Reading your article got me curious as to whywith such direct and clear information on how the book of mormon was translatedtheres even a question about it. Some had waited all of their lifetimes to read the book of mormon in afrikaans. Almost all of the book of mormon as we now have it was translated between 7. Quiz 1 book of mormon translation flashcards quizlet. These facts are now officially confirmed in the churchs december 20 book of mormon translation essay. Book of mormon translation challenge posts facebook. David whitmer indicated that the seer stone was later given to oliver cowdery. How long did it take to translate the book of mormon. Those involved with the translation of the book of mormon said that joseph initially used the stones found with the plates. Firsthand witness accounts of the translation process. As of april 2011, the book of mormon has been published in its entirety in 82 languages, with selections of the book available in an additional 25 languages. After the translation of the book of mormon was finished early in the spring of 1830 before april 6th, joseph gave the stone to oliver cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and he did not use the stone anymore.
Whats so remarkable about this part of the translation of the book of mormon is the breakneck pace of the work the translation of the text during this time was completed in an astounding 65 to 72 working days based on the number of pages in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. Translations of the book of mormon the book of mormon is published in 112 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online. Sep 19, 2016 in an article in his defending the faith column in the deseret news, byu scholar daniel c. Introductory pages of the book of mormon book of mormon. Smith later stated that god allowed him to resume translation, but directed that he begin translating another part of the plates in what is now called the. The 116 pages of the book of lehi were borrowed and then lost by martin harris. Critics of the book of mormon have claimed that a variety of linguistic anachronisms exist in it which cast doubt upon its historical authenticity. Thereafter the plates were returned to the custody of moroni.
Book of mormon translation lds church is true blog. It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 book of mormon had supposedly come directly from god. Concerning the manner in which the seerstone or the interpreters functioned, joseph smith reported only that they operated by the gift and power of god. Did joseph smith finish his translation of the bible. Some readers of the book of mormon and other students of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints have become concerned with issues that might, in their view, preclude the view that the translation of the book of mormon was given wordforword, directly by god such as the presence of language from the king james bible in the text. The title page of the book of mormon declares that the book is a translation of an ancient set of records, sealed up. Translation of the book of mormon church of jesus christ. One of his accounts was recorded in the elders journal published july 1838, at far west, missouri.
Linguistic anachronisms in the book of mormon are words that represent concepts that are not believed to have existed in the americas between 2500 b. Joseph smith translating the book of mormon by looking at a seer stone in a hat. The prophet joseph smith gave at least six accounts telling of the translation. Welch of brigham young university, delivered a powerful address on wednesday, november 8 on the timing of the translation of the book of mormon. It was completed within eighty five days, from 7 april to 30 june. Urim and thummim places the book of mormon translation on trial, presenting the latest research in one of the most comprehensive treatments of the translation process to date providing encouragement for latterday saints who fear they have been betrayed by the translation history taught by the church for over 190 years.
How did joseph smith translate the plates from which the book. By its own terms, the book of mormon is a translation of an ancient book. The church later admitted these facts in its october 2015 ensign, where they include a photograph of the actual rock that joseph smith used to place in his hat for the book of mormon translation. Byu professors lecture examines the timeline of joseph smiths. As mentioned above, the book of mormon is a book of scripture kept by the ancient inhabitants of north america and covers a span of 1,000 years. South park part 4 translating the book of mormon life.
The earliest copy of the title page would have been written by oliver cowdery at the very end of may, 1829, as joseph finished dictating the translation of the book of mormon by the gift and power of god. Some of the whitmers john whitmer especially help as scribes during this period. By may 15, the account of christs ministry in 3 nephi had been translated. For a compilation of accounts by joseph smiths contemporaries, see john w. Book of mormon translation by joseph smith the encyclopedia. About this time, the testimonies of the three and the eight witnesses were written. Joseph and emmas first child, alvin, was born but died shortly. What do we know about the chronology of the book of. The for the book of mormon is secured at the office of the federal distric court clerk, richard r. The prophet joseph smith answered questions pertaining to the translation of the book of mormon. When joseph smith was entrusted with the golden plates, he was also given a set of nephite interpreters and a breastplate. In 1909, roberts generally concluded that the dictation of the existing english text of the book of mormon began on april 7, 1829, and was completed somewhere. Joseph and emmas first child, alvin, was born but died shortly thereafter. Welch presenting on the translation of the book of mormon.
