JBMS 15-1 Entire JBMS Volume 15 Issue 1

8/14/2019 JBMS 15-1 Entire JBMS Volume 15 Issue 1

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contents

2 Contributors

3 TheEditorsNotebook

Feature Articles

4 TheBookofMormonandAutomaticWriting robert a. reesSeeking to explain the origin of the Book of Mormon, some critics contend that the book is the product of a spiritualistic

phenomenon known as automatic writing. Both sides of the issue are examined in fair-minded fashion to see whether Joseph

Smiths translation of the Nephite record by the gift and power of God has anything in common with automatic writing.

18 ProphecyandHistory:StructuringtheAbridgmentoftheNephiteRecordssteven l. olsenDid the principal authors of the Book of Mormon have a pattern in mind as they crafted the narrative into an integrated whole?

A close look at narrative structure and other clues provides an answer to this and other questions of format and coverage while

suggesting an interpretive key to overall meaning.

30 RecoveringtheOriginalTextoftheBookofMormon:AnInterimReview

Introductionm. gerald bradford

TheBookofMormonCriticalTextProject terryl l. givens

JosephSmithandtheTextoftheBookofMormon robert j. matthews

ScholarshipfortheAges grant hardy

SeekingJosephSmithsVoicekevin l. barney

InsightsAvailableasWeApproachtheOriginalTextkerry muhlestein

The long-awaited results of Royal Skousens extensive research on the textual history of the Book of Mormon are now being

published, with six major parts already in print and much more to come. Are the findings significant? Is the scholarship sound?

Is the monumental effort worth it? Five respected scholars share their assessments of part 1 of the projects focal volume,

Analysis of Textual Variants of the Book of Mormon.

Departments

66 OutoftheDust jeffrey r. chadwickAll That Glitters Is Not . . . Steel

68 Endnotes


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contributors Ju Bk M SusBrm Youn Unvery, 00 WAIHProvo, U 840, USA (80) 4-99 or (800) 7-7E-ml: [email protected]: mwell nue.byu.euF: (80) 4-0040

5, 1, 6

editorS. Ken Brown

associate editorsRcr E. BenneDonl W. ForyCyn L. HllenDn M. PkeCrle Sw

roduction editor

Don L. Bruer

editorial advisory boardMrlyn ArnolJll Mulvy DerrJme E. FulconerSeve F. GlllnKenne W. GoreyCeryl B. McellRcr B. SmpWouer vn Beek

art director & grahic designerBjorn W. Penleon

roduction coordinatorJcob D. Rwln

Push y h N A. MxwIsu Rus ShshpBh Yu Uvsy

eecutive directorAnrew C. Sknner

associate eecutive directorM. Gerl Bror

assistant eecutive directorAlon V. P. Cou

director, farmsS. Ken Brown

director, metiDnel C. Peeron

director, cartKrn Hel

editorial staff

Pul W. HckenLrry E. MorrSrley S. Rck

00 by e Nel A. Mwell Inueor Relou ScolrpAll r reerve

Jurl Bk Mr Stu

(ISSN 09) emnnul publ-con. Bck ue cn be vewe on eInerne m wellnue.byu.eu.

Su As hJournal ofBook of Mormon StudiesGuelne or preprn n ubmnrcle or publcon n eJurlrevlble by e-ml reque o [email protected] or by ml rom e Mwell In-ue. In enerl, uor oul ubm ele oulne or brc o e eoror pprovl beore ubmn compleemnucrp.

Kevin L. Barney received his BA in classics (Latin major, Greek minor) from

Brigham Young University in 1982, his JD from the University of Illinois in 1985,

and his LLM from DePaul University in 1990. He is active in Mormon studies,

particularly with respect to Mormon scripture, and has published in many venues.

He serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for Apologetic Information

and Research (FAIR), an Internet-based LDS apologetics organization.

Jeffrey R. Chadwick is an associate professor of Church history and doctrine

at Brigham Young University. He also has taught at BYUs Jerusalem Center for

Near Eastern Studies. He holds a PhD in archaeology from the University of Utah

Middle East Center and has worked at several excavations in Israel, including Tel

Miqne (biblical Ekron). He currently serves as senior field archaeologist with the

Tell es-Safi (biblical Gath) Archaeological Expedition.

Terryl L. Givens received his PhD in comparative literature from the University

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently a professor of literature and re-

ligion at the University of Richmond and holds the James A. Bostwick Chair of

English. He is the author ofThe Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the

Construction of Heresy and By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That

Launched a New World Religion, both published by Oxford.

Grant Hardy is a professor and chairman of the History Department at the

University of North Carolina at Asheville. He has a BA in ancient Greek from

Brigham Young University and a PhD in Chinese language and literature from

Yale. His scholarly publications include The Book of Mormon: A Readers Edition

(University of Illinois Press) and Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo: Sima Qians

Conquest of History (Columbia University Press).

Robert J. Matthews, professor emeritus of ancient scripture, taught at Brigham

Young University from 1971 to 1996. During this time he served on several

Church and university committees in addition to teaching classes, and he was

dean of Religious Education at BYU for nine years.

Kerry Muhlestein is an assistant professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young

University. He earned an MS in psychology with a Hebrew minor and an MA

in ancient Near Eastern studies, both from BYU, as well as a PhD from UCLA in

Egyptology. His recent publications include Death by Water: The Role of Water

in Ancient Egypts Treatment of Enemies and Juridical Process and Prelude to

the Pearl: Sweeping Events Leading to the Discovery of the Book of Abraham.

Steven L. Olsen is the associate managing director of the Family and Church

History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He holds aPhD in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago and is an adjunct fac-

ulty member in the Department of Anthropology at Brigham Young University.

Robert A. Rees is a graduate of Brigham Young University and holds advanced

degrees in literature and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. He has

taught at various universities. Rees was a Fulbright professor of American stud-

ies in the Baltic States and has lectured at a number of foreign universities. A

specialist in American literature, Rees has published a number of scholarly works

on American literature and on the Mormon experience. He is the editor ofProving

Contraries: A Collection of Writings in Honor of Eugene England and of the forth-

coming Re-Reading the Book of Mormon: Personal Perspectives on a New World

Scripture, both by Signature Books.

Kevin L. Barney

Jeffrey R. Chadwick

Terryl L. Givens

Grant Hardy

Robert J. Matthews

Kerry Muhlestein

Steven L. Olsen

Robert A. Rees


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the editors notebook

Only rrely oe one wne ruly monumen-

l eor o e l on n mporn ocumen.Te newly nme Nel A. Mwell Inue orRelou Scolrp plee o brn noce o kn o uy n e pe o Jurl. Suc e ce w Royl Skouen work on e e oe Book o Mormon. Puble o r n m-ve ome, w more o come, Skouen mecu-lou colrp e ou n ypecrp one vere remn rom e ornl mnucrpwren by crbe Joep Sm con, none volume, n e enre prner mnucrp w cope rom e ornl or e prner ue,

n wo. Pre w ee re volumnou yepnknly creul revew o e vrn re-n ve me er wy no e e rou-ou e prnn ory o e Book o Mormon nEnl. o e, ree o plnne pr n lon uy o vrn ve een e l o y.

Becue o projec orc ncnce,e eor o eJurlnve bevy o col-r, repreenn eren cplne n pon ovew, o revew SkouenAly xtul Vr-t th Bk Mr, Prt O: tl Pg,Wt Sttt, 1 Nph 1 2 Nph 10, pub-

le by FARMS n July 004. Aer our nvonw ccepe by ve blue-rbbon colr, pr oSkouenAly ppere (n July 00), cover-n e e rom Nep rou Mo .Our revewer ve lme emelve o pr ,bu er ue obervon bou Skouen eormo cernly pply o pr n n e vol-ume wll ollow.

o w coornn e ve revew neermnn ow be o preen em n eJur-l, e eor ene e kll o Dr. M. GerlBror, oce eecuve recor o e M-well Inue n ormerly n oce eor o e

Jurl. He brou uul uperb bleo e k. W ble nce, we preen ereuln revew, wc ke very mlr nlewen enn Skouen work. o y e le, ecrcer o ue very eren rom ony oer.

Grcn ee pe re wo more ue, ec

w ncn vewpon. Rober Ree pecekeep e pol on e Book o Mormon nmoern me. H nere o o w e clm, n cn e e, Joep Sm w mplyenn n uomc wrn, penomenonocumene n number o clncl ue weren peron eem o be lmo cpure by omebeyon-concoune orce or peronly npre rem o n e peron oe nopoe nurlly. Dr. Ree ely pree vewo ee weer cloe nyn bou JoepSm eperence n rnln e ple, n

er kn n wrnn orouly, e n e Prope own eplnon o eper-ence e e evence muc more ly noe ny clm o uomc wrn.

Seven Olen come o e pe o eJurlor e r me. He ene bro queon boue nfuence conrolln e orcl nrrve oe Book o Mormon. W w un Mormon e elece merl o o ory? I eeern prncple, or e o prncple, cover-ble? W e relonp beween Mormonrmework or ccoun n conen? W

rene ene evelope rou yer o worknw ornl orcl merl, Dr. Olen ben be eor o enyn e move leben Mormon preenon.

A n e p, eJurlremn epenenon n reul or uor wo ve wllnlybrou er kll o ber on e Book o Mor-mon, woe pe connue o yel reure o epen, obervn reercer.


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VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1, 2006

thebookofmormonand

Automatic Writing

Oliver Cowdery served as scribe whileJoseph dictated from the plates.


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Haig xhastd th izan bynne eplnon o e comnor o e Book o Mormon (wren byJoep Sm, plre rom Solomon Spul-n or En Sm, wren by Olver Cowery orSney Ron, ce uner e pell o eplepceure, ec.), ome nurl crc ve poulew pper o be more ronl eplnon2w e prouc o uomc wrn. T , by

ome myerou proce, pycc orce, nelcvoce, crne peronle, oee owom, or oer ource ce rp n volu-mnou fow o wor omeow urn ou o becoeren, nprn, n oen mn n brl-lnce n ncluon o eoerc c, ome o wcmy be beyon e uor knowlee. In pperI emne e propoon e Book o Mormoncn be eplne prouc o uomc wrn.

Auomc wrn, lo clle me prwrn, pycorpy, bnorml wrn,rec wrn, rnce wrn, n nepenen

wrn, erm ue o epln el-nucefow o lnue rom e unconcou or ormo wrn e ource o wc uppoely comerom oue e concou or ubconcou mn oe peron recevn e communcon. In oerwor, e uor merely conu or omeoer nellence, n mnuen or e n

epreon rom noer ource. T ler en-on e one ree n pper.

Clm bou e eence o uomc wr-n ve ee nce le e 9 cenury,lou ome conen recor o occur-rence re oun n e mo ncen work on eubjec [o pycc penomen], n w pereclymlr o oe erly n meevl uen ooccul penomen woe reerce row o muc

l on wc we now n o perplen.3Auomc wrn o kn normlly cle prnorml.

Challenges of Evaluating Automatic Writing

One problem w eplorn penomenon cover uc we rry o eperence.Some umn conu o communcon romnoer relm ue Ouj bor on wc e com-muncon pelle ou leer by leer; oer uecryl or one n wc wor n enencepper; n ll oer merely len o, ee, orunern e mee ben en (omeme nvon, rem, or rnce e). Scrbe or eecommuncon my ue pen (omeme wrnn orn), ypewrer, or compuer o qucklyrecor w ben ce or revele; or eymy ce mee o recorn evce. Somecommuncon ke plce urn nle pero

The Lord has a hand brgg t p h trg ct,

prvg th Bk Mr tru th y ll th ppl. . . .

Surly ct r tubbr thg. It wll b vr h b, th wrl

wll prv Jph Sth tru prpht by crcuttl vc,

n epermen, thy M Eljh.

imes and Seasons, St 1

b y r o b e r t a . r e e s

JOURNAL OF BOOK OF MORMON STUDIES


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w furry o communcon; oer, lkeACur Mrcl or T Urt Bk, wc rewell known o eren o uomc wrn, keplce over pero o yer.

Complcn e mer e c ecommuncon clm o come rom we nunuul (n n ome nnce even rne) rryo peronle. Tee nclue orc ure lkeWllm Jme n Ocr Wle; unknown per-onle lke Pence Wor, 7-cenury En-l Quker; creure rom oer plne lke nOrvonon Dvne Counelor, ce o e corp ouperunvere peronle, wo revele e Urn- (er) croncle; prevouly unknown properom e p lke kmenon, Se, n Lev; neven Jeu Cr.

