Book of Mormon/Translation

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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.

Book of Mormon Translation

Questions

• 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?
• Critics claim that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."

To see citations to the critical sources for these claims, click here

Subtopics

Translation method

Summary: physical process; use of interpreters, stone, hat, etc.

Chronology

==

==

How did Joseph translate the writing on the plates?

All that we know for certain is that Joseph translated the record "by the gift and power of God." (DC 135:3) We are given some insight into the spiritual aspect of the translation process, when the Lord says to Oliver:

"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." (DC 9:8)

Beyond this, 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." ^[1] Joseph Smith himself never recorded the precise physical details of the method of translation:

"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" ^[2]

What was the translation process?

We do not know the definitive answer to this question. 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 only have the spiritual aspect of the process.

Was the Prophet provided with the exact wording of every sentence in the Book of Mormon? Was he simply given impressions which he then dictated within the context of his own understanding? Was it some combination of the two methods? Witnesses to the translation process each had their own view of the process. Joseph's wife Emma related her own experience:

When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made a mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling, although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. .?. . When he stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, "Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?" When I answered, "Yes," he replied, "Oh! I was afraid I had been deceived." He had such a limited knowledge of history at the time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.^[3]

Scholars have examined and debated the issue of a "tight" versus "loose" translation method for many years. Although it is an interesting intellectual exercise, the exact process by which words and sentences were formed has no bearing upon the fact that the book was dictated by the "gift and power of God."

Relationship between the Nephite interpreters, seer stones and the "Urim and Thummin"

Summary: What physical aids were employed by the Prophet during translation?

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. ^[4]

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.^[5] Therefore, if the plates themselves were not being used during the translation process, why was it necessary to have plates at all?

What is the Anthon transcript?

==

Answer

== 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.

== Notes ==

1. [note] Russell M. Nelson, "A Treasured Testament," Ensign (July 1993): 61.off-site
2. [note] Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 1:220. Volume 1 link
3. [note] Emma Smith to Edmund C. Briggs, "A Visit to Nauvoo in 1856," Journal of History 9 (January 1916): 454.
4. [note] Brigham H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 1:128–129. GospeLink "[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."
5. Stephen D. Ricks, The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon, Featured Papers, Maxwell Institute, Provo UT. off-site
6. [note] Russell M. Nelson, "A Treasured Testament," Ensign (July 1993): 61.off-site
7. [note] 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.
8. [note] 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.

Further reading

FairMormon Answers articles

• Anthon transcript
• Book of Mormon translation chronology
• Joseph Smith and seer stones

FairMormon web site

• FairMormon Topical Guide: Book of Mormon Translation Process FairMormon link
  
• FairMormon Topical Guide: Coming forth of the Book of Mormon FairMormon link
  

External links

• Richard L. Anderson, "By the Gift and Power of God," Ensign (September 1977): 79.off-site
• Neal A. Maxwell, "By the Gift and Power of God," Ensign (January 1997): 36.off-site
• David E. Sloan, "The Anthon Transcripts and the Translation of the Book of Mormon: Studying It Out in the Mind of Joseph Smith," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/2 (1996). [57–81] link
• Royal Skousen, "Towards a Critical Edition of the Book of Mormon," Brigham Young University Studies 30 no. 1 (Winter 1990), 41–69.off-site
• Royal Skousen, "How Joseph Smith Translated the Book of Mormon: Evidence from the Original Manuscript," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 (1998). [22–31] link

Printed material

• Matthew B. Brown, "The Translation Process," in Plates of Gold: The Book of Mormon Comes Forth (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2003), 185–201. ISBN 1591563704.
• Richard L. Bushman, "The Recovery of the Book of Mormon," in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, (Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997), Chapter 2. ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GL direct link
• Stephen D. Ricks, "The Translation and Publication of the Book of Mormon," Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1994.
• Brigham H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1965), 1:127–33. GospeLink
• Royal Skousen, "Translating the Book of Mormon: Evidence from the Original Manuscript," in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited: The Evidence for Ancient Origins, edited by Noel B. Reynolds, (Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1997), Chapter 4. ISBN 093489325X ISBN 0934893187 ISBN 0884944697. off-site GL direct link
• John W. Welch, The Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount: A Latter-day Saint Approach (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 130–144. ISBN 0875793010. ISBN 978-0875793016. off-site
• John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, "The Translation of the Book of Mormon: Basic Historical Information," (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1986), 3–32.
• John W. Welch and Tim Rathbone, "Book of Mormon Translation by Joseph Smith," in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1:210–213.

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