MOTHER OF GOD MISSING
CHANGES IN THE BOOK OF MORMON

In 1830, E.B. Grandin published the first edition of Book of Mormon for Joseph Smith, Jr., in Palmyra, New York. The book, written in imitation Jacobean (King James era) English, had been completed by Smith the previous year.

Although the original edition called Joseph Smith, Jr., the "Author and Proprietor," Smith claimed that the Book of Mormon was a recently revealed, abridged record of ancient Israelites in the Americas (written on metal plates), and that he alone had been given "power from on high... to translate the Book of Mormon; which is the record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ" (Doctrine & Covenants 20:8-9). Smith called it "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man could get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book" (History of the Church 4:461).

Since, according to Smith's testimony, the Book of Mormon was translated by the power of God, it had to be flawless. He further testified that when he and the "witnesses" prayed about it: "[W]e heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear'" (History of the Church 1:54-55).

Early Mormons, including some of the official Book of Mormon "witnesses," explained that there could be no error in Smith's translation because Smith told them he employed a method which made mistakes impossible:

I will now give you a description of the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear, and under it was the interpretation in English.
-David Whitmer, Book of Mormon witness, An Address to All Believers in Christ, 1887

[A] spiritual light would shine forth, and parchment would appear before Joseph, upon which was a line of characters from the plates, and under it, the translation in English; at least, so Joseph said.
-David Whitmer, as cited by J.L. Traughber, Jr., printed in Saints' Herald (15 November 1962, p16)

Martin [Harris, Book of Mormon witness] explained the translation as follows: By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the prophet [Joseph Smith] and written by Martin [the first Book of Mormon scribe], and when finished he would say, "Written," and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected, so that the translation was just as it was engraven on the plates, precisely in the language then used.
-Martin Harris, Book of Mormon witness, cited by member of the First Council of the Seventy (1890-1909) George Reynolds in Myth of the Manuscript Found (Juvenile Instructor Office, 1883 edition, p91)

George Reynolds and Mormon Apostle Orson Hyde gave similar testimonies. In 1881, Oliver B. Huntington recorded the teaching of Joseph F. Smith (later sixth President of the LDS church) about the manner of translation:
Saturday Feb. 25, 1881.... Heard Joseph F. Smith describe the manner of translating the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith the Prophet and Seer, which was as follows a near as I can recollect the substance of his description. Joseph did not render the writing on the gold plates into the English language in his own style of language as many people believe, but every word and every letter was given to him by the gift and power of God. So it is the work of God and not of Joseph Smith, and it was done in this way.... The Lord caused each word spelled as it is in the book to appear on the stones in short sentences or words, and when Joseph had uttered the sentence or word before him and the scribe had written it properly, that sentence would disappear and another appear. And if there was a word wrongly written or even a letter incorrect the writing on the stones would remain there. Then Joseph would require the scribe to spell the reading of the last spoken and thus find the mistake and when corrected the sentence would disappear as usual.
(Journal of Oliver B. Huntington, page 168 of typed copy at Utah State Historical Society)
As you can see, early Mormons, including Book of Mormon witnesses, consistently testified that Joseph Smith employed a method of translation that made mistakes and errors impossible. As David Whitmer testified, Joseph Smith himself told them about the method. According to Joseph Smith's History of the Church, a voice from heaven also told the witnesses "The translation of them which you have seen is correct" (see above).

Furthermore, the publisher of the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, E.B. Grandin, did not change the text when it was typeset and printed. The typesetter for the original edition, John H. Gilbert, testified:

[W]e [at E.B. Grandin's] never changed it at all.... they [Joseph & Hyrum Smith] would not allow us to; they were very particular about that. We never changed it in the least.... If you ever saw a Book of Mormon, you will see that they changed it afterwards [i.e. after the first edition].... I will show you (bringing out his copy). Here on the title page it says (reading) 'Joseph Smith, Jr., author and proprietor.' Afterwards, in getting out other editions they left that out, and only claimed Joseph Smith translated it (Myth of the Manuscript Found, 1883 edition, p59).
Change? Wait, back up. Here is a book Joseph Smith told us was "translated by the power of God" and which he called "the most correct of any book on earth." Smith told the witnesses and other early Mormons that the method of translation did not allow for any errors, and claimed that a voice from heaven affirmed the translation when it was complete. If Smith was telling the truth about God's revelation, and the typesetter did not make changes in the text because Smith forbade changes, why would the Book of Mormon ever need to be changed at all?

