Is it the most accurate book? It has had
4000+ changes since 1830.
Dean Maurice Helland: The Book of Mormon is still
the baited hook by which Mormons lure thousands of new converts into their
ranks every year. Prospective converts are urged to read it and then pray to
ask God if it is true. Only upon reading it do they learn of its threats of
eternal condemnation to all who reject it (2 Nephi 33.1-15; 15.11-18; Mormon
8.16-17; 4.21-22).
The Book of Mormon is one of the sacred texts of the
Latter Day Saint movement, regarded by Latter Day Saints as divinely revealed,
and named after the prophet-historian Mormon who, according to the text,
compiled most of the book. It was published by the founder of the movement,
Joseph Smith, Jr., in March 1830 in Palmyra, New York, USA. Its purpose, as
stated on its 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.”
Joseph Smith, Jr. said the book was a translation of golden plates. He said that the angel Moroni told him the plates were buried in a hill near his home (which he later called the Hill Cumorah). He said the translation was made through the power of God with aid of the Urim and Thummim, which were with the plates. During the production of the work Smith obtained the affidavits of Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses who testified they saw the plates. These affidavits are published as part of the book. When the book was complete, he said he returned the plates to the angel Moroni.
Joseph Smith, Jr. said the book was a translation of golden plates. He said that the angel Moroni told him the plates were buried in a hill near his home (which he later called the Hill Cumorah). He said the translation was made through the power of God with aid of the Urim and Thummim, which were with the plates. During the production of the work Smith obtained the affidavits of Three Witnesses and Eight Witnesses who testified they saw the plates. These affidavits are published as part of the book. When the book was complete, he said he returned the plates to the angel Moroni.
According to the accounts of Joseph Smith and his
associates, the original record was engraved on thin, malleable sheets of metal
with the appearance of gold and bound with three rings at one edge. The leaves
were engraved on both sides with considerable skill. According to the account
presented in the book, it is an abridgment of earlier records by Mormon and his
son, Moroni, about 400 AD. At the end of Moroni's ministry (approximately 421
AD), he hid these plates along with several other items in a stone box in a
hillside (now named the Hill Cumorah) near Palmyra, New York.
On September 22, 1823, Joseph Smith stated that he was
directed by God through the angel Moroni to the place where the plates were
stored. He was not immediately allowed to take them, but after four years was
finally entrusted with them. Through the power of God and the Urim and Thummim
he was able to translate the characters (which, according to the Book, were
related to 600 BC Egyptian with Hebrew influence) into English.
Joseph Smith claimed he was commanded to show the
plates to several people and no one else. Accounts by these individuals are
recorded in the front of the Book of Mormon as "The Testimony of Three
Witnesses" and "The Testimony of Eight Witnesses." Some of the
witnesses later became disaffected with Joseph Smith's leadership and the
church, but none withdrew their testimony of what they signed.
The golden plates were commonly referred to as a
"Golden Bible," particularly by non-Mormons, though a few members
also used the term in early descriptions. The label "Golden Bible"
actually predates the Book of Mormon as legends of such an artifact existed in
Canada and upstate New York while Joseph Smith was growing up in Vermont.
Along with the Bible, which is also held by Latter Day Saints to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly, the Book of Mormon is esteemed as part of canon by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ and other churches that claim Joseph Smith as their founder. In 1982, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added the subtitle Another Testament of Jesus Christ to its editions of the book to help clarify and emphasize its purpose. Prior to 1982, some editions of the Book of Mormon had included the subtitle, A Second Testament of Jesus Christ.
From the Book of Mormon concerning its history: The Book of Mormon is an account written by the hand of Mormon upon plates taken from the Plates of Nephi. Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile...An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven.
Along with the Bible, which is also held by Latter Day Saints to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly, the Book of Mormon is esteemed as part of canon by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Community of Christ and other churches that claim Joseph Smith as their founder. In 1982, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added the subtitle Another Testament of Jesus Christ to its editions of the book to help clarify and emphasize its purpose. Prior to 1982, some editions of the Book of Mormon had included the subtitle, A Second Testament of Jesus Christ.
From the Book of Mormon concerning its history: The Book of Mormon is an account written by the hand of Mormon upon plates taken from the Plates of Nephi. Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile...An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven.