The gold plates and the translation of the book of mormon. Translating the book of mormon south park depiction of the translation of the book of mormon is more accurate than the most mormons realize. The translation of the book of mormon into japanese took five years and nine months of labor, and the manuscript consisted of twentyseven handwritten booklets. It was at david whitmers house in 1829 that joseph finished the translation of the book of mormon, long after the angel took and returned the plates and urim and thummim. What happened to the golden plates after joseph smith. Complete translation of the book of mormon into farsi. For further discussion on the book of mormon and the translation process, see the introduction to documents, volume 1. Joseph smith clarifies what he means by very last leaf by specifying. Welch gave the annual book of mormon lecture entitled hours never to be forgotten for the laura f. In september 1851, an apostle, a mission president, a missionary and two converts came together to translate and publish the first edition of the book of mormon in german. Professor figures out book of mormon translation timeline. The actual translation of the portion we now have as the book of mormon did not take place until between april 7 and june 11, 1829. Apr 02, 2020 by this date, the translation was finished. July about this time, the preface to the 1830 edition of the book of mormon was written.
We have a few quotes from martin harris, emma smith, david whitmer, and oliver cowdery that suggest something like this. Book of mormon translation joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon is his translation of an ancient book written on gold plates. How long did it take joseph smith to translate the book of mormon. The book of lehi mormons abridgement is translated. During april, may, and june 1829, many events occurred in concert with the translation of the book of mormon. Joseph smiths translation and publication of the book of mormon. Based on our class discussion in our last class, as well as the churchs essay on first vision accounts, when were the two earliest accounts of joseph smiths first vision rediscovered by historians working in the churchs documentary collection. Peterson offers a rebuttal to an objection he says some people make against treating the book of mormon as an ancient book. Joseph never talked about how the book of mormon translation process went. Mj hubble reports the following from an 1886 visit with david whitmer. It shows joseph smith putting two seer stones into a hat, then burying his.
At a meeting in johannesburg on may 14, 1972, when the afrikaans boek van mormon was introduced to the south african saints, it was a happy and, at the same time, an emotionpacked experience for those in attendance. However, the community of christ previously called the reorganized church of jesus christ of latterday saints published an edition in 1966 called the revised authorized version of the book of mormon, which did indeed attempt to modernize the language, without being as far as i can tell a new translation. This paper aims to stimulate specific thinking about the intense and complex events during which the book of mormon was translated in 1829. Timeline of the book of mormon translation scott woodward. 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. One of the greatest single achievements of the south african saints was the translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans. When he sat down in 1832 to write his own history for the first time, he began by promising to include an account of his marvelous experience. Joseph remains with emma for two weeks after the death. A prophet, named mormon, organized the thousand years of history into a book. The translation of the book of mormon, from dan vogel, ed. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon translation was performed by the gift and power of god the lost 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript. He didnt have the time, education or wherewithal to do this. It would have to have been after they were shown to the three witnesses in june of that year. The miraculous translation of the book of mormon into.
Jun 29, 2016 it was an interesting and challenging experience. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. From the printers manuscript, the 1830 edition of the book of mormon was typeset. In march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e. The urim and thummim was preserved in a stone box, along with the gold plates, for over 1,500 years for the purpose of. Why new testament words and phrases are in the book of mormon part 9. It was completed within eightyfive days, from 7 april to 30 june. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. This is one in a series on book of mormon translations and translators. The translation was finished in the upstairs room of peter whitmers home by july 1. April 06, 1829 to june 16, 1829 translation of the book of mormon at this point we move to a daily analysis of the translation of the book of mormon. The truth of the book of mormon and its divine source can be known today. Check out 10 reasons why the book of mormon is rejected as scripture by christians. The book of mormon and other translated documents mormons.
Almost all of the present book of mormon text was translated during a threemonth period between april and june 1829 with oliver cowdery as the scribe. It is at this point that initial copyediting of the book of mormon was completed. Translation of the book of mormon proved difficult and the work was slow. Introductory pages of the book of mormon book of mormon central. Translating the book of mormon into other languages commenced relatively soon after the first publication in 1830. A seer stone and a hat translating the book of mormon. Elder john taylor had just supervised the translation of the book of mormon into french. Several investigations and studies which set out to prove that joseph wrote the book of mormon have actua. Drawing from firsthand accounts of joseph himself and the scribes who served with him, from darkness unto light explores the difficulties encountered in bringing forth this book of inspired scripture. The original book of mormon transcript the book of.
