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One of the sacred books of the Mormon Church, published in 1830 by Joseph Smith, and believed by Mormons to contain the sacred history of the lost tribes of Israel in the Americas and to prophesy the appearance of Jesus after the Resurrection to establish religious order.
For more information on Book of Mormon, visit Britannica.com.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
revealed to Joseph Smith in 1830 by an ancient prophet Mormon; supposedly a record of ancient peoples of America translated by Joseph Smith
Synonym: The Book of Mormon
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| Books of the Book of Mormon |
The Book of Mormon[1] is one of the sacred texts of the Latter Day Saint movement. It is regarded by Latter Day Saints as divinely revealed and is named after the prophet–historian Mormon who, according to the text, compiled most of the book. It was published by the founder of the LDS movement, Joseph Smith, Jr., in March 1830 in Palmyra, New York, USA. Its purpose, as stated on its title page, "is to show the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord has done for their fathers" and to convince "Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations."[2]
Joseph Smith, Jr. said the book was a translation of golden plates. He said that the angel Moroni told him that the plates were buried in a hill near his home (which he later called the Hill Cumorah). He said the translation was made through the power of God with the aid of the Urim and Thummim which were with the plates. During the production of the work Smith obtained the affidavits of Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses who testified that they saw the plates. These affidavits are published as part of the book. When the book was complete, he said he returned the plates to the angel Moroni.[3]
Along with the Bible, which is also held by Latter Day Saints to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly,[4] the Book of Mormon is esteemed as part of the canon by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ and other churches that claim Joseph Smith as their founder. In 1982, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added the subtitle Another Testament of Jesus Christ to its editions of the book to help clarify and emphasize its purpose. Prior to 1982, some editions of the Book of Mormon had included the subtitle, A Second Testament of Jesus Christ.
The title page of the Book of Mormon states:
The Book of Mormon is an account written by the hand of Mormon upon plates taken from the Plates of Nephi, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.
An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever— And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.
The crowning event of the Book of Mormon is the visitation of the resurrected Christ to the Nephites around 34 AD, shortly after his ministry in Galilee.[5] Many of the writers in the book teach about Jesus.
An angel prophesied to Nephi that Jesus's birth would be 600 years from the time he and his family left Jerusalem.[6] Many prophets in the Book of Mormon, beginning with Lehi and Nephi, saw in visions the birth, ministry, and death of Christ,[7] and were told his name.[8] At the time of King Benjamin, the Nephite believers were called "the children of Christ".[9] The faithful members of the church at the time of Captain Moroni (73 BC) were called "Christians" by their enemies, because of their belief in Christ.[10] For nearly 200 years after Jesus' appearance at the temple in the Americas, the land was filled with peace and prosperity because of the people's obedience to Christ's commandments.[11] The great prophet-general Mormon worked to convince the faithless people of his time of Christ (360 AD), and Moroni buried the plates with faith in Christ.[12] Many others also bore witness to the reality of the Messiah.
The following teachings are especially notable in the Book of Mormon:
The following dates, people, and authors are identified within the Book of Mormon. A more detailed description is available on a Book of Mormon chronology chart produced by the LDS Church (available here).
The format of the Book of Mormon is similar to the Bible, a compilation of smaller "books" of scripture. Each of the books is named after the person in the book who said he began writing the book. The Book of Mormon is composed of the following books (with some editorial divisions in different churches' editions varying): [26]
The book's sequence is primarily chronological. Notable exceptions include the "Words of Mormon" and the "Book of Ether". In the "Words of Mormon," the text says, "And now I, Mormon ... speak somewhat concerning that which I have written",[27] indicating editorial comment by Mormon. The first two verses of the "Book of Ether," say, "And now I, Moroni, proceed to give an account of those ancient inhabitants who were destroyed by the hand of the Lord upon the face of this north country. And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether."[28] The books of First Nephi through Omni are written in first-person narrative, as are Mormon and Moroni. The remainder of the Book of Mormon is written in third-person historical narrative, said to be compiled and abridged by Mormon (with Moroni abridging the "Book of Ether").