The crowning event of the Book of Mormon is the
visitation of the resurrected Christ to the Nephites around 34 AD, shortly
after his ministry in Galilee. Every prophet in the book teaches about Jesus.
Dean Maurice Helland : The Book of Mormon claims to be
superior to the Bible. The first hundred pages are spent laying the groundwork
for this position. Its basic presupposition is that the Bible has been altered
by unscrupulous clergy in centuries past and no longer contains all the truth
which God wants man to have. This, then, creates a need for the Book of Mormon,
which claims to restore those "plain and precious things" which are
necessary for the salvation of mankind (I Nephi 13:26-40; 3:166-193).
It claims to be a record written on golden plates by prophets of a white race who lived in the Americas for about 1,000 years. This race was exterminated in A.D. 421. The indigenous race inhabiting the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 is portrayed by the Book of Mormon to be the cousins of that white race, cursed with a dark skin for having rejected God (2 Nephi 5:21; 4:33-35).
It teaches that the American Indians are actually Israelites of the tribes of Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh. Their skin curse is to be removed within a few generations after being converted to Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 30:6, versions before 1981; 12:84). This change in skin color from black to white has supposedly taken place several times in the past, whenever they turned to the Lord (Alma 23:18; 14:20; 3 Nephi 2:14-16; 1:52-53).
Perhaps its greatest claim is that it is preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus. Christ's second coming is to be preceded by a massive conversion of the American Indians to Christ through the Book of Mormon. These converted Indians will then exterminate those gentiles in the Americas who will not accept it. After that, the believing Indians and the Mormons will build the New Jerusalem where Christ will return to live (3 Nephi 16:11-16;7:35-42;3 Nephi 21:24-25; 9:98-100). Subsequent revelation by Joseph Smith revealed this site to be in Independence, Missouri. Faith in the Book of Mormon thus becomes an added condition for salvation besides faith in Jesus Christ.
In reality, the Book of Mormon contains very little original information. Rather, Joseph Smith apparently reworked information which he had assimilated and then presented it as a "translation" from the golden plates. This can be demonstrated by comparing the Book of Mormon with other sources which were available to him. Also, he probably had some unpublished manuscripts from Solomon Spaulding which he used.
Material in the Book of Mormon will be examined which appears to be plagiarized from The Maccabees, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Josephus' Wars of the Jews, Solomon Spaulding's Manuscript Found, Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews and the King James Version of the Bible. Then other kinds of difficulties with the Book of Mormon will be scrutinized.
One of Spaulding's seminary classmates was Ethan Smith, author of View of the Hebrews. This book presented the position which was held by nearly all the clergy in America at the time, that the Indians were part of the lost tribes of Israel. It was published in 1823, the same year that Joseph Smith claimed to have his "First Vision." Much of the material in it was apparently incorporated into the Book of Mormon.
His studies only recently became available to the public. They were published by the Utah Lighthouse Ministry of Salt Lake City under the name Roberts 'Manuscripts Revealed' A Photographic Reproduction of Mormon Historian B.H. Roberts' Secret Studies on the Book of Mormon. Both it and the View of the Hebrews were closely examined by the author who confirms as valid the following conclusions which Roberts listed when comparing View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon:
1. Both books begin with "the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Israel" at 600 B.C.
2. Ethan Smith, the author, begins his second chapter by quoting from Isaiah to prove that Judah and Israel will be restored in the last days. "One of the passages quoted" is from Isaiah 11, and this is one of the quotes that Joseph Smith claimed the Angel Moroni made to him when it visited him the first time on September 23rd, 1823, telling him of the golden plates.
3. Ethan Smith quotes from "20 chapters of Isaiah" in the fourth chapter of his book to prove his point. Joseph Smith quotes from "21 chapters of Isaiah" in the first one hundred pages of the Book of Mormon to make the same point. In both cases, they are quoted in the only version of the Bible in common use in that day, the King James Version. "Many of the passages quoted...are identical."
4. Ethan Smith quotes from Isaiah 18, citing it as a call upon the Christian Church in the United States to convert the Indians to Christianity. While the Book of Mormon itself does not cite this chapter, it makes the same point repeatedly.(e.g., I Nephi 13:39; 3:191).
