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| − | {{BoMPortal}}
| + | #REDIRECT[[Joseph Smith and the translation process]] |
| − | {{question}}
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| − | ==Questions==
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| − | * What do we know about the method used to translate the Book of Mormon?
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| − | * Were the plates sometimes not in the room while Joseph was translating them?
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| − | * Critics claim that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."
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| − | ===Source(s) of the Criticism===
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Abanes:Becoming Gods|pages=57, 358-9 n. 47}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Brodie:No Man Knows|pages=43}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Martin:Kingdom of the Cults|pages=195}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Ostling:Mormon America|pages=26}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Palmer:Insider|pages=2–3}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Tanner:Changing World|pages=80–84, 132}}
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| − | *{{CriticalWork:Wikipedia:Joseph Smith, Jr.}}
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| − | ==Response==
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| − | The Church does not take any sort of official stand on the exact method by which the Book of Mormon translation occurred. In 1993, Elder Russell M. Nelson stated that "[t]he details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known." {{ref|nelson1}} Joseph Smith himself never recorded the precise physical details of the method of translation:
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| − | :"Brother Joseph Smith, Jun., said that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; and also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things" {{ref|hc1}}
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| − | All that we know for certain is that Joseph translated "by the gift and power of God." ({{scripture||DC|135|3}})
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| − | What we do have are 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 are given some insight into the ''spiritual'' aspect of the translation process, when the Lord says to Oliver:
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| − | :"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." ({{scripture||DC|9|8}})
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| − | It is known that the Lord provided a set of physical "interpreters," the Urim and Thummim, along with the plates. This device was intended to assist Joseph in the translation process, yet the manner in which it was employed was never explained in detail. The fact that the Urim and Thummim resembled a pair of spectacles has led some to believe that they may have been worn like a pair of glasses, with Joseph viewing the characters on the plates through them.
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| − | There are also accounts that Joseph employed his [[Joseph Smith and seer stones|seer stone]] during part of the translation process. Martin Harris states that Joseph used the Urim and Thummim and then later switched to using the seer stone "for convenience." {{ref|harris1}} In fact, Elder Nelson refers to the use of the seer stone in his 1993 talk. It also appears that the seer stone was sometimes referred to as the "Urim and Thummim," indicating that the name could be assigned to any device that was used for the purpose of translation.{{ref|ricks1}}
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| − | People are sometimes troubled when they see [[Church art and historical accuracy|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.{{ref|emma1}} 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.{{ref|emma2}}
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| − | ==Conclusion==
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| − | It is important to remember that what we ''do'' know for certain is that the translation of the Book of Mormon was carried out "by the gift and power of God." We do not know the exact method of translation. Many have offered their own opinions, but it should be kept in mind that these opinions are given by people who never performed the translation process itself: They can only report on what they observed the Prophet doing at the time. Whether Joseph used the "original" Urim and Thummim or the seer stone to perform this sacred task is beside the point, and it does not diminish the power of the resulting work. One should read the Book of Mormon itself and evaluate its message rather than get wrapped up in the detail of its exact method of translation.
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| − | ==Endnotes==
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| − | #{{note|nelson1}}{{Ensign1|author=Russell M. Nelson|article=A Treasured Testament|date=July 1993|start=61}}{{link|url=http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=05169209df38b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}}
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| − | #{{note|hc1}}{{HoC1 | vol=1|start=220}}
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| − | #{{note|harris1}}{{CHC | vol=1|start=128|end=129 }} "[Martin Harris] said that the Prophet possessed a Seer Stone, by which he was enabled to translate as well as with the Urim and Thummim, and for convenience he sometimes used the Seer Stone."
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| − | #Stephen D. Ricks, ''The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon'', Featured Papers, Maxwell Institute, Provo UT. {{link|url=http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=transcripts&id=13}}
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| − | #{{note|emma1}}Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," {{EarlyMormonDocs| vol=1|start=541|end=542 }}
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| − | #{{note|emma2}}Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," in {{EarlyMormonDocs1| vol=1|start=539 }}
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| − | ==Further reading==
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| − | | |
| − | ===FAIR wiki articles===
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| − | *[[Anthon transcript]]
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| − | *[[Book of Mormon translation chronology]]
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| − | *[[Joseph_Smith_and_seer_stones| Joseph Smith and seer stones]]
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| − | {{BoMBibleWiki}}
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| − | ===FAIR web site===
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| − | *{{tg|url=http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai120.html|topic=Book of Mormon Translation Process}}
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| − | *{{tg|url=http://www.fairlds.org/apol/ai108.html|topic=Coming forth of the Book of Mormon}}
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| − | | |
| − | ===External links===
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| − | *{{Ensign|author=Richard L. Anderson|article=By the Gift and Power of God|date=September 1977|start=79|end=85}}{{link|url=http://beta.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=5a921f26d596b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}}
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| − | *{{Ensign1|author=Neal A. Maxwell|article=By the Gift and Power of God|date=January 1997|start=36}}{{link|url=http://beta.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=e491dbdcc370c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1}}
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| − | *{{JBMS-5-2-3}} <!--Sloan: studying it out-->
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| − | *{{BYUS|author=Royal Skousen|article=Towards a Critical Edition of the Book of Mormon|vol=30|num=1|date=Winter 1990|start=41|end=69}}{{link|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/Products/MoreInfoPage/MoreInfo.aspx?Type=7&ProdID=1723}}
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| − | *{{JBMS-7-1-5}}<!--Skousen-->
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| − | ===Printed material===
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| − | *{{BoMComesForth||article=The Translation Process|start=185|end=201}}
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| − | * {{revisited1|author=Richard L. Bushman|article=The Recovery of the Book of Mormon|start=Chapter 2}}
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| − | *Stephen D. Ricks, "The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon," Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1994.
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| − | *{{CHC|vol=1|start=127|end=33}}
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| − | *{{revisited1|author=Royal Skousen|article=Translating the Book of Mormon: Evidence from the Original Manuscript|start=Chapter 4}}
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| − | *{{SermonTempleMount|start=130|end=144}}<!--Welch-->
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| − | *John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, "The Translation of the Book of Mormon: Basic Historical Information," (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1986), 3–32.
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| − | *{{EoM|author=John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone|article=Book of Mormon Translation by Joseph Smith|vol=1|start=210|end=213}}
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