Willes center for book of mormon studies at the gordon b. The truth of the book of mormon and its divine source can be known. Book of mormon translator converted the mormon urban. A typical example of differences between the kjv, the bom and the jst. Welch, the miraculous translation of the book of mormon, in opening the heavens. He and several of his close associates testified that the translation was accomplished by the gift and power of god hc 1. The same goes for oliver cowderys use of the terms in his description of the translation process. The first complete translation of the book of mormon was finished in 1886 by trejo and james z.
In conclusion, we feel that the move away from the actual facts of the translation process of the book of mormon demonstrates a lack of credibility on the part of lds. In fact, joseph smith once remarked that the title page of the book of mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the plates of mormon. Mormonism and the biblejoseph smith translationas a. The ten most expensive mormon books meridian magazine. The translation was mostly finished by 1959, but president heaton felt it still needed work. Given josephs relative inexperience in prophetic interpretation in 1829, he would be far more likely to render a verse literally than engage in interpretation. The translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans. This book provides a detailed description of the process by which joseph smith translated the book of mormon. In 1909, roberts generally concluded that the dictation of the existing english text of the book of mormon began on april 7, 1829, and was completed somewhere between the early part of june and sometime in august, taking from as few as 60 to as many as 120 days. Joseph smith translated the book of mormon with a seerstone. Translating the book of mormon religious studies center. 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. Some argue that since we lack the original plates from which the book of mormon was translated, it should be read as a 19thcentury englishlanguage text rather than as an.
The church initially translated select passages of the book of mormon into farsi in 1983. By the end of may, they had completed the books of 4 nephi, mormon, ether. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ. Official mormon scriptures do not tell us exactly when work on the joseph smith translation of the bible jst began, but according to george q. There are so many problems with the book of mormon, from the actual story to the archaeology to how it was eventually translated. Accordingly, after the translation was finished, oliver cowdery copied the entire book of mormon onto a second manuscript, known today as the printers manuscript.
After the translation of the book of mormon was finished, early in the spring of 1830, before april 6th, joseph gave the stone to oliver cowdery and told me as well as the rest that he was through with it, and he did not use the stone any more. Joseph began translating again in 1829, and almost all of the present book of mormon text was translated during a threemonth period between april and june. Pratt, president of the mexican mission from 19071931, revised this edition with help from eduardo balderas. Again, it is the rate of translation, approximately 6. It wasnt until hu weii was called in 1962 to translate 3rd nephi. Joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon is his translation of an ancient book written on gold plates. Mcconkie makes the following statement in mormon doctrine, p. The translation of the book of mormon was truly marvelous.
Dirkmaat, firsthand witness accounts of the translation process, in the coming forth of the book of mormon. The translation of the book of lehi is completed, resulting in 116 pages of translated text. Of course, not all of that time was spent working on. 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. I received a report from my stake president yesterday in stake conference that the church has completed the farsi persian translation of the entire book of mormon. While some critics try to use this story as evidence that everything about joseph smith was a fraud, the historical evidence suggests that joseph ultimately did not fall for the hoaxhe never tried to purchase the plates, hire scribes, and go into translation mode, like he did with the ancient egyptian papyri. Jul 20, 2018 i appreciate reading the firsthand accounts from the prophet himself and oliver cowdery, and, of course, the scriptural references to the translation of the book of mormon. How did joseph smith translate the plates from which the. He was released as mission president and the work on the translation stopped.
Almost all of the present book of mormon text was translated during a threemonth period between april and june 1829 with. Does the joseph smith translation of the bible conflict with the book of mormon. Cannon, smiths effort to translate the bible began in dec. Translation of book o f mormon completed, fayette township, new york. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. His early work on the translation, with emma smith and martin harris serving as the main scribes, was lost in 1828. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from storea list of other lds materials in arabic can be found on the full book of mormon is currently available in 88 languages, including. And so in the spring and summer of 1828 joseph, with martin harris and his wife emma working as his scribes, began the translation of the book of mormon. Welch examined how long it took joseph smith to translate the book of mormon a lecture wednesday night at the.