Good points. I would point out, however, that the translators of the King James Version were specifically instructed to use the words of the prior translation unless they were wrong, so that they could not be accused of making political changes. This means that the entire work had to be translated, to verify that the prior edition was indeed correct.
KellieJanuary 23, 2019
Fantastic article! Thanks so much!
William BellJanuary 23, 2019
President Nelson whilst a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an address â âHow the book of Mormon was Translated (A Treasured Testament)â this had been adapted from a previous address given 25 June 1992 at a seminar for new mission presidents, Mission Training Center, Provo Utah and included the following.
âThe details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote:
âJoseph 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. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.â (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.)
Emma Smith, who acted as an earlier scribe for Joseph, gave this account in 1856: âWhen my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.â â
I believe that there were a least two unseen persons (angels ?) in the room who were monitoring the proceedings and controlled what Joseph could see on the stone and what the scribe was writing down.
Bill B
Joseph StewartJanuary 23, 2019
Your article on how by the gift and power of God, Joseph Smith translated included several interesting means. However, I just read 1 Nephi 16:26-30 whereby the Lord communicated with Nephi in writings contained on a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. (see verse 10).
Comments | Return to Story
Lincoln HydeJanuary 23, 2019
Good points. I would point out, however, that the translators of the King James Version were specifically instructed to use the words of the prior translation unless they were wrong, so that they could not be accused of making political changes. This means that the entire work had to be translated, to verify that the prior edition was indeed correct.
KellieJanuary 23, 2019
Fantastic article! Thanks so much!
William BellJanuary 23, 2019
President Nelson whilst a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave an address â âHow the book of Mormon was Translated (A Treasured Testament)â this had been adapted from a previous address given 25 June 1992 at a seminar for new mission presidents, Mission Training Center, Provo Utah and included the following. âThe details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known. Yet we do have a few precious insights. David Whitmer wrote: âJoseph 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. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to Brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear. Thus the Book of Mormon was translated by the gift and power of God, and not by any power of man.â (David Whitmer, An Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Mo.: n.p., 1887, p. 12.) Emma Smith, who acted as an earlier scribe for Joseph, gave this account in 1856: âWhen my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. Even the word Sarah he could not pronounce at first, but had to spell it, and I would pronounce it for him.â â I believe that there were a least two unseen persons (angels ?) in the room who were monitoring the proceedings and controlled what Joseph could see on the stone and what the scribe was writing down. Bill B
Joseph StewartJanuary 23, 2019
Your article on how by the gift and power of God, Joseph Smith translated included several interesting means. However, I just read 1 Nephi 16:26-30 whereby the Lord communicated with Nephi in writings contained on a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. (see verse 10).
ADD A COMMENT