Book of mormon original manuscript

In this episode, dave takes a closer look at the original manuscript of the book of mormon and shows that theres a surprising amount of insight we can gain from it. This article is being offered free as a courtesy to as it was footnoted in an expanded. The original manuscript of the book of mormon book. This kind of transcription is an exact reproduction of the text in typescript, including original spellings, miswritings, crossouts, overwritings, erasures. More than a decade of meticulous research revealed such insights as royal skousen prepared transcripts of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon. The last of the plates of mormon was the title page. The manuscript pages contain the words written by josephs. Oliver cowdery as book of mormon scribe religious studies. The original manuscript and printers manuscript of the book of mormon had no punctuation. Book of mormon manuscript excerpt, circa june 1829 1 nephi 2. Evidence from the book of mormon manuscript mormonthink. A complete transcript of the extant parts of the original manuscript of the book of mormon has been published as royal skousen, ed. There are on the average three changes per original manuscript.

It asks readers to understand that if there be fault in the book of mormon it be the mistake of men. The original book of mormon manuscript author dean c. Two major goals of each published edition of the book of mormon have been 1 to faithfully reproduce the text. A photograph of the original manuscript of the book of mormon which is published in the book, a new witness for christ in america, vol. Book of mormon original manuscript 1829 church history.

Initial work concentrated on studying the two manuscripts of the book of mormon, namely the original manuscript and the printers manuscript. Book of mormontransmission from translator to printed text. The printers manuscript is not an exact copy of the original manuscript. Manuscripts of the book of mormon the book of mormon critical. Because 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript had been lost a year earlier, joseph and his associates were wary about the manuscripts safety. Here is a microsoft word document ive created for anyone to download. The book of mormon, unlike most books, was better written in. Book of mormon editions 18301981 the encyclopedia of. What became of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. When joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through divine inspiration, he dictated to scribes, who recorded the words on common paper of. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. The book of mormon critical text project, under the editorship of royal skousen, began in 1988 and is now nearing completion. Royal skousen explains the significance of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon.

Royal skousen is professor of english at brigham young university and since 1988 has served as the editor of the book of mormon critical text project. The first edition of the book of mormon went on sale in palmyra on march 26, 1830, and smith formally organized a church less than two weeks later. The yale edition of the book of mormon contains several hundred readings that have never appeared in any previous editions, including 216 that were found only in the original manuscript, 187 from the printers manuscript where the original is not extant, and 88 that were in both the original and printers manuscripts. Ive been working on the critical text project of the book of mormon since 1988 and there are a number of works that have been published. A stray ink drop and a quirk of nineteenthcentury script make the difference between retain that wrong and repair that wrong. From the original manuscript to the current lds edition of the book of mormon, various changes have made their way into the text. Since oliver cowdery wrote the bulk of the original manuscript, i will concentrate on him first. The printers manuscript of the book of mormon has been sold to the church of. Church acquires more fragments of original book of mormon. It is enclosed by folding the casing and then by sliding it.

Over the past twentyone years, editor royal skousen has pored over joseph smiths original manuscripts and identified more than 2,000 textual errors in the 1830 edition. The printers manuscript was consulted again by joseph smith and others when the second edition of the book of mormon was printed in 1837 in kirtland, ohio. In this article i discuss what the original manuscript of. Most of the original manuscript of the book of mormon was tragically destroyed by the elements long ago. The original manuscript was in this manner carefully guarded, and the copy struck off by oliver cowdery was used in the printing of the book of mormon. Topics book, of, mormon, lds, cult, mormon, printers, manuscript collection. Why did nephi say an angel had revealed the name jesus christ. The following lists are not meant to be exhaustive. The book of mormon and the manuscripts meridian magazine. The original manuscript was used by smith to further correct errors printed in the 1830 and 1837 versions of the book of mormon for the 1840 printing of the book. Book of mormon manuscript excerpt, circa june 1829 1. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august 1829. Restoring the original text of the book of mormon fairmormon. This page shows the original text and the changes that were made by joseph smith and others for later editions of the book of mormon.