5. Both reported the use of iron and steel by the ancient inhabitants of America.
6. Both report vast multitudes once filled North America.
7. Both report use of the Urim and Thummim by the ancient Indians.
8. Both are against polygamy.
9. Both report that the Indians once had a holy book, but lost it and fell out of favor with God.
10. Both speak of Egyptian hieroglyphics in America.
11. Both have a division into two peoples'one civilized and one barbarian. Both depict wars between them with the extinction of the civilized people.
12. Both depict knowledge of the mechanical arts, written language and one God as typical of the ancient Americans.
13. Both proclaim destruction of the disobedient gentiles by converted Indians. This prophecy is given three times in the Book of Mormon by Jesus Christ himself (3 Nephi 16:8-16; 7:32-42; 3 Nephi 20:14-17; 9:50-53; 3 Nephi 21:11-13; 9:98-100).
Concerning this prophecy, Roberts makes the following observation: All this might have seemed possible to men living in the early decades of the 19th century, 1820-1830, when Indian tribes of unknown strength but well attested ferocity occupied the greater part of the land over which the United States now extends its jurisdiction, but it is scarcely possible now to entertain such conceptions of native race terror, triumph, and domination over the Gentile nation of the United States. All reasonable expectation of such an event has passed.
Here, Joseph Smith may have overstepped himself, for even this General Authority of the Mormon Church finds it difficult to believe that Jesus Christ would promote the Book of Mormon to that extent.
It claims to be a record written on golden plates by prophets of a white race who lived in the Americas for about 1,000 years. This race was exterminated in A.D. 421. The indigenous race inhabiting the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492 is portrayed by the Book of Mormon to be the cousins of that white race, cursed with a dark skin for having rejected God (2 Nephi 5:21; 4:33-35).
It teaches that the American Indians are actually Israelites of the tribes of Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh. Their skin curse is to be removed within a few generations after being converted to Jesus Christ through the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 30:6, versions before 1981; 12:84). This change in skin color from black to white has supposedly taken place several times in the past, whenever they turned to the Lord (Alma 23:18; 14:20; 3 Nephi 2:14-16; 1:52-53).
Perhaps its greatest claim is that it is preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus. Christ's second coming is to be preceded by a massive conversion of the American Indians to Christ through the Book of Mormon. These converted Indians will then exterminate those gentiles in the Americas who will not accept it. After that, the believing Indians and the Mormons will build the New Jerusalem where Christ will return to live (3 Nephi 16:11-16;7:35-42;3 Nephi 21:24-25; 9:98-100). Subsequent revelation by Joseph Smith revealed this site to be in Independence, Missouri. Faith in the Book of Mormon thus becomes an added condition for salvation besides faith in Jesus Christ.
In reality, the Book of Mormon contains very little original information. Rather, Joseph Smith apparently reworked information which he had assimilated and then presented it as a "translation" from the golden plates. This can be demonstrated by comparing the Book of Mormon with other sources which were available to him. Also, he probably had some unpublished manuscripts from Solomon Spaulding which he used.
Material in the Book of Mormon will be examined which appears to be plagiarized from The Maccabees, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Josephus' Wars of the Jews, Solomon Spaulding's Manuscript Found, Ethan Smith's View of the Hebrews and the King James Version of the Bible. Then other kinds of difficulties with the Book of Mormon will be scrutinized.
One of Spaulding's seminary classmates was Ethan Smith, author of View of the Hebrews. This book presented the position which was held by nearly all the clergy in America at the time, that the Indians were part of the lost tribes of Israel. It was published in 1823, the same year that Joseph Smith claimed to have his "First Vision." Much of the material in it was apparently incorporated into the Book of Mormon.
His studies only recently became available to the public. They were published by the Utah Lighthouse Ministry of Salt Lake City under the name Roberts 'Manuscripts Revealed' A Photographic Reproduction of Mormon Historian B.H. Roberts' Secret Studies on the Book of Mormon. Both it and the View of the Hebrews were closely examined by the author who confirms as valid the following conclusions which Roberts listed when comparing View of the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon:
1. Both books begin with "the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of Israel" at 600 B.C.
2. Ethan Smith, the author, begins his second chapter by quoting from Isaiah to prove that Judah and Israel will be restored in the last days. "One of the passages quoted" is from Isaiah 11, and this is one of the quotes that Joseph Smith claimed the Angel Moroni made to him when it visited him the first time on September 23rd, 1823, telling him of the golden plates.
