The first critical text of the book of mormon was published by the foundation for ancient. If every change of punctuation or spelling is counted, there actually have been over 100,000 edits to the book of mormon. Did joseph smiths doctrine of god change over time. How can mormons claim that the book of mormon is true if. Yet, many changes in the text of the book of mormon can be detected when. The primary research for this information was taken from the book 39 changes in the book of mormon by jerald and sandra tanner. Is the book of mormon inspired by god bible study guide. However, there are numerous other changes which affect the doctrinal teachings of the book of mormon. Joseph originally taught that jesus and the father were the same. Another testament of jesus christ is regarded as divinely inspired scripture, as is the holy bible. By making merely verbal changes, and changes in grammatical construction, without changing the shade of a single idea or statement, changes that could be legitimately authorized by the president of the churchwho is the recognized law giver in israel, and guardian of the written wordthe book of mormon could be made a classic in english. Book of mormon manuscripts why the lds church is true. 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. Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud.
There have been over 4,000 changes since the original 1830 edition. Changes made to mormon scripture life after ministries. That figure includes even oneletter changes in over 20,000 manuscripts. For example, there have been 891 changes of which to who, 177 changes of exceeding. The original printed book of mormon contained the erroneous plurals cherubims and seraphims for example alma 12. If thats true why has the mormon church had to make more than 4,000 changes to the book of mormon that was originally published in 1830. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever. Textual changesthe claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text.
Most of the errors that have been corrected were grammatical and punctuation, but there were some significant doctrinal changes as well. 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. Evolution of the mormon temple ceremony 18421990 i understand there are arguments from the church against the tanners, but their work stands the scrutiny of serious seekers. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey.
Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes the. The manual in this teaching set contains photocopies of select pages from the original 1830 book of mormon with copies of the same passages from recent editions. The first thing we need to eliminate is that book of mormon archaeology exist. Hales, changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes, interpreter. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when comparing the original 1830 edition to the 1964 edition. Has the book of mormon had over 4,000 changes since the. But the book of mormon has had over 4,000 changes, and does not support many major mormon doctrines. The almost 4,000 changes to the book of mormon are copyeditor porn. Hales reminds us that the tanners and others have been deceptive in their treatment of the minor changes and corrections that have been made, creating the. The first printed edition compared to the manuscripts and to the subsequent major lds english printed editions and that there was to be. Different translations of the bible are not the same thing as nearly 4000 changes made to one translation of a book. These revisions include wording changes such as king benjamin to king mosiah, adding the phrase or out of the waters of baptism, and correction of spelling and grammatical errors. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon.
It might be better stated that the book of mormon was the most corrected of any book on earth. The book records how these people were believed to have sailed from the arabian peninsula to the new world 600 years before birth of jesus see 1 nephi 17 to read a short summary. Several sources i researched all stated that there were almost 4,000 independent changes between the original 1830 and the current 1981 versions of the book of mormon. There should be no need to make nearly 4000 changes to the. Why do the bible verses quoted in the book of mormon contain the italicized words from the king james version that were added into the kjv text by the translators in the 16th and 17th centuries. Book of mormon almost 4,000 changes to the book of mormon and over 7,200 greek and latin words found. Combined with the audio cd, this teaching set shows some of the more than 4,000 changes and anachronisms in the book of mormon text. How many changes were made to the book of mormon from the. The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. If we apply the percentage of changes to the book of mormon, we find that its 4,000 changes has occurred in a short time compared to anything in the new testament.
In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of. The tanners have documented almost 4,000 changes in the book of mormon between the 1830 edition and modern editions. We are way beyond 4,000 and yet we havent got to one of any substance yet. That is roughly 10 per manuscript, which is amazingly good. If the book of mormon was translated as mormon history claims, even small. Miriam robarts yes, i believe that god inspired and instructed many prophets to keep records and then a prophet compiled them in the book of mormon, similar to howmore yes, i believe that god inspired and instructed many prophets to keep records and then a prophet compiled them in the book of mormon, similar to how the bible was written by many prophets. But the most common changes have not been in spelling, but in grammar. Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. Dingers significant textual changes in the book of mormon. Why has the church found it necessary to make changes any. Other writings accepted as scripture are the doctrine and covenants, a compilation of revelations and writings given since the restoration of the church began, and the. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. Former mormons, jerald and sandra tanner, have documented nearly 4,000 changes in the book of mormon from its original edition.
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. Have you ever asked yourself how many times the holy bible has been changed from the time the original revelations were received over a period of several thousand years at least. 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. I dont know what that number is, but i guarantee you it makes 4,000. Box 1884 salt lake city, utah 84110 or visit their website. As you can see, the book of mormon is a changing document. Lds 4000 changes to the bom page 4 christian forums. Changes to the book of mormon according to the mormon churchs teaching manual, gospel principles,page 53. The almost 4,000 changes to the book of mormon are. 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.
Godhead changes were made to the book of mormon after joseph smith. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when comparing the original 1830 edition to the. Edits and changes to the book of mormon will occasionally b.
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. 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 tanners have a book out where they document all the changesi saw that book many years ago, in our churchs library, but at the time, didnt know exactly what it was but i do now. The book of mormon claims to be a perfect translation because joseph smith supposedly used the crystal glasses the get the perfect wordforword translation, yet there have been over 4,000 changes in the book of mormon since the first edition came out. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes. Reasons for textual changes made to the book of mormon over the years after it was first published. The bible is accepted as the word of god as far as it is translated correctly. A critical text shows all the substantive changes that a written work has. Geographers and historians have written about it, but these individuals are typically all lds members. The mormon church has four books of scripture referred to as the standard works. He was the 5 th person to help author the book of omni in the book of mormon. In considering the short time the book of mormon has existed in the hands of a restored church 170 years with living prophets not one knew that changes were needed.
The book of mormon has undergone nearly 4,000 changes from the 1830 edition to the modern edition. That compares to over 4,000 changes in the book of mormon and many in the doctrines and covenants. Demonic and ungodly names in the book of mormon 2 life. An original first edition book of mormon has been photographed and is available for viewing at. A valuable new analysis of the many types of changes in the text of the book of mormon is brian c. Training and witnessing materials watchman fellowship, inc. Yet, the book which joseph smith declared was the most correct of any book on earth history of the church, vol. Apologists and sunday school manuals have repeatedly told us what a. Both volumes are used by latterday saints side by side. Introductory pages of the book of mormon part 1 come. I noticed a guy said this on here, so i would like to know if this is true, and if its not true what is the approximate real number of changes, or has there been no changes because the foundation of the mormon lds religion is their belief that the bible corrupted and needed the book of mormon for assistance if there was truly thousands of changes to the bom that would mean its not. If the lds church really believes the book of mormon is the word of god and, as joseph smith said, the most perfect of any book on earth, why have there been more than 4,000 changes in it. If that is true, then the lds will have difficulty explaining why there have been numerous revisions and changes in the book of mormon in the 180 years since the translation and original edition. Changes in the book of mormon is mormonism christian.
As one mormon said, joseph smith wrote it, and joseph smith had the write to change it. Some are mere spelling corrections, but others are significant changes. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. To obtain copies of their work please write to utah lighthouse ministry p. 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. How can someone believe the book of mormon is a divine. Facts the mormon church doesnt want you to know 4mormon. 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. 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. However, this is not the case as there have been more than 4,000 changes to the book of mormon, many of which are material such as changing the character of. 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. These were so numerous that they could not have been the result of. Doctrinal changes a selection of doctrinal changes in the book of mormon.