It is enclosed by folding the casing and then by sliding it into an additional case. Smithsonian visitors view an original manuscript of the book of mormon, an 1830 first edition of the book of mormon, a couple of rare mormon. A copy of the original was then made by oliver cowdery and two other scribes. Manuscripts of the book of mormon the book of mormon. A strong case can be made for the authenticity of joseph smiths account of the coming forth of the book of mormon first, the eyewitness testimony of those directly involved with the translation unanimously agree that joseph was not copying from another book or manuscript, but rather the text of the book of mormon as he peered into the sear. Explore the book of mormon with the maxwell institute. This second manuscript is the one that was prepared to take to the printer in 182930 to set the type.

There are differing views on the origin of the book of mormon. What does the original book of mormon manuscript reveal about. Lds church buys printers manuscript of book of mormon for. When oliver cowdery was making the printers manuscript of the book of mormon, he copied the text of the original book of mormon manuscript faithfully, including putting down chapter iii from the original manuscript, but couldnt find chapters 1 and.

The first, called the original manuscript o, was written by at least three scribes. Grandins assistant, who was not a member of the church. The website shows a sidebyside comparison of the pages. David whitmer was not aware of this commandment, or had forgotten it, and without doubt, believed that the printers copy was the original. Robin scott jensen coedited the printers manuscript for the joseph smith papers project. 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. The original manuscript of the book of mormon contains virtually no punctuation, and the scribes for the printers manuscript added very. Lds church acquires printers manuscript of the book of. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, brigham young university, 2001. The first, called the original manuscript o, was written by at least three scribes as joseph smith translated and dictated. What im going to be talking about today is restoring the original text of the book of mormon. The other manuscript is called the printers manuscript and is a copy of the original manuscript.

Book of mormon manuscripts the encyclopedia of mormonism. This manuscript was begun no later than april 1829 and finished in june 1829. The original book of mormon transcript the book of mormon. The book of mormon, unlike most books, was better written in its original manuscript form except for misspellings. It is the most complete copy of the original manuscript, deseret news reports. Book of mormontransmission from translator to printed. Typographical facsimile of the extant text royal skousen, royal skousen on. An examination of the original manuscript reveals that joseph smith, as he translated, apparently never went back to cross out, revise, or modify. The original was never in the hands of the printer. Jun 26, 2017 it is possible that verses 1218 of words of mormon were not originally part of words of mormon, but were part of the book of mosiah. Book of mormon original manuscript 1829 when joseph smith translated the book of mormon into english through divine inspiration, he dictated to scribes, who recorded the words on common paper of the time period, making this the closest record to the golden plates buried in hill cumorah. The original manuscript, as we have it, was produced in the spring and early summer of 1829 by scribes who wrote down joseph smiths dictation of the text. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. The printers manuscript was handwritten by a follower and was used to create the first printed edition of the book of mormon in 1830.

Church history department officials have announced and displayed newly acquired fragments of the original book of mormon manuscript. The most important one is the original manuscript, the one that joseph smith dictated to. These are the first couple of pages of the printers manuscript of the book of mormon. Mar 25, 2020 in this episode, dave takes a closer look at the original manuscript of the book of mormon and shows that theres a surprising amount of insight we can gain from it. The current critical text project of the book of mormon began in 1988 with major support from farms. Sep 25, 2017 the printers manuscript was handwritten by a follower and was used to create the first printed edition of the book of mormon in 1830. Aug 31, 2017 reid neilson, left, assistant church historian and recorder, and robin scott jensen, associate managing historian and project archivist for the joseph smith papers project, go over portions of the original manuscript of the book of mormon that have been in the possession of the church history department. Book of mormon printers manuscript is now online church news. The original book of mormon transcript book of mormon central. Recently royal skousen has been directing much further work on the original manuscript of the book of mormon, with the assistance of f.

In the remainder of this paper, i will document many of the errors in the book of mormon manuscript, which provide clear evidence that the manuscript was copied rather than dictated. What does the original book of mormon manuscript reveal. Evidence from the original manuscript royal skousen journal of book of mormon studies 71 1998. When asked about her belief by her son, she answered. In the project we have included 20 printed editions of the book of mormon, 15 lds editions, one private edition from 1858, and four rlds editions. But the printers manuscript which was used to typeset the book of mormon is almost completely intact. The printed versions of the book of mormon derive from two manuscripts. The first volume of skousens work, the original manuscript of the book of mormon. The original manuscript of the book of mormon book of. Original book of mormon manuscript fragments could provide. Even before the 1981 edition was published, a careful student of the original manuscript and printers copy said, a great value of these early manuscripts is that for the most part they substantiate the correctness of the present book of mormon textfully 99. Only about 39 percent of the printers manuscript pages contain editing marks that were inserted in advance of typesetting. The original manuscript remained in the possession of the prophet joseph smith and was by his own hand placed in the corner stone of the nauvoo house, october 2, 1841, in the presence of numerous witnesses. To view the pages of the remaining original manuscript is to be convinced that it has been transcribed from dictation.