3. Ethan Smith quotes from "20 chapters of Isaiah" in the fourth chapter of his book to prove his point. Joseph Smith quotes from "21 chapters of Isaiah" in the first one hundred pages of the Book of Mormon to make the same point. In both cases, they are quoted in the only version of the Bible in common use in that day, the King James Version. "Many of the passages quoted...are identical."
4. Ethan Smith quotes from Isaiah 18, citing it as a call upon the Christian Church in the United States to convert the Indians to Christianity. While the Book of Mormon itself does not cite this chapter, it makes the same point repeatedly.(e.g., I Nephi 13:39; 3:191).
5. Both reported the use of iron and steel by the ancient inhabitants of America.
6. Both report vast multitudes once filled North America.
7. Both report use of the Urim and Thummim by the ancient Indians.
8. Both are against polygamy.
9. Both report that the Indians once had a holy book, but lost it and fell out of favor with God.
10. Both speak of Egyptian hieroglyphics in America.
11. Both have a division into two peoples'one civilized and one barbarian. Both depict wars between them with the extinction of the civilized people.
12. Both depict knowledge of the mechanical arts, written language and one God as typical of the ancient Americans.
13. Both proclaim destruction of the disobedient gentiles by converted Indians. This prophecy is given three times in the Book of Mormon by Jesus Christ himself (3 Nephi 16:8-16; 7:32-42; 3 Nephi 20:14-17; 9:50-53; 3 Nephi 21:11-13; 9:98-100).
Concerning this prophecy, Roberts makes the following observation: All this might have seemed possible to men living in the early decades of the 19th century, 1820-1830, when Indian tribes of unknown strength but well attested ferocity occupied the greater part of the land over which the United States now extends its jurisdiction, but it is scarcely possible now to entertain such conceptions of native race terror, triumph, and domination over the Gentile nation of the United States. All reasonable expectation of such an event has passed.
Here, Joseph Smith may have overstepped himself, for even this General Authority of the Mormon Church finds it difficult to believe that Jesus Christ would promote the Book of Mormon to that extent.
Ever since the publication of the Book of Mormon in
1830, it has been accused of being a plagiarism from unpublished manuscripts by
Solomon Spaulding. For many years the Spaulding manuscripts could not be
located to verify this. When one named Manuscript Found finally was located,
both the LDS and the RLDS published it, giving the impression that there was no
resemblance between it and the Book of Mormon and that its publication would
end this speculation.
A superficial reading makes it obvious that the Book of Mormon was not copied from it as such. Still, there have been mixed feelings about this matter. Walter Martin, a cult specialist, even published a book, Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon?, explaining that Spaulding had written a later manuscript which was in fact. the basis for the Book of Mormon. The evidence presented by Martin has been challenged by both the Church and some of the its primary critics, but the theory itself has not been laid to rest.
Recently, Vernal Holley put the controversy in another light by minutely comparing parallels between the Book of Mormon and the existing Spaulding manuscript. The following are his documented conclusions, with which the author concurs after a personal analysis of Manuscript Found.
1. The outlines of the Book of Mormon and the Spaulding text are "essentially the same."
2. Both records claim to have been found in "the same way."
3. Both were "written for the same purpose."
4. Both "tell the story of the same ancient American inhabitants."
5. Both "have the same sea voyage."
6. Both "have light-skinned and dark-skinned people.
7. Both "tell of the same arts and sciences."
8. Both "have a comparable Christian theology."
9. Both "present a white God person."
10. Both "involve use of seer stones."
11. Both claim to "contain an abridged history of the extinct inhabitants of ancient America."
12. Both describe how the record was deposited, protected supernaturally, and how its finder made a translation of it.
13. Both state that it "will come forth . . .when the Europeans (gentiles) inhabit this land (M.F., 3-4; I Nephi 13:35; 3:184-185).
14. Both "translators" testify of the truthfulness of the work and request that the readers read it "with a pure heart" (M.F., 2-3; Moroni 10:4-5; 10:4-5).
