how correct is the book of mormon?

Question

Did you know that following the translation of the Book of Mormon,
Joseph Smith said: “We 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”?
8
• Did you know that over 4,000 changes have been made in the Book of
Mormon since its original publication in 1830? Even articles in your own Ensign
magazine concede that changes have been made.
• How do you reconcile these many changes with the fact that the heavenly
messenger speaking to Joseph Smith said the original translation was done by the
power of God and was “correct”?
• How do you reconcile these many changes with the fact that the translation
process — utilizing a “seer stone” — involved individual characters and specific
words?
One must conclude that Mormon leaders are not being honest. For how can
it continually be claimed (to the present day) that the Book of Mormon is the “most
correct book on earth,”
9
knowing full well that many thousands of changes have
been made in it through the years?
10
Steve Benson, the grandson of the late Mormon leader Ezra Taft Benson,
11
wrote the following damning words in a newspaper article: “Troubling to us was
the pathological unwillingness of the Mormon Church to deal forthrightly with its
doctrine and history. Our personal study revealed that church canon, history, and
scripture had been surreptitiously altered, skewed, rewritten, contradicted, and
deleted.”
12

Lest one think that only minor grammatical and punctuation changes have
been made in the Book of Mormon, consider the following chart:
Changes in the Book of Mormon
Verse The 1830 Version Today’s Version
1 Nephi 11:21 “And the angel said unto
me, Behold the Lamb of
God, yea, even the eternal
Father” (italics added).
“And the angel said unto
me: Behold the Lamb of
God, yea even the son of
the eternal Father”
(italics added).

1 Nephi 11:32 “And it came to pass that
the angel spake unto me
again, saying: Look! 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”
(italics added).
“And it came to pass that
the angel spake unto me
again, saying: Look! 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” (italics added).

1 Nephi 11:32 “And it came to pass that
the angel spake unto me
again, saying: Look! 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”
(italics added).
“And it came to pass that
the angel spake unto me
again, saying: Look! 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” (italics added).

1 Nephi 13:40 “These last records...shall
make known to all
kindreds, tongues, and
people, that the Lamb of
God is the Eternal Father
and Savior of the
world...” (italics added).
“These last records...shall
make known to all
kindreds, tongues, and
people, that the Lamb of
God is the Son of the
Eternal Father and the
Savior of the world...”
(italics added).
Rhodes and Bodine—Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons—
122
Mosiah 21:28 “...King Benjamin had a
gift from God, whereby
he could interpret such

engravings” (italics
added).
“...King Mosiah had a gift
from God, whereby he
could interpret such
engravings” (italics

Answer 1

Please read Galations 1:6-9 I believe this is enough said. I use this on all Mormans and have never had a answer other than stutters.
6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Answer 2

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will offer my brief answer. The question itself could be a good one, if asked by an honest seeker of truth. However, Jesus Witness, I find it disturbing that you use this question merely as a pretense to bash the religion and beliefs of another. If you are truly a Jesus Witness, then I would urge you to do just that. Witness of Jesus rather than wasting your time trying to disprove the beliefs of others.

That said, it is no secret that there have been changes to the Book of Mormon. Unlike you imply, most of the changes were grammatical, a fact that anti-mormon researchers themselves have admitted. "As we stated earlier, most of the 3,913 changes which we found were related to the correction of grammatical and spelling errors and do not really change the basic meaning of the text." (Jerald and Sandra Tanner, The Changing World of Mormonism, Chicago: Moody Pres., 1980, p 131, emphasis added). The changes you provided, are really not changes at all, merely a clarification of whom is being addressed, the Father or the Son. These are minor clarifications and ones that do not alter any doctrinal point of our beliefs. In saying that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book, it is referring to the purity of Gospel contained thereif.

I am not sure why you referred to Steve Benson. The fact that he was the grandson of a church leader has nothing to do with anything. He merely expresed his opinion, as is his right. He is no authority on church doctrine, history or anything else. The fact that he thinks he was somehow deceived is not substantial or important to the question at hand. Should we trust everything that the Democrats have to say about Republicans or vice versa? Let's use a little common sense.

So, how can we know truth? Remember, it is God, not man, who is the author of all truth. The bible counsels us numerous times to ask and we shall recieve. In James 1:5, we are told that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of God who gives to all liberally. My suggestion to you and all who read this question is to READ the Book of Mormon. Try to LIVE by the teachings and principles contained therein. If after reading the book and living by its teachings you are still not convinced and do not feel closer to the savior, then ASK God in PRAYER if the Book is true. Surely, His opinion is worth more than all of our opinions.

Good luck.

Answer 3

There have been some minor changes in the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. Joseph Smith made a perfect translation of this book. When the Book of Mormon translation was complete, the next step was to get it published. Joseph Smith took some precautions with the manuscript to avoid someone stealing or losing it. He had good reason to fear as his enemies had already stolen 116 pages that he had previously translated. To avoid theft of the manuscript he took the precaution of having Oliver Cowdery copy the entire manuscript. Because of this there are two manuscripts, the original and the printer’s copy, which is the one copied by Oliver Cowdery. Oliver Cowdery’s copy was used for printing, while the original was kept safely hidden. Oliver Cowdery’s copy was not perfect, as it was written by hand. As you can imagine, copying an entire book there are bound to be mistakes. The mistakes were minor, making no real difference to the meaning of the book. Later on, the church has corrected these mistakes by comparing the published version of the Book of Mormon with the early prepublication manuscripts.

Answer 4

I cannot begin to address all the answers you want. I think maybe that you forget that the Bible that we read today is the result of so many changes from the time of Clement and even before that we today know not what to believe. I have in my possession translations of many of the "lost" books of the Bible. Many of them contradict the Canon that most mainstream churches today consider the perfect word of God.

What I am saying in this comparison is that one must go to the Father in prayer, with an open mind, and faithfully ask for His devine guidance. I cannot answer for the church leaders, I can only say what the Holy Spirit has led me to believe.

Perhaps the truth really is just beyond our grasp but the righteous must only trust in God alone and not man. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are nothing but s[ritual GPS systems. The real truth comes out in prayer and congregation with other of the faithful.

I hope I have shed some light on this. I have tried to do so in the Holy Name of Jesus, who died for our sins so that we might be free to try to understand the scripture we have been left.

Remember, also, that the Book of Mormon, is a history and was written by imperfect men for imperfect men later to make sense of. Try to be more forgiving of those of us called Mormons. We will be more than happy to discuss the plans God has for us if you will.

Answer 5

Joseph smith was human, he could have made mistakes that needed to be changed.

Answer 6

Check this blog out for a complete write up on Mormons

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.listAll&friendID=83781233&startID=132972932&StartPostedDate=2006-06-14%2021:09:00&next=1&page=2&Mytoken=07FEF13F-3802-4A1E-83C4E7B8DC42CE3520720243

Answer 7

jesus_witness777,
I find it unnecessary. I can know what I need out of the Bible. I have not read all of it, but what's the point? I have it already. Besides, I was viewing a video on the DNA and the architecture, and the languages of the South Americas and they in no way carried Hebraic tendencies, ifluences, and traditions. They just are not there.

So to my Mormon friends: It's all about Jesus. You have to trust in Jesus Christ.

Answer 8

The book of Mormon is hardly the most accurate book on the face of the earth. You have only part of the errors described here.
I am not a Mormon because I have seen the contradictions in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He is a false prophet!

Answer 9

3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the flight of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

Answer 10

Look, in my perspective, the book of Mormon is not true, its what they believe. What they believe is not true, I'm not ragging on anybody but the Mormon people need help.