Feb 27, 2020 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has stewardship over the book of mormon and will do everything in its power to put a copy of the book into your hands in your own language. The church has in its possession wilford woodruffs original copy, but for generations prohibited viewing or publication, denying access requ. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes the. The approach will be to discuss the type of change. Significant textual changes in the book of mormon signature books. Additionally, the book changes the name of disciplinary councils to membership councils, with their purposes they may be necessary to help a person repent, the handbook says and procedures explained across 65 pages in chapter 32. Examples of later verses in which the trinitarian image of gods was retained, are mosiah 16. He discusses each, and interested readers are directed to his online article for the specifics. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism the arch and the keystone. Why has the church found it necessary to make changes any. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. 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.
With the second edition of the book of mormon, published in 1837. Then i would like to turn to the issue of changes in the text to the book of mormon. Have there been any recent changes to the book of mormon. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. For example, consider the word sins, which had been spelled synnes and became sinnes in the 1611 king james version. 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. Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. Church removes racial references in book of mormon. The lds church has and continues to quietly make changes to its doctrinal teachings. The book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ and is one of the main differentiators.
The earliest text, the definitive scholarly edition of the book of mormon, published in 2009 by yale university press. A photo reprint of the original 1830 edition of the book of mormon with all the changes marked compared to a 1964 edition. Jul 01, 2011 as stated earlier, the mormon church has made many changes to the book of mormon in order to correct josephs poor grammar and spelling. Edits and changes to the book of mormon will occasionally b. The reasons why this church flew under the radar for so long are as numerous as the changes made to its premiere canon. Utah was buzzing with people trying to determine what had been changed and why. Recent changes to the book of mormon regarding race, blackness, skin color, etc thats not all. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors.
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. Enrique serpa bustamante, a member from lima, peru, thinks of the book of mormon as. Enrique serpa bustamante, a member from lima, peru, thinks of the book of mormon as letters from a loving parent. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. 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.
Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of joseph smith. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Contains a 16page introduction by jerald and sandra tanner which shows that the changes are not in harmony with the original text. 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. This video discusses the 5 types of changes that have occurred with the text of the original book of mormon translation and why they should not be of any concern. Changes in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Royal skousen, changes in the book of mormon, interpreter. Claiming it was scripture like the bible, in 1841 he declared it to be the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion. Gardner earned a masters degree in anthropology and mesoamerican ethnohistory from the state university of new york at albany.
The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with thats the purpose of this page. 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. Changes in the book of mormon exposed by earl erskine. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. Translating the book of mormon religious studies center. In 2009, the gospel principles manual also underwent. Already, we are way beyond 3,9 changes, and yet we havent got to many of any substance yet. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Im first going to describe the critical text project, some of its major findings. Im just wondering if the new method is to change the digital version that a majority of faithful members use so it is less noticeable to antagonists or post mormons. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints has stewardship over the book of mormon and will do everything in its power to put a copy of the book into your hands in your own language.
Yet, the book which joseph smith declared was the most correct of any book on earth history of the church, vol. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with. Jan 21, 2020 now, changes to the book of mormon that are not doctrinally significant, this is a very key point, and this was at the 2006 sidney sperry symposium, daniel judd and allen stoddard said, while there have been a number of editorial changes in the book of mormon over the years, even those who criticize its authenticity acknowledge that the. The book of mormon is an account of the former inhabitants of this continent that contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. So every punctuation mark in the book of mormon stands for a change. Only a handful of copies were distributed before the press was destroyed. This should not have been necessary, however, given the manner in which joseph is supposed to have produced this book. To understand why some words were altered, reference will be made to the original and the printers manuscripts.
As you can see, the book of mormon is a changing document. The book of commandments, published in july 1833, was a compilation of early lds revelations. Interestingly, the spelling problems in the book of mormon paralleled earlier kinds of spelling changes in the english bible. Until now, i have not published a printed version of the second half of my original presentation, changes in the book of mormon. Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. See natural born seer, 3868 for an extensive list of book of mormon changes. There also have been many important changes in the pearl of great price. 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. For god is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Joseph originally taught that jesus and the father were the same person and that god had always been god, but later developed the idea that the father and son were separate gods, each with a tangible body. Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new. The lds church has made subtle but significant changes to chapter headings in its online version of the faiths signature scripture, the book of. As stated earlier, the mormon church has made many changes to the book of mormon in order to correct josephs poor grammar and spelling.
