This title page serves as an introduction and preface to all that the reader encounters in the book of mormon, and reflects mormon s own feelings about the work and the gospel of jesus christ. Howard davis and arthur vanick, recently published by concordia, the highly respected publishing arm of the lutheran church missouri synod. Criticism of mormonismbookswho really wrote the book of mormon. To date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Joseph smith didnt write the book as i am sure you know. This volume provides extensive commentary on the title page of the book of mormon, written by the hand of mormon. He gravitated to alexander campbells disciples of christ, and was a campbellite preacher until he converted to mormonism in 1830. Book of mormon 1830title page wikisource, the free. There were 5000 original book of mormon copies published in 1830 in palmyra, new york. Because the first vision and the book of mormons publication are remembered today as the founding moments of a global faith, its easy to forget the 10 years between them.
The 1830 book of mormon, states the catholic definition of. December 23, 1805 june 27, 1844 was an american religious leader and founder of mormonism and the latter day saint movement. And it came to pass that the king of the lamanites did. Smith claims that the prophet who last contributed to the work returned to earth as an angel and told him where to find it. I could swear that this book was written by one man.
When he was 24, smith published the book of mormon. Christ, and his son amos kept the record in his stead. Preface to book of mormon, circa august 1829, page iii. Does the title page refer to any words previously written by mormon. Nov 03, 2017 joseph smith claimed he translated the book of mormon from a set of golden plates that were given to him by an angel named moroni. Lest anyone be misled, this is a scholarly undertaking, not a religious work. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Jan 06, 2014 there were five editions of the book of mormon printed during the life of joseph smith. The book of mormon has been translated from english into over 105 languages.
Feb 20, 2020 from the 1830 book of mormon behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of god, after the manner of the flesh behold the lamb of god, even the eternal father the lamb of god. May 19, 2019 the bom is not a translation joseph smith claimed that he translated the text of the book of mormon from gold plates through the urim and thummin by the power of the holy spirit. The earliest documented statement of the three witnessesoliver cowdery, david whitmer, and martin harrisis their statement in the handwriting of oliver cowdery subsequently published in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. Jan 01, 2017 well, i can see ive got to jump in on this one, since both of the previous answerers seem confused and unable to see whats actually being asked. According to these histories, only after his own baptism did rigdon travel to new york, first meeting smith in december 1830, nine months after the book of mormon s publication. To the inside front cover are affixed four clippings of descriptions of different versions of first edition copies of the book of mormon and of an 1854 edition of the doctrine and covenants, along with a clipping describing the origin of the text of the book of mormon and a bookplate of the shepard book company of salt lake city, utah. As joseph smith, the founder of the rapidly growing church of jesus christ of latterday saints mormon. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the. Who really wrote the book of mormon part 2 youtube. Smith said he has received these plates in 1827 from an angel named. Having read tens of thousands of pages of material, pro and con, here in a nutshell is my current best guess, included with a preface that i dont care what anyone has to refute my position. It was first published in 1830 in palmyra, new york, and was thereafter widely reprinted and translated. This is the original text as authored by joseph smith in 1830, wrapped up in easy to use hyper text and presented on a self contained cdrom for windows pcs.
The other onesixth was typeset from the original manuscript. Were the plates sometimes not in the room while joseph was translating them. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. Nephi passed the record to his younger brother jacob, who gave it. This book attempted to revive the moribund spalding manuscript theory for the book of mormon. After the translation was completed, however, joseph reported. In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the book of mormon from the university of utah library. Spaldingrigdon theory of book of mormon authorship. 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. Book of mormon, 1830, page 0 the joseph smith papers. Book of mormon 1830moroni wikisource, the free online. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book of mormon. Book of mormon 1830words of mormon wikisource, the.
And as joseph smith is a very ignorant man and is called the author on the title page, i cannot doubt. Jan 16, 2018 to date, the combined data from several valid stylometric studies on the book of mormon have demonstrated that it has multiple, distinct writing styles and that those styles are consistent with the authors designated within the text itself. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. For purposes of comparison, here also is the title page of the first edition of the book of mormon, as it came off the press on march 27, 1830 see figure 6. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Since the book of mormon s publication in 1830, a number of different theories have been proposed concerning its authorship. What do we know about the method used to translate the book of mormon. Book of mormon 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.
The text explained that the plates were an abridgment of other ancient records and were written by an american prophet named mormon and his son moroni. Smith claimed to have received a revelation from god who told him the truth about jesus. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from. It attempted to prove that natives had descended from the ancient israelites. The second edition 1837 was printed in kirtland, ohio. Joseph smith is listed as the author and proprietor in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is actually a collection of histories passed down from one writer to another. In 1830, he stood in a print shop in palmyra and held truth in his hands. According to joseph smith, the book of mormon is more correct than. And i, mormon, wrote an epistle unto the king of the lamanites, and desired of him that he would grant unto us that we might gather together our people unto the land of camorah, by the hill which was called camorah, and there we would give them battle.
Essays on latterday saint history and doctrine in honor of richard lloyd anderson. By far the majority of changes between the 1830 and subsequent versions of the book of mormon are spelling or grammar corrections. The book of mormon was written by joseph smith in march 1830. An account written by the hand of mormon, upon plates taken from the plates of nephi is a sacred text of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds. If the book of mormon was published in 1830, why was it. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. It was translated and produced by joseph smith who founded the church in 1830. Solomon spaulding and the book of mormon fairmormon.
