A wellknown instance is the reference to a clock in shakespeares julius caesar. An anachronism is defined as an event that appears out of time. The book of mormon has no claim to validity due to its lack of incorporation into the biblical cannon. However, after a fair and candid examination of the evidence, many thousands of honest mormons have discovered that this claim simply is not true. Serious errors in the book of mormon as for factual errors, there are a number of anachronisms in the book of mormon. In addition, the very content of the book of mormon makes it impossible to accept it as divine revelation. It occurs in a list with food items, namely, corn, wheat, barley, neas another book of mormon hapax legomenon, and fruit seeds. For example, critics of mormonism have shown convincing proof that the book of mormon is a synthesis of earlier works written by other men, of the vivid imaginings of joseph smith, and of plagiarisms from the king james bible.
Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. But given the audacious comic spirit that the book of mormon proudly. Over the years, the mormon church has corrected over 3,000 errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and awkward wording in the book of mormon since its first publication in 1830, such things as they was, he seen, which would have been obviously incorrect to an educated speaker of modern english. 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 book of mormon is the only explanation for this scripture. Joseph smith claimed that the book of mormon, published in 1830, had been translated from golden plates that contained the accounts of the ancient inhabitants of the american continent. The book of mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics and book by trey parker, robert lopez, and matt stone. The editors, rod meldrum and david hocking, have no background in archaeology, anthropology, near eastern studies, linguistics, or any field relevant to the study of ancient texts like the book of mormon. Mormons a nickname sometimes applied to members of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints use four books of scripture. Many of the names in the book of mormon are just plucked directly from the bible, e. It is mostly a book of wars, oppression, slavery, treachery, bloodshed. The book of mormon claims to be a translation of ancient writing on gold plates.
Apr 05, 2005 according to his contemporaries, smith used this same stone to translate the book of mormon. Despite joseph smiths declaration that the book of mormon is the most correct book, the book of mormon actually apologizes for being poorly written, yet practically in the same sentence, brazenly condemns all who refuse to believe it. However, we do have the original text for the book of mormon that joseph smith claimed god revealed to him, word by word, on a pebble in his hat. Editions of the scriptures can also be purchased in one large book with the bible both old and new testaments included. The book of mormon relates the religious history of the nephite nation for a thousand years until widespread apostasy about 400 ad. For example, there is the mention of the most precious steel in 1 nephi 4. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. What the text reveals about the land and lives of the record keepers r. These hits provide additional evidence that the book of mormon is indeed an ancient record. The book of mormon begins about 600 bc with a small group who fled jerusalem, landed in america, and quickly split into two antagonistic nations, the nephites and the lamanites. The first portion the first six books, ending with omni is a translation from the small plates of nephi. Scholars are aware that these civilizations postdate book of mormon times. 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.
The book of mormon, the first broadway musical by matt stone and trey parker the creators of south park. The book of mormon comedy, musical two young latterday saints are sent on a mission to convince the people of a small village in uganda to become part of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The book of mormon came about a little differently. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins author john e. We can see how joseph smith tried to correct mistakes on the spot, proving that the translation was coming out of his head and not. The book of mormon musical notsofunny to mormons 89. A conversation with the creators of the book of mormon. Royal skousen has looked carefully at the transmission history of the book of mormon and has highlighted many interesting things about the text that inspire confidence in its reliability and josephs ability as a translator. What are 1769 kjv edition errors doing in book of mormon. A conversation with the creators of the book of mormon the. Mormon was the primary author, editor, and compiler of the book of mormon. More could be said about how the book of mormon does not agree with the bible, but this is sufficient to show that one cannot take both as being the word of god. The book of mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature moroni 8.
The book of mormon claims to be the history of 2 ancient civilizations on the american continent. Since its first publication in 1830, the book of moron has undergone thousands of changes. And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men. Another testament of jesus christ official edition by smith, joseph and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Following enoss death the record of the nephites was kept by enos son, jarom. In his book an address to all believers in christ, david whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the book of mormon, writes. The few significant modifications were made by the prophet joseph smith to clarify the meaning of the text, not to change it. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Weapons used from 544 bc to 52 bc p107359 are listed as bows and arrows, steel swords, axes. While other books were attempted to be added, they were considered noncanonical due to the lack of eyewitnesses, the heavy gnostic heresy content, historical errors, etc. The complete book and lyrics of the broadway musical trey parker, robert lopez, matt stone isbn. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants.
