Translating the Book of Mormon

[Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum]

MARCH, 2015

This article is courtesy of the blog, "Book of Mormon Resources" run by Kirk Magleby, BMAF Board member

Lucy Mack Smith said Joseph Smith at age 18 had never read the entire Bible and was more inclined to meditation than to study. The fact that at age 24, from April 7 to July 1, 1829, he dictated almost the entire Book of Mormon in a revelatory marathon is nothing short of amazing. The Book of Mormon is precisely a "marvelous work and a wonder" as Nephi1 prophesied 2 Nephi 25:17 quoting Isaiah 2 Nephi 27:26, Isaiah 29:14 who alluded to King David Psalms 105:5 who echoed 1 Chronicles 16:2 or vice versa.

Royal Skousen holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Illinois. He is a Professor of Linguistics and English at BYU. He has been the editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text since 1988. His presentation was entitled "A theory! A theory! We have already got a theory, and there cannot be any more theories!"

Skousen has a wonderfully dry, understated wit. Audiences have to pay attention because, like Nibley, some of Skousens best comments are unscripted & off the cuff. This is what we know about the translation process from eyewitnesses

• The text of the Book of Mormon was revealed to Joseph Smith word for word
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• The Prophet was not at liberty to express ideas in his own words
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• Words appeared in the interpreters or the seer stone
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• Joseph's head was buried in a hat to exclude light so he could better read the words
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• Joseph could see 20 - 30 words at a time
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• He read aloud about 10 words at a time to his scribe who wrote them down
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• The scribe then read the text back to Joseph who compared it with the revealed words
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• When Joseph and his scribe felt they had the right words recorded, the divine display changed
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• The translation team worked for about 6 hours per day
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• Proper names were spelled out the first time they appeared
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• The process was transparent, out in the open, seen by all
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• The plates themselves, nearby but not consulted, were wrapped up in a cloth of some kind
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• After breaks, Joseph Smith began where they had left off without notes or prompting
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Church historians of an earlier era were embarrassed at the image of Joseph Smith with his head buried in his hat. The hat is our strongest evidence of a divine translation through the gift and power of God. Joseph Smith was not consulting reference materials. He was not collaborating with a team of experts. He was reading words that appeared on a stone in the bottom of a hat. The whole thing is simply astonishing and supernatural.

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Articles posted to the BMAF website since our last email:

• Destruction and Disaster in 3 Nephi and the Geology of Mesoamerica  by  Rappleye, Neal
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• Volcanoes and the Historicity of the Book of Mormon  by  Stoddard, Ted Dee