Why do the Bible verses quoted in the Book of Mormon contain the italicized words from the King James Version that were added into the KJV text by the translators in the 16th and 17th centuries?
2006-11-14 07:04:39 · 8 answers · asked by Jo R 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
First, you must understand why there are quotations from the Bible at all. Several prophets mention the importance of the writings of the ancient prophets. Nephi, for example, said, "my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah." So, there are biblical quotations from the bible in the Book of Mormon, because the prophets of the Book of Mormon saw value in their teachings and wanted to ensure that we read them.
Also, before answering your question, it is important to understand that we believe the bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. Anyone who has studied the bible knows that it has been translated and re-translated numerous times and that there are no original documents remaining.
From what I have read, Joseph Smith, while translating, recognized the qoutations from the bible and sometimes used exact passages word for word. A better question, and the answer to your question, is why did he only do this some times. The answer is that he copied word for word on verses that had been translated correctly and provided clear biblical meaning, even when they contained additions that came later. (It is interesting that you point out that the bible has been added to.) As a prophet, he realized that certain verses were not precise and therefore, some verses found in the Book of Mormon offer slightly clearer views than the KJV.
I hope this helps.
2006-11-14 09:49:56 · answer #1 · answered by whapingmon 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
From my understanding, when Joseph Smith was translating the book of mormon, he realized he was translating versus from the Bible, so he took a short cut, and took it from the Bible.
People may not accept this, but it does not change the doctrines in any way. Since we believe the God of the Bible is the same as the God of Book of Mormon, the scriptures is still from God.
2006-11-14 09:20:59 · answer #2 · answered by Wahnote 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't know either. I've often wondered why certain words are italicized. But you helped me out, I didn't know they were from the 16th & 17th centuries.
Perhaps it is to point out that at some point even the Bible was translated and "fiddled" with. ???
2006-11-14 09:29:12 · answer #3 · answered by Tonya in TX - Duck 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
My fellow Latter-Day Saints have give you the best answers. Better than I could have, especially Whapingmo. I have been a Mormon all my life and those guys just answered some questions that have been going thru my mind. Thanks guys. Sincerely, Juanita
2006-11-14 14:36:56 · answer #4 · answered by nevada nomad 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't know the answer to your question. I don't really care. I still think the Book of Mormon is inspired scripture.
2006-11-14 07:21:44 · answer #5 · answered by SuperDDD 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I ditto Whapingmon...he always has the best answers.
Also, my two cents, It doesn't matter to me why, I still know the church and Book of Mormon are true.
2006-11-15 05:20:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mav think the biggest question is why did Joseph Smith rewrite the bible to add him into it?
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jst/contents
and why don't they use it as their bible today?
2006-11-14 07:11:53 · answer #7 · answered by Mav here! 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Because LDS is an even bigger fraud then normal christian groups. Christians stole their works from older religions, lds stole from christians and made the rest up as they went. I mean really, Aliens that dress like Quakers living on the moon?
2006-11-14 07:07:30 · answer #8 · answered by Arcturus R 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