The version currently published by the LDS Church,[29] in addition to the main body of the work, contains the following:
The Book of Mormon is of prime importance to the church as one of the greatest differentiating factors of the Church as well as a spiritual foundation. It is held as a tangible evidence of the truthfulness of the church. Joseph Smith said,
“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book”.[31]
Members of the Church hold the Book of Mormon as the most important, correct, and basic book of scripture. Not placing enough emphasis on the Book of Mormon or ignoring it altogether was decried in a revelation to Joseph Smith that pronounced a condemnation on the "whole church" for treating it “lightly,” until they should “repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I [the Lord] have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom”.[32] While this revelation also applies to the early Church’s under-emphasis of the Bible (“the former commandments which [the Lord had] given them”), the importance of studying the Book of Mormon has also been stressed by every church president since Joseph Smith, Jr..
The Book of Mormon’s significance was reiterated in the late 20th century by Ezra Taft Benson, Apostle and 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In an August 2005 Ensign message, current LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged each member of the church to reread the Book of Mormon again before year's end. The book’s importance is commonly stressed at the twice-yearly general conference and at special devotionals by general authorities in the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the several Quorums of the Seventy
The book invites the reader to make a personal investigation into the truthfulness of the writings. The invitation is associated with a promise that God will give an undeniable witness of its truthfulness through the Holy Ghost.
These verses are often referred to collectively as Moroni's Promise.
Mormons state that a spiritual witness from the Holy Ghost is a personal event. Such a spiritual witness is described in Doctrine and Covenants 9:8: "your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." Doctrine and Covenants 8:2 further states that such a manifestation will occur "in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart." Those who claim to have received a witness consider it to be sacred, to be of great import, and to be the basis of what is called their "testimony". The act of telling others of one's spiritual experiences and declaring one's faith is called "bearing testimony".
LDS also believe that the witness of the spirit was demonstrated by the Apostle Peter, whose testimony of Christ came from the Father,[34] by seeking answers and wisdom directly from God.[35] Mormons believe that unless one receives a personal testimony of the truthfulness of this work from God, the conversion and activity of the newly baptized Saint would be temporary and superficial, and that once such a testimony is personally received from God himself, nothing would prevail against such experience (Matthew 16:13-18).
Another scripture found in the Book of Mormon explains how to learn of the truthfulness of its words. It is found in 2 Nephi 33:10
There are several theories as to the origin of the Book of Mormon. Most adherents to the Latter Day Saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The most common theory accepted by adherents is that promoted by Joseph Smith, Jr., who said he translated the work from an ancient set of golden plates inscribed by prophets, which Smith discovered near his home in western New York in the 1820s after being told to go there by an angel. Besides Smith himself, there are more than 11 witnesses who said they saw the plates either physically or in a vision in 1829. There are are also many other witnesses, some of them friendly to Smith and some hostile, who observed him dictating the text that eventually became the Book of Mormon, while Smith was looking into a hat at a seer stone.
Nevertheless, scholars have explored a number of issues, including (1) whether Joseph Smith actually had golden plates, or whether the text of the Book of Mormon originated in his mind or through inspiration; (2) whether it was Smith himself who composed the book's text, or whether an associate of Smith's such as Oliver Cowdery or Sidney Rigdon could have composed the text; and (3) whether the book was based on a prior work such as The View of the Hebrews the Spalding Manuscript, or the Bible.
The question of whether the Book of Mormon is an actual historical work or a work of fiction has long been a source of contention between between members of the Latter Day Saint movement, who are likely to view the work as a history, and secular scholars, who virtually all reject its historicity. Beginning in the late 20th century, many believing Latter Day Saint scholars, and some denominations such as the Community of Christ, have treated the work as possibly inspired fiction.
For many Saints, the Book of Mormon historicity is a matter of faith, and not amenable to scholarly analysis. For scholars, on the other hand, the historicity issue has been approached from a number of different perspectives. One approach to the historicity issue is through archeological studies. Thus far, there has been no accepted archeological link to the events or cultures described in the Book of Mormon, despite a number of searches and studies by Mormon scholars. One difficulty with this approach is that the book refers to things such as steel, horses, and elephants that are not known to have existed in the New World at the relevant time. Moreover, many Mormon scholars have acknowledged the difficulty in interpreting the book as a history of the entire New World. For this reason, most modern apologetic scholars have adopted a limited geography model, which states that the book is the history of a limited geographic area in Mesoamerica. Mormon scholars have attempted, thus far without definitive results, to identify geographic locations in Mesoamerica with places in the Book of Mormon.