Te k o evlun ee vrou commun-con even more complce n cllenn

becue ome conrc oer. Te porryl nPence Wor T Srry l (le by omeconemporry crc opel) o e ly o Cr lon e lne preene n e Newemen conrce byA Cur Mrcl.Te ler clm o ve been ce by Cr

mel, ye rejec e cenrl Crn ocrneo e onemen, crucon, n reurrecon, poon n urn vrnce w T Aqur- Gpl Ju th Chrt, n ccoun o elo 8 yer o Cr le e uor (LevDowln) lo clme w ce o m by JeuCr. Wle e ccoun o Cr le n TUrt Bk, upple by econry mwyerwo w oneme ne o e uperumnwccre o e Apole Anrew, eenlly eporryl o Cr one n n e Gopel, conrc ornl ccoun n ome mpor-

n prculr, nclun e clm Cr

The Urantia Book, first published in 1955, claims to be a revelationfrom celestial beings to planet Earth (Urantia) via an anonymousgroup in Chicago who received the dictated text over a period ofyears. One-third of the nearly 2,000-page book is a unique accountof Christs earthly ministry. Photo courtesy of the Urantia Book

Fellowship.

Automatic writing is often attributed to spirit communications fromhistorical figures such as Irish playwright, poet, and novelist OscarWilde (18541900). Hester Dowden (18681949) achieved suddenfame after publishing, in 1924, Wildean material that she attributed toWilde, then dead for 23 years. British Library/HIP/Art Resource, NY.


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pycl boy w no reurrece bu rer e cme or ou o e ele omb n e verylkene o e moron peronle o oe wo, reurrece moron cenn ben, emererom e reurrecon ll o e r mnonworl o locl yem o Sn. Te problem

become even more cllenn one nclue ne ceory o uomc wrn e ccoun oJeu Cr oun n e Book o Mormon.

Skepc o pycc eperence, nclun uo-mc wrn, en o epln uc penomen clever ru, unconcou procee, or -ocon, wc e conry ene eepron o wole emen o e peronly( n mulple peronly orer) or o creemenl procee ( n e copren) rome mnrem o concoune or o bevor.In oer wor, ee communcon re prouce

concou ecepon, unconcou eluon, orubconcou ocon.

A one emne e we rne o eclme o ve been receve rou e proceo uomc recorn o communcon romnoer relm, cul, no mpoble, oconclue ll uc communcon re uen-c n leme. T n ren n wc omewrer o uomc e eem o recor norm-on rom er ubconcou memore n nwc mcn n oer ve ue rckery ormnpule o prouce e lluon o uo-

mc wrn.Wle ome uc penomen cn be eplne e kepc ue, oer penomen pprenlycnno. W, or emple, oe one mke o erepore ce n wc e communcn benconvern n lnue , lou unknowno e meum or crbe, recore w lnu-c precon? Emple nclue communconn vrey o lnue, nclun Greek, Wel,Hunrn, n, n one o e mo nerence, Cnee lec no poken n Cn orcenure. A n oberver o l ce, Dr. Nev-lle Wymn, lecurer n Cnee Oor Un-very, repore, Te Cnee o wc we werenow lenn w e colloqully Snkror Ln. o e e uency o e peker,wo ene mel Conucu, Dr. Wymnrece e r n only lne e knew o n obcuren cul ncen Cnee poem n ke menn. He repor, Te voce ook up e poem

n rece o e en un nonon crcer-c o rcc Cnee.

Tere re oer nnce n wc e meumwo w e conu o e uomc wrn per-orme k eem mpoble o epln ereul o concou, unconcou, or ubconcouprocee. T , ee nvul receve -orcl c n ue lnuc yle were novlble n er normon envronmen, ney epree em n lnue n orm were r beyon er epreve len. One o enrun n mo wely ue uomc wr-er w Perl Currn, S. Lou, Mour, oue-we wo clme o ve receve n enormouvolume o merl rom pr perone over 0-yer pero. Accorn o Currn, e peroneene erel Pence Wor n e

lve n 7-cenury Enln.

Automatic writer Pearl Curran (18831937) rapidly dictated novelsand other literary works purportedly received from a spirit entity whoidentified herself as Patience Worth from 17th-century England.Photo from the frontispiece ofThe Case of Patience Worth, by WalterFranklin Prince (1964).


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I neren o pecule bou e pobl-y o vrey o communcon comn rombeyon e velome npre n ome no, omeruul n ome no, ome ronl n ome no.T , nce morl, vn ree wll, cn commu-nce w one noer n wy re mnpul-

ve n eceul well n wy re openn ruul, nce communcon rne rom ebrlln o e ull n rom e cler o e nco-eren, n nce ey epre concou well unconcou merl, m no be poble oe n e pr worl cn communce w elvn n e me wy? T run couner o ourenerl umpon bou e pr worl, bu ncewever prncple o nellence we n unon le . . . wll re w u n e reurrecon(Docrne n Covenn 0:8), en my lobe oer pec o our peronly n crc-

er ollow u no e ne worl n nfuence ourcommuncon w e lvn, nee uc com-muncon re poble.

Asserting a Connection

W nyn oe ll o ve o ow e Book o Mormon? In n rcle enleAuomcy n e Dcon o e Book oMormon, Sco C. Dunn rue e Booko Mormon n emple o uomc wrn.He conen number o prllel e

beween Joep Sm proucon o crpure nnnce o uomc wrn. He ue e ceo Perl Currn o mke pon. Currn clmeo receve communcon rom Pence Worrou ue o Ouj bor, communcon e n urn ce o vrou crbe. One o emo curou pec o ee communcon ey were ven, Dunn wre, n n nquen rcc urvene, n n mlm o -lec rom erler Enl pero, n n con w 90 percen Anlo-Son ( compre o4 percen or e Declron o Inepenence).Accorn o lnuc eper, e ce econne no moernm. Over e ece o eecommuncon, Currn recore ory, con,poery, proverb, n pryer. Toe wo knew ernmely n oe wo ue er creully,nclun ome o e len pycolo nlerry n lnuc colr o e me, wereconvnce ere w non n Currn bck-

roun, uy, or eperence coul ccoun or merl.

Dunn compre Currn eperence o o Joep Sm n e Book o Mormon: Lkebelever n e Book o Mormon, ollower oPence Wor uce lnuc evence oow e wrn ce rou Perl Cur-rn nee belon o nquy. Alou omeo e lnue w more unrmmcl nrcc [wc, by e wy, one m epec o

Mass-produced in the United States beginning in the 1860s, theplanchette was a writing device said to facilitate mediumship byresponding to magnetic forces passing through the mediums body.Used by permission of the American Antiquarian Society.


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peron o Pence Wor purpore euconn bckroun], ere pper o be occonl ueo enunely obolee Enl wor wc Currnwoul probbly no ve known. Dunn connue,Anoer rln n bou e work rb-ue o Pence Wor er ccurcy on c-

ul el Currn pprenly coul no veknown, eene oen pple o wrn venrou Joep Sm.2

Eenn rumen, Dunn wre, LkeJoep Sm, Perl Currn pper o ve lckee eucon necery o prouce uc work. . . .Ju Joep Sm evenully ben o cerevelon wou e o eer one, o Cur-rn ben o ce e wor o Pence Worwou ny pycl objec. Currn mply w epcure n e wor n er e n clle emou, comn rom e n o Pence Wor.

Accorn o Dunn, Perl Currn lke JoepSm n ll noer wy: or bo, vlble ev-ence mle n e lkeloo o concouru.3

Dunn en k, Bu beyon ee enerlprllel o e eperence o uomc wrer,w e evence Joep Sm rnl-on n emple o penomenon? Dunnnwer: o ben w, e conen o uomce oen mlr o o e Book o Mor-mon: Emple nclue mulple uorp, ueo rcc lnue, ccoun o byone orcl

ure, ccure ecrpon o me n plcepprenly unmlr o e wrer, nrrve wwell-evelope crcer n plo, ccoun o vr-ou mnre o Jeu Cr, poec, occonllympreve lerry quly, ocrnl, eolocl,n comolocl cuon, n even coureby ey.

Dunn lo rue e mnner n wce Book o Mormon w prouce ber ronreemblnce o e proce o uomc wrn,nclun e pee n ee w wc Smworke on rnlon. Aer counern erumen o ome crc wo eel e Book oMormon no oo emple o uomc wr-n, Dunn conclue, I cler Sm rn-lon eperence comorbly wn e lrerworl o cryn, cnneln, n uomc wr-n. Inee, e uomc procee . . . prove ebe moel or unernn e rnlon o eBook o Mormon.

The Extent of Common Ground

o w een re Dunn obervon ccu-re? o ben w, one ke ll o e e m no e ceory o uomc wrn, re number o book, mny o wc mke no

clm o ve been wren or ce by nyoneoer n e uor, m lo be o veconen mlr o uomc e. Inee, ework ene uomc e ve very llen common w one noer. Tey rne rom ebur o e npre, rom e munne o eeoerc, rom or ory o volumnou croncle,rom relc nrrve o w coul be beecrbe peculve con. An er yle re vre er ubjec mer. So wle mybe rue e Book o Mormon comorblywn e lrer worl o . . . uomc wrn,

lo comorbly wn e lrer worl onrrve con n e nrrower worl o crelerure.

I urprn Dunn eem o ke cevlue e clm o oer uomc crbe boue ource o er mnucrp bu oen eem occep Joep Sm own ccoun o ource vl. T , Dunn uncrclly ccep e w-ne o wrer o uomc e rern e pro-cee by wc ey receve er merl, wyqueon e ource Joep Sm clme or eBook o Mormon? Joep w cler n pecc

bou e mnner n wc e receve e ncenrecor e clm o ve rnle. A erryl L.Gven ummre: H el-ecrbe ecvono e ple, repee ecren o em n benbrrel, uner erone, n n mock, -plyn o em o e corroborn wnee,n rncrpon o em no erolypcn rnlon o em no Enl con-nul, eenve, n prolone enemen w nble, vble, rounn rc no com-pble w eory mke m n nprewrer reworkn e u o own rem no prouc wory o e nme crpure. Nor, onecoul rue, compble w e eory ew n uomc wrer n e ene n wc erm enerlly uneroo.

W rue o Dunn rumen ere re mny mlre beween e proceeecrbe by uomc wrer n ecrbeby Joep Sm n vrou enorper o


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Nepe ory. Joep recevn normon romome ource oue mel, een wor n eeer one (or n mn eye), cn oro rem-o-concoune nrrve, ben bleo pck up con/rnlon er nerruponn ely w no brek n e nrrve fow,

proucn lre boy o merl over orpero o me, n levn e nl e eenllyunrevell o ee ve mlre o e pro-ucer o ome uomclly wren e.

Bu one poule ome uomc eor ome cre lerure relly e prouc o

communcon beyon e vel, en one woulepec ome correponence beween uc en e e rnlor clme w ven om by n nel, e n rnlon by ue o

e Urm n Tummn, n npre by e HolyGo. T , communcon o come rome pr worl, eem lkely ey my comen eren wy n or eren purpoe. A com-muncon purpor o be e crpurl recoro ncen Irele n econ emen o JeuCr mke bol n mporn clm or ourconeron n oul be o re nere o u.

For oe wo beleve e vel beween emorl n mmorl worl penerble by oewo ve pecl or enve, no -cul o beleve n e pobly o uomc con-veynce or o npre/revele rnlon. I oneccep e pobly Jeov coul revel lw o Moe n Jeu coul revel o Jon erne n wonerul n conne n e booko Revelon, urely one mu ccep e Lorcoul revel e recor o New Worl peopleo Joep Sm. How e woul o o eem mucle mporn n e coul o o. An

perone uc Moron, Elj, Moe, Jon eBp, n Peer, Jme, n Jon coul ppero Joep Sm, e clme n Mormonbeleve, en ey o ccep e pobly revelon rom Nep, Mormon, Alm, n o-er coul ve come o m well. In c,

neren o pecule, ome erly colr oe Book o Mormon ,2 ee ure cu-lly ppere o Joep n ol er ore n eme wy e uor o ome uomc eclm p prope n orcl ure ppereo or communce rou em.