What cannot be questioned is that the Book of Mormon has changed. Comparing an 1830 edition with a modern LDS edition, Utah Lighthouse Ministry (in 1996) counted over 3900 changes, and some people say there may be even more.

In the LDS edition copyrighted in 1981 and published in 1999, the following note appears at the end of the introduction:

About this edition: Some minor errors in the text have been perpetuated in past editions of the Book of Mormon. This edition contains corrections that seem appropriate to bring the material into conformity with prepublication manuscripts and early editions edited by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
This note makes it sound as if some simple typos might have appeared around the early 1900s and were accidentally reprinted a couple of times, but now the Book of Mormon is back in its original condition. Though we might wonder why Joseph Smith needed to edit any early editions, given what he said about the method of translation (he did in fact change the Book of Mormon after its first printing), the "about this edition" note seems very innocuous. "It's no big deal," the reader might conclude, "There have been no major changes since the original manuscripts, and it conforms now." He'd be quite wrong.

Here's a good example:

1Nephi 11:32 current LDS edition And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

1Nephi p26 1830 edition And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Everlasting God, was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

1Nephi p17 original handwritten printer's manuscript & I looked & beheld the Lamb of God that he was taken by the [illegible: people] yea the everlasting God was judged of the world & I saw & bear record.
(Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Historian's Library, Independence, Missouri)

The punctuation and capitalization differences are a somewhat trivial matter, but they are not the only change in this sentence. The truly significant change is the addition of the words "the Son of" in the LDS edition. The current LDS edition conforms neither to the 1830 edition nor to the original printer's manuscript. E.B. Grandin published the passage as it appeared on the manuscript the Smiths took to be printed, but the LDS church nevertheless adds words to "the most correct of any book on earth."

Most changes in the Book of Mormon since 1830 are simple spelling and grammatical changes (e.g. "them which" to "those who," "they did loose me not" to "they did not loose me," "had not ye ought to labor" to "ought ye not to labor"). Though one might hope God's grammar did not need so much correction, the more significant changes are naturally more disturbing. Some "and it came to pass" phrases are removed altogether. "[B]ehold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!" (1830 p25) became "Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!" (1Nephi 11:21). "[T]he Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Saviour of the world" (1830 p32) became "the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world" (1Nephi 13:40). "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" (1830 p52) became "Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord" (1Nephi 20:1). "And now Limhi was again filled with joy, on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Benjamin had a gift from God" (1830 p200) became "And now Limhi was again filled with joy on learning from the mouth of Ammon that king Mosiah had a gift from God" (Mosiah 21:28). Likewise "for this cause did king Benjamin keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should shew himself" (1830 p546) became "for this cause did king Mosiah keep them, that they should not come unto the world until after Christ should show himself" (Ether 4:1).

Why would such radical changes be necessary in a translation previously affirmed by a voice from heaven? Perhaps the most significant change is that Joseph Smith is no longer called the "author" of the Book of Mormon, but the "translator." (Of course, if we really took him at his word, he was not even the translator: God was.) What's so disturbing about that? The "Testimony of the Eight Witnesses." Mormon missionaries always point to the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses to support the veracity of Smith's claims (never mind that he later excommunicated all of the "three," and at least three of the "eight" eventually left Smith for good). See, the missionaries point, there were witnesses who signed an oath to the truth of it!

But what did they sign? Compare the wording of the "eight"'s testimony in these two editions:

current LDS edition Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come, That Joseph Smith, Jun., the translator of this work, has shown unto us the plates

1830 edition Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come, that Joseph Smith, Jr. the Author and Proprietor of this work, has shewn unto us the plates

So which is it? Did they testify that Joseph Smith is the translator or the author of the Book of Mormon? If the former, why does the first edition say the latter? If the latter, isn't it disingenuous to say the former?

To the Book of Mormon we must say: too many inconsistencies, too many blatant changes. It does not at all appear to be "the most correct book" Joseph Smith claimed it was, and clearly shows itself unworthy of acceptance. But before you close the book, here's one for the road:

1Nephi p25 1830 edition Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh.

1Nephi 11:18 current LDS edition Behold, the virgin which thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

SOME BOOK OF MORMON EDITIONS IN PRINT

Several different editions of the Book of Mormon are currently in print. These are interesting to compare:

FOR FURTHER READING

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