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. A book of mistakes, error, and fraud by jon gary williams introduction the mormon church promotes the book of mormon as an inspired writing. Apr 01, 2017 these are five problems with the book of mormon, and to doubt its authenticity as an ancient document. According to smith, the book is originally written in an otherwise unknown language called reformed egyptian on golden plates and it should be of similar importance as the bible. Mormon church says it was an error in their come follow me manual that there was a curse of dark skin. If this is true, then the book of mormon should be full of errors. Despite these errors, manmade decisions, and complications, mormons revere the bible as the word of god. Book of mormon by joseph smith, first edition abebooks. The book of mormon has him appearing in the americas after his ascension 3 nephi 10. These plates were supposedly written 1,400 years ago and detailed the history of the jewish nephites from 600 b. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. The baptist version of the book of mormon by lynn ridenhour. In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,9 changes made in the book of mormon from the time it was first published in 1830.
The original book of mormon transcript the book of. Any mistakes and changes are the mistakes of mortals. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. The book of mormon incorporates text which seems to be taken from the king james version, including passages which are now considered to be mistranslations in the king james version. Book of mormon numerology rational faiths mormon blog. The book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. Early in the book of mormon, the lehite tribes are numbered at seven, consisting of the nephites, jacobites, josephites, zoramites, lamanites, lemuelites, and ishmaelites. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. At the very least, you get the book of mormon, their new musical comedy. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would. Book of mormon difficulties, contradictions and explanations. How could there be so many witnesses of the book of mormon and the plates and not one of them deny their testimony even when some of them became bitter toward joseph smith. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. Book of mormon memes for those who have actually read the.
Think joseph smith could have gotten that right by sheer chance. The book of mormon 1905 colorado mission error church of jesus christ of latterday saints, joseph smith jr. Archaeological trends and the book of mormon origins byu. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible. The book of morman vs the bible what do the scriptures say. The falsity of mormonism what about the book of mormon. It tells of the jaredites, people from the tower of babel who came to central america but. Examples of authentic ancient book of mormon names a. Dec 26, 2015 a very plausible lost and missing novel by solomon spalding manuscript found, separate and distinct from the oberlin manuscript has not been ruled out by mormon apologists. How we got the book of mormon, book of mormon stories 1997, 24. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible.
Title page title page of the book of mormon introduction testimony of three witnesses testimony of eight. Religious studies center, brigham young university, 2009, 2536. Trying to explain the problem of the kjv errors found in the. 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. I will now give you a description of the manner in which the book of mormon was translated. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Accordingly, the book is littered with factual errors and misrepresentations in each of these areas.
Moroni, the person who deposited the plates, from whence the book of mormon was translated, in a hill in manchester, ontario county, new york, being dead, and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. Sep 12, 2012 the musicals namesake is the holy book of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints. That errors of grammar and faults in dictation do exist in the book of mormon and more especially and abundantly in the first edition must be conceded. We examine some of the problems in the book of mormon narrative. The first group left the tower of babel about 2250 bc, crossing to europe and sailing to central america. The bible, the book of mormon, the pearl of great price, and the doctrine and covenants. Clark had circumstances permitted a marked grave for the slain prophet, a fitting headstone could have read, by joseph smith, junior, author and proprietor. The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi the. The conclusion category include my conclusion page, which is my closing argument on the mormon religion, followed by the questions for mormons page, which contains several questions.
Understanding the nature of the thousands of small changes in the book of mormon may be helpful and interesting. Smith, they will say, translated the book of mormon from golden plates he dug up in a hill in. Critics of the book of mormon have assailed the book s authenticity on the grounds that it has undergone many changes since its 1830 publication. The writer has an obsession with warfare and killing, with killings starting from chapter 4. Second, the book of mormon contains none of the key mormon doctrines. It is either of divine or human origin, and if it is of human origin that means that joseph smith concocted the book. I believe from the book of mormon musical on the 65th tony awards. The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. There are no firsthand original texts of anything found in the bible, therefore nothing is remotely reliable. The book of mormon, doctrine and covenants, and pearl of great price are shorter books than the bible, so they are often combined and bound together in one book, which members of the church call the triple combination.
