It was written in an ancient language on gold plates by prophets in ancient america. What we do know, in the coming forth of the book of mormon. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. The description of the book of mormon on the registration form is from the title page of the book of mormon, which joseph says is a literal translation taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates see pjs 1. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon.
Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1982, 237. Questions such as how long did it take to translate the book of mormon. The work of translation proceeded haltingly through 1828. As much of the shows satire is aimed at the cliches of socalled golden age musicals as at dogooder fantasies of africa, and the laughs still roll easily. Joseph smith was a seer able to translate the golden plates into the book of mormon by his seer abilities not by the plates themselves. Josephs wife, emma, and others served as scribes until the spring of 1829, when oliver cowdery took over, recording the bulk of the 275,000word text from josephs dictation, concluding near the end of june 1829, a period of about 60 to 90 days. These stones are to help smith translate the book from the reformed egyptian. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ.
That theatre is slow exiting due to the configuration of the stairs, so youll have to add about 1520 minutes to get out of the building unless you are right at the back and jump up immediately to get to the front of the pack. Book of mormon translation the church of jesus christ of latter. Martin should take the characters to the east, and, on his way, he was to call on all the. We have a few quotes from martin harris, emma smith, david whitmer, and oliver cowdery that suggest something like this. A quick text analysis of the book of mormon shows that the phrase and it came to pass occurs in the book of mormon 1123 times. The urim and thummim was preserved in a stone box, along with the gold plates, for over 1,500 years for the purpose of enabling joseph to translate the writings on the.
It has long been noted that after joseph smith pulled off the herculean task of producing the book of mormon, he rarely if ever went back to teach principles or doctrine from its pages, or do much of anything with it at all, really. The interpreters were taken from joseph after he allowed martin harris to carry away the 116 pages of the manuscript of the book of mormon as a punishment, but he was allowed to go on and translate by use of a seers stone which he had, and which he placed in a hat into which he buried his face, stating to me and others that the. Richard lloyd anderson, the credibility of the book of mormon translators, in book of mormon authorship. Soon thereafter, a village resident reported that the translation was accomplished by means of two transparent stones in the form of spectacles thro which the. How long did it take joseph smith to translate the book of mormon. The book of mormon, chicago tribune, december 17, 1885, 3. This paper aims to stimulate specific thinking about the intense and complex events during which the book of mormon was translated in 1829. The early history of the mormons american experience.
Lehis dream was actually a dream joseph smiths father had in 1811 compare book of mormon 20, pp. Later, joseph smith translated the book of mormon into. After affixing the magical spectacles to his eyes, smith would take the plates and translate the characters one at a time. Did joseph smith translate the book of mormon with a rock. What do we know about the method used to translate the book of mormon. Statements on the book of mormon translation method. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. A smash hit virtually right from the start, the outrageously funny, awardwinning masterpiece has been a mustsee. Depending on genre and literary quality, translating a book of 100,000 words will take up anyt. How many hours does it take to read the book of mormon. Gerrit van dyk everyone in the korean church knows who translated the first translation of the book of mormonelder han in sang. How diddo mormons know that joseph smith was a prophet, and that god.
How long did it take joseph smith to translate the book of. Edwin jenson while some of the story of the korean translations of the book of mormon is told in fragments throughout the documents chronicling the rise of the lds church in korea, most notably ronald k. View all hotels near the book of mormon on tripadvisor. One lds member makes the case that the phrase and it came to pass is precisely what certain words in the original language means therefore not necessarily an english phrase from an earlier era. It only took 75 days to translate the book of mormon see sic et nons hours never to be forgotten sic et non is a respectable web blog, and i have to admit that i do have respect for daniel peterson. When i see the word translate, it means to me that a scribe read a manuscript written in one language e. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, not in use in 1830. Maxwell, 1 and building on my chapter in the second edition of opening the heavens, 2 this article strives to be as precise as possible about the timing of the events and progress of the book of mormon translation. The book of mormon, now five years old, has returned to chicago for second time in two years, still wildly popular, but more of a known entity. The third or 1840 edition of the book of mormon was printed with this statement, carefully revised by the translator. Joseph never talked about how the book of mormon translation process went. For instance, in the original manuscript, we have the following at the beginning of 2 nephi. Roberts concluded, the translation of the book of mormon by means of the interpreters and seer stone, was not merely a mechanical process, but required the utmost concentration of mental and spiritual force possessed. Joseph smith clarifies what he means by very last leaf by specifying.
Despite all that the book of mormon prophets apparently went. Additionally, the plates were not always present during the translating. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. This whole concept of finding the book of mormon on plates is a sham. Russian book of mormon hardcover january 1, 2004 by na author 4. The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages. 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. There is much language, for example, that quotes, echoes, or alludes to the king james version of the holy bible. One of the most amazing facts about the book of mormon is that it took joseph smith only about sixtyfive working days to translate a book that, in the current edition, is 531 pages long. In 1835 it became section 2, the featured position after the revealed preface. Book of mormontranslationmethod18461900 fairmormon.
Smith claimed the angel moroni, a prophet in the book of mormon, directed him in the 1820s to a. What is the original language of the book of mormon. Were the plates sometimes not in the room while joseph was translating them. How did joseph smith translate the plates from which the. In 2011, a longrunning religious satire musical titled the book of mormon. Second, chapters are assigned before the beginning of a book. The missionaries taking the book of mormons message to the indians in.
Second publication, 1835 doctrine and covenants, section xxxvi. Now, behold i say unto you, that because you delivered up so many writings, which you had power to translate, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them, and you also lost your gift at the same time. It only took 75 days to translate the book of mormon. The translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans. It is by far the most complete edition of the book of. Book of mormon translation lds church is true blog. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. Under either theory, a span of no more than sixtyfive to seventyfive total days was likely involved in translating the book of mormon as we now have it, for an overall average of about seven to eight pages per day, conservatively estimated. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. How long did it take to translate the book of mormon.
Well, the book of mormon is a migration story, similar to the idea of the book of exodus in the old testament, except there are three migrations involved in this. A printing history of the book of mormon mormon historic sites. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Welch, professor of law at brigham young universitys j. It can be argued, therefore, that the content of the book of mormon gradually evolved between 1823 and 1829. Launched on broadway in 2011, essentially no topic is off limits in the book of mormon, the musically charged, critically acclaimed religious satire from south park creators trey parker and matt stone and avenue q cocreator robert lopez. Smith and the beginnings of mormonism urbanachicago. Another of the prophet josephs very significant accounts was written to john wentworth, editor of the chicago democrat, because joseph wanted to guarantee that a correct version of the coming forth and translation of the book of mormon was given, due to all the spurious accounts and rumors circulating. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. The book of mormon often does not translate the version that nephi would have had, but simply uses the text as. Lets agree that thought has been put into those words, and that a frame of reference one persons the authors knowledge, experience, analytical, critical, imaginative and creative abilities underly the thoughts and shape the language. Most lds church members were taught that joseph smith used seer stones referred to as the urim and thummim nephite interpreters to translate the book of mormon bom 1 to various scribes.
Many of the ohio mormons follow, and soon there are thousands of church. This assertion can mislead people into believing the book of mormon production process was nothing short of miraculous. First publication, 1833 book of commandments, chapter ix. This includes the passages claimed to belong to deuteroisaiah. First, lets agree that a book does not equal a number of words.
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