(2003). However, Jesus also taught people in another land: the American continents. Its matter is drawn directly from the American frontier, from the impassioned revivalist sermons, the popular fallacies about Indian origin, and the current political crusades. Yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God when the trump shall sound. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land of Jerusalem, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity and they seek to destroy his life. The Book of Mormon, The hit musical by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park and Bobby Lopez (Avenue Q, Frozen). Created by heythaddeus. [53] These passages contain doctrinal and philosophical teachings on a wide range of topics, from basic themes of Christianity and Judaism[54] to political and ideological teachings. Harris later mortgaged his farm to underwrite the printing of the Book of Mormon. By Sandra Tanner . "[110], At the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference, church president Stephen M. Veazey ruled out-of-order a resolution to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record." He heals their sick and blesses their children. He teaches them about baptism and forgiveness. The Book of Third Nephi is of particular importance within the Book of Mormon because it contains an account of a visit by Jesus from heaven to the Americas sometime after his resurrection and ascension. Fixed typographical errors. Most of the archaeological, historical and scientific communities do not consider the Book of Mormon an ancient record of actual historical events. English. If the primary purpose of the Book of Mormon were to function as a sign—as tangible evidence that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God—that mission could have been accomplished much more concisely. [15] The 50 millionth copy was printed in 1990, with the 100 millionth following in 2000 and reaching 150 million in 2011.[15]. The Book of Mormon: the Musical - SYNOPSIS Act 1 Mormon missionaries of the LDS Church go door-to-door to attempt to convert people to Mormonism (" Hello Lyrics "). Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni, buried it in the Hill Cumorah in present-day Manchester, New York, before his death, and then appeared in a vision to Smith in 1827 as an angel,[7] revealing the location of the plates, and instructing him to translate the plates into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days. Stanley Larson, “Early Book of Mormon Texts: Textual Changes to the Book of Mormon in 1837 and 1840,”. [43][44] The title page states that the purpose of the Book of Mormon is "to [show] unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; ... and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations."[45]. [77][78] The book warns of the evil that occurs when the king is wicked, and therefore suggests that it is not generally good to have a king. The Book of Moroni then details the final destruction of the Nephites and the idolatrous state of the remaining society. "[55] Jesus is mentioned every 1.7 verses and is referred to by one hundred different names.[56]. God warns Lehi in a dream to take his family and leave Jerusalem because the city will be destroyed. [42] Within the Latter Day Saint movement there are several apologetic groups that disagree with the skeptics and seek to reconcile the discrepancies in diverse ways. The Lamanites, who survived, are “among the ancestors of the American Indians” (introduction to the Book of Mormon). In the narrative, at the time of King Benjamin (about 130 BC), the Nephite believers were called "the children of Christ". [19] Beginning around 1832, both the special spectacles and the seer stone were at times referred to as the "Urim and Thummim". One of them, Elder Cunningham, is an insecure, overweight, irritating liar. Searching for literary wonders in the Book of Mormon is a bit like seeking lyrical inspiration in the books of Chronicles or Judges. $19.95: $17.92: Kindle [42], Smith said the title page, and presumably the actual title of the 1830 edition, came from the translation of "the very last leaf" of the golden plates, and was written by the prophet-historian Moroni. As Lehi read the book, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord He read, "Jerusalem is cursed, for I have seen its wickedness! New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [159], In 1998, the LDS Church stopped translating selections from the Book of Mormon, and instead announced that each new translation it approves will be a full edition.[159]. Each manuscript is reviewed several times before it is approved and published. [58] He is said to be: "God himself [who] shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people ... [b]eing the Father and the Son—the Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—and they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. The First Book of Nephi His Reign and Ministry An account of Lehi and his wife Sariah, and his four sons, being called, (beginning at the eldest) Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Book of Mormon is a work of substantial complexity, however, with numerous well-spun narratives subsumed with a larger comprehensive vision. [81] When citizens referred to as "king-men" attempted to overthrow a democratically elected government and establish an unrighteous king, the book praises a military commander who executed pro-monarchy citizens who had vowed to destroy the church of God and were unwilling to defend their country from hostile invading forces. [82] The book also speaks favorably of a particular instance of what appears to be a peaceful Christ-centered theocracy, which lasted approximately 194 years before contentions began again. At that time BYU Professor Ellis Rasmussen and his associates were asked by the LDS Church to begin preparation for a new edition of the church's scriptures. "[132] In 1895, Whitmer's grandson George Schweich inherited the manuscript. Fandango FANALERT® ... Synopsis. All About Mormons. [67] The book also states that for nearly 200 years after Jesus' appearance at the temple in the Americas[68] the land was filled with peace and prosperity because of the people's obedience to his commandments. After Jesus is resurrected, He appears to the people in the Americas. "The limited success so far in swaying popular LDS opinion is a constant source of frustration for Mormon apologists...It appears that Mormons are generally content to picture the Book of Mormon story in a setting that is factually wrong. [125] In October 1841, the entire original manuscript was placed into the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House, and sealed up until nearly forty years later when the cornerstone was reopened. The exceptions are several LDS organizations that sponsor historical and archeological research, such as, Citing the lack of specific New World geographic locations to search, Michael D. Coe, a prominent Mesoamerican archaeologist and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University, writes (in a 1973 volume of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought): "As far as I know there is not one professionally trained archaeologist, who is not a Mormon, who sees any scientific justification for believing [the historicity of The Book of Mormon], and I would like to state that there are quite a few Mormon archaeologists who join this group.". "Third European edition". Lehi is a prophet in Jerusalem. At an LDS Church Missionary Training Center, devout, supercilious missionary-to-be Elder Kevin Price leads his classmates in a demonstration of the door-to-door method to convert people to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ("Hello!"). [156], The LDS version of the Book of Mormon has been translated into 83 languages and selections have been translated into an additional 25 languages. [125] The printer's manuscript was further edited, adding paragraphing and punctuation to the first third of the text. [69] Later, the prophet Mormon worked to convince the faithless people of his time (AD 360) of Christ. You may have heard of the Book of Mormon, but you might not know what itʼs about. [126] Shortly before his death in 1850, Cowdery gave the printer's manuscript to David Whitmer, another of the Three Witnesses. However, these were merely preliminary steps to a far more exacting and all-encompassing project. A Mini-Hollywood Grows in Utah", "Watch the first video in the Book of Mormon series", "150 Million and Counting: The Book of Mormon reaches another milestone", "The Structure of the Book of Mormon: A Theory of Evolutionary Development", "Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon? In addition to Smith's account regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they saw the golden plates and, in some cases, handled them. References to animals, plants, metals and technologies in the Book of Mormon that archaeological or scientific studies have found no evidence of in post-, This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 12:03. If he had left that out, his Bible would have been only a pamphlet. [162][163][164], The LDS Church, which distributes free copies of the Book of Mormon, reported in 2011 that 150 million copies of the book have been printed since its initial publication. [158] Translations into American Sign Language are available on videocassette and DVD. LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith refuted this assertion in a 1901 letter, believing such a manuscript "possesses no value whatever. Garlinghouse, Thomas, "Revisiting the Mound Builder Controversy", harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSilverberg1969 (. In 1988, with that preliminary phase of the project completed, Skousen took over as editor and head of the FARMS Critical Text of the Book of Mormon Project and proceeded to gather still scattered fragments of the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon and to have advanced photographic techniques applied to obtain fine readings from otherwise unreadable pages and fragments. "First European edition". Official Internet edition of the Book of Mormon for the LDS Church. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. Stanley R. Larson, “A Study of Some Textual Variations in the Book of Mormon, Comparing the Original and Printer's MSS., and Comparing the 1830, 1837, and 1840 Editions,” unpublished master's thesis (Provo: BYU, 1974). The Jaredite civilization is presented as existing on the American continent beginning about 2500 BC,[50]—long before Lehi's family arrived shortly after 600 BC—and as being much larger and more developed. [151] Many of his observations were included as improvements in the 1981 LDS edition of the Book of Mormon. [150] Larson proceeded to publish a useful set of well-argued articles on the phenomena which he had discovered. The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve,[11] the nature of the Christian atonement,[12] eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death,[13] and the organization of the latter-day church. [25] After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate, and that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith repented. [33] The publisher charged $3,000 for the production cost (wholesale to the author Joseph Smith at 60 cents per book). Since the late 1980s, church members have been encouraged to read from the Book of Mormon daily. New verses and corrections based on printer's manuscript. Critics say that it was authored by Smith, drawing on material and ideas from his contemporary 19th-century environment rather than translating an ancient record.[8][9][10]. [87] The Book of Mormon provided theological backing to this proposition, and suggested that the lost Tribes of Israel would be found in other locations throughout the world as well. The record, written on gold plates, was given to Joseph Smith and he was given the ability to translate it from the original language, reformed Egyptian. [79] The book further records the decision of the people to be ruled no longer by kings,[80] choosing instead a form of democracy led by elected judges. "A History of All the Important Things" (D&C 69:3): John Whitmer's Record of Church History | Religious Studies Center", "Book of Mormon manuscript may be world's most expensive book | The Kansas City Star", "Historian: At $35M, original printer's manuscript of Book of Mormon a bargain - The Salt Lake Tribune", "Church Releases New Edition of English Scriptures in Digital Formats", "The Restored Covenant Edition of the Book of Mormon—Text Restored to Its Purity? Book of Mormon - Chapter Summaries. [75] However, 2,000 of their descendants, who had not taken the oath of their parents not to take up arms against their enemies, chose to go to battle against the Lamanites, and it states that in their battles the 2,000 men were protected by God through their faith and, though many were injured, none of them died. "And it came to pass" was his pet. Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon has many authors. Benite, Z. 2020 page 96. In the late-19th century the extant portion of the printer's manuscript remained with the family of David Whitmer, who had been a principal founder of the Latter Day Saints and who, by the 1870s, led the Church of Christ (Whitmerite). The Book of Mormon is a story about a family. As part of this effort, a new edition was printed with the added subtitle "Another Testament of Jesus Christ". Mormon is eventually killed after having handed down the records to his son Moroni. Hereʼs a synopsis of the epic thousand-year history. 1837 reprint with British spellings. [4] The archaeological, historical, and scientific communities do not accept the Book of Mormon as an ancient record of actual historical events. Mormon included in his compilation the first six books as … Raids, murders, government upheavals, tempests, earthquakes, and fires allegedly preceded the appearance of Jesus Christ on the American continent. 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