The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the word changes made in the book of mormon during the three major editions printed during the lifetime of the prophet joseph smith. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with thats the purpose of this page. Book of mormon manuscripts archives why the lds church is true. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. Martin harris acted as joseph smiths scribe from 12 april to 14 june 1828, and at the end of this period they had written out 116 pages. Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of joseph smith.
At the conclusion of the original article, i provide some specific numbers for the different types of changes in the history of the book of mormon text, including the number of changes introduced in the book of mormon. There are a few significant changes that have been made to the book of mormon. Im first going to describe the critical text project, some of its major findings. How coming to christ through the book of mormon changes everything. Petersen, preparing early revelations for publication, ensign, february 1985 sympathetic article explaining changes between the book of commandments and doctrine and covenants.
Lds scholar royal skousens 2002 fair conference address. Fair book of mormon translation stone in a hat recovery. The earliest edition of the book of mormon referred to jesus as god. Apr 16, 2016 mormon doctrines changed in my lifetime. Jerald and sandra tanners 1965 publication, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, has probably had a greater influence. A popular charge of antimormons is that the church is guilty of fraud because of changes in the book of mormon, or that the book of mormon cant be true and divine because corrections have been made. These headings are not part of the translated text and were never present in the 1830 edition. Changes in languages from nephi to now brian stubbs 2016. Key passages on deity in the original 1830 text of the book of mormon were changed in the 1837 edition to reflect joseph smiths changing doctrine of deity. Then i would like to turn to the issue of changes in the text to the book of mormon. Yet, with all of the digs and research ferguson and his team undertook, they failed to find one artifact to prove that book of mormon nephite cities, villages, or territories ever existed.
Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. The original text betrays its new england origin in many ways, from inconsistent spelling to incorrect use of tenses and number, as well as incorrect usage of jacobean english. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. Joseph originally taught that jesus and the father were the same. How coming to christ through the book of mormon changes.
Fairmormon faithful answers to criticisms of the lds church. I witnessed a miracle this last march as i saw a boy whom we will call eric, age 15, change from a depressed, low selfesteemed, bitter teenager into a happy, confident, grateful, and testimonyfilled young man. We have always taught a limited geography model of the book of mormon. The earliest text, the definitive scholarly edition of the book of mormon, published in 2009 by yale university press. Some of the revelations that appear in the doctrine and covenants have had hundreds of words added to them. Jul 01, 2011 however, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon. Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. Mar 21, 2009 lds scholar royal skousens 2002 fair conference address. Among the changes joseph smith made are these four in 1 nephi 11 and. As of this week you can add two more to that total in a roundabout way. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director updates.
The book of mormon department of christian defense. The relevant section is available online at fair mormon here. May 21, 2018 jerald and sandra tanners 1965 publication, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, has probably had a greater influence. Church removes racial references in book of mormon. Miraculous claims surrounding the coming forth of the book of mormon are an evidence of the prophetic calling of joseph smith. Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of mormon. This was changed by joseph smith in 1840 to read that nephis. Intro 3,9 changes in the book of mormon major changes between the 1920 and 1981 ed. Oct 22, 2019 changes in languages from nephi to now brian stubbs 2016 fair mormon conference. The first critical text of the book of mormon was published by the foundation for ancient. Book of mormontextual changesthe son of fairmormon. Fairmormon, also known as fair the foundation for apologetic information and research, inc. Changes in the book of mormon exposed by earl erskine duration.
Book of mormontextual changeswhite changed to pure. Ces letter is one latterday saints honest quest to get official answers from the lds church on its troubling origins, history, and practices. The 1830 edition of the book of mormon had nephi prophesy that his descendants would. Single word change in book of mormon speaks volumes. In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,9 changes made in the book of mormon from the time it was first published in 1830. Mormon leaders have been hard at work to change missionary expectations, temple rituals, and curriculum to improve the latterday saint experience for millennials and generation z. Tbme has this bad habit of throwing out the party line as if it was all true without having any backing for it with the facts. Critical texts have previously been prepared for important historical and literary works but until fairly. To understand why some words were altered, reference will be made to the original and the printers manuscripts. A mormon apologist lies about mormon temple changes. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever. I have a quad that was printed in 1979 and would like to show my tbm parents what changes have been made to the text. Chapter headings modified in the 2006 doubleday edition of the book of mormon.