A Look at Scientific EvidenceW evence e uc communcon

rom e pr worl cully ke plce? Wle

ere oo reon o oub e uency oome, no mo, e clme o be e reul ouomc wrn, no ll emple o uc wr-n cn be eplne e reul o nurlcnfuence or cue. Obvouly, lncpeon wc belever n kepc ve conene orcenuren wll connue o conen, nce preen we eem o lck e cenc ool n ec-noloy o ebl nconroverbly e eenceo communcon rom noer pere, nclunw omeme reerre o e pr worl.Neverele, repece reercer re probn pobly, ome w uppor rom e NonlInue o Hel. One uc reercer Dr.Gry E. Scwr, proeor o pycoloy, me-cne, neuroloy, pycry, n urery e Un-very o Aron n recor o e unveryHumn Enery Syem Lborory.

For e p ece, Dr. Scwr n oc-e e Unvery o Aron ve been conuc-

If one accepts the possibility that Jehovah could reveal his law to Moses and that

Jesus could reveal to John the strange and wonderful things contained in the book of Revelation, surely

one must accept that the Lord could reveal the record of his New World peoples to Joseph Smith.

How he would do so seems much less important than that he could do so.

10 VOLUME 15, NUMBER 1, 2006


11/72

n cenc reerc oncommuncon beweene lvn n e e.In e bookT ArlExprt,Scwrrepor on ue un

eble meum (peo-ple wo eem o ve or pr communcon)woe nery ey come o ru. Scwrn Dr. Ln G. Rueke up conrolle, ouble-,n rple-bln lbor-ory epermen n wce meum were keo communce w epr worl on bel o

people unknown o em.In one epermen emeum vere n 8percen ccurcy re nenyn normonoenbly communcerom e pr worl, compre o percenvere or e conrol roup.2 Dr. Scwr con-clue, Te cl probbly o erenceoccurrn by cnce lone w le n one n enmllon.22 O er le n mo cenclly r-

orou epermen, Dr. Scwr repor, We per-orme cl nlye ncn e reulcoul ve occurre by cnce ewer n one n 00 rllon me.23

In revewn er epermen n evlunem n l o w ey coner er own nr or cenc nery, er own kep-cl eur, n e cllene o nonbelevncrc, Dr. Scwr conclue, I wen rou l le epermenec n every [pycc] ren,bo wn n beyon e orml colleconperon emne ll on e b o elevenkey pon orm e core [o e epermen].I cn no loner nore e n m ewor. Tey re rel e un, e ree, nour elevon e, wc eem o pull pcure ouo e r. H concluon: In e epermen,normon w conenly rereve cn bebe eplne comn rom lvn oul. . . . Te pper o be vl, convncn n lvn

e meum, er,kepc, n cenemelve. T we epermenl unmkbly ow. 2

Obvouly, uc n-

n re conroverl n, one woul epec, nowou cllene rome cenc commu-ny. Some colr vequeone Dr. Scwrmeooloy well proeonl nery.Amon Scwr movorou crc JmeRn, e ouner o eJme Rn Euconl

Founon n proe-onl ebunker o nprnorml. Rn nScwr ve lvelyecne on e ubjec cn be vewe on eInerne.2

Anoer boy oreerc eem o ve ome bern on eubjec o pr communcon conuceby e Inue o HerM on nuon nepenec. Epenec ene e cence

ue ow e evelopmen, unconn, nevoluon o bolocl yem re nfuence byorce opern oue e prmry DNA equenceo e enome (.e., nrcellulr, envronmenl, nenerec nfuence).2 Be on reerc ueconuce uner rorou, conervve cononon ow e boy receve n procee premu-lu normon bou uure even, 2 HerMcen conclue bth th hrt br

pper o receve nrepon o normonbou uure emoonlmulu pror o cullyeperencn e mu-lu. 2 Alou ernn ome pec o er

James Randi, debunker of para-normal and pseudoscientific claims.Photo courtesy of the James RandiEducational Foundation.

For Latter-day Saints, angelic visitations and communications to theProphet Joseph Smith and his associates were among the divinelyauthorized and orchestrated events necessary for the restoration ofthe gospel.John the Baptist Appearing to Joseph Smith and OliverCowdery. 2000 Del Parson.

JOURNAL OF BOOK OF MORMON STUDIES 11


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meooloy, ee ue conrm erler ueby Den Rn, enor cen e Inue oNoec Scence.2

Tee n onl ue by e Inueo HerM on nuon n e er3 proveron evence or e e nuve procee

nvolve e boy ccen el o normon no lme by e conrn o pce nme. More pecclly, ey prove compellnb or e propoon e boy ccee el o poenl enery e omnpr rom pce-me relyno wc norm-on bou uure even pecrlly enole.3

Wever cenc evence or lck ereo orcommuncon beyon e vel, one o conere pobly le ome o e ce o uo-mc wrn m nee be uenc commun-con cro e lmnl reol ve e

morl n mmorl worl. In vew o ec-ely peculve concluon, Joep Sm clm o e ource o e Book o Mormon n eproce by wc e rnle mu be ccore le ome vly ven e elbore epln-on mu be mrle evence , ler-nvely, e book cme ou o mn, eperence,n mnon. In oer wor, communconrom e pr worl cn prouce even rmeno normon, n e cn be wren cn-no be eplne e reul o nurlc cue,en urely my be poble or omeone o be e

conu o book comple n ornl eBook o Mormon.

Countering the Connection

Hvn , I woul lke o llure wyn wc I nk e Book o Mormon oe no e uul moel o uomc wrn.

D S

o ben w, oer wrer o uomc e(uc oe cue erler n pper) ver er normon come rom pecc peron-e wo oen ve nme, come rom peccepoc, n ve ene peronle. Unlke eemeum o er-morl communcon, JoepSm never clme nyone w cn oor communcn rou m. Wle e w pe-cc wor n pre, e no eny em

comn rom ource beyon w w recore one ol ple.

Anoer wy n wc Joep Sm clm -er rom e proucer o uomc e e e only one o wom I m wre wo clmeo ve n cul nble e rom wc

con w erve. Te ol ple revele byMoron n plce no Joep n conuee ource o e recor e clm o ve rn-le. A le oer wnee ee o eeence o e ple.32

T B M: Uq T

Joep Sm, r I cn ell, unque nnclun n e normon w no vl-ble nywere n or nyone ele normonenvronmen urn e me e prouce e.Wle Pence Wor poke ly pecle

Enl lec n ue rcc vocbulry eem mpoble or er meum, Perl Currn, ove known, e c remn uc lec nvocbulry were vlble n e Enl-peknenvronmen o cern rc o Enln con-emporneou w Currn. Te me coul be o Pence Wor ue o opcl normonbou e Holy Ln nA Srry l, er conlnrrve bou Jeu. A one crc noe, Wlee cene re mnly n Plene, ouce Romeocconlly, n el no only w Jew buw Romn, Greek, n Arbn, reveln

n nme n ccure knowlee o e pol-cl, ocl n relou conon o e me,e relon o ec o ee people o Rome, ner eenl erence o crcer, cuom nron.33 Neverele, normon coulve been oun n ource en e me o econ.

Act trvl. In conr, e Book o Mormonconn normon , r cn be eer-mne, w no known o nyone n e worl eme w puble. For emple, Euene Enlnpone ou e roue Le n peopleook cro e Arbn Deer w couner o wll e rvel ue o e 9 cenury ecrbeor ve. Enln ummre, For Joep Smo ve o well ucceee n proucn over wenyunque el n e ecrpon o n ncen rvelroue rou one o e le-known re o eworl, ll o wc ve been ubequenly ver-e, requre erornry, unreonble n


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nurl enu or bly o ue r nrec oppoon o e prevln knowlee o me.3 S. Ken Brown number o em oEnln l o el bou Le roue wereno known nywere n e 9 cenury.3

Mrc. Anoer emple o merl

n e Book o Mormon w unknown nunknowble n 80 e v moun o elbou Meomerc. A Jon L. Sorenon, oneo e len uore n el, e, Apon er pon e crpure ccurely refece culure n ory o ncen Meomerc.. . . Were uc normon come rom norou Joep n e mnner e clme? Lerllyno peron n Joep Sm y knew or coul veknown enou c bou eoc Cenrl Amerco epc e uble n ccure pcure o ncenle we n bckroun or e Book o Mor-

mon.3 Sorenon ce uc n eorpclconency, e pern o culurl ory (wc

w olly unknown n 80, or no even ebe-norme colr n e worl me,le lone Joep Sm, ny noon o p-ern ben ncen Amercn ory woulcome o l over cenury ler), lnue (Howremrkble e recor keeper o e Book o

Mormon llue n n n o er wrn y-em n, even more remrkble, e Book oMormon emen o well w w we knowbou e prmry ype o crp n ue n erlyMeomerc), Nepe polcl economy (No-n Joep Sm coul ve known n y boue Inn or e bblcl Irele woul veprepre m o ce uc conen pcure oNepe n Lmne overnmen n ocey ecully . Only n recen ece ve colrlerne enou o ecrbe ee ncen Meo-mercn power mecnm prove o ve

been o muc lke w e Book o Mormon por-ry), elemen o merl culure (No one n e

This ruined city at Dainzu, Oaxaca, dates to between 200 bc and ad 200. The ruins of the temple in the foreground show extensive use ofcement construction. Photo courtesy of David A. Palmer.


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nneeen cenury coul ve known cemen,n c, w eenvely ue n Meomerc ben-nn bou . . . e mle o e r cenury..), n wrre (only urn e e l qurercenury [] e o new ue vle eBook o Mormon porryl o wr).3

Act lgug. Smlrly ncn eBook o Mormon ncluon o wor n reorclprcce woe menn n very eence vebeen covere nce 80. A rkn emple ewor Hrut (ene n Alm :7 pr o e wlerne wc w nee by wl nrvenou be). A Hu Nbley pone ou, wor lmo encl w Hermon, lnnme er e Eypn o o wl n nwl plce.3 An Goron Tomon rue per-uvely e worMr el, wc rpreene n e Book o Mormon plce neeby wl be, e me Arbc roo, RMN,

Hrut.3 Oer Eypn elemen pper ne nme Koror, Porn, n Pnc, e lo wc 7-cenury- nme (.e., conem-porry w Le) no known n e We unl een o e 9 cenury. Nbley lo uee e Book o Mormon ue o Hebrew nme, mnyo wc re nonbblcl, preerve[] e uencorm o e Hebrew nme o e pero een newly covere ocumen.

A urer emple o Book o Mormon ln-ue unknowble o Joep Sm e plce-nme Nom ( Nep :4), were Nep peoplebure Imel n mourne pn. A vr-ou colr ve pone ou, wor eemrele no only o e Arbc roo NHM, wcmen o or mon (uen re) bu loo recenly covere ncen burl e, Nem,wc le very cloe o e re were Imel wbure. A Gven rue, Foun n e very re

Recently discovered burial mound at Nehhm, an ancient site in Yemen evidencing the authenticity of the Book of Mormon since the name andthe Nihm tribe associated with itboth unknown in America in Joseph Smiths daycorrespond so closely to Nephis mention of a placewhich was called Nahom. Photo courtesy of Justin Andrews.



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were Nep recor loce Nom, ee lr[vove lr rom e Brn emple e n Yemenn o e n even cenure nncrbe w e rbl nme NHM]my u be o conue e r cul rceolocl ev-ence or e orcy o e Book o Mormon.2

Wle ome uomc e clm o ve beence by bblcl ure, n ereore ve ncommon w e Book o Mormon e lerry,relou, n culurl bckroun o e Hebrewcrpure, none come cloe o mcn eBook o Mormon refecon o e comple reor-cl yle n ylc pern o Hebrew lerure

or rul pern. Te Book o Mormon repleew ylc elemen crcerc o Hebrewpeec n ou pern, nclun verb-

l, cone ccuve, compoun prepoon,pronoun repeon, mle cure, clmcc orm,n vrou kn o bblcl prllelm, monem comple n nrce emple o cmu.3I, ome crc conen, Joep Sm omeowborbe ll o or nue rom mlr-y w e Hebrew crpure, e ccompleomen no oer uor n e ory o eworl .