Another approach to the historicity issue is through linguistic studies of the Book of Mormon. Some Mormon scholars have found linguistic and literary patterns (such as chiasmus and place names) in the book that they say point to an ancient origin. On the other hand, critics have found word patterns, place names, as well as literary and religious themes they say point to an origin in the early 19th century.
Another major approach to the historicity issue is genetic studies. The book says that the Native American people descended from groups of Semetic people, including Israelites, who emigrated from the Old World by ship. The consensus among population geneticists, however, is that the Native American people descended primarily from north-east Asian stock. Religious scholars have offered theories they say might reconcile that seeming contradiction.
The Book of Mormon is published today by the following publishers:
Jerald and Sandra Tanner have claimed to have documented almost 4000 changes in the Book of Mormon.[37] The vast majority of these changes have been discussed in official Church publications including the Ensign, Improvement Era, Millennial Star and Times and Seasons, and are consistent with early pre- and post-publication edits made by Joseph Smith. Some corrections were made due to earlier print or copy errors, or changes in punctuation.[38]
In fact, there are differences between various of the original copies printed in 1830. The manuscript was taken to E.B. Grandin's print shop, then a copy was made for typesetting. Following typesetting, the set of pages was printed. When proofreading found errors, the printing process was halted, and the page reset—but those sheets already printed had to be used, due to time and budgetary constraints. When the books were finally collated, the sheets with errors were randomly distributed throughout the print run.
Between today's editions of the book and the first edition there are approximately 3000 differences. Most of these changes had already begun in the 1837 edition. These changes are mostly corrections of punctuation, orthography and grammar; however, there are also several changes in wording, which critics allege were made to fit changes in teaching or political conditions.
Since 1989, the LDS Church's Brigham Young University has published a critical text edition in four volumes. Volumes 1 and 2, published 2001, contains transcriptions of all the text variants of the English editions of the Book of Mormon, from the original manuscript up to the newest editions.[39] Volume 4, in four parts (3 already published since 2005) contains a critical analysis of all the text variants. Meanwhile, volume 3, not yet published, is to describe the history of all the English-language texts from Joseph Smith to today.[40]
The complete Book of Mormon has been published by the LDS Church in 81 languages and is currently available in 78 languages. Selections of the Book of Mormon have been translated by the LDS Church into an additional 27 languages. In 2001, the church reported that all or part of the Book of Mormon was available in the native language of 99% of Latter-day Saints and 87% of the world's total population.[41]
Translations in primarily oral languages are available on audiocassette. Translations into American Sign Language are available on videocassette and DVD.
Typically, translators are members of the LDS Church who are employed by the church and translate the text from the original English. Each manuscript is reviewed many times before it is approved and published.[42]
In 1998, the LDS Church stopped translating selections from the Book of Mormon. The church has announced that each new translation it approves will now be a full edition.[43]
In 2004, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints (LDS Church) successfully registered the term Book of Mormon as a United
States trademark (through the church's subsidiary corporation Intellectual Reserve,
Inc.).[44] As of October 2007, the church has not
asserted the trademark against other organizations or churches who use and publish the work, and the registration has not been
challenged in court. As of October 2007, the domain name bookofmormon.com is owned by the Utah Lighthouse Ministry,
an organization critical of the Book of Mormon.[45]
On September 14, 2007, Mark Witmer (of Hessney Auction Co., Geneva, N.Y.) stated that a rare
177-year-old 1st
| The Latter Day Saint movement | ||
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| The Latter Day Saint movement |
Mormonism · Latter Day Saint · Mormonism and Christianity · Latter Day Saint Denominations |
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| Sacred texts |
Bible · Book of Mormon · Book of Commandments · Doctrine & Covenants · Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible · Book of Moses · Book of Abraham |
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