However, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon. Changes to the book of mormon according to the mormon church s teaching manual, gospel principles, page 53, joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through the gift and power of god. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of. First two editions of the book of mormon available. Since the publication of the book of mormon in 1830 it has had s of changes made to it. Identical errors or intended as identical teachings in the beginning of mormonism, before joseph smith changed his theology of god.
The book of mormon was first published and sold at the bookstore of e. This new readerfriendly version reformats the complete, unchanged 1920 text in the manner of modern. A oneword change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the book of. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. Some mormons claim that the witnesses of the book of mormon made up the story about it being given word for word, but david whitmer said it was joseph smith himself who taught that the book of mormon was dictated wordforword 3,9 changes in the book of mormon, p. Wright 1858, new york, basically a reprinting of the 1840 nauvoo edition. Following is a breakdown of some of the more glaring changes.
A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. A common question or criticism of the book of mormon is whether there have been changes to the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The typesetting and printing were done during the winter of 183637, with joseph smith and oliver cowdery taking an active part in the editing procedures. Two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce. Notice the phrase or out of the waters of baptism has been added. The first and second rlds editions 1874, plano, illinois. Book of mormon word change christian research institute. Interestingly, the spelling problems in the book of mormon paralleled earlier kinds of spelling changes in the english bible. The news that the introduction to the 2006 doubleday edition of the book of mormon contains significant changes seems to be all the rage on. Hardys edition is designed to be readerfriendly and help the underlying logic of the text come out through the formatting. The introduction to the book of mormon contains one noteworthy change. For those of you that have not hear, there is a new edition of the book of mormon that has been released. Second edition of the book of mormon, 1837, in contemporary sheep book of mormon smith, joseph.
Behold, the lamb of god, yea, even the eternal father. Title page, translated from the book of mormon plates testimony of the three witnesses and also testimony of the eight witnesses preface to the 2016 edition preface to the 1908 edition books of the book of mormon first nephi second nephi jacob enos jarom omni words of mormon mosiah alma helaman third nephi fourth nephi mormon ether moroni. Joseph originally taught that jesus and the father were the same. For example, consider the word sins, which had been spelled synnes and became sinnes in the 1611 king james version. 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 student manual religion 121122 by, 1981, church of jesus christ of latterday saints edition, 2nd ed. This is my allaround favorite edition of the book of mormon and the one that spoiled the standard church edition for me. Today, the building the houses the bookstoreturnedreligiouslandmark is known as the book of mormon historic publication site. The first printed edition compared to the manuscripts and to the subsequent major lds english printed editions and that there was to be. Book of mormon student manual religion 121122 1981. I have a copy of the original book of mormon and all the changes in it next to it. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of. 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 editions by royal skousen two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce the text.
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. On july 11, 20, i was surprised to get an email from a community of christ colleague informing me that the smithpettit foundation was publishing john s. Only rarely do we have the first two editions of the book of mormon for sale at the same time, but we are fortunate to have these scarce and valuable books now and are pleased to. Changes in the book of mormon transcription of live presentation. That the book of mormon replaces the corresponding matthean passage is shown by the fact that the verses immediately before and after this section in the book of mormon correspond to the verses in the kjv before and after matthew 5. Debate renewed with change in book of mormon introduction. Another testament of jesus christ an account written by the hand.
An exact facsimile reproduction of the first edition of the book of mormon, providing the authentic size, look and feel, and format of the original. Contains a 16page introduction by jerald and sandra tanner which shows that the changes are not in harmony with the original text. 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. We are pleased to offer copies of the first and second edition of the book of mormon for sale. 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. Most modern editions of the book have been divided into chapters and verses. Another testament of jesus christ official edition by smith, joseph and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The original text betrays its new england origin in many ways, from inconsistent spelling to incorrect use of tenses and number, as well as. For this edition, hundreds of grammatical changes and a few emendations were made in the text.
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. Containing the way the book is claimed to have been translated, the amendments which have been made in the book. There have been several lds editions of the book of mormon between 1830 and 1981, including the 1837 kirtland edition, 1840 nauvoo edition. The introduction printed in the 1981 edition of the book of mormon. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. The second edition of the book of mormon was published under the direction of parley p.
This happened at some stage of the bookbinding process at the e. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Grandin press in palmyra, new yorkbecause all first editions copies of the book of mormon have this visible trait. Book of mormon changes since 1830 book of mormon facts. Following is a breakdown of some of the more glaring changes, including references to the years in which they were made. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library.
Then, between the initial printed version of 1830, to the 1964 edition, the book of mormon went through 3,9 x more changes, which were mostly related to the correction of grammatical and spelling errors. For this edition, hundreds of grammatical changes and a few. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. And, most recently, the 1981 edition was prepared under the supervision of the scriptures publication committee, under direction of the first presidency.
Book of mormon editions 18301981 book of mormon central. Changes in the book of mormon book of mormon central. The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. Regarded as sacred scripture by millions, the book of mormon first published in 1830 is one of the most significant documents in american religious history. Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the son god. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. The following is a reduced, photographic reproduction of the lower half of page 52 of the 1830 edition of the book of mormon with the changes marked to bring it into conformity with modern editions. Collecting the book of mormon by joseph, smith first.
Mormon books mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. A photo reprint of the original 1830 edition of the book of mormon with all the changes marked compared to a 1964 edition. Behold, the lamb of god, yea, even the son of the eternal father. Pdfs of 1830 palmyra edition of the book of mormon. The changes to the 20 edition of the scriptures, available in print in. Book of mormon 1981 wikisource, the free online library. Another change affirms the teaching that the book of mormon alone contains the fullness of the gospel. A readerfriendly edition of the book of mormon, for mormons as well as nonmormons. Since its publication in the fall of 1979, the new latterday saint edition of the king. A unique characteristic of the first edition book of mormon title page is the diamond imprint. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. The 1837 edition was used for the european editions, which were in turn used as the basis for the 1879 and 1920 editions, so the change was lost until the 1981. What an inspired translation should have been, and the reasons given by the church for making the many grammatical changes. Editions of the scriptures can also be purchased in one large book with the bible both old and new testaments included.
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. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. Critical texts have previously been prepared for important historical and literary works but until fairly. The text of this version is of the lds 1981 edition. Clearly the book of mormon revises this passage, but it retains that part of the kjv which has been questioned by modern scholarship. 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.
Since doctrine seems to be the area of greatest concern four changes made in the second 1837 edition of the book of mormon, which allegedly alter the book of mormon doctrine of the godhead, are the changes most frequently cited. Work on the book of mormon index continued through april 1980. Book of mormon wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the church of jesus christ of latterday saints salt lake city the book of mormon. Their article reminded me once again of the arbitrary nature of the church when it comes to the.
The book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and pearl of great price are shorter books than the bible, so they are often combined and bound together in one book, which members of the church call the triple combination. 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 book of commandments was the first printed edition of the collected revelations received by joseph smith later to become known as the doctrine and covenants. Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of god. Book of mormon by joseph smith, first edition abebooks. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Dingers significant textual changes in the book of mormon. The earliest text, the definitive scholarly edition of the book of mormon, published in 2009 by yale university press. He said that it is the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion. Then i would like to turn to the issue of changes in the text to the book of mormon.
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