15. Both have the earth revolving about the sun-something unknown until 1543 A.D. (M.F., 16; Helaman 12:13-15; 4:61-62).
16. A theological address by an Indian chief in Spaulding's manuscript contains "the same thoughts" and they are "in the same order" as in a similar address in the Book of Mormon by King Benjamin (M.F., 26-32; Mosiah 1-4; 1-2).
17. Spaulding's leader teaches from a "sacred roll," while King Benjamin teaches from "plates of brass."
18. The religious section of Spaulding is written in the chiastic style, which is found throughout the Book of Mormon.
19. Lobaska's rule over two empires and his golden age of peace parallels Christ's effect on the peoples in the Book of Mormon.
20. Both include coins and fortifications.
21. Both have similar scenes of bloodshed, even down to the final combats between enemy commanders.
22. Both depict a "little band" of warriors, 3,000 in M. F. and 2,000 Nephi-Lehi.
A superficial reading makes it obvious that the Book of Mormon was not copied from it as such. Still, there have been mixed feelings about this matter. Walter Martin, a cult specialist, even published a book, Who Really Wrote the Book of Mormon?, explaining that Spaulding had written a later manuscript which was in fact. the basis for the Book of Mormon. The evidence presented by Martin has been challenged by both the Church and some of the its primary critics, but the theory itself has not been laid to rest.
Recently, Vernal Holley put the controversy in another light by minutely comparing parallels between the Book of Mormon and the existing Spaulding manuscript. The following are his documented conclusions, with which the author concurs after a personal analysis of Manuscript Found.
1. The outlines of the Book of Mormon and the Spaulding text are "essentially the same."
2. Both records claim to have been found in "the same way."
3. Both were "written for the same purpose."
4. Both "tell the story of the same ancient American inhabitants."
5. Both "have the same sea voyage."
6. Both "have light-skinned and dark-skinned people.
7. Both "tell of the same arts and sciences."
8. Both "have a comparable Christian theology."
9. Both "present a white God person."
10. Both "involve use of seer stones."
11. Both claim to "contain an abridged history of the extinct inhabitants of ancient America."
12. Both describe how the record was deposited, protected supernaturally, and how its finder made a translation of it.
13. Both state that it "will come forth . . .when the Europeans (gentiles) inhabit this land (M.F., 3-4; I Nephi 13:35; 3:184-185).
14. Both "translators" testify of the truthfulness of the work and request that the readers read it "with a pure heart" (M.F., 2-3; Moroni 10:4-5; 10:4-5).
15. Both have the earth revolving about the sun-something unknown until 1543 A.D. (M.F., 16; Helaman 12:13-15; 4:61-62).
16. A theological address by an Indian chief in Spaulding's manuscript contains "the same thoughts" and they are "in the same order" as in a similar address in the Book of Mormon by King Benjamin (M.F., 26-32; Mosiah 1-4; 1-2).
17. Spaulding's leader teaches from a "sacred roll," while King Benjamin teaches from "plates of brass."
18. The religious section of Spaulding is written in the chiastic style, which is found throughout the Book of Mormon.
19. Lobaska's rule over two empires and his golden age of peace parallels Christ's effect on the peoples in the Book of Mormon.
20. Both include coins and fortifications.
21. Both have similar scenes of bloodshed, even down to the final combats between enemy commanders.
22. Both depict a "little band" of warriors, 3,000 in M. F. and 2,000 Nephi-Lehi.
Curt van den Heuvel:
To the ardent follower of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon is the surest proof of his prophetic office. It is the one undeniable sign of his divinely given gifts of translation. To the skeptic, the Book of Mormon is an interesting example of early American frontier fiction, both quaint and pretentious, a living monument to human greed and gullibility. An analysis of the Book is useful, not because it tells us anything at all about ancient America, but rather for the insights that it gives us into the human psyche, into the mind of both the con artist and his mark.
It is evident that Joseph Smith used a number of sources in his monumental work. One of these was his own immediate environment, specifically the intense speculation about the origin of the Native Americans that fired the collective imagination of early nineteenth century New England. But, by far the most fruitful source of both ideas and prose in the Book of Mormon is the King James Bible.
…
The changes that were made to the text are illuminating. In general, most of the changes occur in the italicized portions of the King James version (which the King James Translators employed to indicate that the translation is not original to the text). Smith either dropped or modified the italicized phrases. In some cases, the changes made to the text result in impossible readings. …
In several cases, the Book of Mormon follows King James Version translation errors.
