Book of Mormon Did You Mean Book?

Add a link on the top of this Book of Mormon page Express submission by secure payment !

<table><tr><td>
				  <form name="APform" action="http://www.allopass.com/cb/check.php4" method="POST">
 <input type="hidden" name="CDOC_ID" value="297865">
 <input type="hidden" name="CSITE_ID" value="111941">
 <input type="hidden" name="LG_SCRIPT" value="uk">
 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="300">
  <tr>
   <td colspan="3">
         <img src="http://www.allopass.com/imgweb/script/uk/cb_os_top.gif" alt="">
       </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td width="157" valign="middle" bgcolor="White">
    <font face="Arial,Helvetica" color="Black" size="11" Style="font-size: 12px;">
     <b>Enter your access ticket</b>
    </font>
   </td>
   <td width="80" bgcolor="White">
    <input type="text" size="10" maxlength="10" value="Ticket" name="CODE" onFocus="if (this.form.CODE.value=='Ticket') this.form.CODE.value=''" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #E7E7E7; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000080 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000080 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #000080 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000080 1px solid; COLOR: #000080; CURSOR: text; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT:bold; LETTER-SPACING: normal; WIDTH:85; TEXT-ALIGN=center;">
   </td>
   <td width="58" align="center" bgcolor="White">
    <input type="button" name="APsub" value="" onClick="this.form.submit(); this.form.APsub.disabled=true;" style="border:0px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:48px; height:18px; background:url('http://www.allopass.com/img/bt_ok.png');">
   </td>
  </tr>
  <tr><td colspan="3" width="300" height="13</font><br><img src="http://www.allopass.com/img/cb_bot.gif" alt=""></td></tr>
 </table>
<input type="hidden" name="DATAS" value="">
</form>		 
</td><td valign=	op"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
 <tr>
  <td>
   <form name="cben" action="https://secure.allopass.com/cb/subscribe.php4" method="POST" target="DisplaySub">
    <input type="hidden" name="START" value="1">
    <input type="hidden" name="SDOC_ID" value="297865">
    <input type="hidden" name="SSITE_ID" value="111941">
    <input type="hidden" name="LANG" value="L_UK">
       <input type="image" src="http://www.allopass.com/imgweb/script/uk/cb_subscribe_os.gif" alt="Ticket d'accès" onClick="window.open('','DisplaySub','toolbar=0,location=0,directories=0,status=1,menubar=0,scrollbars=1,resizable=1,width=600,height=570');" border = 0>
      </form>
  </td>
 </tr>
</table></td></tr></table>

Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ion)

The Book of Mormon is one of four sacred texts of Mormonism, first published by Joseph Smith, Jr. in March 1830 in Palmyra, New York. The book's self-declared main purpose is to testify of Jesus Christ, through the writings of ancient prophets of the Western Hemisphere. It asserts that it was abridged and compiled by the prophet Mormon and his son Moroni in the 4th century, for "the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God." Joseph Smith claimed to have translated the record by divine inspiration with assistance from the Urim and Thummim.

Content

Organization

The format of The Book of Mormon is similar to the Bible, with separate books written by different authors who recorded the interactions of God with people. Generally the book is composed of the following books, though orial divisions in different churches' ions vary:

The book's sequence is primarily chronological. Notable exceptions include the "Words of Mormon," which is an orial insertion (authored by Mormon), and the "Book of Ether," which is an abridgement by Moroni of an earlier civilization's record. The books of First Nephi through Omni are first-person narratives, as are Mormon and Moroni. The remainder of the Book of Mormon is a third-person historical narrative, compiled and abridged by Mormon.

In the version published by the LDS Church ("The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ"), the book also contains a title page (written by Mormon and Moroni), a modern day introduction written by church leaders, the "Testimony of Three Witnesses," the "Testimony of Eight Witnesses," the "Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith" concerning the Book of Mormon, "A brief explanation about the Book of Mormon," chapter headings written by Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, a "pronouncing guide" to names and places, footnotes and cross-references to the Bible, and an index.

Investigation of the book

The book makes reference to its own personal investigation on the part of the reader. This can be found in the 10th chapter of Moroni, verses 3-5:

One assumption upheld by some proponents of the Book of Mormon is that a single positive spiritual experience associated with sincere prayer is an affirmation from God that the book is what it claims it is; others believe such a confirmation may occur gradually over a period of time, with no specific experience or event. For a more thorough investigation into this technique for gaining knowledge, see Epistemology.

Title Page

Brief narrative summary

The dates and people in the following summary are things the Book of Mormon claims are historical. As with all sacred texts, those who are not adherents or followers view the text to be a work of fiction.

The book's major themes

Stated purposes

The purpose of The Book of Mormon, as stated on its original title page, "is to show the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord has done for their fathers" and to convince "Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself to all nations."

Another Witness of Christ

Every prophet in the Book of Mormon teaches about Jesus Christ. The crowning event of the Book of Mormon is the visitation of the resurrected Christ to the Nephites around 34 AD, shortly after his 40-day ministry in Jerusalem (3 Nephi 11-26).

