The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. Has anyone written a modern english version of the book of mormon. A dynamic, interactive, webfriendly presentation of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text that was published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Jul 26, 2018 large parts of the book of mormon were found to be the same as parts of the 1769 version of the king james version of the bible. I think that it would be desirable to be able to read and study a new english language version of the book of mormon, derived from the earliest. It was not intended to be a translation of the book of mormon into modern english, and it would fit that role poorly. Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. The book of mormon and the bible are available in english in epub, mobi, pdf, and audio format for ereaders and mobile devices. The book of mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the bible. Some have questioned the use of the name jehovah in 2 nephi 22. It seemed that the japanese version of the book of mormon didnt even get an endorsement as far as it was translated correctly. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages.
In due course the plates were delivered to joseph smith, who translated them by the gift and power of god. It is a record of gods dealings with ancient inhabitants of the americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Mar 07, 2005 we also believe the book of mormon english version to be the word of god. The first edition of the novel was published in december 1867, and was written by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The text of the lds churchs englishlanguage bible is the authorized king james version. Mp3s of chapters from new chinese translation of the book of mormon site in english.
The miraculous translation of the book of mormon into. There are many hebrew literary forms found in the book of mormon. The annotations are not part of the original article. To display the annotation, click on the note numbers at the end of a paragraph note 1, note 2, etc. Book of mormon plain english version wikisource, the free online. The church has already written a modern english version of. Youll learn where it came from, what it contains, and how to receive your own free copy.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Book of mormon simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Yet because the book of mormon was originally written in king james language, we are confronted with the fact that the kjv, regardless of what bible translation one reads, influences every member of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints by virtue of its cadence, language, and terminology appearing in the original english book of mormon. Published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. In order for joseph smith to have translated the book of mormon, an english version of the bible, he would have had to translate from a manuscript written in a foreign language, whether it be the textus receptus, the latin vulgate, etc.
Aug 25, 2009 this video provides a brief introduction to the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the church of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on. When you say written in, i assume you mean translated into. Which i agree with, as i think that some of the character and message of the book of mormon is lost in making it plain english.
No, the book of mormon has never been revised into a more modern english dialect. Chinese 3column chinesepinyinenglish book of mormon for missionaries from language, scroll down to mandarin 3column chinese book of mormon glossary, both simplified and traditional characters. The lds edition of the bible is a version of the bible published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church in english, spanish and portuguese. Aug 15, 2017 the book of mormon part 1, by joseph smith, jr. The king james bible and the book of mormon its obvious even to the casual reader that the book of mormon, in its original 1830 translation, is written in the language of the king james version bible hereafter kjv. Update to the book of mormon seminary teacher manual now. Mormon wrote chapters 17 before he was killed, and his son moroni wrote chapters 8 and 9. May 25, 2017 the april 2017 update to the book of mormon seminary teacher manual is now available in english on and will soon be available through the gospel library app. Book of mormon plain english versionmormon wikisource. In addition to the 1908 authorized version, the community of christ continues to publish its revised authorized version of the book of mormon, which was first printed in 1966. Book of mormon plain english version wikisource, the free. Has anyone written a modern english version of the book of. For more on this, see book of mormon central, the miraculous translation of the book of mormon into ukrainian 2 nephi 26.
Volumes have been written on its distinctive and rhythmic style, and it is still regarded as a triumph of modern english literature. The lds version of the book of mormon has been translated into 83 languages and selections have been translated into an additional 25 languages. Prior to 1874, the rlds used an edition of the book of mormon published by james o. Book of mormon videos contents for use with the 2017 book of mormon seminary teacher manual. The purpose of this guide is to help seminary teachers use the new book of mormon videos to help effectively teach the seminary curriculum. Of course, that old translation has been replaced with a modern japanese translation. It does not bill itself as a replacement for the real thing. I have only heard of a translators edition of the book of mormon, but i would assume that such plain english editions of the scriptures would. Book of mormon plain english version wikisource, the. The text of the lds churchs english language bible is the authorized king james version. The book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The first and second rlds editions 1874, plano, illinois. So in this case, the church translated the book of mormon in the 1990s to be similar to but more readable than the bible, then they changed the bible itself to feel closer to the new book of mormon.
When i first read the book of mormon all the way through, i had this plain english reference with me the whole time. Smith attempts to write in a hebraic style while using a king james version of english, which was heavily outdated by 1830. Mar 07, 2011 it was not intended to be a translation of the book of mormon into modern english, and it would fit that role poorly. When the book of mormon is published in a foreign language. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. I believe the was turned over to the church, but it was never published.
The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages. For this step in the translation of the book of mormon into english, we would need to choose between accepting a more modern version of. There have been various updates to the printing of the book of mormon over time to correct errors in the typesetting of earlier editions. Book of mormon translation challenge home facebook. Translations of the book of mormon in alphabetical order all languages are available in print. The king james bible and the book of mormon religious. Unabridged complete king james version holy bible the book of mormon doctrine and covenants the pearl of great price pdf epub book. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the church of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. In 2001, the lds church reported that all or part of the book of mormon was available in the native language of 99 percent of latterday saints and 87 percent of the worlds total population. Those who analyze the book of mormon for its linguistics will often remark the same thing, why. Chinese 3column chinesepinyin english book of mormon for missionaries from language, scroll down to mandarin 3column chinese book of mormon glossary, both simplified and traditional characters.