There are two main goals for a critical text to the book of mormon. What does it mean to be a white and delightsome people. I originally gave this presentation in august 2002 at the lds fair conference held in orem, utah. One of the first publications documenting the massive changes, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon was produced by the tanners you can order a copy at utah lighthouse ministry. Although there have been thousands of changes made in the book of mormon, the changes made in some of the other mormon books are of a more serious nature. Joseph smith later changed some, but not all, of these to the son of god. This time the book of mormon is trying to fall in line with what is socially and politically acceptable regarding the race issue. You know and i know that if a person will read the book of mormon, it will describe that change and how to have it and. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Jeremy runnells was offered an opportunity to discuss his own doubts with a director of the church educational system ces and was assured that his doubts could be resolved. Interestingly, in addition to the changes in the actual text of the book of mormon, there are changes that have taken place in the introductory material as well. He then lists 5 lds sources that he claims states that joseph translated the book of mormon with a hat.
Top 100 mormon blogs and websites for mormons in 2020 lds blogs. Royal skousen, a professor of linguistics at byu and a recognized expert of the textual history of the book of mormon, has identified 5,280 variations in all editions of the book of mormon. There also have been many important changes in the pearl of great price. Ces letter my search for answers to my mormon doubts ces. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. Book of mormon changes almost all spelling, grammar, and. This perspective is perhaps reinforced by some recent changes in the book of mormons modern chapter headings. Jun 11, 2009 a recent word change to the introduction of the book of mormon has once again brought attention to the question regarding the historical reliability of one of mormonisms most sacred texts. Can someone please point me to changes that have been made to the book mormon since 1979. The most prominent is changing which to who, our father which art in heaven was the original reading for the lords prayer in 3 nephi edited to our father who art in heaven. Certainly the introduction of the current book of mormon is not there by mistake or accident. Book of mormontextual changeswhy were these changes made. The minister just smiled with a big ivegotyounow smile and.
Dec 20, 2010 the lds church has made subtle but significant changes to chapter headings in its online version of the faiths signature scripture, the book of mormon, toning down some earlier racial allusions. Single word change in book of mormon speaks volumes the salt. The most significant kind of grammatical change though, in the book of mormon text, has been to remove king james version language. Much like lamoni calls approach in the 1890s, jerald tanner sat down eighty years later with an 1830 edition and a 1964 edition of the book of mormon and annotated all changes he could identify. The lds church has made subtle but significant changes to chapter headings in its online version of the faiths signature scripture, the book of mormon. Few mormons are aware of the thousands of word changes and nature of the changes that have been made in the book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price since the first editions. Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new thinking about an ancient people. Of course, this method of translation is as occultic as it gets. May 16, 2019 a video by book of mormon central dives into the messages of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and demonstrates how our heavenly father is loving, just, merciful, and fair in blessing his children. The first is to determine to the extent possible the original english language text of the book, that is, the text that joseph smith received by means of the interpreters and the seer stone. Changes that would affect the authenticity of the book of mormon are limited to. Book of commandments article from semiofficial encyclopedia of mormonism. Matthew bowman on his new book, the mormon people fair mormon podcast by fair mormon. Another change affirms the teaching that the book of mormon alone contains the fullness of the gospel.
Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new. Changes in languages from nephi to now brian stubbs 2016 fair mormon conference. Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god and not by man david whitmer, an address to all believers in christ concord, ca. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Mormon doctrines changed in my lifetime jonathan ellis medium. Fairmormon agrees that church changed book of mormon introduction in 2006. The book of mormon has had 3,9 grammatical changes made to it since its inception. The prophet joseph smith said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book the introduction to the book of mormon. The approach will be to discuss the type of change. Guest speakers included lds true believers, fair apologist scott gordon as well as nontraditional believers like joanna brooks and john dehlin. A critical text shows all the substantive changes that a written work has undergone from its original version to its present editions. Book of mormon word change christian research institute. However, when we look beneath the veneer, we see truth. Church removes racial references in book of mormon headings.
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