Ltrry cplxty, ctrl rch. Teeer compley o e Book o Mormon nrrve r beyon o ny uomc e o wc Im wre. A Gven noe, ere re ome ,000uorl n e nrrve. An wle rue ome uomc e conn more none uorl yle n ome pr communcnpek n more n one voce (one nk prcu-lrly o Pence Wor), none I know o con-n e number (wo oen or o) o ncveuorl yle oun n e Book o Mormon. Even

more ncn, I beleve, e ubnve rc-ne o e Book o Mormon mee. Wle mnyuomc e conn npronl lerure nome conn pecc ocrne (Crn n o-erwe), none n my emon mce e Booko Mormon ocrnl eny, nor eolocl

conency w e Bble.

Concluding Thoughts

One m ce mny more emple o nn e Book o Mormon were unvlble nJoep Sm normon envronmen or com-

pleely oren o eperence. Te cnce Joep Sm coul ve uee even one oee, le lone unre, re ronomcl. No n-

url crc o wom I m wre come cloe oeplnn er preence n e Book o Mormon.I beleve conue ncn reuon oDunn emen Tere oe no pper o be ny-n o orcl, eolocl, ploopcl, orlerry quly n e crpurl wrn o JoepSm no been mce by oe well ou-e e Mormon ron.

A omeone wo ru bo prul nemprcl procee n e erc or ru, I vere onely n rly o evlue e nrumen preene by bo polo n nurl- crc o e Book o Mormon. Nurl crc,o my mn, re mporn ue bou e ornn nure o e e. I onor er eor weney erve rom ncere emp o come o ermw e book un e be ool or nelleculnqury n ronl eploron. Some o e cl-lene ey preen re leme n eerve er-ou coneron.

If, as some critics contend, Joseph Smith somehow absorbed all of this or intuited it from

his familiarity with the Hebrew scriptures, he accomplished something that no other author in thehistory of the world has. The sheer complexity of the Book of Mormon narrative is

far beyond that of any automatic text of which I am aware.



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On e oer n, polo crc lo mkenvluble conrbuon o e loue, n erwork, wen be on rorou colrpn on reponble prul wne, oul lobe ken erouly. For e mo pr, I ve ounuc colr o be people o nery wo re

un er be nellecul n prul bleo unern n epln e Book o Mormon.Wen ey een e book on purely prulb, ey mu unern ey ener relm

were ew nurl crc re wlln o ol-low. However, wen ey combne er emprclnqury w rorou prul nr (nclune nery o onely e er prul convc-on n e be conere knowlee), eyoul be ven repec or er concluon.

I beleve e evence uee by omeuomc wrn, well e nuon u-e o e Inue o HerM n e erleepermen o Gry Scwr n Ln Ruek,preen compelln rumen or e poblyo communcon rom e mmorl o e morlworl. A Scwr y o nn n ene lvn oul ypoe: Scen n nonc-en lke re eperencn e o n ce, weer we cn pu our bele n e cencmeo el. Becue we re o pu our ne cenc meo, n ru w e [weve prouce] revel, we re le o e ypoe e unvere more wonrou n mnen our wle f o ncy.

I mporn o remember e merl ne Book o Mormon orn n ome locu.In orer or o ve come rom Joep Smconcou or ubconcou mn, o veoen ere omeow. A Cper S. Yo oberve

bou Perl Currn, Te ubconcou lrerore o normon n e concou pr oe mn, bu no objecve knowlee nocqure by nvul eperence, no objec-ve mpreon re no me rou eene. I know non eernlly, o y,

no lerne by een, ern, ouc,n or melln. . . . No objecve knowlee n ny pr o Mr. Currn mn nobeen cqure rou er own enory eper-

ence. Perp Yo obervon oul bereve o re e mn conn no objecvetrrtrlknowlee no been receverou e ene. T leve open e pobly memory n knowlee my ve ome oerlocu o orn, uc premorl eperence or

revele rem n von. Te pon one conen, o ome nurl crc, erc pery o nrrve we know e Book oMormon cme rom e mn n mnon oJoep Sm, one o ccoun or e proce bywc o. No one n my opnon oere more cory or more convncn eplnonn e one Joep Sm mel ve.

Some nurl crc pecule ll o enormon conne n e Book o Mormoncme rom Joep Sm 9-cenury envron.In cn e emple o n uomc wrer wopprenly pcke up n ore merl wn er el o von e worke [] croworpule, Sco Dunn y, I oul no be urpr-n, ereore, o n Sm crpurl prouconrepen n e my ve er or overern converon, cmp meen, or oer enwou ny concere uy o e ue. Dunnwoul be r-pree o ow nyone coul

The point is that if one contends, as do some naturalist critics, that the rich tapestry of

narrative we know as the Book of Mormon came from the mind and imagination of Joseph Smith

one has to account for the process by which it did so. No one in my opinion has offered a moresatisfactory or more convincing explanation than the one Joseph Smith himself gave.


17/72


ve overer e merl preene erler n pper cmp meen or nywere ele ne Plmyr re urn e me e Book o Mor-mon w rnle. Te remrkble n boue Book o Mormon ere no nlec, crcer, or lluon cn be e eclu-

vely o 9-cenury Amerc. Mo prllel envronmenl crc n beween e book nJoep Sm culurl envronmen re o uc enerl n upercl nure ey coul beoun mny me n n mny culure. ARcr L. Bumn conen, e mleu o eBook o Mormon muc more n common wncen Hebrew culure n 9-cenury Amerc.He ummre nly by yn e Booko Mormon rnely n rom e me nplce o publcon. Alon e me lne,Gven conclue, In um, ere mply lle

b or run e worlvew o Joep er ny nfuence on e mke-up o e Book oMormon el. A pecl n e lerry -

ory o e pero n wc e Book o Mormonemere, I cn e ceorclly unlkeny book wren n e enre cope o Amercnlerure.

In concluon, wle I o no n e Book oMormon creble cne n uomc e, I

beleve more cloely rele o uomc wrnn, y, normve nrrve con, e ormer (nome nnce) comn rom omeplce oue euor mn n mnon n e ler com-n enrely rom wn m. T , on e b ow I ronlly ccep evence, ere eem obe upernurl orce work n ome wren com-muncon, uomc or oerwe. Ju I ccepe c Perl Currn coul no be e uoro e Pence Wor mnucrp n ome oe communcon recore by Dr. Scwr nRuek coul no be e prouc o e meum

ey ene n er epermen, o I on beleve Joep Sm w or coul ve been e uoro e Book o Mormon. !


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&&history

STRUCTURING THE ABRIDGMENT

OF THE NEPHITE RECORDS

STEVEN L. OLSEN

h B M is a ds st.Beween mrculou bennn n rcenn, numerou nvul ep ono rmc e n c n ccornce w ermorl ency n puru o cern ol. Te nrr-ve lle w uc vere con mron,converon, ermon, propeyn, wr, cpvyn lberon, e n ucceon, ocl renewln neron, n poy n enoce.Te brc o ee even, woven oeer no nepc nrrve, conue e ocl recor o nncen cvlon.

W re we o mke o e nrrve quly o cre recor? I e orcl rme nerlo menn or prmrly o eurc vlue? Woule book eenl menn cne meewere communce rou perpecve oern nrrve? I e ory rucure cenrl ooverll menn re conen? D e prnc-pl uor concouly cr e nrrve no nnere wole, or w er lerry k mplyo e, owever rclly, preen prmryource?


19/72


Ye Shall Have My Words. 1991 J


20/72

Grounds for Investigation

T uy n eor o re ucqueon rern e Book o Mormon.Serou uy o e book nrrve uee prly by ome o unuul

crcerc, nclun e ollown:Pt vw. Te Book o Mormon

con o mjor poron o r- nr-peron nrrve. All o Nepmll ple n e enre book Mormon n Moron wroe concernner own me con o r-peron nr-rve. Tee econ compre roulyone-r o e Book o Mormon en one-l o e me pero o Nepeory. Te re o e ory nrremoly n e r peron, occonlly

revern o r-peron ccoun (e..,Mo 90; Alm 4). I n-cn o noe, by conr, e nrrveporon o e Hebrew Bble re prmr-ly n e omncen r peron. Tebook o Neem e only eener-peron orcl nrrve n e Olemen. Furermore, r-peron nr-rve pper only brefy n e Prop-e econ (IMlc bu eclunDnel), lrely o ocumen propevne clln or o oerwe coneul-

e propece.2 Tou elom uen e Bble, r-peron nrrve ply mjor role n erve cenrl vlue ne Book o Mormon. Te relonpbeween r- n r-peron nrrvemy revel omen unmenl bou ncen recor.

Etrl ctry. Te woleBook o Mormon (bo e r- nr-peron econ) replee w con-cou eorl nruon by e nrror. By con-r, n e Hebrew Bble e nrror nfuence een moly n e crn o e ory lnew nclue n eclue n ow epree norere wn e nrrven elom n receorl commenry.3 Te eorl commenry ne Book o Mormon oen occur crcl junc-ure n e nrrve, uc cre o leerp,ocl neron, mjor prul rnon,n morl collpe (ee Nep , 9; Alm 4:9;

8:4; 4:89; Helmn :4;; Mormon:7:0; 8:4; Moron 0:04). Sncnly,one o e mo eene eorl commen o crucl o e nrrve nuew own le, Wor o Mormon. T e evoe o eplnn one o Mormon mounuul eorl econ. Aer brn Neplre ple (covern e me o Le o e reno Kn Benjmn), Mormon oun mller recor,wren by Nep n ubequen prope, cov-


Unlike the Bible, the Book of Mormon is replete with editorial commentary such asthe prophet Mormons careful explanation of his decision to incorporate the smallplates of Nephi into his abridgment of the large plates, thereby joining first- andthird-person accounts. Image courtesy of L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B.Lee Library, Brigham Young University.


21/72

ere e me me pero n nclue mny o eme even. He ece o e mller recorn enrey o e lrer nrrve, brecounerpr, o e ornl veron o -ory woul ve r- n r-peron ccoun oe me pero (ee Wor o Mormon :).

Furermore, no only e Book o Mormonnrror eel ree o eplc eorl com-menry, bu ey lo plye mjor role n eorcl ory lne. Teywere nme or oerweene, lle crcl role,n on occon concoulyncorpore e ory oer recor keepn no elrer nrrve ey werecreully crn. I ou keepn e nrrve

recor o er people wequvlen o preervn eeence o er unque en-y. By conr, e bblclnrror re no crcern e ory. W e ecep-on o Er n Neem,we know lle bou woey were n le bou erole ey m ve plyen e lrer cre ory o e Jew.

Nrrtv ctt. Muc o e Book o Mormon

clerly uppor nle-mne prul purpoe.T conen nclue ocrnl coure, eccle-cl mon, converon eperence, revelonn propece, n, o coure, e crownn ccouno e ren Cr mnry. A e me me, ow-ever, e prul ncnce o e book oerconenmlry cmpn, polcl nrue, nocl cre (ee Alm 4 Nep 0)eem ncon-ruou w, or erneou o, e book eplcprul purpoe. T eemn nconruy nen-e wen become cler Mormon uborneor elmne loeer merl uc e work oe Curc o Cr n e opel nfuence on eren n vor o vn ull nrrve enon oeemnly eculr conen (e.., Alm 4:; 4:,8; 0:; :44). Eqully curou Mormonrc runcon o e ccoun o e nerly wocenure o uopn-lke reoune ollownCr mnry o e Nepe (ee 4 Nep :0).Furermore, Mormon n Moron en er cre

ory w n ccoun o e rueome nnl-on o er people, even ou ee wo prop-e were cqune w n coul ve ncluee ore o reou Nepe wo nllyecpe e crope n connue o lve eopel be ey coul, ven er bjec crcum-

nce (ee Mormon 8:; Moron :). However,Mormon n Moron coe no o nclue el ouc coure n crce. Conemporry orn

coul rly conceve o penly relou ory oTe Curc o Jeu Cr oLer-y Sn refecnocumenry prore lkeee. W w Mormonmovon or n eorl ocu?

I uc eemnly ecu-

lr conen conere nolon , w n-vul pe nerpree ou ey were con-nece rom one noer nrom e re o e ory o coure ll pobleor moern reer o rwmporn morl or eclleon rom oe pe.

However, we ume Mormon w crnn nere nrrve rer n embln

pcwork o rnom even, en e k o ner-preon n l o uorl nen become ll emore cul. I requre enyn e o prn-cple enble u o unern mulneoulyee eculr n oer poron o e nrrverom une perpecve. Wle ere no cer-ny Mormon nene o cree n ne-re nrrve (empn o o o woul vebeen n mbou n ncn unerkn),e upreme concern w wc Book o Mormonuor pproce er lerry mon n eeernl vlue o er reuln nrrve ue elkeloo o n nere pproc.

