The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, 1981, the book of mormon. Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new thinking. The following graphic is a list of major changes in the book of mormon and was compiled by scott faulring and printed in the seventh east press, october 21, 1981, provo, utah. Lds leaders reinserted the omitted words into all editions since 1981. Original 1830 book of mormon page numbers with corresponding 1981 verses. Church removes racial references in book of mormon headings. The book of mormon has had 3,9 grammatical changes made to it since its inception. Textual variations in the supplemental text of the book of mormon 1981 text compared to the current authorized text as found in the 2004 doubleday edition nathan richardson july 2006 the regular edition of the book of mormon contains, in addition to the scriptural text, many other.
Royal skousen, changes in the book of mormon royal skousen, restoring the original text of the book of mormon question. A oneword change in the introduction to a 2006 edition of the book of. Changes to latterday scripture lds leaders have made. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. Book of mormon 1981 wikisource, the free online library. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates. This should not have been necessary, however, given the manner in which joseph is supposed to have produced this book.
Jerald and sandra tanner of the utah lighthouse ministry have identified nearly 4,000 changes when comparing the original 1830 edition to the 1964 edition. Also, some stories about the early time of the mormon church. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. If mormon s record xxxiv was really translated by the gift and power of god, then why would smith change the translation. To obtain copies of their work please write to utah lighthouse ministry p. Could you tell me the year these things were added. Sure, joseph smith couldnt have produced the 1981 edition of the book, but church leaders had approximately 150. Why has the church found it necessary to make changes any. Changes in the book of mormon is mormonism christian.
Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new thinking about an ancient people. Mar 17, 20 mormons change references to blacks, polygamy the changes are the first since 1981, and deal specifically with the churchs original ban on black priesthood ordination and polygamy. Wright 1858, new york, basically a reprinting of the 1840 nauvoo edition. When was another testament of christ added to the book of. Jun 08, 2014 the original chapters in the 1830 book of mormon and the corresponding chapters in the 1981 edition a few days ago i was reading a rather interesting article about changes to the book of mormon over the years and the author, royal skousen, mentioned that there were not as many chapters in the book of mormon as there are now. Jordan, another reader had an old edition of the book of mormon. The first critical text of the book of mormon was published by the foundation for. The first and second rlds editions 1874, plano, illinois. Another testament of jesus christ an account written by the hand.
Prior to 1874, the rlds used an edition of the book of mormon published by james o. This circumstance is completely unlike manmade translations of the bible. Not many of us have the 1920 edition at hand or earlier versions. Changes to the book of mormon according to the mormon churchs teaching manual, gospel principles,page 53, joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through the gift and power of god. Mcconkie, at the time considered to be one of the churchs most prominent theologians. Yet, when one compares the original book of mormon with a currently circulating edition, one observes that many changes have been made in the book of mormon since the original 1830 edition.
The primary research for this information was taken from the book 39 changes in the book of mormon by jerald and sandra tanner. Changes in the book of mormon joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book history of the church, vol. Mar 05, 20 such changes to scriptures are not new the most significant changes in recent history were made to the 1981 print edition, which included updated chapter headings, an enhanced bible dictionary, a more comprehensive index, crossreferenced footnotes, pronunciation guides, improved and updated maps, as well as a few changes of substance that added clarity to scripture readings. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 1988, 23755. As of this week you can add two more to that total in a roundabout way. A popular charge of antimormons is that the church is guilty of fraud because of changes in the book of mormon, or that the book of mormon cant be true and divine because corrections have been made. How can one justify the change of the wording white and delightsome in 2 nephi 30. Translating the book of mormon religious studies center.
The book 3,9 changes in the book of mormon is a reproduction of an original book of mormon with the changes marked, and is available through us. Sep 23, 2008 the 1981 edition is also the edition which has been most read by mormons and nonmormons, especially since president bensons push to flood the earth or at least, thrift store bookshelves with the book of mormon. Chapters in the 1830 edition were longer, in part because the book of mormon was printed in narrative rather than verse formwhat we would expect from a historical record. Few mormons are aware of the thousands of word changes and nature of the changes that have been made in the book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and the pearl of great price since the first editions. A selection of doctrinal changes in the book of mormon. Jun 11, 2009 the onepage introduction to the book of mormon, which gives a brief overview of its contents, was added in 1981 when the lds church released a revised text of the book of mormon. The arguments are rather weak but need to be dealt with thats the purpose of this page. Book of mormontextual changeswhite changed to pure. May 14, 20 when was another testament of christ added to the front cover of the book of mormon. Book of mormontextual changeswhite changed to pure book of mormon. This change was originally made in the 1840 edition but because subsequent editions were based off the european editions which followed the 1837 edition, the change did not get perpetuated until the preparation of the. The purpose of this article is to analyse some of the word changes made in the book of mormon during the three major editions printed during the lifetime of the prophet joseph smith.
Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. Book of mormon introduction change may reflect new. In 1981 the lds church published a new edition of the book of mormon, making a number of additional changes in the text. The differences in the chapter divisions between the first edition of the book of mormon and the 1981 edition are listed in this fourpage chart. Editions 18301981 the book of mormon critical text project. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Doctrinal changes a selection of doctrinal changes in the book of mormon. With the 1981 book of mormon, a different reason for the change of 2 nephi 30. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. The text of this version is of the lds 1981 edition. Debate renewed with change in book of mormon introduction. Dec 20, 2010 the lds church has made subtle but significant changes to chapter headings in its online version of the faiths signature scripture, the book of mormon, toning down some earlier racial allusions.
It made a comeback in the early days of the lds church and has since gone away again. The approach will be to discuss the type of change. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book, history of the church, vol. Mormons change references to blacks, polygamy the changes are the first since 1981, and deal specifically with the churchs original ban on black priesthood ordination and. Book of mormon changes yesterday while reading some interesting news stories on byus online newspaper, i came across an article they posted a few years back about changes made to the introduction in the book of mormon. Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of joseph smith. In reality, though, the kind of stylistic accuracy achieved by these changes has little to do with what joseph meant when he called the book of mormon the most correct of any book on earth.
Book of mormon editions 18301981 book of mormon central. However, when we look beneath the veneer, we see truth. Textual variations in the supplemental text of the book of mormon. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Why was the phrase white and delightsome changed to pure and delightsome in the 1840 edition of the book of mormon. And, most recently, the 1981 edition was prepared under the supervision of the scriptures publication. Box 1884 salt lake city, utah 84110 or visit their website. Analytical and contextual commentary on the book of mormon and the gift and power. I am thinking it was added when we got all the chapter headings and the footnotes. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes.
Jun 18, 2019 the text of this version is of the lds 1981 edition. Gardner earned a masters degree in anthropology and mesoamerican ethnohistory from the state university of new york at albany. The book of mormon a comparison with the 1830 ed and the. Royal skousen, a professor of linguistics at byu and a recognized expert of the textual history of the book of mormon, has identified 5,280 variations in all editions of the book of mormon.
The original chapters in the 1830 book of mormon and the. And he said unto me, behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of. Introduction to 3,9 changes in the book of mormon pdf version. This time the book of mormon is trying to fall in line with what is socially and politically acceptable regarding the race issue. Book of mormon changes the fall of mormonism rich kelsey. It introduces the book of mormon to the modern reader by providing background information and a description of the book. To understand why some words were altered, reference will be made to the original and the printers manuscripts.
Their article reminded me once again of the arbitrary nature of the church when it comes to the. The change in the 1981 edition seems to be an attempt to bring the book of mormon up to speed with the 1978 revelation that allowed black members of the church to hold the priesthood. Jul 01, 2011 as stated earlier, the mormon church has made many changes to the book of mormon in order to correct josephs poor grammar and spelling. Types of changes in the book of mormon text the following statistics are derived from my computerized collation of the two manuscripts of the book of mormon the original and the printers manuscripts and 20 standard page 173 editions of the book of mormon fifteen lds editions, from 1830 to 1981, the 1858 wright edition, and four rlds. The introduction to the book of mormon was not a part of the original plates. Polygamy was practiced sporadically by prophets such as abraham and jacob in the old testament. Book of mormon 1981ether wikisource, the free online library. Joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through the.
Smith is full of bluff and bluster, and is a fraud. Another testament of jesus christ an account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. As you can see, the book of mormon is a changing document. Book of mormontransmission from translator to printed text. An early mormon doctrine by jerald and sandra tanner. Book of mormon word change christian research institute. Two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce the text. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants. Feb 27, 2020 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints has stewardship over the book of mormon and will do everything in its power to put a copy of the book into your hands in your own language. Joseph fielding smith, the tenth president of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, proclaimed. The book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants are accepted as scripture without any qualifications whatsoever.