An angel prophesied to Nephi that Jesus's birth would be 600 years from the time he and his family left Jerusalem (1 Nephi 10:4, 19:8; See 3 Nephi 1). Many prophets in the Book of Mormon, beginning with Lehi and Nephi, saw in visions the birth, ministry, and death of Christ in visions (1 Nephi 11), and were told his name. Mosiah 3:8). At the time of King Benjamin, the Nephites were called "the children of Christ" (Mosiah 5:7). The faithful members of the church at the time of Captain Moroni (73 BC) were called "Christians" by their enemies, because of their belief in Christ (Alma 46:13-15). For nearly 200 years after the Christ's appearance at the temple in the Americas, the land was filled with peace and prosperity because of the people's obedience to Christ's commandments (4 Nephi). The great prophet-general Mormon worked to convince the faithless people of his time of Christ (360 AD), and Moroni buried the plates with faith in Christ (See title page). Many others also bore witness to the reality of the Messiah.

Some doctrinal teachings

Dominant narrative themes

The following narrative themes are especially consistent in The Book of Mormon:

Origin of the Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith's official account

According to Joseph Smith and his associates, the record comprising The Book of Mormon was found and translated as follows:

Because of its reputed source, the Book of Mormon was commonly known as the "Golden Bible," particularly by non-Mormons, though a few members also used the term in early descriptions.

Alternative explanations

Alternative explanations for the authorship of the Book of Mormon have arisen. Most of these explanations attack the notion of Joseph Smith receiving divine revelations. An incomplete list of alternative origins of The Book of Mormon is given below. (See Dr. Jeff Lindsay's website for additional scholarly analysis of these allegations)

Smith as author

According to this view, Joseph Smith simply wrote the Book of Mormon and later claimed to have translated it. This position tends to be the most commonly-held among Smith's critics and non-Mormons in general. Some Latter-day Saint scholars, such as Hugh Nibley, addressed this viewpoint, claiming that it is nearly impossible to write such a book within such a period of time, particuarly given that Smith was an unlearned man.

Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries

Persuitte has pointed out that Smith may have had source material with which to work, especially View of the Hebrews: or the Tribes of Israel in America, by Ethan Smith, pastor of a church in Poultney, Vermont, self-published, 1825, which called for recognition of Native Americans as the lost tribes of Israel and for bringing them back into the Christian fold. Speculation regarding the possible origins of the Native Americans were common in the era. Thus Smith could have formed an outline of the epic in his mind from contemporary sources before dictating it. Persuitte, in his book, Joseph Smith and the Origins of The Book of Mormon, shows extensive parallels between passages in View of the Hebrews and in The Book of Mormon, but notes no instances of direct copying, nor does he demonstrate that Smith ever read or even encountered the book. Had he owned a copy, Smith could be said to have been inspired by View of the Hebrews.

Some claim Smith plagiarized material from the manuscript for an unpublished novel by Solomon Spaulding. Others believe Spaulding's romantic novel has very little in common to the Book of Mormon, with the exception of the story, which revolves around a group of seafaring Romans who sail to the New World around 2 millennia ago.

Smith as a plagiarist from the King James Version of the Bible

A substantial segment of the Book of Mormon, namely 2 Nephi chapters 7, 8, and 12-24, match nearly word-for-word the chapters 50, 51-52:1-2, and 2-4 (respectively) of the King James Translation (1611) of the Book of Isaiah. This suggests that it is possible Joseph Smith used these sections of the Bible when authoring the Book of Mormon.

The footnotes and chapter headings of the 1981 LDS ion of the Book of Mormon acknowledge the similarities between these passages and encourage comparisons between the Isaiah and 2 Nephi. There are differences in more than half of the 433 verses of Isaiah that are quoted in the Book of Mormon; most are very minor, but some are significant, which shows that Joseph Smith did not copy the KJV word-for-word, though he still may have used it during the supposed "translation."

One of Smith's colleagues as author

According to this theory, someone else (either Sidney Rigdon or some other close friend of Smith) wrote the book and allowed Smith to take cr for it. Given that Smith was not particularly educated beyond a basic understanding of reading, writing, and arithmetic, many consider this theory more probable than the view that Smith wrote the book himself. Both Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery were educated and could have helped Smith fabricate the story. This theory would also help explain why different sections of the book appear to be written by different authors (of course, the Book of Mormon does claim to be written by different authors).

However, Sidney Rigdon and Oliver Cowdery both denied having written the book, and in fact Cowdery was one of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Even though he became disaffected with Joseph Smith's leadership and with the church and was excommunicated, Cowdery never denied his testimony that the Book of Mormon was the word of God; he later returned to the church. There is also no evidence that Joseph Smith knew of or was in contact with Sidney Rigdon until after the Book of Mormon was published. Most histories state that Parley P. Pratt, a member of Rigdon's congregation near Kirtland, Ohio, was baptized around September 1830 in Palmyra. Soon after, Pratt returned to Ohio, which is when Rigdon learned of Smith and the Book of Mormon and was baptized. According to these accounts, Rigdon first met Smith in December 1830, nine months after the Book of Mormon's publication.

