples within the text of the Book of Mormon, the Book of Mormon does not overtly reference non-Lehite civilizations or peoples. This fact, combined with the paucity of written material from New World antiquity and the discontinuities of New World civilizations, languages, and occupations, makes it difficult to identify existing ancient ruins and artifacts as being of Lehite origin or to confidently place Lehite culture within a specific ancient American context. A commonly held view of many Book of Mormon scholars is that the Jaredites were associated with the Olmec culture and the Nephites and Lamanites were associated with the Mayan culture.
Book of Mormon Translation
Joseph Smith, who was born in 1805 in the state of Vermont in the United States, was visited by an angel several times one night in 1823. The angel identified himself as the ancient Nephi prophet Moroni, and he told Joseph about the existence of an ancient record of his people. Moroni told Joseph that the record was written on gold plates and that in time Joseph would be allowed to retrieve the plates and translate them. The following day Joseph went to a nearby hill as directed by the angel, and there under a large rock he saw a stone box and the ancient plates within it.
Joseph was not permitted to remove the plates until 1827. Almost immediately after Joseph Smith retrieved the plates, enemies became aware of them and tried to steal them. Joseph and his wife Emma were forced to move as persecution increased.
Joseph Smith, who had very little education, said that he had been able to translate the Book of Mormon through the power of God. His translation process involved his receiving direct revelation from God, often through the medium of the Urim and Thummim or through a seerstone. Joseph Smith dictated the Book of Mormon while a scribe wrote down what was said. The entire translation process took approximately 60 days and involved at least three scribes: Emma Smith, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery.
At one point during the translation process, Martin Harris pressured Joseph into letting Martin take the transcript to show to his wife, who had been upset with Martin over his involvement with the Book of Mormon translation. These pages, which covered over 300 years of Nephite history and religious discourse, were lost and never recovered. This event had been foreseen by God, and when the plates had been originally assembled, Mormon had been inspired to include a separate set of plates that covered some of the time period as covered by the lost manuscript.
The gold plates were taken by the angel after the translation, but a number of witnesses were allowed to see and feel them. Martin Harris, David Whitmer, and Oliver Cowdery (the “Three Witnesses”) were visited by an angel, who showed them the plates, and these witnesses heard the voice of God declaring the translation to be correct (note that many critics of the Church unjustifiably assume this means the original manuscript was perfect and thus no changes of any kind should have been needed or made in the published Book of Mormon). Another eight men were allowed to see, handle, and lift the plates, though there was no spiritual or supernatural event associated with it. The written testimonies of the three and eight witnesses appears at the front of the printed editions of the Book of Mormon.
In addition to the testimony of the twelve official witnesses (Joseph Smith, the Three Witnesses, and the Eight Witnesses), a number of other people also were witnesses to the existence of the plates. Most of these experiences occurred under natural circumstances, such as Emma moving them and hearing the metallic sound of their rustling under their covering while she was doing housecleaning. Others had miraculous experiences, such as Mary Whitmer being shown the plates by Moroni after she had sacrificed so much to support Joseph while he translated the plates in her home.
The original manuscript of the Book of Mormon consisted of a stream of words without punctuation and with inconsistent spelling. The manuscript was recopied for use by the printer, and this manuscript is called the printer’s manuscript. About one third of the original manuscript and all of the printer’s manuscript are still extant. The printer had to add all of the punctuation, and he did so based on his own reading of the text.
The Book of Mormon was first published in 1829. Over the years, Joseph Smith occasionally corrected errors that had appeared in the first printing, and he also made a few changes to the Book of Mormon text that he felt better expressed what had been on the plates. Nearly every edition of the Book of Mormon since then has involved some minor changes as scholars analyze the various manuscripts to try to determine the original translation of the Book of Mormon plates.
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Study Aids
Bibliography
The FARMS Review often produces a yearly bibliography on the Book of Mormon:
- Glenn Cooper, "Book of Mormon Bibliography (1988)," FARMS Review of Books 1/1 (1989): 135–144. off-site (Inglés)
- Adam Lamoreaux, "Book of Mormon Bibliography (1989)," FARMS Review of Books 2/1 (1990): 267–273. off-site (Inglés)
- I. Andrew Teasdale, "Book of Mormon Bibliography (1990)," FARMS Review of Books 3/1 (1991): 323–336. off-site (Inglés)
- Andrew Teasdale, "1991 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 263–272. off-site (Inglés)
- I. Andrew Teasdale, "1992 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 5/1 (1993): 355–388. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1993 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 6/2 (1994): 335–348. off-site (Inglés)
- Daniel B. McKinlay, "1994 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 7/2 (1995): 265–276. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1995 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 8/2 (1996): 397–412. off-site (Inglés)
- Richard D. Van Orden, "Review of: A Comprehensive Annotated Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 9/2 (1997): 33–38. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1996 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 9/2 (1997): 203–212. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1997 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 10/2 (1998): 211–218. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1998 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 329–336. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "1999 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 12/2 (2000): 445–452. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "2000 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review of Books 13/2 (2001): 295–299. off-site (Inglés)
- Anonymous, "2002 Book of Mormon Bibliography," FARMS Review 15/2 (2003): 457–464. off-site (Inglés)
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