When Lucy Harris hid the book of Lehi, why did it take 9 months for Joseph Smith to come up with a different?

Question

Version, when he had the book of lehi already?
If it was that important for us to know, why would a simple issue like misplacing the translation prevent them from being reproduced? Is god that petty?

Everything I've read says they were in fact translated.

I don't think you read my question.

Marlee....
From an outsiders perspective (and anyone with common sense in my opinion), it would appear that Mr. Smith was in fact making the whole thing up, thus the claim that he wasn't allowed to translate the same thing over again. It seems almost laughable that anyone could think otherwise. I don't mean to demean your faith, but it just seems too preposterous to buy. Can you really read that history and really get out of it what you said? Are you really being honest with yourself? Are you sure that you're not just allowing yourself to buy into it because your "group" or the people you socialize also buy into it and it gives you comfort to share a belief with people? I suggest digging deeper into the story and trying to look at it from an objective point of view.

Answer 1

He did retranslate it actually. It was just in another form and supposedly penned by a different author, which was the original author's son.

God, in His infinite wisdom, inspired Nephi to write everything his father had already written, because He knew Joseph would ask 3 times, get "no" for an answer 3 times, and yet still persist and sin, giving the 116 pages away anyway.

The excuse for not "retranslating" the original was that evil and conspiring men were going to change the pages, and that they would differ from the new translation, and people would falsely think Smith was a liar. Can't imagine that... especially since they didn't have erasable ink back then, and any changes would have been painfully obvious.

So, it starts... the mad scramble for an adequate answer that protects God's wisdom, Smith's reputation, and the Book of Mormon's truthfulness. And there you have it.

Edit: Ok, let's explore the blank sheets of paper theory... without handwriting analysis techniques that exist today, how good of a forgery could they really have done? Would it really be worth hand-copying 116 entire pages, painstakingly copying every letter, word and sentence exactly as Harris wrote them? I'm sorry, but for a group of "enemies" or "evil conspiring men" that ALREADY didn't believe he was a prophet, why would they go through that just to prove a point? Even if they DID change it, and even if it DID end up being different than the new translation (obviously), couldn't Joseph just claim it was changed anyway? The only risk Joseph really had was of an UNCHANGED document being different from the "new translation."

Answer 2

i do no longer possibly have confidence in any of those claims. the guy wrote it in a seventeenth century variety english and the guy lived interior the nineteenth century. is senseless! A god would not decide for a human to translate something and to place in writing it down. He could make his very own e book (or DVD or VHS). Now, that makes extra sense! additionally, you do comprehend that the church modifies the BoM each so commonly? what proportion revisions has it long surpassed by using? there is not any reformed egyptian. Archeology would not help Joe Smith. No golden plates have ever been got here across and under no circumstances would be. ~~~~atheist, serving the atheist schedule

Answer 3

The first 116 pages, aka the book of Lehi, was lost. The manuscript has never been found. This period of time was very difficult for Joseph, as prior to letting Martin Harris take the manuscript home to his wife, Joseph had been told not to do this twice by the Lord. When he asked a third time, the Lord allowed it to occur. Part of the reason the Lord would not allow Joseph to retranslate these pages is simple: those who persecuted Joseph and the Saints could then have produced an altered/forged version of the book of Lehi in order to discredit Joseph. Because the history of that time was important, it wasn't lost. It was also covered by Nephi in the first book of Nephi. The reason it was so long before the translation was able to continue is that Joseph had to sufficiently repent in order for the Lord to allow him to complete the work of translating the Book of Mormon. This period truly refined and humbled Joseph -- he learned not to question the wisdom of the Lord [how many times did your mom have to tell you not to play with matches?]. God is not petty. He is wise. We still have the witness of Lehi through his son, Nephi. But thanks for asking.

Why ask a question when your mind is closed to all answers but your own conclusions? No 2 minds think alike. Ultimately, you're not going to change my testimony because of your questions. My testimony is a gift from my Father in Heaven it came in a very personal and real manner. I cannot deny it. I will not deny it. I can understand that others do not share my opinions or perspectives-- that's another gift from God -- it's called agency - the ability to choose for ourselves. But do not make the mistake of assuming that I merely do as I'm told while receiving the proverbial pat on the head.

Answer 4

Heavenly Father took away Joseph Smith's ability to translate and this in turn made Joseph a better prophet for it humbled him. And for the thought of erasable ink comment from Stephens Running Mate, have you ever thought of them copying on blank sheets of paper with things omitted or added to the originals to make it sound fictional or even evil. We know that these pages were already translated, but now they are lost. We already have a bit of history pertaining to Lehi's life through his son Nephi.

Also, to some of the Christians that are skeptical of validity of the Book of Mormon, how many people are also skeptical of the Bible. I know in heart, mind, and soul that these two sets of scriptures are from prophets and disciples of God and are testimonies of the Savior. We must not dismiss scripture, just because it does not fit into the canon designed by the Nicene Creed, or other councils following that.

Answer 5

Because he was not supposed to give the manuscript to Martin Harris. Because he did God took away Joseph's ability to translate. and God also knew that the book of Lehi had gotten into the hands of men that wanted to prove Joseph Smith as a fraud and they had changed the translation. that is a good part of the reason as to why the book of Lehi was not translated again. there will come a day though that we shall receive it.

Answer 6

Are you talking about the missing 116 pages? They were lost. Never found. Not translated. They are not part of the Book of Mormon today...or have not been because they were lost! Get it?
My feeling is - do we read the scriptures that we already have? Why should God reveal the rest if we do not read the ones we already have??

Answer 7

When Joseph lost those 116 pages via Martin Harris taking them to show to his wife, God removed Joseph's gift for translating as a punishment for not listening to God in the first place when God told him not to release the record. Finally, after the third petition, God relented, leaving Joseph to suffer the consequences of disobedience. It took at least six months for Joseph to repent and humble himself enough to regain the gift of translation. Then he was instructed by God not to repeat the lost pages because the enemies would change his previous version in order to use it against him. Therefore, he translated a duplicate record that covered the same time period and was of greater spiritual value to us anyway. This was all forseen by God and that is why He instructed Nephi to make the duplicate record in the first place. God sees the end from the beginning and there was wisdom in God for making that duplicate record.

Answer 8

I'm sure it was pretty hard to get any good lighting in that hat.

Also, have you ever tried to make two BMs that look exactly alike? It takes time, effort, and dedication.

Answer 9

if you believe in God, why would you need another book besides the bible?