FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Book of Mormon/Translation
Revision as of 00:38, 6 May 2015 by RogerNicholson (talk | contribs)
Contents
- 1 Articles related to the translation of the Book of Mormon
- 1.1
- 1.2 Topics
- 1.3 Translation of the Book of Mormon
- 1.3.1 Joseph claimed that the Book of Mormon translation was performed by the "gift and power of God"
- 1.3.2 The lost 116 pages
- 1.3.3 Anthon transcript
- 1.3.4 Description of the plates
- 1.3.5 Chronology of events
- 1.3.6 Chronology of translation methods
- 1.3.7 Mainly italics altered in the portions dependent on the KJV?
- 1.3.8 Tight versus loose translation
- 1.3.9 Artistic depictions of the Book of Mormon translation
- 1.3.10 Location of the plates during translation
- 1.3.11 Hiding the facts in plain sight using Church publications
- 1.3.12 Critical website MormonThink's "Translation of the Book of Mormon" page source quotes without critical commentary
- 2 Joseph Smith's seer stone and the Urim and Thummim
- 3 The "Joseph Smith Translation" of the Bible
Topics
Translation of the Book of Mormon
Summary: What do we know about the method used to translate the Book of Mormon? Were the plates sometimes not in the room while Joseph was translating them? It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."
Joseph claimed that the Book of Mormon translation was performed by the "gift and power of God"
Summary: What was the precise method by which the Book of Mormon was translated? What roles do the Nephite interpreters, the spectacles, the seer stone, and the hat play in the process? Why did Joseph claim that the translation was performed by the "gift and power of God?"The lost 116 pages
Summary: It is claimed that Joseph Smith did not retranslate the 116 lost pages of the Book of Lehi because he knew that he could not reproduce the exact same text. They claim that alterations in a different handwriting to the stolen manuscript would have been readily apparent. Some suggest that the writing of the 116 pages served as an “apprenticeship” to allow Joseph to improve his writing skills.Anthon transcript
Summary: What do we know about the Anthon transcript and the translation of the Book of Mormon? What is the current scholarly thought on the transcript? Didn't Charles Anthon deny having "validating" the characters?Description of the plates
Summary: A variety of persons who handled and/or saw the plates left descriptions. We list these descriptions in this sub-article.Chronology of events
Summary: A chronology of events related to the Book of Mormon translation and publication.Chronology of translation methods
Summary: We have a number of accounts of the translation process from the perspective of various contemporary second-hand witnesses who viewed the Prophet as he dictated to his scribes. The only person other than Joseph who attempted to directly translate was Oliver Cowdery. Oliver, however, did not record any details regarding the exact physical process that he employed during his attempt—we only have the spiritual aspect of the process.Mainly italics altered in the portions dependent on the KJV?
Summary: Some have claimed that the differences between the KJV and the Book of Mormon text (in, for example, the Isaiah passages in 2 Nephi) differ mainly in the italics of the KJV version.Tight versus loose translation
Summary: Was the Prophet provided with the exact wording of every sentence in the Book of Mormon or was he simply given impressions which he then dictated within the context of his own understanding?Artistic depictions of the Book of Mormon translation
Summary: People are sometimes troubled when they see artists' depictions of the Prophet and Oliver sitting at a table while Joseph views the plates as they sit in plain sight. Obviously, the plates never sat exposed in plain view, and these artistic interpretations originate purely in the mind of the artist. Some accounts indicate that the plates sat on a table covered with a cloth "in plain view," with Emma indicating that she actually moved them around in order to perform her household chores.[1]Location of the plates during translation
Summary: Some witness accounts suggest that Joseph was able to translate while the plates were covered, or when they were not even in the same room with him.[2] Therefore, if the plates themselves were not being used during the translation process, why was it necessary to have plates at all?Hiding the facts in plain sight using Church publications
Summary: Quite a few items that are claimed to have been hidden by the Church were actually published in Church magazines such as the New Era, the Ensign and the Friend.Critical website MormonThink's "Translation of the Book of Mormon" page source quotes without critical commentary
Summary: The critical website "MormonThink" also has numerous source quotes related to the translation method. We provide here the "no spin" version: All of the complete primary and secondary source quotes while removing all of the anti-Mormon commentary.Joseph Smith's seer stone and the Urim and Thummim
Summary: Joseph Smith used the Nephite Interpreters as well as his own seer stone (both of which were later referred to as "Urim and Thummim") to translate the Book of Mormon.
Video published by the Church History Department.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Smith's use of seer stones as a youth
- The "Urim and Thummim" used by Joseph Smith to translate the "gold plates"
- Joseph Smith used the same "rock in hat" seer stone for translating that he used for "money digging"
The "Joseph Smith Translation" of the Bible
Summary: Video published by BYU Religious Education.
Jump to Subtopic:
- Joseph Smith's corrections to the Bible do not match known Biblical manuscripts
- Use of the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible
- Relationship of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible to the Book of Mormon
- Relationship of the Joseph Smith Translation to the Book of Abraham
- Accusations of Plagiarism Leveled Against the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Notes
- ↑ Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:541–542.
- ↑ Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:539.