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.
Criticism of Mormonism/Books/The Changing World of Mormonism/Chapter 12
Response to claims made in "Chapter 12: Mormon Scriptures and the Bible"
| Chapter 11 | A FAIR Analysis of: The Changing World of Mormonism A work by author: Jerald and Sandra Tanner
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Chapter 13 |
365
Claim
- The Bible has secondary status in the Mormon Church.
Response- Heber C. Snell, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Spring 1967, pp.56-57
- David Bitton, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Autumn 1966, p.113
365
Claim
- Joseph Smith taught that the Bible contains errors.
Author's source(s) - Pearl of Great Price, p.59
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- Only the most extreme fundamentalist insists that there can be no errors in a document created by humans.
- Bible/Inerrancy
365
Claim
- Thomas Paine's book The Age of Reason influenced early Church leaders to criticize the Bible, and to question its translation.
Author's source(s) - Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason, p.189
- The Age of Reason, p.32
- Citation error: The authors cite the book, but this book proves nothing about its influence on the Church or its leaders. The authors are merely asserting their opinion instead of evidence.
366-367
Claim
- Orson Pratt attacked the accuracy of the Bible.
Author's source(s) - Orson Pratt's Works, "The Bible Alone An Insufficient Guide," pp.44-47
- Bible/Inerrancy
- Misrepresentation of source: The authors fail to tell us that a speech of Brigham Young's (which they also quote, and also misrepresent) explains both Orson's purpose and the Saints' belief that the Bible is valuable as it stands. (See entry below for p. 385.)
368 - A phrase concerning baptism was later added to the Book of Mormon quotation of Isaiah 48:1, quoted in 1 Nephi 20:1
The author(s) of The Changing World of Mormonism make(s) the following claim:
A phrase concerning baptism was later added to the Book of Mormon quotation of Isaiah 48:1, quoted in 1 Nephi 20:1.
Author's sources:
- Book of Mormon, 1830 ed. p.52
- 1 Nephi 20:1"
FAIR's Response
- Joseph Smith inserted an explanatory phrase to explain to modern readers what the words "the waters of Judah" meant.
Question: Why was the phrase "or out of the waters of baptism" added to 1 Nephi 20:1?
It is thought that this simply records a prophetic commentary on Joseph Smith's part
It appears that this change was made by Joseph Smith. It is thought that this simply records a prophetic commentary on Joseph Smith's part describing the proper interpretation of the phrase "waters of Judah." It is not regarded as an error, or likely part of the original Book of Mormon plates' text.
| Original manuscript | Printer's manuscript | 1830 edition | 1840 edition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Nephi 20:1 | hea[rken & h]ear this O house of [J]acob which [are ca]lled by the name of [Israel &] are come forth out of the waters of Judah which swear by the na[me of] the Lord & make mention of the God of Israel yet they swear not in tru[t]h nor in righteousness | hearken & hear this O house of |
Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel; yet they swear not in truth, nor in righteousness. | Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah (or out of the waters of baptism), which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel; yet they swear not in truth, nor in righteousness. |
(The [text in brackets] in the original manuscript are missing from the physical manuscript. The strikeouts and <insertions> in the printer's manuscript are in Joseph's hand.)
371
Claim
- The Dead Sea Scrolls "present serious problems" for the Book of Mormon and the Joseph Smith "Inspired Version" of the Bible.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Relationship to the Book of Mormon
371
Claim
- The "Isaiah scroll" is "proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 per cent of the text."
Author's source(s) - Gleason D. Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, p.19
- Internal contradiction: p. 365: The authors have insisted that Joseph was wrong to say the Bible has errors. Now, they admit that at least 5% of the text is not the same between the Dead Sea Scrolls and other versions. One version must be less accurate than the other—so it seems Joseph was right after all about the text not being inerrant.
- Biblical inerrancy—Old Testament
372-373
Claim
- The "Isaiah scroll" should have caused "a great deal of joy" among Mormon scholars, but did not because it is not "filled with evidence to support the text of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon."
Author's source(s) - Courage, vol. 1, no. 1, September 1970, p.20
- Sidney B. Sperry, Progress in Archaeology, pp.52-54"
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- LDS scholars are deeply involved in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. BYU professor Donald W. Parry is one of the scrolls' team of international editors.
- Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/As a restoration of the original Bible text
378-379
Claim
- LDS leaders claimed that "Catholics conspired to alter the Bible," but this is proven wrong by the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Author's source(s) - 1 Nephi 13:26-29
- Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., Religious Truths Defined, p.175
- Mark E. Peterson, As Translated Correctly, p.4, 14
- The Evening and the Morning Star (vol. 1, No. 1, p.3)
- Important source: Noel B. Reynolds (editor), Early Christians in Disarray: Contemporary LDS Perspectives on the Christian Apostasy (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2005), 1–. ISBN 0934893020. off-site See especially, Gee, "Corruption of Scripture in Early Christianity." direct off-site
- The textual alteration and suppression likely occurred before the Catholic church as such existed (the cited authors were influenced by earlier, Protestant scholarship that has since been superceded: see article in Reynolds by Dursteler, "Inheriting the "Great Apostasy": The Evolution of Latter-day Saint Views on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance." direct off-site.)
383
The author(s) make(s) the following claim:
The "Inspired Version" of the Bible has been a "source of much embarassment" [check spelling] for leaders of the Church.
Author's sources: Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 3:116.
FAIR's Response
What is the Joseph Smith Translation (JST)?
