New Information On An Old Revelation.

[_karl61]

surfing the web I found a link to this article:


http://www.LDS.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?h ... 82620aRCRD

Under "The Prophets New Understanding"

"The editing and updating of revelation texts in the early years of the Church demonstrate the process of continuing revelation to Joseph Smith. The revelation manuscripts reveal how men grappled in trying to make certain that the ideas and doctrines Joseph received were transcribed and printed accurately—a process that for the publication of any work risks the introduction of error. In some instances, when a new revelation changed or updated what had previously been received, the Prophet edited the earlier written revelation to reflect the new understanding. Thus, as his doctrinal knowledge clarified and expanded, so did the recorded revelations. They were characterized by the changing nature of his understanding of the sacred subject matter. The Prophet did not believe that revelations, once recorded, could not be changed by further revelation."

What is another point of view?

[_karl61]

I think the Church is just copying and expanding the Tanner Method.

"Thus, readers will be able to see the original handwriting, editing marks, and even the texture of the documents but will not need to be experts in deciphering handwriting. The changes made in the original documents will be color coded in the transcriptions so readers can identify the handwriting of the individuals who wrote on each page."

[_badseed]

surfing the web I found a link to this article:
"The Prophet did not believe that revelations, once recorded, could not be changed by further revelation."

What is another point of view?

Obviously Joseph Smith had an changing view of what God's will and doctrine for "his Church." Believers call it continuing revelation. Critics call it an evolving theology. Regardless where you stand on it, I think most chapel Mormons would be surprised to see the extent of the changes that were made along the way. If they are at all like I used to be they assume that Joseph Smith published things clean and there have been nominal grammatical edits since. Apparently not.

in my opinion it shows how similar Joseph's "revelation" process was to any other editing process. After time he rethought things and changed them. Personally I think these revisions were a reflection of issues the church was facing and changes in Joseph's own thinking than any sort of divine revelation finally getting through.

That said, I am looking forward to comparing the account of the selling of the Book of Mormon copyright in Canada to David Whitmer's/Walmart McClellin's recollections.