Establishing an Analytical

Framework

Unernn e Book o Mormon rom nnere n une perpecve cle bypplyn e ollown nlycl prncple:


Equally curious is MorMons dras tic

truncation of thE a ccount of thE

nEarly two cEnturiEs of utopian-likE

rightEousnEss following christs

Ministry to thE nEphitEs.


22/72

Cprhv. T prncple ume ebe nlycl rmework wll ccoun or ll relevn o e queon uner nveon. Anypproc l n rer mu be conereo lme vlue or nerenly fwe.

Syttc. Reponble nly oe no m-

ply ccoun or e eence o . Te beer enlycl rmework, e more wll revel eyemc connecon mon e uner nve-on. Te prncple revel ee nerrel-onp re oen oe ene e menn oe penomen uner nveon.

Spl. T prncple prvlee n nly-cl perpecve revel e yemc relonmon e ree moun o relevn une ewe number o nepenen preme. Prem-e re conere nepenen ey re noerve rom or epenen upon one noer.

Ccrt. For nly o be ruly colrly, mu lo be lble. prncple requre e uy preme be cpble o emprclor locl conrcon. For colrly purpoe, eorecl preme ncpble o benprove le, en eer loclly lwe (e..,be on crculr or uolocl reonn) or belon o noncencrelm o coure (e.., e-c or mepyc) woepreme (e.., Go eor Love e mo nc-

vely umn o emoon)re mply ere nwoe locl mplconre emne bu re noornrly ubjec o empr-cl vercon.

Any reerc meool-oy enl cern preme ue nqury. Key o epreen uy re e ollow-n ree nlycl preme,wc n uppor n ecoure o uy:

. Even ou e prncpl uor o eBook o Mormon rule mly w errepecve lerry mon, Nep n Mormonwere concou o n overll purpoe or er wr-n, n ey cre e conen w n ne-rl o purpoe. Evence o lerry con-coune n e reuln crmnp come

rom e nure o e complee e n romer numerou eorl e.

. Te menn o e e nrcely con-nece w rucure. T , e prulncnce o e Book o Mormon n lre me-ure uncon o u orcl nrrve.

. Te r- n r-peron poron o enrrve, prculrly Nep mll ple nMormon brmen, e n ynmc n nr-ce nerrelonp. Ter menn erve romn epen upon ec oer.

Tee preme owe muc o, bu re norecly erve rom, e bblcl colrp oRober Aler, Mer Sernber, Dv Noel Free-mn, n er colleue. In n eor o rele elerry orm o e Hebrew Bble o menn,ee colr ve ene vrou prncpleue o cr vere conen. Hevly nfuence

by lerry crcm, er work revel n mpre-ve rry o lerry convenon employe n proce. Sernber one o r o y boy o n conue poec o bblclnrrve.

I m lo nebe o n nlycl ronclle rucurlm. Infuence by e el o

lnuc, rucurlm ubpecly o culurlnropoloy empo erve kn o rcec-onc loc rom e nen-

ve uy o cre e.Emnn e yemcornon o wnecollecvely clleer rucureproven no e role nncnce o oe ewn prculr culure.Ju rcecurl or-n, rceolo, n cur-or look or pern o orern vrou kn o merl

culure, rucurl nropolo look or ler-ry pern n e n orl nrrve. Wen eler re woven oeer by n eper crmn,er rucure yel remrkble n no emenn o e n e oul o people.

T uy wll llure one mll bu n-cn pern o nrrve rucurn n e Book oMormon. Te ep o nly wll () eny


aftEr focusing on patEntly

spiritual Mat tErs for ovEr

100 pagEs of tEx t, MorMon MakEs an

abrupt shift in his narrat ivE.


23/72

pern o orcl rucure ncve on perve Mormon brmen, () rele rucure o complemenry pern n Nepmll ple, () e e vly o pernno e orcl nrrve n Mormon eplceorl e, n en (4) ue e nerpre-

ve ncnce o ee correle pern or eBook o Mormon wole.

Patterning

in Mormons

Abridgment

T uy o Book oMormon nrrve rucureencompe e book reencve crcerc

menone erler: pon ovew, eorl commenry,n nrrve conen. I rw e conen eemomew ou o plce n relou recor: mlrycmpn, polcl nrue,n ocl cre. Mormonben ele ccouno e Nepe wr w neplc eorl (eeAlm 4:). Alou e

known o n llue o eenve rme con-fc n erler brmen o e Nepe recor(e.., Mo 0; 0; Alm ; ), o pon n nrrve e coen no o el even oneble. In urer conr, Mormon ju com-plee ele ccoun o e remrkble prulconveron n relvely ucceul mnre oAlm e Eler, Alm e Youner, n e on oMo mon bo e Nepe n Lmne(ee Mo 7Alm ). He lo nclue everbm ccoun o e nl prul counel oAlm e Youner o on Helmn, Sblon,n Cornon (ee Alm 4).

Aer ocun on penly prul mer orover 00 pe o e, Mormon mke n brup n nrrve. He cknowlee Almn on connue er mon bu eneplcly e, Now we ll y no more concern-n er precn (Alm 4:). T n ocuw no requre by lck o ecclecl ;

rouou e wr nrrve, Mormon nerm-enly reer o er onon mnre (e.., Alm4:; 4:, 8; 0:; :44). Ye ne oocun on eccleoloy, eoloy, converon, nprul eppne, Mormon cooe pon oocu ccoun o e ne cenury o Nepe -

ory lmo ecluvely on mlry confc beweenLmne n Nepe, rcou nernl Nepe

polc, ocl ner-on, n nurl cro-pe (Alm 4 Nep 9).Te precn o Smuel eLmne noble ecep-on (Helmn ).

Prncpl eme ur-n pero nclue eLmne wr omeneby Nepe ener n

poe (Alm 4), epolcl nrue n oclneron renereNepe ocey ncrenlyvulnerble o Lmnencuron n e error-m o e Gnon bn(Helmn Nep 4), enbly o e Curc oCr o em e enerle o wckene mone Nepe ( Nep 7),

n e nurl er en by Go o eroy ewcke ( Nep 89). A reul o ee evelop-men, Nepe ocey w n ol rry. Mnyo ce n ln been eroye, cenluere or plce, n nuon n o-cl rucure rune. Vrully non remne oe cvlon propere n e promeln or nerly 00 yer. Mormon evoe nerlyone- o enre ory o e Nepe o cenury o proreve eclne n erucon.

Wn en o vrul crope, ereurrece Cr ppere o crow o urv-vor ere e emple n e ln Bounul( Nep :). Cr mnry o e Nepecone o ree ull y n number oubequen v ( Nep :). Durn bre mnry, Cr ee o vny( Nep 9::7), elvere opel ( Nep; 7:), orne n nme curc( Nep :8:; 8:0:9; 7:), mnere


in contrast to thE dEtailEd account

of christs Ministry, which avEragEs

roughly 10 pagEs of t Ex t pEr day

in thE prEsEnt Edition, that of thE

spiritual utopia avEragEs nEarly

10 yEars pEr vErsE of tExt.


24/72

o e prul nee o ollower ( Nep 7;0:9), n propee concernn knom ne ler y ( Nep 0; 4). Mormonccoun o ee even occupe pe ne preen eon, conun by r e moele poron o e enre Book o Mormon

nrrve.Mormon brmen ne ocue on e

reuln wo cenure o reoune. In con-r o e ele ccoun o Cr mnry,wc vere rouly 0 pe o e per yn e preen eon, o e prul uopvere nerly 0 yer per vere o e (4 Nep:0). T eene pero one o re pr-ul cevemen: convern e re o e people(4 Nep :); elmnn povery, crme, n, noppreon (vv. , 7); perormn mrcle(vv. , ); rebuln eroye ce (vv. 70);

ebln rmony n pece rouou eocey (vv. , , ); n reln e ble-n o e opel n e lve o Cr ollower(vv. , 8). Ye Mormon oe no nclue n nrrve one el o ny o ee erornryprul ccomplmen.

H purpoe or omn oe el rome nrrve mu ve been reer n nyvlue ne by nclun em. Elewere n brmen, Mormon pecclly reerence vne njuncon n wc e Lor m omupremely cre conen (e.., Nep :9).

Ye e len o reon or rclly run-cn e prul pon o nrrve.Mormon nrrve en w e ol nn-

lon o people (ee 4 Nep :Mormon 8).Wle ccoun o e our eneron o r-eoune n o e Nepe erucon ecencompe bou 7 yer, ccoun o eerucon receve muc reer emp n enrrve n e eneron o reouneobou 7 pe compre w le n peo e n e preen eon. Mormon uewy e no prove more el o eno-ce (ee Mormon 4:; :89). Alou nerlyll e nrrve o e nl erucon ocue on ule eor o orell e nevble, ye e no lc. Ecep or one pero n wc ereue o le e Nepe rme, ervn ne n le wne o er wckene, e relelywork w people o ver crope (ee Mor-mon :9).

In or, e econ l o Mormon br-men ree our mjor orcl eme:Nepe urmol precen Cr mnry,Cr mnry o e urvvor o mulneounurl er, e reuln prul uop ne prome ln, n e nl nnlon o

e Nepe. Conerble enon ven o eurmol n o Cr mnry, vrully no en-on o e nerly wo cenure o prul uop,n moere enon o e Nepe eme.Accounn or ee mjor eme n Mormonbrmen, no n olon rom one noer bun erm o er yemc nerrelonp ne cone o Mormon lrer nrrve, neverbeen empe. Te re o uy eek o o ow reerence o bo crcl poron o e -orcl nrrve n cenrl eorl commen o prncpl uor.

Correspondence in Nephis

Small Plates

A nrrve pern correpon quecloely w Mormon brmen o ee ourmjor eme oun n Nep ccoun o own von o e ree o le n n oc-e propece n Nep 4. Beore con-ern e el o Nep von n relon oMormon brmen, we mu coner Nepvon n relon o er rem. Tee wo

proounly prul eperence re lnke n wocrcl menon.2 Chrlgclly, e ccouno Nep von lmo mmeely ollow oLe rem. In c, e rem e rec mo-von or e von, nce Nep receve e voner ern n ern o unern errem (ee Nep :). Te rem n von relo tphyclly connece n bo re rep-reenon o e pln o lvon. In que er-en bu complemenry wy, ey epre Nepeere or n unernn o Go ulmeblen or clren.

On e one n, e rem n lleorclrepreenon o lvon n wc elemen, per-onle, n even n or prul rele.For emple, e ree o le n ounn o lvnwer repreen e love o Go; e ru o e reen or eernl le, e ree o ll e o Go; e ron ro repreen e wor o Go;e re n pcou buln repreen e pre



25/72

o worl; n e rver ower repreen l-ne n e wul ul epre e wcken reou (ee Nep:, ; :).

Alou e only en-e nvul n erem re member oLe mly, e number-le concoure o people( Nep 8:) repreen llo umny. Inerprene rem n lleory,we conclue lvon vlble o ll wo ol o e wor o Go,wo re e nfuence

o e wcke worl, woprke o e onemen o

Cr, n wo enure n unl e en.

By conr, Nepvon no urvebu lerl repreenono e pln o lvon. Iepc Go reempvework unol n rel-worl pl, emporl, numn cone. Troucul peron, plce, neven, Go pln o lv-on become mne n purpoe prlly rel-e n morly.

Nep orclvon o e pln o l-von , n eence, neene propecy con-

n o prul rm nour c. Ec c ocueon omnn eme: eerly mnry o Crn e Holy Ln ( Nep), e Nepe n

Lmne n e prom-e ln ( Nep ), eGenle n e Houeo Irel n e Ol nNew Worl ( Nep ),n e rump o ooover evl e en o me( Nep 4).

Le u ke up e ec-on c o rm oreempone ory oe Nepe n Lmne

n e prome lnbecue o ll e c n

rm, envoneory mo relevn oe orcl conour weve ene n Mormonbrmen. T poron oNep von conn ournc bu rele prope-ce: e wr n conen-on o e Nepe proro Cr comn ( Nep:), e mnry oCr n e prome ln(:0), e reuln oureneron o reoune

thE two pattErns arE virtually idEntical in tErMs of contEnts, sEquEncE, and rElativE

wEighting of thE dEpictEd EvEnts. in both, thE ordEr of EvEnts is thE saME: wars and dEstructions

followEd by christs Ministry, spiritu al utopia , and nEphitE annihilation.