Joseph Smith created an inspired "translation" of parts of the King James version of the Bible, mostly from 1830-1833, then continued until his death in 1844. It was complied into a book in 1867 by The Reorganized Church (now Community of Christ). In 1979 it was included in as footnotes in the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1979 King James Version of the Bible.
The JST as compiled/published in 1867 is not considered scripture, but some of it has been canonized in the Pearl of Great Price, the Book of Moses, and the Book of Matthew. We believe some of it was restoring the original intent of some Biblical verses. Some of it was restoring missing scripture or missing events. Some was for clarifying or harmonizing similar verses. Some of the same verses have different interpretations for some temporary purpose. Some call it inspired commentary. See the JST on the church website.
[1]
Is the JST a restoration of lost Bible text?
The JST is not intended primarily or solely as a restoration of lost Bible text.
As expressed in the Bible Dictionary on churchofjesuschrist.org "The JST to some extent assists in restoring the plain and precious things that have been lost from the Bible."
Two main points should be kept in mind with regards to the Joseph Smith "translation" of the Bible:
- The JST is not intended primarily or solely as restoration of text. Many mainline LDS scholars who have focused on the JST (such as Robert J. Matthews and Kent Jackson) are unanimous in this regard. The assumption that it is intended primarily or solely as a restoration of text is what leads to expectations that the JST and Book of Mormon should match up in every case. At times the JST does not even match up with itself, such as when Joseph Smith translated the same passage multiple times in different ways. This does not undermine notions of revelation, but certainly challenges common assumptions about the nature and function of Joseph's understanding of "translation".
- One of the main tendencies of the JST is harmonization. Readers are well aware of differences in Jesus' sayings between different Gospels. For example, Jesus' statements about whether divorce is permitted and under what conditions differ significantly. Matthew offers an exception clause that Mark and Luke do not, and this has severely complicated the historical interpretation of Jesus' view of divorce.
- The JST often makes changes that harmonize one gospel with another. While one gospel says "judge not" (though this may not be as absolute as some make it out to be), John 7:24 has Jesus commanding to "judge righteous judgment." The JST change harmonizes the two gospels by making Matthew agree with John. If there is a real difference between being commanded to "Judge righteously" and being commanded to "Judge not", then it is a problem inherently present in the differing accounts of the Gospels, which the JST resolves.
More about the JST
Why are there discrepancies between translations in the Book of Mormon, KJV, and the JST?
Why is the JST Genesis creation account not more like the Book of Abraham?
Why does the church use the KJV instead of the JST as its official Bible?
Was the JST influenced by outside sources?
Did Adam Clarke's Bible commentary influence the JST?
Why does the Book of Mormon and Book of Moses use "God" while the Book of Abraham use "Gods"?
Why does the Book of Moses contain New Testament language?
What is the relationship between the JST and biblical manuscripts?
Was Joseph Smith a "self certifying prophet" with JST Genesis 50:33?
Is the church embarrassed by the JST?
Key sources |
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FAIR links |
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Online |
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Video |
Video published by BYU Religious Education.
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Print |
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Notes
- ↑ Video published by BYU Religious Education
383
Claim
- The Church would never ""allow [the Inspired Version of the Bible] to be printed because it would tend to embarrass the church and to show that Joseph Smith was not a prophet of God."
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Absurd claim: Less than a year later, the Church did publish huge amounts of the JST in the KJV Bible version after years of work. (See above.)
- Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/As the Church's official Bible
385
Claim
- The contents of the "Inspired Version" of the Bible contradict doctrines taught by the Mormon church.
Author's source(s) - [ATTENTION!]
- Absurd claim: the leaders and members do not seem to have noticed. Less than a year later, the Church did publish huge amounts of the JST in the KJV Bible version after years of work. (See above.)
- See many Ensign articles encouraging the use of, and praising, the JST here.
- Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/As the Church's official Bible
385-386
Claim
- Joseph Field Smith said that the King James Bible is "the best version translated by the power of man" and that the "Inspired Version" was never completed, yet Joseph Smith stated that he completed the translation of the Bible.
Author's source(s) - Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, p.191
- History of the Church 1:324
- History of the Church 1:368
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- History unclear or in error: Joseph indicated that he had "completed" the translation in the sense that he had gone through the entire Bible.
- However, Joseph continued to make additional changes until his death, so he did not regard it as "completed" in the sense that no more could be done or added. Joseph did not believe that a single, perfect, inerrant translation of any scripture was possible (or, perhaps, even desirable).
- Joseph had sought to publish the JST, but could never raise the funds.
- Joseph Fielding Smith's son-in-law, Bruce R. McConkie, wrote an article discussing such issues. [1]
- Presentism or anachronism: Since the JST manuscripts were in possession of the RLDS Church, LDS leaders were not certain about their contents or the accuracy of the publications made by the RLDS. As scholarly cooperation allowed LDS scholars to see the originals, LDS confidence in the accuracy and value of the JST increased markedly. Joseph Fielding Smith's remarks must be viewed in this context.
393
Claim
- Joseph's "Inspired Version" of the Bible does not restore any of the "lost books" of the Bible.
Author's source(s) - Joseph Smith's Revision of the Bible, p. 18
- Author(s) impose(s) own fundamentalism on the Saints
- Double standard: The claim is hypocritical, since the authors believe the Bible is inerrant and sufficient, and so they would not regard these "lost books" as part of scripture anyway. Indeed, if Joseph had included them, then the authors would probably complain he had been "adding" to the Bible.
- They also misunderstand the nature of the JST: see JST as textual restoration?
Notes