Book of mormon manuscripts why the lds church is true. A common criticism of the book of mormon is that the text has undergone some 4000 changes, and therefore the mormons claim that it is the word of god is proven false. I dont know what that number is, but i guarantee you it makes 4. That compares to over 4,000 changes in the book of mormon. In this post i want to look at some of the changes to the book. Here is some great training to prepare you to witness to mormons using the book of mormon. Many of these are simple punctuation, spelling, and grammar corrections.
Why do the bible verses quoted in the book of mormon contain. How many changes were made to the book of mormon from the. Another testament of jesus christ is regarded as divinely inspired scripture, as is the holy bible. Lds 4000 changes to the bom page 2 christian forums. 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.
Former mormons, jerald and sandra tanner, have documented nearly 4. 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. The geographical setting of the book of mormon is the set of locations of the events described 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. Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. Different translations of the bible are not the same thing as nearly 4000 changes made to one translation of a book. I, and the other is 39 changes in the book of mormon. If we apply the percentage of changes to the book of mormon, we find that its 4.
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. Understanding the process of publishing the book of mormon. 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. Questions for mormons members of the church of jesus. 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. How can mormons claim that the book of mormon is true if. Joseph smith translated the book of mormon by the gift and power of god. One of the first publications documenting the massive changes, 3,9 changes in the.
As stated earlier, the mormon church has made many changes to the book of mormon in order to correct josephs poor grammar and spelling. Its estimated that there have been over 4,000 changes in the book of mormon text over the past 185 years. Changes in the book of mormon is mormonism christian. Why has the church found it necessary to make changes any. Perhaps thats why the prophets encourage as close to the original as we can get although people who are antagonists of the book of mormon would point out that there have been over 4. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. 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. Note what joseph smith said about the accuracy of the book of mormon, i told the brethren that the.
There is no universal consensus among mormon scholars regarding the placement. Book of mormontextual changes fairmormon the gist of it is that the vast majority of the alleged 4000 changes are typographical in nature, the kind of things that even the bible itself has. Critics claim that there are 4000 changes to the book of mormon. However, a close examination reveals that over 4000 word changes. 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. 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. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. The book of mormon was translated and published in 1830. Yet, joseph smith said that he and the three witnesses of the b. 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. Changing critics criticisms of book of mormon changes. The claim is often heard that there are more than 4000 changes to the book of mormon text. If the criteria listed above are applied to the book of mormon, then their criticism is completely lacking in merit and is valueless.
All recommendations and any subsequent changes are approved by the council of the first presidency and quorum of the twelve apostles, the highest governing body of the church. 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. With such claims we would expect to see the book of mormon free of changes. Why has the lds church made almost 4000 changes to a book that smith said god told him was perfect.
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. Both the old testament and the new testament have undergone changes over the. Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god and not by man david whitmer, an address to all believers in christ concord, ca. My introduction to the book of mormon or the book of mormon evidences page could also be consulted. 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 almost 4,000 changes to the book of mormon are copyeditor porn. 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. There can be no more bible, chapter 1 of since cumorah. Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when comparing the original 1830 edition to the 1964. The antimormon detractors who criticize the changes made in the book of mormon are seeking to impose a different standard on the mormon scripture than they claim for the bible. Doctrinal changes a selection of doctrinal changes in the book of mormon. For example, what if i were to claim that i changed two words in the previous sentence. How can someone believe the book of mormon is a divine. Containing the way the book is claimed to have been translated, the amendments which have been made in the book. Godhead changes were made to the book of mormon after joseph smith changed his doctrine from monotheism to polytheism. One is that there have been at least that many changes in the book of mormon from the time that it was first published in 1830. Training and witnessing materials watchman fellowship, inc.
The book of mormon department of christian defense. The reasons why this church flew under the radar for so long are as numerous as the changes made to its premiere canon. Some people claim that there have been as many as 4000 changes to the book of mormon. Has the book of mormon had over 4,000 changes since the. I commend you for being serious about this concern, and appreciate your honesty. That figure includes even oneletter changes in over 20,000 manuscripts. Proposed book of mormon geographical setting wikipedia. 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. Whats interesting is that the grammar of the book was absolutely atrocious when it was first released which you would not think would be the case if god himself wrote it. 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.
Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. In my last post i looked at some of the errors with the nature of the book of mormon. Facts the mormon church doesnt want you to know 4mormon. During the process of dictating, transcribing, copying, typesetting, and printing. That is roughly 10 per manuscript, which is amazingly good. Combined with the audio cd, this teaching set shows some of the more than 4. They fail to mention that this is only about 1 percent of the book. 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. In the introduction to the book 3,9 changes in the book of mormon several statements stand out. Textual changes to the book of mormon in 1837 and 1840 by stan larson, sunstone, fall 1976, pp. The almost 4,000 changes to the book of mormon are. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Apologists and sunday school manuals have repeatedly told us what a.
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