The solomon spalding manuscript 1812 by solomon spalding this unpublished manuscript was a work of fiction created by a retired minister, solomon spalding who died in 1816 before being able to publish his work. And the second generation had all passed away save it were a few. I deleted this text because it was essentially argumentative. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints kindle edition by smith, joseph. Book of mormon 1830 wikisource, the free online library.
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. Those who believe that joseph smith translated it by the gift and power of god naturally have accepted that its source texts were written by multiple ancient prophets. Approximately million copies of the book of mormon have been printed since 1830. Weve all heard the story of solomon spaulding, that he wrote several romances, and that at least one of them was written in the ancient style, according to witnesses. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants. Publication date 1830 topics tanner, john, john tanner family association publisher palmyra n. This book is a facsimile reproduction of the original printing of the book of mormon in 1830, written by joseph smith. The problem of book of mormon authorship has challenged historians and theologians since the book was published in 1830. You need to do more research on who joseph smith and his father were. The first five editions of the book of mormon 1830, 1837.
Figure 6 title page from the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The mormon religion was officially founded in 1830 when the book of mormon was published. Book of mormon, 1830, page ii the joseph smith papers. Albright who was the founder of biblical archaelogy admitted that the book of mormon contained names that wer. My beloved son moroni, i rejoice exceedingly that your lord jesus christ hath been mindful of you, and hath called you to his ministry, and to. An epistle of my father mormon, written to me, moroni.
Who really wrote the book of mormon part 1 youtube. The evidence left by the book of mormon witnesses is rich, varied, and uneven, including the following. And thus ended the record of alma, which was wrote upon the plates of nephi. Critics of the church consider this evidence that joseph wrote the book himself. This verse is taken from isaiah 48, and appears as follows in the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The spalding enigma by wayne cowdery, howard davis, and donald scales summary. The spalding enigma part 1 did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith the mormon bible, as he claimed. The book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, joseph smith stated, and the keystone of our religion.
However, in order to secure the, joseph had to apply as. Approximately fivesixth of the 1830 first edition of the book of mormon was typeset from the printers manuscript. Everything but the house ebth, a premier estate sale marketplace, placed a fine and rare partiallyrestored copy of the 1830 first edition of the book of mormon up for auction today. It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 book of mormon had supposedly come directly from god. Seven years later, in 1830, this scriptural canon of the latterday saints was published for the world. Opponents of the book have claimed that joseph smith wrote it himself, or that an accomplice such as solomon spaulding or sidney rigdon penned it and somehow transferred it to joseph smith. Book of mormon, 1830, page 149 the joseph smith papers. The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Why is joseph smith listed as author and proprietor of. Critics of the book of mormon cite a number of works that could have served as sources for the book of mormon. The first author was the prophet nephi, who left jerusalem with his family in about 600 bc and sailed to the americas.
Book of mormon, 1830, page iv the joseph smith papers. Book of mormon, 1830, page 5 the joseph smith papers. Sidney rigdon true author of the book of mormon and. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates.
Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. The following extracts are from the first edition of the book of mormon. An american, james adair, wrote a book a history of the american indians in 1775. The word wrote has been changed to written in later editions. Ive read both sides many times over, and i can argue the pro mormon side just as easily as the no mormon side, with the prime diference being that the. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. The book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. However, it still needs to be explained how rigdon contributed to or influenced the book of mormon when he was first introduced to the book of mormon in dec 1830 after it was published. Nephi passed the record to his younger brother jacob, who gave it to his son enos. Introductory pages of the book of mormon book of mormon central. Wherefore it is an abridgment of the record of the people of nephi. The coming forth of the book of mormon, foretold by ancient prophets, began with an angelic visitation in 1823 to 17yearold joseph smith. Is it possible that a single author wrote the book of mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religion that continues to the present.
May 30, 2012 the spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. Copyright law in 1830 in new york, where the book of mormon was first published, provided for the granting of s to authors and proprietors but did not. The english editions of the book of mormon published today generally result in a book of over 500 pages. Jul 26, 2018 the book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. The spalding enigma, our authors set out to accomplish a monumental task. Book of mormon, 1830, page i the joseph smith papers. Hearken and hear this, o house of jacob, which are called by the name of israel, and are come forth out of the waters of judah, which swear by the name of the lord. Or was the book really derived from solomon spaldings romantic fantasy novel called manuscript found. 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. The work in question is who really wrote the book of mormon. Elkins catholics do not use the same bible mormons use.
Mormon 1830 reprint facsimile of first copy of the book of mormon by herald heritage. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Response to claims made in who really wrote the book of mormon. He later said of this book that, it is the most perfect book ever printed, because it had been made by the power of god using a seer stone and verbatum dictation. I am grateful to have been asked to discuss the title page of the book of mormon. Those who state the book of mormon lacks evidence are either ignorant or lying. Im going to try to not be insulting to the lds church today. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of mormon 1830. And it came to pass that two hundred years had passed away.
If we assume the book of mormon published 1830 is not. Others, however, have assumed that joseph smith or one of his associates wrote. The spalding enigma part 2 did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith the mormon bible, as he claimed. Weve all heard the story of solomon spaulding, that he wrote several romances, and that at least one of them was written. Book of mormon 1830mormon wikisource, the free online. I wrote it myself, as it fell from the lips of the prophet. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the. The book of mormon is a book that latter day saints believe is the word of god along with the bible the original english version of the book of mormon was published in march 1830 by a man named joseph smith, jr. 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. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon translation was performed by the gift and power of god the lost 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript.