In april 1844, joseph smith referred to polygamy as john c. In 1986, while preparing the text for first nephi of the study book of mormon project, zarahemla research foundation began a wordforword comparison of the original and printers manuscripts with the. In the summer of 1829, joseph smith completed his translation of the book of mormon. Im first going to describe the critical text project, some of its major findings.
It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. A statement by harris appears in the front of the book of mormon concerning. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. This was just one of a long series of sexual, financial, legal, and civil scandals over the next 15 years. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi wherefore it is an abridgement of the record of the people of nephi. The lord warns lehi to depart out of the land of jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people. There were five early editions of the book of mormon published that are extremely significant to the lds faith, the first edition of 1830 being the most important, but also the 1837 kirtland, the. Book of mormon wikisource, the free online library.
Book of mormon 1830 palmyra edition addeddate 20140521 09. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. According to the book of mormon, which purports to be the history of a. Mormon leaders have acknowledged for the first time that the. 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. Initially, quinn wanted this new book on the mormon hierarchys wealth to cover only the faiths first 100 years, from 1830 to 1930, but the. To those who are investigating mormonism the mormon church. He later said of this book that, it is the most perfect book ever printed, because it had been made by the power of god using a seer stone and verbatum dictation. Smith then went on and fabricated the book of mormon as another confidence scheme. According to joseph smith, the book of mormon is more correct than the bible history of the church, vol. This verse is taken from isaiah 48, and appears as follows in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon.
The book of mormon bom is an abbreviated account of the inhabitants of the ancient americas from 2200 bc to 421 ad. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of. It has been suggested that this work be split into multiple pages. He got his idea for the book from ethan smiths view of the hebrews, or the tribes of israel in america, which was published in poultney, vt. One years removed from the harrowing loss of the initial 116 pages of the translation in the summer of 1828, he was determined to not lose this work again, in any sense. This book is a facsimile reproduction of the original printing of the book of mormon in 1830, written by joseph smith. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by american religious leader joseph smith in 1830. Based on printers manuscript copied from original manuscript. The original chapter divisions are retained in the text in italics. There were 5,000 original book of mormon copies published in 1830 in palmyra, new york.
Im investigating mormonism and have a few questions so i may be posting more questions later on if that is ok. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants. An example like the one now at hand forces us to consider the possibility that, perhaps from lack of gold leaf, combined with pressure to get the bindings out and finish the job, it was simply not. Be it remembered, that on the eeventh day of june, in the fiftythird year of the independence of the united states of america, a.
Dec 29, 2010 im investigating mormonism and have a few questions so i may be posting more questions later on if that is ok. From a geographical standpoint, some lds scholars believe mesoamerica to be the setting of the book of mormon. Private collector of rare mormon books, the 1830 first edition book of mormon, mormon art and artifacts, historic mormon paintings, autographed historical documents, early mormon historical photographs, mormon imprints from palmyra, zion, kirtland, and nauvoo, and anything related to the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. Mormon appraisal appraisals rare books lds 1830 book of mormon. Copyright laws and the 1830 book of mormon byu studies. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. Original 1830 book of mormon page numbers redwith corresponding 1981 current book of mormon verses. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. Two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce. Introduction to 3,9 changes utah lighthouse ministry. Third and most importantly, changes in the text from the 1830 book of mormon show only that there was human error, and in no way influences the fact that the book of mormon was brought forth through the gift of god. Book of mormon 1830 wikisource, the free online library.
Critical texts have previously been prepared for important historical and literary works but until fairly. The lord warns lehi to depart out of the land of jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity. This 1830, 1st edition book of mormon replica is unique in that it contains an original index, a cross reference to current lds versification, modern day photos of significant book of mormon historical sites, and early revelations. Mormon appraisal appraisals rare books lds 1830 book of. Why does the church have many different editions of it if the prophet who translated it oversaw the original. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. This book presents the original transcription of joseph smiths dictated translation of the golden plates. It tells the reader that three groups of immigrants settled the uninhabited americas. In 1830, smith published the fivehundredandeightyeightpage book of mormon. Polygamy is perhaps the most controversial, and was a key contributing factor for smiths murder. 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. This 1830, 1st edition book of mormon replica is unique in that it contains an original index, a cross reference to current lds versification, modern day photos of significant book of mormon historical sites, and early revelations that pertain to.