Of the many videos in the series, only the most helpful ones are recommended in this guide. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. The original english version of the book of mormon was published in march 1830 by a man named joseph smith, jr. According to smith, the book is originally written in an otherwise unknown language called reformed egyptian on golden plates and it should be of similar importance as the bible. Miraculous origins theories generally accept joseph smiths own account, that he translated an ancient record compiled and abridged by mormon, a precolumbian resident of the western hemisphere.
It is ideal to read the standard smith translation of the book of mormon as well, but wilsons version makes it much easier to read and comprehend the basic story. The first edition was set and printed in haste, from a manuscript handwritten by oliver cowdery under joseph smiths dictation. Translations of the book of mormon in alphabetical order. A handbook for teachers and leaders in seminaries and institutes of. This is the first published text of the book of mormon to show the precise history of many textual variants. The book of mormon is a book that latter day saints believe is the word of god along with the bible the original english version of the book of mormon was published in march 1830 by a man named joseph smith, jr. That sam is the english version of what was on the vorlage of the book of mormon is supported by examples of other names in the book of mormon that also take king james biblical spellings rather than reflecting the hebrew pronunciation, such as jacob, not the hebrew form yaakob, and messiah and not masia. Aug 27, 2008 however, the book of mormon is not written in elizabethan english, except for the copies of the twenty chapters of isaiah that are found in the book. Variations of this theory only include that the text is a divinely inspired narrative, regardless of its. At least portions of the book of mormon have been translated into 111 languages, from danish 1851, welsh 1852 and hawaiian 1855,3 to pohnpeian, sesotho, and tshiluba, announced in 2017. The king james version of the bible is, in all likelihood, the most successful of all the english translations.
Although the style is reminiscent of hebrew, it is strange to use hebrew as the style rather than greek or latin, since christ never officially appears in the old testament the prophecy of. Book of mormon variants likely reflect only theologically significant changes not available in the old world textual tradition. The bible and book of mormon app, from the church of jesus christ, treats the two volumes of scripture as one, and makes it easier than ever to read, study and share the word of god. That sam is the english version of what was on the vorlage of the book of mormon is supported by examples of other names in the book of mormon that also take king james biblical spellings rather than reflecting the hebrew pronunciation, such as jacob, not.
Braille files are online in english braille and spanish braille. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. It is not an attempt to reinterpret doctrine, rather an. Yes, several people, including someone i knew from my missionary service who wrote the easytoread book of mormon. This manual replaces the 2012 version and was developed to better align with the fundamentals of gospel teaching and learning see gospel teaching and learning. The church has already written a modern english version of the. Before i get flamed i would like to point out three of the more glaring anachronistic errors. This is an annotated version of the article book of mormon translation at.
This is a version of the book of mormon adapted into plain english by timothy b. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 0. It is written in english very similar to the early modern english linguistic style of the king james version of the bible, and. The critics have been quick to condemn the book of mormon because of this fact. The book of mormon is set in north america in the first century.
The bible text is the authorized king james version from 1611 and the book of mormon text is carefully consistent with 1830 version, and is available in both. The church of jesus christ, headquartered in monongahela, pa, presents the bible and the book of mormon in a single mobile app. Smith said he has received these plates in 1827 from an angel named moroni, who identified himself to smith as a native. It seems clear that joseph smith was led to translate many. We know it was the 1769 version because even translation errors unique to that bible were copied into the original 1830 book of mormon.
Book of mormon definition and meaning collins english. A critical text of the book of mormon was published in 19841987 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies. It makes the text of the work more accessible and understandable to those who are not familiar with the style used in the original book of mormon, which resembles that of the king james version of the bible. The book of mormon text is unaltered and only arranged so that the reader does not need to go back and forth between two copies of the book of mormon in different languages. Jan 16, 2020 the bible and book of mormon app, from the church of jesus christ, treats the two volumes of scripture as one, and makes it easier than ever to read, study and share the word of god.
English spanish is a bilingual book for latterday saints in which the two languages are placed next to each other on the same page. The book of mormon has the structure of a translation from the hebrew language. It makes the text of the work more accessible and understandable. According to the lds church, is the book of mormon a translation from a foreign language. There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. Book of mormon the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. If they had done all of this at the same time and coordinated the projects, the spanish lds canon could have been made even more modern. It is written in english very similar to the early modern english linguistic style of the king james version of the bible, and has since been fully or partially translated into 111. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. Wikidata item this is a version of the book of mormon adapted into plain english by timothy b. The book of mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. Audio narration in cakchiquel, english, guarani, japanese, korean, mam, navajo, portuguese, quiche, spanish, and tzotzil quick reference guide that highlights key passages about jesus christ, gospel topics, people, places, and events in the book of mormon. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace.