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Show THE DESERET NEWS, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1941 Church Deportment 3L By Vote. Elder E. Of DL Cecil McGovin Jir OL CLrch On , 7 . . . Bible Quotations In The Book Of Mormon - Author of "Mormonism and Masohry" and "Cumoroh's Gold Bible.'1- - 'NNE of the problems tjiat all critics have called to our attention is the practice of the Nephite prophets quoting from the Bibler It'has been said by certain opponents .that these quotations were taken word for word from the Bible We must correct this false - impression. Certain scholars Have suggested probability that while translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith kept the open Bible beside, him and from the corresponding text in the King James V ersion unless there was to be a definite and: drastic change to be made in the sacred text. This would explain the presence in the Book of Mormon of the vocabulary of the scholars of 1611. , The Nephite Record quotes 433 verses from Isaiah, yet 234 of these are changed in some noticeable respect. In other words 51 per cent of the quotationg from Isaiah are not in the eact language of the Bible.1 In these verses 48 per cent Of the Italicized' words' are Changed, thus proving that Joseph Smith did not incorporate the full text from' the Bible and that he was guided by a more ancient text. Such conservative translations as the Revised Version of 1885 and the Dou-aVersion omit these words because they were not a part of the original text. If Joseph Spiith had been merely copying from the Bible he surely also-.-w-ould-- have Thirty-fou- r copied verces are quoted from the sixth ehap-th- e Their absence from the Book of is strong evidence that it is based MattheWj 44 per cent of them befng afferent, while 37 per cent of upon a text more ancient than-- the Greek text of Erasmus froni( which the materiaj comparable to the is the King James Version was tianslat-ed- . Matthew of changed, enjb chapter These changes are so. striking that one 5.25 we read: In Matthew material this that agree obliged was translated from an ancient text. .Agree with thine ad ersary quickThe Revised Version which issued ly, while thou art' in the way with frtttn the press in 1885, though based him; lest at any time the adversary upon a different text entirely to that deliver thee to the judge, and the hich the scholars in the time of King judge deliver thee to the officer, and James I used, does not make nearly thou be cast into prison. The corresponding erse in ttye Neas many alterations in the text as does the Book of Mormon, In the Newi phite scriptures simply says: Agree Testament alone the version of 1885 "with thine adversary quickly while hrmflest at from that of 1611 in 36,191 in- - tbmr-art-istances, yet the Book of Mormoft in- any time he shall get thee, and thou troduces more changes than the ver- shalt be cast into pusanJ.V sion of 1885 does in the mateiiul it is The Nephites had prisons, but said to quote from the Bible. their legal system of criminal procedCHANGES SIGNIFICANT ure and the names of their judicial ofCONSIDER CHANGES Furthermore, the nature of the ficers were so different to those of Let us consider a few of the many changes is more significant than their the Jews at the time of Christ, that changes in these sections w hich are number. The New Testament menthe Savior omitted all reference, to said to be verbatim quotations: tions many practices, institutions and them in His teachings to the Nephites. In Isaiah 2.9 we read: And the rituals that were not in existence at The words, "the uttermost farth-ing- , mean man boweth down, and the the time the left Jerusalem, Nephites become uttermost senine in the great man humbleth himself: thereabout 600 years befoie the birth of Book of Mormon. The command to fore forgive them not. Christ Since Ihesejwere not later de- pluck out the sinful eje add cut-o- ff This philosophy contradicts the not repeated veloped by the Nephites it would have the offending hand whole spirit of the Christian religion. to have refuted the to the Nephites ' Ropeople have de.beensbeer. lolly The Book of Mormon gives meaning Sermon on the Mount exactly as it was veloped such an exaggeiated manner and logic to ibis verse in Je'wsT Let us be Specific: of 'givehTo'the speech as the Jews had done at ner: "And the mean man boweth not To the Jews the Lord said, "except time of Christ. Though this Hethe down, and the great man humbleth exceed the shall your righteousness brew trait is present in the early pait not himself, therefore forgive him of the scribes and Of the Book of Mormon, it was so unrighteousness not. Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter common with the Nephites that they WORD FOR WORD into the kingdom of heaven. could not have caught the full signifiThe next verse in Isaiah reads: The Nephites did not have a cult cance of these words. It was not in Enter into the, rock, and hide thee of scribes nor a religious party comwith. Nephite practices to in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and parable to the Pharisees. If these keeping make such exaggerated statements, for the glory of his majesty.1 The names had appeared in the records of though to the Jews if became a. dyBook of Mormon gives this clear meanthe Nephites it would certainly have namic and figuie of ing to the mysterious text: O ydwick-earoused suspicion. The correspond--inspeech. ones, enter into the rock, and hide., verse in the Masteiss discourse SIMILAR OBJECTIONS thee in the dust, for the fear of the to the Nephites simply said, except When the early .translations of the lord and the glory of his majesty ye shall keep my commandments, Bible began to appear in England, shall smite thee. which I have commanded you at this the friar Buckingham objected to Isaiah 8:19 reads in part: "should time, ye shall in no case enter into on the them grounds that w hen the not a people seek unto their God? for the kingdom of heaven. Matthew this text they would ac. read peasant:? the living to the dead? Nephi adds a 5.20 III Nephi 12.20 ) and half the people it literally cept few words and gives meaning to the Thenext jyerse in Matthews text in the realm would lie without --one should seek a thus: not verse, people bears sufficient ev idence to convince eye or one hand, and that the health unto their God forthe living to hear any unprejudiced mind that the Book of all the people would be injured befrom the dead? of Mornuiti is a divine book. To the cause the bakers would use only a litThis shows how' the Book of MorJews the Lord is'iepresented as say- - tle leaveh iif the .bread. mon quotes "word lor vvord.Trom.lhe 'I" The Nephites, unaccustomed Bible. Moreover the most ancient ing: "But I say unto you, That whosocustoms in the days of Jesus, and genuine texts are in agreement ever is with his brother withraised similar objections angry have might with many of these changes indicated out a cause shall be in Of the danger .statement. to this in the Nephite scriptures, thus show(Matthew 5:22) judgment; The commajid not to swear by ing that the Book of Mormon is based In the Book of Mormon the words Jerusalem is omitted fiom the Nephite ancient text upon an without a cause are absent from took solemn oaths In like manner it is a serious misThey scriptures. thd text. The value of this omission representation to say that the New is enhanced when w'e learn that these and the biblical practice of swearing Testament questions in the book two words are absent from all the was popular with them, but a command not to swear by Jerusalem was were taken verbatim from the text .earliest manuscripts of the New Testa-- , without attemptmgjo change them to unnecessary since- such a ent Scholars are agreed that these certainly more foreign to their minds was meet the special conditions and custhing three wrords take away the spirit of - toms of the Nephites. was No impostor it distant by space. than Christ from the text He made no - would have been shrewd enough, to 'apologies, no allowances. It seems In addition to such omissions as have done this as it is so appropri-- . more like the spirit of the Master to the ones mentioned, there are many ately done in the Book of Mormon. At emphasize the fact that he' who is improvements in this famous sermon, this point the hand. of the deceiver with his brother shall be in such as the following: The Bible exwould have been manifested, perhaps angry of tends a jpromsie to those who hunger the judgment. more than, any other place in the vol- danger are convinced that and thirst after righteousness, that Authorities ume. since these words were not a part of. they shall be filled. The Book of GAVE SAME SERMON were added Mormon declares that they shSll be The Book of Mormon quotes the original sermon, they a person, years later, jn an effort filled "with the Holy Ghost In thelengthy sections', from the Saviors - by te this harsh, severe statement. Bible the kingdom of heaven is promsoften Sermon on the Mount, or to be more truthful, the resurrected Lord gave to the Nephites the same sermon He had given on the mount to the Jews. This masterful oration has become the bulwark of Christianity. .Surely no.de. celver would attempt to Improve upon It, yet the Book of Mormon makes many changes in this great classic, everyone of which is in the interest . the Nephites. In speaking to the Nephites the Savior used the same text that is found in the fifth chapter of Matthew, verse?, thirty of comprising forty-fivwhich are different from the text 'of y - -t- bese-words- -- Mor-mo- n teo sev-copie- d --- - . - - the-waywit- -- s n - easily-understoo- d g - -- ... - Of "A Marvelous Work And A Wonder" Part- - XII Ti mu i 1! i: h-- 1. i L 1, ' lC t lib HJi 1 - -- The mtnlion'of "publicans, and other teims unknown to the Nephites is carefully expunged from the record a desirable thing which --no 4 m postorerm t(thaveTtone. Such simple errors aie to be found in almost every play the great Shakespeare wrote, and in all other htera-tur- e that is said to have achieved thq. realm-o- f greatness. It would hav eTieen an easy matter but an irreparable blunder to have mentioned .farthings, mites, talents shekels as constituting a medium of exchange among the Nephites, et such terms as senine, limnah, eziom, onti, seon, shum, amnor and enum aie wisely substituted It must be. rememheied that the unschooled translator, Joseph Split h, spent only altout 90 days in the laborious task of translating this extensive record In that length of time he could not have thought out the well planned changes that occur in the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, if unaided by divine insiiration. v LABORS I.ONG HOPES , Many translators today insist on translating only three or four chapters a day when they translate the Bible into modern speech versions, but Joseph Tlmith labored through the days of the spring of 1829 as long as daylight, would permit. His tired scribe occasionally . rested.,w bile friend wrote a paragraph or two, but no rest came to the translator until the task was completed. Some days he must have dictated more than 5,000 words and few were the days that he fell far short of that amount. His scribes have said that he dictated slowly, seldom getting far ahead of them; never pausing to get a fresh start or asking them to read back the last line so he could complete the line of thought. To his alert mind, this great prophet visualized the end from the beginning. In every verse he wrote better than he knew. In every paragraph the inspiration of the Lord is apparent. The tianslator of this golden treasure-housof literature met a martyrs doom when but a young man. He could have avoided years of persecution and have escaped the assassins bullets if he had but said there were no gold plates, no angels, no Urim and Thummim, no revela- tion. But he was as true to his divine mission as other martyrs have been, and when he .sealed his testimony with a crimson seal he left as one of the' greatest monumentsTo his divine inspiration this marvelous book which is not unworthy of the title "The Gold Bible. "Le-vite- e -- th.i&-.ma- ised to the pool in spirit, whereas, the Book of Mormon restricts it to the "poor in spirit who come unto me. of the provincial and local customs of s, e BOOK IS TRI E His scribe, Oliver Cowdery, said of the origin of this book; That book is true. Sidney Rigdon did not write it. Solomon Spaulding didnot write it. I wrote it myself, as it fell from the lips of the Prophet. I be-held with my eyes, and handled with my hands, the gold plates from which it was translated.' This marvelous book deserves the prayerful attention which Moroni recommended in these words: And when ye shall receive these things, ! .would. exhort you- ask God, the Eternal Father," in the name of Christ, if these things are' not true; anJf ye shall ask with a sincere heart, With real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. A nd by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4,5.)" .that-ye-wou- the-trut- . |