May 02, 20 the purpose of scripture is to teach the word of god. Its largest denomination is headquartered in utah and goes by the name the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. An anachronism is when an authors writing contains something from a future time period which couldnt realistically be in the time period theyve written it into. Third, the book of mormon abounds in textual errors, factual errors, and outright plagiarisms from other works. The book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Jun 11, 2016 what are the errors corrected in the old edition of the book of mormon. However, a close examination of this book shows a long llist of problems, one of which is the presence of anachronisms. The other pages discuss the clear contradictions between mormon beliefs and christian beliefs and errors in the book of mormon and elsewhere in mormon doctrine. The videos will be available on a new book of mormon videos youtube channel, mormon channel platforms and existing book of mormon and gospel library apps for use in church classrooms, in. The book of mormon is clear that it was a literal curse on their skin.
The precise purposes of the book of mormon religious. Mormonism claims to be a christian religion, the only true christian religion. In reality, the original text and current text of the book of mormon is a mixture of nineteenthcentury nonsense, plagiarism, and selected existing kjv scripture verses including its 1769 kjv edition errors as well as 17th century italics made by 17th century translators. This is the 2nd part of the series on problems with the book of mormon, the supposed most correct book on earth, and this episode covers the problems with the second book in the book of mormon which is the book of 2nd nephi. Many book of mormon names are not found in the bible, and were unknown to joseph smith. The book of mormon derives its names from a book that has semitic sources, i. These errors totally undermine the claim that joseph translated the book of mormon and the claim that the book of mormon is the most correct book on earth. Book of mormontextual changeswhy were these changes made. Heres your first look at the new book of mormon videos lds.
There are only two options when it comes to the book of mormon. Other gross errors include the use of outdated or otherwise unreliable source materials and the tendency to make every piece of evidence fit neatly into the book of mormon picture, whether it belongs there or. Enoss contribution to the record, the book of enos, consists of a single chapter, told in the first person, describing his own conversion and subsequent ministry. 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. Sources and notes on presence of 1769 king james version edition errors in the book of mormon a supposed ancient text. This is some heavy duty gaslighting and throwing the bom under the bus. They teach that as it was first written, it was perfect. Even the book of mormon contains passages which are said to apply to the lost tribes of israel for behold, i shall speak unto the jews and they shall write it. There are literally thousands of grammatical errors in the original edition of the book of mormon errors that gradually have been changed in later editions.
As i said earlier, having read the book of mormon through as a baptist minister, i was astonished at how often i kept running into protestant themes. Written by prophets to a people who lived in america long before white people ever came, some. Like a crime scene, we do not need a video recording or an affidavit from the suspect or a witness to show whether or not the suspect murdered with a gun. There are two possible explanations for the origin of the book of mormon. The book of mormon comprises fifteen main parts or divisions, known, with one exception, as books, usually designated by the name of their principal author. An example would be a reference to an event that had not yet occurred, or mention of objects or materials which did not yet exist. Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. Why is the book of mormon named after mormon, who is he.
The individual books that compose the book of mormon vary significantly in length. These take the form of such things as double negatives, incorrect adverbs and adjectives, and incorrect tenses. If the book of mormon is an accurate translation, some claim that it shouldnt contain these translational errors. This is important because the latterday saints make such a point about it containing the fullness of the everlasting gospel. Jensen, the precise purposes of the book of mormon, in by study and by faith.
Debunking fairmormon letter to a ces director book of. Its story focuses on two young mormon missionaries who travel to africa. Book of mormon error edition cannot as connot on page 298. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. It tells of the jaredites, people from the tower of babel who came to central america but perished because of their own immorality. Mormons believe the following about the book of mormon. When mormon missionaries properly called latter day saints or simply lds come to your door, they will often offer a free copy of the book of mormon and tell you about its author, joseph smith. Aug 12, 2014 the book of mormon appears to do this very thing in at least three instances.
Setting aside the titles tongue n cheek tendency, there is an element of truth im getting at. The bible and the book of mormon are both witnesses of jesus christ. Why were textual changes made to the book of mormon over the years after it was first published. The king james quotations in the book of mormon, the history of the text of the book of mormon. It seems reasonable to assume that if smith was a prophet of god and was translating the book of mormon under divine inspiration, he would have known about the errors found in the king james version, and would have corrected them for when passages from the king james version appeared in the book of mormon. David whitmer, one of the three witnesses to the book of mormon, made this statement. Yet, these names have meaning in ancient languages andor have been found as actual names from ancient history. These are five problems with the book of mormon, and to doubt its authenticity as an ancient. Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the. I was going through my notes when i found this paper that my trainer from my mission gave me. Mormon books mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. The published text of the book of mormon has been corrected and edited through its various editions. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of.