Darth J wrote: Would that not also be kind of strange if he translated it by the power of God, and made inspired changes to the verbiage in later editions?
A funny point, pithily made.
You are right he did several editions of the Book of Mormon during his lifetime, but it seems none (or few?) of those went far beyond the surface layer of spelling corrections and syntax.
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
You prove yourself of the devil and anti-mormon every word you utter, because only the devil perverts facts to make their case.--ldsfaqs (6-24-13)
Chap wrote: I have often seen people saying that Joseph Smith never referred to the Book of Mormon in his public utterances.
Is that true? Can anyone produce an example where he did refer to its contents, or to some of the characters unique to that book - Nephi, Mosiah and the rest of them?
I am pretty familiar with the corpus of Joseph Smith literature and am unfamiliar with any such instance. The closest I can think of is the afternoon of their death when Hyrum read from the Book of Mormon to Joseph and the others in Carthage jail (and then famously turned down the page in the Book of Ether).
Joseph Smith spoke frequently from the Bible, but almost never from the Book of Mormon. Although he said it is the "most correct book," Smith seems never to have used it to establish doctrine.
What is the point of coming up with a whole new book of scripture if you don't quote from it to support yourself.
Or even to point to the fact you are fulfilling the prophesy in 2 Nephi 3?
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
You prove yourself of the devil and anti-mormon every word you utter, because only the devil perverts facts to make their case.--ldsfaqs (6-24-13)
What is the point of coming up with a whole new book of scripture if you don't quote from it to support yourself.
Or even to point to the fact you are fulfilling the prophesy in 2 Nephi 3?
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
Well, yes. Surely there has to be a detailed apologetic explanation of this rather strange habit (or rather non-habit) on Joseph Smith's part? Where can I find it?
I mean, you'd almost think that Joseph Smith didn't really have much to do with producing the Book of Mormon, and that it was something he had just had to play along with in order to get the finance and support he needed to start up a church with him as the prophet.
Once that got started he just got direct messages from God (see D&C passim) whenever he needed back up. Who needed the Book of Mormon?
Zadok: I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis. Maksutov: That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
Darth J wrote: Would that not also be kind of strange if he translated it by the power of God, and made inspired changes to the verbiage in later editions?
A funny point, pithily made.
You are right he did several editions of the Book of Mormon during his lifetime, but it seems none (or few?) of those went far beyond the surface layer of spelling corrections and syntax.
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
The way I hear it, Joseph Smith changed "white and delightsome" to "pure and delightsome" because his prophetic work helped him understand the meaning of what Nephi wrote. The reason he made changes to subsequent editions to the Book of Mormon, as serious scholarly research has determined, is, "This was his right as translator of the book."
It's a little curious that in making such inspired changes to reflect what the ancient Nephite prophets really meant, Joseph Smith (peace be upon him) never employed his singular knowledge of the meaning of the Nephite record in his sermons.
The most important Latter Day Prophet brings forth, under the direction of God, the most correct book of scripture and the keystone to the Mormon religion but then doesn't teach from it...?
“We look to not only the spiritual but also the temporal, and we believe that a person who is impoverished temporally cannot blossom spiritually.” Keith McMullin - Counsellor in Presiding Bishopric
"One, two, three...let's go shopping!" Thomas S Monson - Prophet, Seer, Revelator
Darth J wrote: It's a little curious that in making such inspired changes to reflect what the ancient Nephite prophets really meant, Joseph Smith (peace be upon him) never employed his singular knowledge of the meaning of the Nephite record in his sermons.
Agreed.
I think it definitely means something. Terryl Givens has noted (as did Noel Reynolds before him) that during Joseph's lifetime (and for over a century afterward), the Book of Mormon was rarely used by Mormons to establish doctrine, but instead constituted the "sign" by which Joseph's prophetic calling was established.
It is only in the last thirty-years or so, with the advent of FARMS (peace be upon it) that LDS have actually started trying to figure out what the Book of Mormon has to say, rather than simply what it signifies.
All the Best!
--Consiglieri
You prove yourself of the devil and anti-mormon every word you utter, because only the devil perverts facts to make their case.--ldsfaqs (6-24-13)
It's not necessarily a plot hole. This sort of inconsistency crops up in real religions with some frequency. For instance, most Muslims in Egypt say they support freedom of religion. Must Muslims in Egypt also support executing those who deconvert from Islam.
just me wrote:Maybe he really did rip it off from the Masons.
You're thinking of the Temple Ceremony, not the Book of Mormon.
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"
just me wrote:Maybe he really did rip it off from the Masons.
You're thinking of the Temple Ceremony, not the Book of Mormon.
I've read in more than one place reference to the possibility that Joseph Smith had access to some kind of Masonic Bible and that he was ripping it off (for the Book of Mormon or the Book of Abraham I cannot recall). I've never delved into that idea fully, but some say that Masons killed him because they were pissed he was revealing their secrets to the world...which could also just be for the temple ceremonies.
~Those who benefit from the status quo always attribute inequities to the choices of the underdog.~Ann Crittenden ~The Goddess is not separate from the world-She is the world and all things in it.~