…
There are a fairly large number of words that appear only in a King James context. The implication here is that these words are the result of biblical quotations, and are not simply a coincidental part of the author's vocabulary.
…
The New Testament contains a very large number of references to the Old Testament. Often, we find that the New Testament quote differs from its Old Testament source, for one of two reasons - either the writer paraphrased the text in order to make a point, or the writer was quoting from one of the ancient versions, usually the Greek Septuagint, which differs markedly from the (Masoretic) Hebrew Old Testament.
On a number of occasions, the Book of Mormon quotes a New Testament paraphrase of an Old Testament passage.
…
In his monumental apologetic work New Witnesses for God, the noted Mormon scholar B. H. Roberts addressed the question of protracted KJV quotes in the Book of Mormon. Quoting then president Joseph Fielding Smith, Roberts wrote the following:
When Joseph Smith saw that the Nephite record was quoting the prophecies of Isaiah, of Malachi, or the words of the Savior, he took the English Bible and compared these passages as far as they paralleled each other, and finding that in substance, they were alike, he adopted our English translation; and hence, we have the sameness to which you refer.[7]
The problem that naturally accompanies this explanation should be obvious.
If the Book of Mormon plates did indeed contain an ancient version of Isaiah, it should stand to reason that this version would be textually superior to that contained in the King James Version. The latter used a Hebrew text which, at the time that the KJV was produced, dated from no earlier than the ninth century AD. If Smith was able to translate the rest of the non-Biblical passages of the Book of Mormon with apparent consummate ease, why did he suddenly abandon his divine gift in favour of a text that could not hope to be any more accurate?
Further, as we have seen, the Isaiah text of the Book of Mormon often reflects the problems and shortcomings of the King James Version. This should not have been the case, if, as President Smith alleged "...except for those differences indicated in the Nephite original ...here and there made the Book of Mormon version of passages superior in sense and clearness."
Indeed, President Smith has raised a suspicious point: if Smith had access to an English Bible as he was translating the Book of Mormon, what was there to prevent him from simply copying large portions of the work into his own narrative? This, after all, is precisely the allegation of the skeptic.
Another theory, popularized by Hugh Nibley, states that the Holy Spirit of God gives the same words to all his prophets. Again, there are several problems with this theory. Firstly, it presupposes that one believes in such a thing as Divine inspiration, which is by no means an established fact. An appeal to this theory, then, basically amounts to a circular argument.
The problems with this solution are, in fact, legion. It has yet to be demonstrated that such a phenomenon has occurred before. In the real world, whenever one document closely quotes another, this is evidence either of one document using the other as a source (such as a research paper, or the New Testament quoting the Old), or of outright plagiarism (such as the Gospel of Barnabus using Dante's Inferno). This necessarily means that the document that uses the former as a source must have originated later. In the case of the Book of Mormon, which contains copious quotes from the New Testament, the implication is that the book actually originated after the formation of the Christian scriptures. Further research will show that the Book of Mormon relies on a specific version of the New Testament, namely the King James Version.
In evaluating any of the apologetic responses, it would be good to keep the law of parsimony in mind. This is a simple law of common sense (also known as Occam's Razor), which states that in the absence of any contradictory information, the simplest solution to a problem is generally the correct one. We can apply this law to the question of biblical quotations in the Book of Mormon as follows:
a) God, for some reason known only to himself, allowed the Nephite prophets to make copious quotes from the King James Version of the Old Testament, and anachronistic quotes from the New, or
b) The Book of Mormon is a nineteenth century work, and Joseph Smith simply copied the King James Version into the Book of Mormon.
It does not require much reasoning to see which solution is the simplest.
Conclusion
There really is only one theory which fully accounts for all the features of the phenomenon. This theory is that the Book of Mormon was written by someone who either had a KJV Bible in front of him, or was intimately familiar with its contents. When we add to this phenomenon other Book of Mormon problems, such as the lack of any historical, archaeological or linguistic confirmation, the large number of anachronistic terms and items referenced in the book, and its mirroring of the issues and problems of the nineteenth century Protestant Church, we come to the inescapable conclusion that the Book of Mormon originated in the early nineteenth century.