For example, there have been 891 changes of which to who, 177 changes of exceeding. 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. A photoreprint of the original 1830 edition of the book of mormon with all changes marked compared to a 1964 edition. Some of the revelations that appear in the doctrine and covenants have had hundreds of words added to them. So, in this video, i want to talk about textual changes to the book of mormon and why they are not a concern whatsoever. The original text betrays its new england origin in many ways, from inconsistent spelling to incorrect use of tenses and number, as well as. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Changes to the bible in comparison most scholars agree that there are about 24,000 changes between 1611 version and the 1769 version of the kjv bible. Changes in the lds scriptures 20 at the end of february, 20, the deseret news featured an amazing article. Internal book of mormon geography focuses on the relationships between lands and other geographic features, independent of where they might be physically located on todays maps. Analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon, 2nd. Feb 19, 2020 additionally, the book changes the name of disciplinary councils to membership councils, with their purposes they may be necessary to help a person repent, the handbook says and procedures explained across 65 pages in chapter 32. The book of mormon is indeed a gift intended to bring us, gods children, to a knowledge of the true gospel of jesus christ. In the six books of atv, skousen discusses every substantive change to words or.
Box 1884 salt lake city, utah 84110 or visit their website. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of. Mormon temple ritual changes watchman fellowship, inc. Dingers book begins with a foreword by stan larson that provides some historical background to larsons own earlier work on the book of mormon text, plus a list of significant textual changes that come, for the most part, from the current book of mormon critical text project.
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 headings. 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. In all, the digitalonly handbook is about 800 pages long. Another change affirms the teaching that the book of mormon alone contains the fullness of the gospel. Why is this so if the book of mormon was translated accurately by the hand of god. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. Despite the faith of believers that the book of mormon is the most correct of any book, ever since smith dictated the text to scribes in 1827, there have been significant modifications with each printing. The first printed edition compared to the manuscripts and to the subsequent major lds english printed. Why would the mormon church continue to change the work even after joseph. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when.
The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. The second edition of volume 4 of the book of mormon critical text project. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new thinking about an ancient people. Yet, many changes in the text of the book of mormon can be detected when. These converts developed faith through reading the book of mormon. Changes in the book of mormon exposed by earl erskine youtube. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Jerald and sandra tanners 1965 publication, 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, has probably had a greater influence.
Recent media attention has verified last months expositor report of significant changes in the mormon temple ritual news of the changes in the ceremony was pick up by wire services and received nationwide coverage including a front page story in the new york times, comments by paul harvey, and a report in time magazine. The primary research for this information was taken from the book 39 changes in the book of mormon by jerald and sandra tanner. The book of mormon is the scripture embraced by followers of joseph smith in his 1830s latterday saint movement. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants. In reality, though, the kind of stylistic accuracy achieved by these changes has little to do with what joseph meant when he called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth. I opened up my gospel library and i had to redownload the book of mormon. This six book set, entitled analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon atv, fulfills the central task of the critical text project, to restore the original text of the book of mormon to the extent possible using scholarly means. This sixbook set, entitled analysis of textual variants of the book of mormon atv, fulfills the central task of the critical text project, to restore the original text of the book of mormon to the extent possible using scholarly means. However, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon. In early 1830 joseph smith published the book of mormon, a 269,938word volume that discusses religious themes intermingled with a history of ancient american peoples. An original first edition book of mormon has been photographed and is available for viewing at. To obtain copies of their work please write to utah lighthouse ministry p.
Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. Our heavenly father wrote letters through the prophets, giving counsel, comfort, and guidance for our good and blessing us at all times. The book of mormon itself is the best source for understanding the geographical locations contained therein. Some of the many changes in the book of mormon by matt slick joseph smith said 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, history of the church, vol. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Oct 11, 2018 the bulk of the revisions are grammatical and the hosts point out a few of the most common changes. 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. But the most common changes have not been in spelling, but in grammar.
There have been thousands of changes to the exact text of the book of mormon since its first printing, in. Book of mormon word change christian research institute. Critical texts have previously been prepared for important historical and literary works but until fairly. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. Multiple revisions of the book of mormon and the temple endowment ceremony are two examples. 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. Analytical and contextual commentary on the book of mormon and the gift and power. 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. 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. Book of mormon changes almost all spelling, grammar, and. 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. 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. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. The original text betrays its new england origin in many ways, from inconsistent spelling to incorrect use of tenses and number, as well.