The first edition three thousand copies of the book of mormon was printed by. This electronic copy of the 1830 book of mormon uses the verse numbering of the later utah version. The publication history of the book of mormon bruce satterfield department of religious education, brigham young university idaho this article appeared in the church news, jan. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. I took my time rereadinglistening to this standard work of the latterday saints lds faith.
Facts the mormon church doesnt want you to know 4mormon. This is clearly the most correct of any book on earth and i cant imagine them. Utah to escape mob violence and religious persecution, lasted from 18301851. May 01, 2007 this book is a facsimile reproduction of the original printing of the book of mormon in 1830, written by joseph smith. In 1840, the white and delightsome of the original book of mormon text was changed by joseph smith to pure and delightsome in the third edition. It was first published march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Book of mormon was published and the church was organized with the help of sidney rigdon and parley p. Smith and his church also faced financial scandals due to lingering debts. Jan 27, 2019 sacred text of the latter day saint movement.
The miraculous printing of the 1840 edition of the book of. Criticism of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints wikipedia. Book of mormon restored 1 st palmyra version the book of mormon. Criticism of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
While it is claimed that the book of mormon was translated from gold plates written between 600 bc and 421 ad, it contains vast segments of verses and even whole chapters from the king james version kjv of the bible. Book of mormon, 1830, page 0 the joseph smith papers. But in the case of this book, one has to ask if some copies were never gilt at all. Two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce the text. The translation was published in 1830 as the book of mormon, now revered by mormons as scripture, along with the bible. The book of mormon is a religious and secular history of the inhabitants of the western hemisphere from about 2200 bc to about 421 ad. The letter was one of hundreds of documents concerning the history of lds. The salamander letter was a controversial document about the history of the latterday saint movement that later proved to be a forgery. Hearken and hear this, o house of jacob, which are called by the name of israel, and are come forth out of the waters of judah, which swear by the name of the lord. Book of mormon changes since 1830 book of mormon facts.
The 1830 book of mormon summary of changes by far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. The original edition had no verse divisions, and fewer chapter divisions. Despite what you may think, mormon history is full of scandal, violence, and lies. Lawrence wright on the future of the mormon church. The miraculous printing of the 1840 edition of the book of mormon by ebenezer robinson. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken. What is the difference between the 1830 book of mormon and the one currently published by the church. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Scandals in the lds church help me flesh out the timeline 1830 joseph smith, a known glass looker and treasure seeker, claims to have found buried gold plates. Book of mormon editions 18301981 book of mormon central. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Smith was to call the story that he transcribed the book of mormon, and it was to become the cornerstone of the new faith. Historian digs into the hidden world of mormon finances, shows how.
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. On the title page of the book of mormon are these words. Smith allegedly received the gold plates from the angel moroni from which the book of mormon was translated. Church, was organized in fayette, new york on 6 april 1830 by joseph smith. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Then i would like to turn to the issue of changes in the text to the book of mormon. Excerpted from book of mormon on wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This daguerrotype shows the original mormon temple of nauvoo, ill. Scandals in the lds church help me flesh out the timeline. Mormon books digitized materials rare book and special. An example like the one now at hand forces us to consider the possibility that, perhaps from lack of gold leaf, combined with pressure to get the bindings out and finish the job, it was simply not possible to gild every book of mormon spine. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by american religious leader joseph smith in 1830 polygamy is perhaps the most controversial, and was a key contributing factor for smiths murder. The first, written in 1830 by martin harris, smiths close associate.
Church name was changed to church of the latter day saints. For other versions of this work, see book of mormon. The creasing which is seen in the title page, at right, is a hallmark of the firstedition book of mormon, and is not a flaw. Verses make the scripture very manageable and are of great use in teaching situations, but reading the book of mormon as it was originally published, with only chapters, you get a real sense of the story within the book.
In 1830, smith published what he said was an english translation of these plates called the book of mormon. When i brought up the bribery scandal, his tone hardened. At some point before the third edition went to press, joseph smith compared the printed text of the two previous editions 1830 and 1837 with the original manuscript, and found errors made in copying the printers manuscript with the original. It was caused by the stretching of the dampened paper during the impression of the type, compounded by the bulk of the thick textblock under pressure in the press and the binding.
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