Top to bottom: First Contact, byJorge Cocco Santangelo; ComeUnto Me, by Glen S. Hopkinson;No Poor Among Them, by JorgeCocco Santangelo; Nephites LastBattle, Gary E. Smith.


26/72

(:), n e nl nn-lon o e Nepe bye Lmne (:9).Wen propec p-ern o even compre oMormon orcl pern,

everl remrkble mlrepper. Te wo pern revrully encl n erm oconen, equence, n rel-ve wen o e epceeven. In bo, e orer oeven e me: wr nerucon ollowe byCr mnry, pruluop, n Nepe nnl-on. Te relve enon oel lo mlr. Con-

erble enon ven o eNepe wr n o Crmnry, very lle ocu reon e our eneron oreoune, n relvelyreer emp ven oe nl erucon o eNepe. I vewe n ol-on, uc eul mlrecoul be conere concen-l. However, wen vewe y-emclly wn e enre

orcl nrrve, e correponence beweene propec n orcl ccoun o ee eveneem o be nerl o e uor purpoe n cen-rl o e book overll menn. I eem ouMormon brmen ocumenn e ulllmeno key propece rom Nep von. I o, Mormonrucure orcl ccoun o me e pro-pec ccoun n orer o emonre ow lerllyn compleely oe propece o Nep beenullle.

Te pobly correponence nen-onl eene wen vewe rom e perpecveo repeon n e Hebrew Bble, n eble ler-ry convenon. Alou Nep ecewe e enerlmnner o propeyn mon e Jew ( Nep:), e no rejec e ron loeer. W-ne lberl con rom e propece o I-, Zeno, Zenock, n oer nme n unnmeHebrew prope n Nep 9 n Nep 8;4 (or emple o ubequen Nepe prope

cn onl Hebrewprope, ee Jcob ; Mo4; Alm 4; Helmn 8; Nep 0; ; 4). Bblclnrror ue repeon orenorce cenrl mee o

ocumene even, nerpreorcl even or erenuence, n mrk e l-erl ulllmen o propecy.3I e bblcl prcce cn beconere vl nece-en, e eree o repeonbeween Nep propecn Mormon orclccoun o ee even myprove reorcl evenceo er ncnce or

cre ory. Mormon myve rucure or-cl ccoun o mrror Neppropec ccoun n orer ollure ow compleely nlerlly poron o eNepe pln o lvon wullle. Beore en evly o n neplc eorl commen oe uor, I mu llureone more wy propecy

n ory eem o connec Nep mll ple nMormon brmen.In on o un Nep propece

moel o rucure orcl brmen, Mor-mon eem lo o ve ue Nep propeceo ene e corpu o Nepe propecy or brmen. O e unre o nvul prope-ce nclue n e Book o Mormon, nerly lln er nl epreon n Nep mll ple.Nep propece re urer reere, rene,enlre, n ele n Mormon n Moronubequen nrrve. No urprnly, e prope-ce ncpn Cr mnry, wc n re-e enon n Nep recor, re oe remo oen repee n Mormon brmen. Byconr, Nep propecy o e our enerono reoune repee only wce (brefy) nNep ccoun n only wce (nrecly) n Mor-mon enre brmen (compre Nep :; Nep :9 n Alm 4:; Nep 7:).


it sEEMs as t hough MorMons

abridgMEnt is docuMEnting thEfulfillMEnt of kEy prophEciEs

froM nEphis vision. if so, MorMon

structurEd his historical account to

iMitatE thE prophEtic a ccount in ordEr

to dEMonstratE how litErally and

coMplEtEly thosE prophEciEs of

nEphi had bEEn fulfillEd.


27/72

Mormon brmen nclue ew prope-ce o no nlly pper n e mll ple.Tee propece ply n mporn bu very nr-row role n e coure o e orcl nrrve.Tey re enerlly uere n ullle wnprculr orcl cone; ence ey never

rec e rn cle o e mny propece uny Nep n Mormon ccoun more ener-lly. Becue ee propece re o nrequen ner ppernce n o relvely moe n erncnce wn Mormon nrrve, ey ono unermne e enerl rule Nep recorene corpu o propecy Mormon ue obre e Nepe recor.

Mormons Preface

We now e e e Mormon con-

couly ue Nep mll ple rmework obre e lre ple, meurn n Mor-mon eplc eorl commen. In e benceo ocumenon le oue e (e.., cor-reponence, noe, nl r, n ecrpono e wrn proce by oer), eorl com-menry wn e e cn elp clry e uornenon n objecve n wrn. Rern ecreon o e Book o Mormon, only e com-plee e ( repreene by e prne eonn en poron o e nl mnucrp) urvve. Hence we mu we nernl ev-

encenrrve n eorlcreully n ror-ouly wen rwn nerpreve concluon.Te eene eorl commen clle Wor

o Mormon e mo rorwr emen oe prncpl uor lerry nen. Even ou wo-pe e pper one-r o e wyrou e puble e, erve e wole kn o prece, reveln clerly ny oereorl commen w Mormon uneroo o bee nerpreve ocu o brmen. Aloueemnly mplce prece, Wor o Mor-mon reclly poone o epln one oMormon mo nnovve lerry nve: ncluon o Nep mll ple verbm no elrer nrrve er e bre n ccounrom e lre ple covern e me me pero.

Accorn o eorl emen, er Mor-mon ne brn Nep lre ple rom eme o Le o Kn Benjmn, omen cuem o erc urer mon e recor wc

been elvere no my n (Wor o Mormon:). Mormon w lkely prompe o o o by re-erence n e lre ple o econ recor o Nepo wc Mormon been prevouly unwre.Nep r recor, wc nuure e lreple, w beun n repone o vne commn-

men e receve orly er Le mlyrrve n e ln o prome (ee Nep 9:).H econ recor, known oy Nep mllple, w beun beween 0 n 0 yer ler (ee Nep :94). Aer Nep e, e recoron e lre ple connue o be kep by Nepknly ucceor, wle propec ucceorconnue o keep er recor on e mll ple.Durn Kn Benjmn reou ren ome ourcenure ler, e prope Amlek rnerre emll ple o Benjmn, mkn m e r ew-r o bo e o ple nce e prope Nep

(ee Omn :; Wor o Mormon :0). Tereerence o econ recor o Nep probblyppere n e epne ccoun o e ucceono kneer o Mo o on Benjmnor o Benjmn o on Monce nvenory-n n revewn e ncnce o e crerecor n rc eem o be cuomry pr oe orml ucceon o Nepe leer (ee Mo:; 8:; Alm 7; :; Helmn :; Nep :; 4 Nep :48).

By ercn mon e ple n poeon,Mormon oun e mn recor. W rce

enon me w e covery o cernconen convnce m o nclue e enreccoun verbm n brmen, even oue ju complee e brmen o moreeenve ccoun o ecly e me me perorom Nep lre ple. Supporn econo nclue e enrey o e mll ple, Mor-mon commen e conen o Nep econrecor re coce uno me; n I know ey wll becoce uno my breren (Wor o Mormon :).

o elp e reer unern e ncnceo unuul econ o combne comprble

orcl ccoun, Mormon ene e con-en o e newly oun recor e oun ocompelln:

An e n wc re upon ee pleplen me, becue o e propece o ecomn o Cr; n my er known mny o em ve been ullle; ye, n Ilo know mny n ve been



28/72

propee concernn u own o y [leour cenury ad] ve been ullle, n mny o beyon y mu urely come op. (Wor o Mormon :4)

Hvn ene e conen o e mll

ple e oun wory o preerve verbm,Mormon ne eclre nerpreve purpoe oron o: Wereore, I coe ee n [.e., epropeyn n revelon o Nep econrecor; ee Wor o Mormon :], o n myrecor upon em, wc remner o my recor Ill ke rom e [lre] ple o Nep (Woro Mormon :).

Wle e prece menn o eclron oeorl nen my be ebe, e ollown ner-preon pluble ny. Mormon oun ecre conen o Nep econ recor o compel-

ln e ue em rmework o bren ereby nerpre e remner o e lreple. In prculr, Nep propece becme ocrucl o lerry purpoe e concoulyrucure mjor poron o nrrve n orero ocumen er lerl n complee ulllmen.

T ren nernlly conen wMormon eorl commen el, w e broeul evence o crn o e brmen,n w e prelmnry nerpreve n boue rucurl relon beween Nep mll plen Mormon brmen o e lre ple. In e

bence o bolue cerny concernn e men-n o eclron lke Mormon, we mu rely oneree o probbly. Te propoe nerpreon eree o probble ccurcy, ven yemc relevnce o pre rououe Book o Mormon e. Unl more probblenerpreon preene, e one vnce eremer erou coneron. W beyon que-on , r, Mormon covere omen ore vlue n Nep mll ple e none rom brn e lre ple covern eme me pero, n econ, e ubequenlyule ee n n brn e re o elre ple.

T uy ue one wy Nep nMormon, e wo prncpl uor o e Book oMormon, my ve eplcly rucure e con-en o er epc ory. I e Mormonbre e lre ple o Nep conen w pern e covere n Nep mll ple.

A reul, e wo recor re purpoe rncen e vlue o er nvul conen conere n olon. Evence or ecome rom Mormon eplc eorl commenn rom yemc eul prllel beween ewo ccoun. From perpecve, Mormon

nclue ll o Nep mll ple n br-men n orer o rw enon o e cloe corre-ponence beween propecy n crpurl ory.

Meaning Reflected in Narrative

Structure

Te correponence beween e mll nlre ple ue Mormon ope epropece n e mll ple no only o rucuree bulk o orcl brmen bu lo oempe ome o mo cre conen. I Mor-

mon nee coe ee n o Nep recoro n my recor upon em (Wor o Mor-mon :), w re we o mke o e relonpbeween propecy n ory n e Book o Mor-mon? Wn e lm o uy, I oer ewprelmnry obervon on e nure o e Booko Mormon orcl recor.

Becue e nrrve eem o be nfuenceo re een by Nep von o e pln olvon, e Book o Mormon neer enerlory o e Nepe nor recor o prmrlyecrpve vlue. Alou e nrrve replee

w objecve conen, purpoe no empr-cl bu rer prul ocumenon. Te uornclue orcl, ocl, eorpcl, n oerel n orer o ene e pln o lvon nrel-worl erm n o emonre prl ul-llmen mon poron o Go clren. Plcnorcl even wn uc vne perpecve,Mormon orcl nrrve ceve reereree o prul ncnce. Te propec uer-nce n er orcl ulllmen re comple-menry pr o e me proce o own oGo clren () e wy ey my reurn om rou e opel o Jeu Cr n () econequence or er oul ey o no. For Mor-mon, purpoe eem o be r more compellnn nyn ele recor m ve ccom-ple. In c, crcumnce, peronle, neven o no elp eplce revele plnn oer ele purpoe re ree erne-ou, rvl, or oerwe unwory o be preerve



29/72


n ocl recor.Tu Mormon nclue n brmen le none one-unre o eorcl normon vl-ble o m (ee Wor o

Mormon :; Alm :; Nep :8; :).

Ju e concep oory n e Book o Mor-mon nulr, o ee o peronl qulconneee or e uor oprouce uc work. In pr-culr, preoo key nly rene prul nclun propecy, revelon,n eenwere requre

o rp e mn n wll oGo, rer e overll ocu n prculrconen o e nrrve. In on, prncpluor neee well-evelope nlycl n ler-ry kll o revel uc ele concep wnn rou e u n ubnce o everyy len lnue. For Nep n Mormon, e p,n ele ene, w no more knowble ne uure wou uc prul n proeonlcpce (e.., Mo 8:7 ene one o equle o eer ben ble o know o nwc re p, preumbly n wy w un-

nble o recor keeper wo no poe prul ).Te prncpl uor o e Book o Mormon

evelope n rene er lerry n prulcpce rou mlr le eperence. BoNep n Mormon receve orml rnn erlyn le n orer o rele er erornry poen-l (ee Nep :; Mormon :). Bo wrerovercme conerble oppoon n con ner peronl lve, ome o wc cme recreul o er lerry enevor (e.., Nep :;Mormon :84). Tee cllene eepene erprul enve n peronl reolve o evoeer ull eor o recor only e n o Go(ee Nep :4).

Tey lo rene er lerry kll roueenve pror wrn. Nep, or emple, beencompln e r ccoun o mnry or ome0 yer beore e Lor commne m o ben econ recor (ee Nep 9:; Nep :0).