A second copy was also needed to protect against loss. After this original manuscript was completed, a second copy was made for the printers use. Prepared by royal skousen, professor of english and linguistics at brigham young university, this volume contains typographical facsimiles of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. This copy is called the printers manuscript p since it was the one normally used to set the type for the first 1830 edition of the book of mormon. In 1841, joseph smith placed the original manuscript in the cornerstone of the nauvoo house, a boarding house in nauvoo, illinois.

According to the community of christ, the printers manuscript is a copy of the original dictated manuscript and was the guide to set the type for the first edition of the book of mormon printed. The earliest text, attempts to sift through changes in the manuscript to bring the reader back to the best approximation of what the original text of the book of mormon would have said. The original manuscript of the book of mormon contains virtually no punctuation, and the scribes for the printers manuscript added very little of their own. Book of mormon printers manuscript is now online church. The goal of textual accuracy has led later editors to earlier editions and, when available, to the original and printers manuscripts see book of mormon manuscripts. Smith reportedly placed the original dictation of the book of mormon in the cornerstone of a house in nauvoo, illinois, in 1841.

It is possible that verses 1218 of words of mormon were not originally part of words of mormon, but were part of the book of mosiah. Sep 27, 2017 a page of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. In 2001, facsimile transcripts of the two book of mormon manuscripts volumes 1 and 2 of the critical text were published by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms. Oliver was the scribe for most of the book of mormon as we now have it, except for a few pages. Jessee this article is being offered free as a courtesy to as it was footnoted in an expanded gospel topic on their site. Book of mormon original manuscript being readied for. Because 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript had been lost a year earlier, joseph and his associates were wary about the manuscript s safety. The original book of mormon transcript the book of. The church history department is doing some interesting things with the original manuscript of the book of mormon this is the one that got placed into the cornerstone of the nauvoo house and partially destroyed after water seeped in. The book of mormon printers manuscript has been published virtually in its entirety, but what lds historians consider the crown jewel of the books originthe original manuscript handwritten as joseph smith dictated to scribes his translation of the nephite record preserved on gold platesexists only in fragmentary form. This copy is called the printers manuscript p, since it was the one normally used to set the type for the first 1830 edition of the book of mormon. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. Five of the scribesoliver cowdery, martin harris, john whitmer, christian whitmer, and samuel smithalso gave their testimonies as witnesses of the book of mormon. Typographical facsimile of the extant text provo, ut.

Several decades later, when the manuscript was pulled out, water had seeped into the cornerstone, and the manuscript had started to fall apart from the bottom up. Since the original manuscript was written under difficult circumstances, it was not always neat. The printers manuscript is the earliest surviving copy of about 72 percent of the book of mormon text, as only about 28 percent of the earlier dictation copy survived decades of storage in a. After the original manuscript was completed, joseph smith instructed oliver cowdery to prepare a second copy for the printers use. The lds church purchased the manuscript from the community of christ on wednesday, sept. It was begun in july 1829 and finished early in 1830. Lds church acquires book of mormon printers manuscript the. Four samples from the surviving fragments of the original manuscript of the book of mormon, penned by oliver cowdery 1828 original manuscript facsimiles of historic book of mormon editions. The original book of mormon transcript book of mormon. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august. Title page if there be fault it be the mistake of men.

The original book of mormon manuscript byu studies. The earliest text and his printers manuscript volumes, this book is an indispensable resource for studies of the book of mormon that rely on an accurate and original text. Most of the work in recovering the original text involves two manuscripts. Book of mormon sets new record for most expensive manuscript. When joseph smith translated the book of mormon in the spring of 1829, he dictated the text line by line. The original manuscript of the book of mormon neal a. Skousens decades if painstaking effort have provided a whole new landscape for critical study of the book of mormon. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. The printers manuscript is the copy of the book of mormon text made by oliver cowdery, hyrum smith, and a third, unknown scribe from the original text written by scribes as joseph smith dictated an english translation of the nephite record. First published in 1830, the book of mormon is the authoritative scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and its estimated million members.