Latter Day Saint views concerning the book's historicity

The dominant and widely accepted view among Latter Day Saints is that the Book of Mormon is a true account of the people whose history it documents.

Since the time of its publication, it has been common among Latter Day Saints to view and explain the Book of Mormon as a comprehensive history of all Native Americans. In light of more careful research, however, both the text of the book and archaeological studies support a more limited view of the scope of the Book of Mormon. Now, many Latter Day Saint scholars suggest that the book is a history of only a small group of Native Americans in Central America. Populations and civilizations described in the Book of Mormon would not have been large enough to fill whole continents. Moreover, there is much evidence that one common assumption of the past (that Book of Mormon civilizations were alone in America) is probably incorrect.

While some Mormon religious scholars claim to have found archaeological and linguistic evidence that the book was an ancient record, these conclusions are not generally accepted by secular scholars.

Role of the Book of Mormon in Mormonism

Many find the role of the Book of Mormon in Mormonism enigmatic in that it does not receive the expected central focus indicated by its purported history, origin, and role in the beginning of Mormonism.

Apologetic Point of View

This phenomenon (of not placing enough emphasis on the Book of Mormon or ignoring it all together) was decried in a revelation to Joseph Smith that pronounced a condemnation on the "whole church" for treating the Book of Mormon "lightly," until they should "repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I the Lord have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written, that they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father's kingdom" (Doctrine and Covenants 84:55-58). The importance of studying the Book of Mormon has been stressed by every LDS church president since Joseph Smith, who stated that the Book of Mormon was "the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."

Alleged inconsistencies between the Book of Mormon and Latter-day Saint doctrine

Critics of Mormonism have claimed that the Book of Mormon does not seem entirely consistent with Mormon (and/or more specifically, LDS) doctrine. The book's Introduction states that the Book of Mormon "contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel," though it does not dictate certain specific doctrines important to Latter-day Saints, including the origin of God, Baptism for the dead and other temple ordinances, and the pre-existence. It also does not dictate the doctrine of plural marriage, or polygamy, which a few 'fundamentalist' splinter sects maintain; however, the Book of Mormon does mention polygamy, and Jacob says concerning it:

To counter the accusation that the Book of Mormon does not contain "the fullness of the everlasting gospel," some LDS members point to a statement made by Joseph Smith to the effect that the basic and essential doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and Confirmation, which are taught in the Book of Mormon, and all other doctrines and practices are but appendages to those tenets. Another interpreation of the phrase "fullness of the everlasting gospel" is that the Book of Mormon contains, as does the Bible, the true gospel (the message of Christ's Atonement and of the plan of salvation), untarnished by centuries of misinterpretation.

The following passages appear to casual observers to conflict with Mormon (and more specifically, LDS) doctrines:

Latter Day Saints believe it makes no sense to claim that a book so complex and revolutionary as the Book of Mormon might contradict itself within the span of a few pages. Moreover, Latter Day Saints find it equally ridiculous when critics claim that Joseph Smith, who was intimately aware of the Book of Mormon's teachings, taught doctrines contrary to the teachings of the book on which rests the whole validity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Therefore, it seems irrational to Latter Day Saints that these "contradictions" exist; in their mind, any problems or confusion must stem from a person's misinterpretation (or in the case of some critics, deliberate misreprensentation) of certain passages or teachings.

Book of Mormon ions

For the first time since its original publication, a special ion of The Book of Mormon was printed by a trade publisher for commercial distribution. While it contains all the original text of the English ion of the Book of Mormon, it lacks the footnotes and cross-references of the church-published version. This hardcover ion of the book was made available on November 16, 2004 by Doubleday.

Some critics have suggested that some of the changes across ions significantly affect the meaning of the Book of Mormon and indicate an agenda inconsistent with the idea of a revealed or inspired book. Most of these changes have been discussed in official Church publications including the Ensign, Improvement Era, Millennial Star and Times and Seasons, and usually are consistent with early pre- and post-publication s made by Joseph Smith. See Linguistics and the Book of Mormon.

~ Did You mean . . .

Book of Mormon?

Find an article a definition

What is the meaning of Book of Mormon?

Have to see

Contents

Content

Organization

Investigation of the book

Title Page

Brief narrative summary

The book's major themes

Stated purposes

Another Witness of Christ

Some doctrinal teachings

Dominant narrative themes

Origin of the Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith's official account

Alternative explanations

Smith as author

Smith as a plagiarist of contemporaries

Smith as a plagiarist from the King James Version of the Bible

One of Smith's colleagues as author

Latter Day Saint views concerning the book's historicity

Role of the Book of Mormon in Mormonism

Apologetic Point of View

Alleged inconsistencies between the Book of Mormon and Latter-day Saint doctrine

Book of Mormon ions

References

See also

Further reading

External links

Links to texts

Links to articles about

What does Book of Mormon mean ? Search with Google !

Article on Book of Mormon, category, different spelling or sense