Lkewe, Mormon lkelycomple e ull ccoun o own mnry beore uner-kn brmen o elre ple, n en e reo-cue brmen er -

covern Nep mll ple(ee Mormon :8; Wor oMormon :).

From perpecve,e menn o e Book oMormon refece n erucure o e nrrve muc n conen.Wle prculr coneno e nrrve my beconere mennul n

olon rom one noer or n

cone woe ocu le oue e e el, epproc voce n uy, wle no nm-cl o uc perpecve, rele on e ull e oe Book o Mormon or uller unernn o menn. Suc n re ne by eny-n ele, yemc, n comple pern nrelonp mon vrou pr o e e. Teepern en become e evence o e prevl-n concern e uor n proucn ework n e r plce. Eplc eorl commeno e uor elp o connec ee poron o ee n mlrly mennul wy.

Someme uc n come rom poron oe nrrve eem unuul or ou o plce. Foremple, e preence o n eene wr nrrve(Alm 4) or o everely runce ccoun o prul uop (4 Nep :0) my eem o n work conere o be o upremely prulvlue. Lkewe, e preence o wo ccoun el-n w mlr me rme (e.., e mnreo Le n Nep on e lre n mll ple,repecvely) be or ele nly. From perpecve, e prncpl objec o uy e eel, woe rucure revel ome o e mo ell-n n no e uor lerry purpoe.

T uy o n unernn o ewy n wc e rucure o e Book o Mormonnrrve cn be conere prully ncn.Furer ue o e nrrve rucure wll cer-nly revel onl n no e rcnen prouny o e crpurl e n e pro-ce o eorl evelopmen. !


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i n t r o d u c t i o n

m. gerald bradord

In 00 Royl Skouen publecreully prepre yporpcl c-mle o e ornl n prner mnu-crp o e Book o Mormon n erebylunce lon-erm uy o e e.2 Oercolr, on comprble work w ornl

mnucrp o oer Ler-y Sn crpure,n prculr e Book o Moe n e Book oAbrm, re ollown n Skouen ooep.3

By uyn e Book o Mormon mnucrpn 0 ncn eon o e e rom 80 o98, Skouen eekn o eermne, ccurely poble, e Enl-lnue rnlon o crp-ure Joep ornlly receve .

Follown Skouen nl publcon on e mnu-crp re nlycl ue wll evenully rell ncn eul vrn n e publn ory oe Book o Mormon. Te r o ee, puble by FARMS

n 004, Aly xtul Vrt th Bk Mr,Prt 1: tl Pg, Wt Sttt, 1 Nph 1 2 Nph 10. TeJurlnve ve colr o revew volume. Ec one brn

ncve pon o vew wen en e quly n crcer oSkouen nveon. On one level, ee revew celebre e een-l berock nure o Skouen work. On noer, ey nl er-ou uen o e Book o Mormon cnno or o overlook n-n, epeclly wen unerkn ny kn o uy be on e e el.

Recoveringthe Original Textof the Book of Mormon:

An Interim Review


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A ths sha ss benbrou o ber by Royl Skouen o orou e whvr n whvr my

rke ome eceve. An nee, e prnc-pl purpoe o e Book o Mormon o ber w-ne o Cr n, econrly, Joep prope, oubul nyn Skouen brn o lwll ubnllyor even moerelyecoe mon. On e oer n, mrk oow erouly people nproeon ke erlerure wen ey ep bck rom merely ecveenemen w o ly more ol ounonor uy, nerpreon, n pprecon. Ann ce, ere omen lmo evoonl ne pnkn cre w wc Skouen empo reconruc e eul lyer conue eBook o Mormon ory n eny.

Te poe, wroe Percy Selley n n ey pub-le e me yer e r eon o e Book

o Mormon, ppreen[] . . . e oo wc en e relon ubn, r beween eencen percepon, n econly beween percep-on n epreon. Comn e e o eRomnc revoluon, Selley n epocl reco-non w plooper or wo mllennere e lure o r w cully lory.Ar, mmec mpule n pron now-nn, never uner ny crcumnce uc-ceully rnpren reconuon o Ploncel. Te ubjecvy o peronl percepon, ne men merl rou wc e rmu rener or er von, ec nrue upon erepreenonl proce, len o prouc lwy onoloclly n eperenlly nc

The Book of Mormon Critical Text Project Terryl L. Givens


Top left: The original manuscript of the Book of Mormon beginningat Alma 42:39. Photo courtesy of the Family and Church HistoryDepartment Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Top right: The printers manuscript at 3 Nephi 21. Photo courtesy ofthe Community of Christ Archives, Independence, Missouri.


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rom e ornl moel. T, y Selley, wmke r, r. I e ource o beuy, no fwe nucency. Or, Ore wll ree ece cenury ler, e prculr (n nevble)wy n wc ny eec renern or eornl objec w conue n clle

yle, wc e eenl eermnn o ll r.2Te Romnc rump over e rjcke o

clcl concepon o rc mon w po-ble only becue n e new unvere nrouceby Immnuel Kn epemoloy, umn ubjec-vy n umn pon o vew becme e cenero rvy. In oer wor, neer plooper norr connue o lbor uner e uppoe bur-en o llen n orn umn perpecve,wc we rve o overcome n orer o ceveome objecve, mperonl, n bolue rp o rncenen rely. So our umn perpecve,

nce neprble rom our umn conon,prove no oron o e rel bu e onlyvenue o e rel umnly relevn.

In me er, Horce Bunell w pplynmlr n o revoluonry unernn obblcl npron. I ere ny ope or eoloclcence le? None ll, I nwer mo unequvo-clly. Humn lnue o e mnon oeenlly meporc . . . no ec blocko menn o bul up cence o. Wo woul evernk o buln up cence o Homer, Skepere,Mlon? An e Bble no w le poec, or

w le meporc, or prcle le cul o bepropoonle n e erm o e unernn.3Te prllel beween ee ue n cern

mer rele o Book o Mormon rnloneem rkn. For n crpurl nerpreon, er queon we mu ele ow we or ou emenn o n relonp mon conceplke ru, Menn, Inenon. Or o ue Selleylnue, ow o we unern e relonpbeween eence n percepon n perceponn epreon wen come o Go wor?

I mke leny proloue n orer o u-e beore we e o e work o ebln crcl e proper, number o ue n en-on mu r be reolve, n ey urn ou, uponcloe npecon, o be more complce n eyr pper. In nnce, e vne provennce,e uncern workn o rnlon, well emeo o con ll combne o vly complce projec n nu , meooloclly n

ploopclly, rom, y, e work o recuper-n Skepere ornl e. o o e ler, onenee rue bou lle more n ororpy. ISkepere wroe e mnucrp, en we ve ornl mnucrp fowe rom pen n e, pprenly, wlle n e orm ook uner

own c o wrn n el-upervon.I e objecve o Book o Mormon crcl

e were mply o reconue ccurely po-ble e ornl mnucrp, woul be rlyrorwr k. An one coul envon ucen m. Le e bck, we coul y, o ecloe n we ve o e ol ple emelve,

wc e ornl mnucrp ce byJoep n recore by crbe. Te problemw pproc ere re ce n wce mnucrp oe no refec w Joep moprobbly pronounce ( n omoponc mcue my no lwy ve been correce n etrt/trght nnce). In erler repor o00, Skouen ene e ornl [Enl] e lle more problemclly w Joep re oe e e receve rou e nrumenly oe Urm n Tummm. Snce Skouen beleve e Book o Mormon w revele o JoepSm wor or wor, e ornl e woul be eol fow o wor cerne upon e urce o eeer one. An n uc proce o conn mporne r openn or error or ler-on woul be e p beween Joep reconn e crbe rncrpon. Joep ce, Olvermer n/or mwre. Queonble pec o

Since Skousen believes that the

Book o Mormon was revealed to Joseph

Smith word or word, the original text wouldbe the total ow o words discerned upon the

surace o the seer stone. And in such a process

o dictationand this is importantthe frst

opening or error or alteration would

be the gap between Josephs recitation

and the scribes transcription.


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e ornl mnucrp woul ereore ve o bere n w more lkely Joep cu-lly poke n w Olver or noer crbe wroe.

Bu n e puble volume recenly relee,Skouen moeor perp merely clreenon o ornl e w ncn mplc-

on. In preory remrk, Skouen mke very eren pon: e erm ornl e reero e Enl-lnue e Joep receve byrevelon, bu no necerly o w Joep c-e. Now n mporn ncon. Noce n ce e ornl Enl e cqure kn o Plonc u, n ure rn-cen n precee even propec rculon. I e mmee, ully eermne (wor by worn even leer by leer), upernurlly commu-nce uernce Skouen no ure even ur-vve Joep own procen. Skouen even rk-

nly evoke Plo wen e crcere e 80eon rce remove rom e ornl e.

T lon cn o rnmon (e Urm nTummm e, Joep uernce, crbl rn-crpon, prner copy) cernly epn eopporune or error, oyncry, n ubjecvyo creep no e occon. Bu wy op w ourlyer? We lo ve, o ue one emple rom eoer en o e proce, even-en mpreon,I unernn o oe mpreon, conor recorn o I propece, copyn/enono br ple, en/copyn ono Nepe

ple, Abn ren o e recor o No,Alm recollecon o Abn recon, Almunernn o Abn wor, Alm rncrp-on, Mormon en o Alm, n o or.

Te reuln Enl e we ve cur-ou propec po refec umn n -orcl nfuence cro e pecrum o con-volue proce: Hebrm re neplcble nJoep Sm rmmcl unvere, elemen refec e bblcl yle rom e 00, elemen re clerly encl o e yle o e KnJme Bble (), n pe lo owemple o Joep Sm upe New York En-l. Te preence o bo Hebrm n Joepbelbore pelln ue prepcke e e w. Te preence o New York reonllec woul ue e omeme ook lb-ere n recn w e w n lnue moreconormble o peec pern. Te preenceo -cenury elemen woul ue nl-

n poble oo r n e relm o peculono purue. A le ey woul be Joep nomel oere oer n e Book o Mor-mon ere n omc nnce o e c revelon en o be e-cenere n e-be.I ju queon o vn cce o e be e

vlble, rnme n even rnle n ele prejucl wy poble. Spekn o eVon, or nnce, e wroe:

Non coul be more plen o e Snupon e orer o e knom o e Lor, ne l wc bur upon e worl roue oreon von. Every lw, every commn-men, every prome, every ru, n everypon oucn e eny o mn, rom Geneo Revelon, were e pury o e crpureremn unulle by e olly o men, o o owe perecon o e eory [o eren eree

o lory n e uure le] n wnee e c ocumen trcrpt r th r-cr o e eernl worl.

Now rerle o ow r we wn o puee nln n bou e come cloero ome evenly, ornl ulne, e pon n Skouen work, e n rme o ulmereerence n e e el, u krn problemo nenonly n oer lyer o ornly. Ocoure, ll oo eul crcm ulmely muppel o e e e only cceble rber o

menn: I mply wn o nce Skouenpreume unuully comple level o eul coer-ence n conency, n brn em o ber onpue ren n n eremely ble n compre-enve on. I wn o look cloely Skouenpproc o reolvn one pue ren n pr-culr n emple o meo.

In Nep 4:, e curren veron re n Icue ey oul e emelve wou ewll. Te ornl mnucrp recor wlln enulr. Te prner mnucrp n every eon n o mke wll. Tere no mmeelycompelln reon o pue e ornl mnu-crp nulr. Skoueneven n wo ubequen,n prome, nnce were e nulr ormwll repee (ee Nep 4:4; 4:7). Impornly,ee ree nnce n O (ornl mnucrp) rerecore n e n o crbe n . Tere , noer wor, no reon o pue rmmcllyccepble orme nulr wll con-


35/72


en bo n erm o ppernce n cro vryncrbl uorp. Skouen woul pon bejue n enorn e ren o O n rbu-n ll ubequen emenon o ollown ocrbe (Olver Cowery) cne n P (prnermnucrp) nrouce ylc preerence.

Bu conern e roppn o plurl poenl crbl error, Skouen n c n uc pern o error n bo crbe crbe . Anlookn or oer ppernce o e epreonwou e wll(), Skouen n wo. Fr Nep4:4 recor wou e wll o Jerulem, nMo :9 nce wou e wll o ecy. In l, Skouen pern o crblerror woul ccoun or roppe plurl nwo ren lo uppor e lkeloo o roppe n ee prculr cone. Te ceeem .

