Book of mormon changes

Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. Their article reminded me once again of the arbitrary nature of the church when it comes to the. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates. Dec 20, 2010 a decade later, the faiths governing first presidency approved minor changes to some book of mormon chapter headings, explained church spokesman michael purdy. This article presents thirty of the most significant of these 256 changes. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes the. With the second edition of the book of mormon, published in 1837. 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. See natural born seer, 3868 for an extensive list of book of mormon changes. An analysis of selected changes in major editions of the book of mormon 18301920 jeffrey r. Posted in book of mormon changes, tagged changes to book of mormon headings 2010, false gospel, joseph smith false prophet, racist headings in book of mormon on 03012017 leave a comment several days ago i came across an archived salt lake trib article outlining significant changes in two chapter headings for the bom. 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.

Nov 22, 2019 jacob, a book of mormon prophet, rejoices in the wisdom of god in providing a savior for mankind. 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. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Over the years, changes in how the book of mormon has been formatted have resulted in several editions being published. Why would the mormon church continue to change the work even after joseph. Currently, the book of mormon has been divided into chapters and verses, and many key words have been marked for crossreferencing, with the original punctuation marks inserted by mr. Our heavenly father wrote letters through the prophets, giving counsel, comfort, and guidance for our good and blessing us at all times. Significant changes in lds doctrine and covenants 4mormon. An original first edition book of mormon has been photographed and is available for viewing at. In copying from the original manuscript to the printers manuscript. Until now, i have not published a printed version of the second half of my original presentation, changes in the book of mormon.

Part of thehistory commons, mormon studies commons, and thereligious thought, theology and philosophy of religion commons. Joseph originally taught that jesus and the father were the same. The first printed edition compared to the manuscripts and to the subsequent major lds english printed. 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. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Significant changes to the endowment have occurred as recently as 1990. Royal skousen, changes in the book of mormon royal skousen, restoring the original text of the book of mormon benjamin was changed to mosiah in later editions of the book of mormon jump to subtopic. Some of the revelations that appear in the doctrine and covenants have had hundreds of words added to them. The book of mormon is indeed a gift intended to bring us, gods children, to a knowledge of the true gospel of jesus christ. Holland brigham young university provo follow this and additional works at. The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. 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.

Royal skousen, changes in the book of mormon royal skousen, restoring the original text of the book of mormon question. An analysis of selected changes in major editions of the book. Many of the original revelations of the mormon doctrine and covenants scripture were published in the 1833 book of commandments. While early critics noticed changes between various editions of the book of mormon, the first book to focus strictly upon those changes was lamoni calls 1898, 2000 changes in the book of mormon. But the most common changes have not been in spelling, but in grammar. Jul 01, 2011 however, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon. 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. How coming to christ through the book of mormon changes. Former lds bishop earl erskine talks about the changes he found in the book of mormon on polygamy. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. As a part of this project the editor has completed a preliminary analysis. Some textual changes for a scholarly study of the book of. The book of mormon changes lives church of jesus christ. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon.

The churchaffiliated publishing house, deseret book, has been phasing out or renaming titles that used the word mormon, prompting authors to. The methodology employed by call was unsophisticated. 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. For example, there have been 891 changes of which to who, 177 changes of exceeding. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when.

Book of mormon changes almost all spelling, grammar, and. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever. Changes in the book of mormon exposed by earl erskine youtube. For some thoughtprovoking analysis and evidence, see hugh nibleys essay. 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. The earliest text, the definitive scholarly edition of the book of mormon, published in 2009 by yale university press. Jun 11, 2009 the onepage introduction to the book of mormon, which gives a brief overview of its contents, was added in 1981 when the lds church released a revised text of 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.

The book of mormon changes lives 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. President eyring carved that phrase onto a beautiful plaque for. Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of joseph smith. Why is this so if the book of mormon was translated accurately by the hand of god. 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.

In all, the digitalonly handbook is about 800 pages long. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The introduction was written by mormon apostle brucer. However, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon.

Mormon leaders delete some of the most sacred parts of ceremony. 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. 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. The third is the identification of 256 changes in the text that make a difference in meaning or in the spelling of a name, changes that would show up in any translation of the book. He prophesies of jesus christ and teaches about his atonement and resurrection. The work of comparing the page 51 books was a long, tedious job for a working man. Scribal corrections in the original manuscript supports statements made by witnesses. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. Interestingly, the spelling problems in the book of mormon paralleled earlier kinds of spelling changes in the english bible. Jacob teaches of the atonement of jesus christ 2 nephi 610. Jerald and sandra tanners have sold many copies of their book 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, since first released in 1965. Well, it turns out that the answer to the question is yes. Enrique serpa bustamante, a member from lima, peru, thinks of the book of mormon as letters from a loving parent.

For example, consider the word sins, which had been spelled synnes and became sinnes in the 1611 king james version. The book of mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics and book by trey parker, robert lopez, and matt stone first staged in 2011, the play is a satirical examination of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints beliefs and practices that ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. Church removes racial references in book of mormon headings. 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. If it came from god, why wasnt it done right the first time. When and where was the name benjamin changed to mosiah in the book of mormon. Book of mormontextual changeswhite changed to pure. Mcconkie, at the time considered to be one of the churchs most prominent theologians. Changes in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Two years later, when these revelations were republished in the first edition of doctrine and covenants, significant changes became apparent. There also have been many important changes in the pearl of great price. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of.

Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. Book of mormon changes yesterday while reading some interesting news stories on byus online newspaper, i came across an article they posted a few years back about changes made to the introduction in the book of mormon. Apr 15, 2012 former lds bishop earl erskine talks about the changes he found in the book of mormon on polygamy. 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. The theme they had selected was a quote from president ezra taft benson which said, the book of mormon will change your life. 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. For some of the best scholarship on the changes in the book of mormon, see the writings of royal skousen, such as his 2014 article, changes in the book of mormon in interpreter. Why was the phrase white and delightsome changed to pure and delightsome in the 1840 edition of the book of mormon. Types of changes in the book of mormon text the following statistics are derived from my computerized collation of the two manuscripts of the book of mormon the original and the printers manuscripts and 20 standard page 173 editions of the book of mormon fifteen lds editions, from 1830 to 1981, the 1858 wright edition, and four rlds. While there have been some changes from the first edition of the book of mormon, most of the edits were corrections to spelling and other single word changes.

Yet, the book which joseph smith declared was the most correct of any book on earth history of the church, vol. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. 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. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism the arch and the keystone. 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. All of the thirty changes discussed in this paper make a difference in meaning.