I ereore ll e more mpreve wenSkouen noe e upporn emple o plu-rl wll re bo ollowe by prepoonl prern w (o Jerulem n o e cy).However, e pue pe conn no ucprepoonl pre. Te bulk o evence l l u-

e e pue pe o Nep 4: oulconn e nulr orm wll, unle one cn nevence e Book o Mormon omeme omo plurle wllwen ollowe by prepo-onl pre bennn w . T cernlyno n ecepon one coul rely or nu-vely oce w rmmcl rule rnpoerom Enl. An Skouen oe no ere cooeo re e relevnce o Hebrew conrucon.W e cn o look or comprble pern ne rnle e woul erene nulrn plurl noun on e b o ollown prepo-

onl pre. An precely w e n, nwo very comprble pe (comprble becue

gt erm o mlr o wlln n bo ce epe ecrbe e poonl relonp o cr-cer o oe noun). So w we ve by wy onloy I myel w w my ur wou ee n e kn vn been wou egt e cy (Mo 7:0 n :). Becue e Booko Mormon e yemc n rer, Skouencn mke compelln ce or reorn e or-nl nulr wllo Nep 4.

T rke me more n ju creul eorl

work. T brllnly one rumen creully reone, meculouly rue, n rel-n upon e be kn o nellecul eor: becuee ve bo ren e ull bene o e oub,conceve ypoee ubne bo ren,n cour e e or corroborn evence. Ane repe proceure unre o me.

One my ree w nvul concluon.Bu one cnno come wy le n proounlympree by e eor o wc Skouen oe onlye ec n every pue ren. He prove u ll w moel o e be eulcolrp we ve een, n come or-uou juncure, wen e Joep Sm PperProjec bou o urer o e crcl mo colrp oe no ju mke our cree vlble o e worl, bu wll ey o eworl, by e wy we ol em, ey re noccoune by u l n. !

Excerpt from the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon at 1 Nephi4:216. Courtesy of L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. LeeLibrary, Brigham Young University.


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First EditionPalmyra, New York

Translation iscompleted. Printers

manuscript prepared.

English Editions of the Book of Mormon18301981

1823

1827

1829

1837

1840

1841

1842

1849

1852

1858

1874

1879

9

1888

First visit ofMoroni to Joseph

Smith. Joseph

views the plates inthe Hill Cumorah.

1830

Joseph receives theplates from Moroni.

Nauvoo, Illinois

Kirtland, Ohio

Liverpool, England

Liverpool, England

Liverpool, England

New York City (Wright)

Plano, Illinois (RLDS)

Salt Lake City, Utah

Lamoni, Iowa (RLD

Liverpool,England

Liverpool,England



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1905

1907

1911

1953

1902

1906

1908

1920

Kansas City, Missouri

Chicago,Illinois

Chicago,Illinois(pocketedition)

Lamoni, Iowa (RLDS)

Chicago, Illinois


Independence, Missouri (RLDS)


1981

To facilitate his analysis of the tex-tual variants of the Book of Mormon,Royal Skousen prepared a comput-erized collation for the entire textthat lists every variant for the twomanuscripts and 20 significant edi-tions of the book. Photos of Bookof Mormon editions courtesy ofMark Philbrick. Photos of title pagescourtesy of L. Tom Perry SpecialCollections, Harold B. Lee Library,Brigham Young University.



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Iist a aa o Royl Skouen Booko Mormon crcl e projec wen wn nncy. I ve re o keep curren on

lnmrk uy by ren repor nenn lecure. Te lre moun o eloccone by e mny ype o vrn e encounere n bo e nwren mnucrpn e prne e coul be overwelmn, n Ive mrvele e been ble o conn ll o. H objecvy, reerc pln, n ormor clerly reporn n nerpren nn

re noewory. Puru o knowlee by e me-o o lerry crcm cnn n enl-enn, bu cn lo be mn-weryn. o o wSkouen one requre prculr ype o per-only equppe w number o cqure kll,n I m reul e e lnuc bly,ecncl know-ow, menl n pycl mn,

n lon-rne commmen o crry or m-ncen obeon.

Truth Yields to Investigation

o encoure culy o ene n ornlreerc, ormer Brm Youn Unvery c-emc vce preen Je R. Bll eclre ru yel o nveon, emen I umew ornl w m. Proeor Skouen workconrm Bll obervon. Skouen creulnly o e prepublcon mnucrp, no le 0 ubequen eon o e Book oMormon, yele pleor o normon n prove vewpon coul no ve beenobne ny oer wy. I o no men o mply no one ele worke uc projec w eBook o Mormon, bu I nk Skouen beene mo orou.

Joseph Smithand the Text of the

Book of Mormon Robert J. Matthews

1830editionoftheBookofMormon.

Photoco

urtesyofMarkPhilbrick.



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A eul crc cully lerry rce-olo wo no e r below e urceo e prne pe n uncover ory ou o o oe wo o no el w or-nl merl. I urprn ow muc n or-nl ource cn ell bou e wrer n lo e

procee ene n e evelopmen o e e.Mny emple coul be ven, bu ey re re-ly vlble n Skouen crcl e. A perul o repor wor e eor. T bre ey -cue e conrbuon mke Skouen uymennul.

The Most Significant Contribution

Proeor Skouen nly ow ou-n o vron n worn n pelln neven ome omon ve occurre n e mnu-

crp n n e mny prnn o e Book oMormon. H work lo ow mo o eevron re o lle conequence o e meeo e Book o Mormon; , ey o no enn-er ocrne, n e book remn emen oJeu Cr. Ny-yn uor ve enevoreo mke ce n e Book o Mormon, nu n Te Curc o Jeu Cr o Ler-y Sn, by eplon e c mny eulvrn e n e publn ory o e book.Tee uor clm uc vrn relyec menn. Te mo ncn conrbuono Skouen work Ler-y Sn nowcn rnkly cknowlee mny vrn veoccurre, ey re known n ec beencreully emne, n e evluon ow ey re, or e mo pr, o l ubnveconequence, oen ben mer o rmmclue n yle.

I mporn o noe e vrn renn e Book o Mormon ve occurre over wenumber o eon n prnn. Furermore,becue e prepublcon mnucrp re enor ome poron o e e, mo o e vrnve been correce, w e reul e 98

eon e mo nerly correc ever beenpuble, even ou Skouen uy nce ew more correcon woul be n orer.

Why Variants Occur

Humn llbly ener no e mkn oevery leny nwren ocumen, weer

n ornl or copy. Wrn rom con nveerror o ern n jumen. A wor cn elybe mken or noer oun e me bu eren menn n, o coure, eren pell-n. An wenever merl cope by n, ere rk wor, pre, or enre enence wll

nverenly be repee, conue, or ome.Suc error o n jumen re epecllypoble wen conecuve pre or enence vemlr bennn (omoorcon) or mlr en-n (omooeleuon). Furermore, vrou kno error en o ncree wen e copy wery,uc mren poor penmnp or rulnw wor n mkn n error n jumen ow men.

Proeor Skouen work ow every kno error I ve ecrbe w me by e crben copy o e prepublcon mnucrp o

e Book o Mormon n by e ypeeer n eprnn o e book. Skouen covere, evlu-e, n repore ee cne o e ornl e.

Error re o common n cope o e pre-pre by morl n ncen Jew col-r prepre eenve, nrce, memcllybe rule o enble crbe o keep vrn o mnmum n o mke em ey o eec. In ece o bblcl mnucrp, eul eper peko wo cle o vrn: plnne n unplnne.Plnne vrn (uully omon) re e moerou becue ey re elecve, oen ocrnlly

ncn, n quckly ccomple. In e mero Book o Mormon vrn, I know o no plnneomon ecep e pe o olen mnu-crp. Te oun o vrn Skouen elw re, I beleve, e unplnne kn. I mpor-n uc error be covere n correceo ey wll no be pe on n preerve vle. Forunely, e ornl ce mnucrp le one-our en, n Olver Cowerycopy vrully en. Tereore, e nene ecn be cerne n mo nnce, ecep weree mnucrp occonlly eem o be n error.

Translated by the Gift and Power of God

A econ mjor conrbuon o Skouen work,n one bc o e enre projec, encree unernn o e rnlon proce.Te Prope Joep Sm emen e rn-le e Book o Mormon by e n power o


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Go eclre vne npron w nvolvebu oe no ene or epln e proce or pro-cee. Te Urm n Tummm were prepre bye Lor or e purpoe o rnln e book(Joep SmHory :). We ve every nec-ery urnce e Book o Mormon w

rnle by vne men, bu no eplnon oprecely ow w ccomple.

I ve oen coe on e Prope Joepreul n Ocober 8 o epln more ully o eeler o e Curc e comn or o e Booko Mormon.2 Alou e ow o rnlon no pecclly menone, mple n e over-ll reque n reul. I o no ee e Propereul probon n ul belevereekn o unern more bou e proce ornlon; rer, e ne pon o ow e Booko Mormon w rnle were no or e unbe-

levn worl o know.

The Urim and Thummim

A noe erler, e Urm n Tummm weren eenl pr o e rnlon proce, le e oue, bu precely ow ey uncone no known. We know ey ome pecl rel-on o e breple (ee JSH :, ), ney probbly everl uncon. We re Joep Sm w ven n power o rn-le (Docrne n Covenn :). Te wor ghtue vul me, bupwr no ene

n coul men menl cuy, prul percepon,n menl me, nc rom pycl .Abrm looke e r w Urm nTummm n w n no cernble o nurleye (ee Abrm :). A pr o e reveloryeperence, Abrm e, An e Lor uno me, by e Urm n Tummm, . . .(Abrm :4). I e wor o be ken lerlly?I o, o e Urm n Tummm uncon ubly well vully n menlly? An no, wyno? I nk we mu no lm e rne o mrcu-lou workno ny vne nrumen prepre by

e Lor or e ue o ervn, weer eUrm n Tummm, e eer one, e Lon,or e lver cup by wc Joep o Eyp vne(ee Gene 44:, ). I rer e Urm nTummm Joep Sm ue muloper-onl n nonuomc vne nrumen, n noumn cn unern ow work unle e cully ue mel.

Te erm Ur Tu oe no occurn e Book o Mormon e. Ine, vnenrumen reerre o eren nerpreerue by prope o receve revelon n rnlelnue. Tee nerpreer re ecrbe n eBook o Mormon n muc e me ermnoloy

ue by Joep Sm o ecrbe e Urmn Tummm: wo one wc were eneno e wo rm o bow . . . or e purpoe onerpren lnue (Mo 8:4; compreJSH :).

Incenlly, e prculr worn o e p-e n Mo epeclly neren, ponelyreerrn o oe wo one ou e reeroul lrey know bou em, ye ere no pre-vou menon n e Book o Mormon o ny ucwo one. T nomly my be e conequenceo e Book o Mormon ben n brmen or per-p o e lo pe o mnucrp, wc myve menone e one. Anoer pobly nce e wo one re pecclly poken on Eer :, 8 n Kn Mo rnle eJree recor, e my ve reerre o e one nl o ource, even ou e epreon no ye ppere wn e Nepe recor.

Other Examples of Translation or Interpretation

In e Book o Mormon pper ewor trprtgn trltgre ue yn-onymouly (ee Mo 8:7); owever, n erce ene ey re no o encl menn,

e ollown emple wll llure.Dctr Cvt 7. Te erm trlt

ue n ler-y crpure n by e PropeJoep Sm eem o ve conerble febly,evenly conveyn ocu on unerlyn men-n rer n on e ec wor o e ourceocumen ben rnle. Te e o Docrnen Covenn 7, ce n pon, ermne o e

I regard the Urim and Thummim that

Joseph Smith used as a multioperational and

nonautomatic divine instrument, and no

human can understand how it works unlesshe has actually used it himsel.


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rnlon o e Book o Mormon becue econ w prouce n Aprl 89 urn epero o nene rnlon cvy w e Booko Mormon. Docrne n Covenn 7 JoepSm rnlon, un e Urm n Tummm,o wor wren by Jon e Revelor on pece

o prcmen en up by mel. Te reon orrnln ocumen w o cern weerJon remne on er n e fe or e.Wen e Prope nqure o e Lor roue U

Documents

JBMS 15-1 Entire JBMS Volume 15 Issue 1