To the ardent follower of Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon is the surest proof of his prophetic office. It is the one undeniable sign of his divinely given gifts of translation. To the skeptic, the Book of Mormon is an interesting example of early American frontier fiction, both quaint and pretentious, a living monument to human greed and gullibility. An analysis of the Book is useful, not because it tells us anything at all about ancient America, but rather for the insights that it gives us into the human psyche, into the mind of both the con artist and his mark.
It is evident that Joseph Smith used a number of sources in his monumental work. One of these was his own immediate environment, specifically the intense speculation about the origin of the Native Americans that fired the collective imagination of early nineteenth century New England. But, by far the most fruitful source of both ideas and prose in the Book of Mormon is the King James Bible.
…
The changes that were made to the text are illuminating. In general, most of the changes occur in the italicized portions of the King James version (which the King James Translators employed to indicate that the translation is not original to the text). Smith either dropped or modified the italicized phrases. In some cases, the changes made to the text result in impossible readings. …
In several cases, the Book of Mormon follows King James Version translation errors.
…
There are a fairly large number of words that appear only in a King James context. The implication here is that these words are the result of biblical quotations, and are not simply a coincidental part of the author's vocabulary.
…
The New Testament contains a very large number of references to the Old Testament. Often, we find that the New Testament quote differs from its Old Testament source, for one of two reasons - either the writer paraphrased the text in order to make a point, or the writer was quoting from one of the ancient versions, usually the Greek Septuagint, which differs markedly from the (Masoretic) Hebrew Old Testament.
On a number of occasions, the Book of Mormon quotes a New Testament paraphrase of an Old Testament passage.
…
In his monumental apologetic work New Witnesses for God, the noted Mormon scholar B. H. Roberts addressed the question of protracted KJV quotes in the Book of Mormon. Quoting then president Joseph Fielding Smith, Roberts wrote the following:
When Joseph Smith saw that the Nephite record was quoting the prophecies of Isaiah, of Malachi, or the words of the Savior, he took the English Bible and compared these passages as far as they paralleled each other, and finding that in substance, they were alike, he adopted our English translation; and hence, we have the sameness to which you refer.[7]
The problem that naturally accompanies this explanation should be obvious.
If the Book of Mormon plates did indeed contain an ancient version of Isaiah, it should stand to reason that this version would be textually superior to that contained in the King James Version. The latter used a Hebrew text which, at the time that the KJV was produced, dated from no earlier than the ninth century AD. If Smith was able to translate the rest of the non-Biblical passages of the Book of Mormon with apparent consummate ease, why did he suddenly abandon his divine gift in favour of a text that could not hope to be any more accurate?
Further, as we have seen, the Isaiah text of the Book of Mormon often reflects the problems and shortcomings of the King James Version. This should not have been the case, if, as President Smith alleged "...except for those differences indicated in the Nephite original ...here and there made the Book of Mormon version of passages superior in sense and clearness."
Indeed, President Smith has raised a suspicious point: if Smith had access to an English Bible as he was translating the Book of Mormon, what was there to prevent him from simply copying large portions of the work into his own narrative? This, after all, is precisely the allegation of the skeptic.
Another theory, popularized by Hugh Nibley, states that the Holy Spirit of God gives the same words to all his prophets. Again, there are several problems with this theory. Firstly, it presupposes that one believes in such a thing as Divine inspiration, which is by no means an established fact. An appeal to this theory, then, basically amounts to a circular argument.
The problems with this solution are, in fact, legion. It has yet to be demonstrated that such a phenomenon has occurred before. In the real world, whenever one document closely quotes another, this is evidence either of one document using the other as a source (such as a research paper, or the New Testament quoting the Old), or of outright plagiarism (such as the Gospel of Barnabus using Dante's Inferno). This necessarily means that the document that uses the former as a source must have originated later. In the case of the Book of Mormon, which contains copious quotes from the New Testament, the implication is that the book actually originated after the formation of the Christian scriptures. Further research will show that the Book of Mormon relies on a specific version of the New Testament, namely the King James Version.
In evaluating any of the apologetic responses, it would be good to keep the law of parsimony in mind. This is a simple law of common sense (also known as Occam's Razor), which states that in the absence of any contradictory information, the simplest solution to a problem is generally the correct one. We can apply this law to the question of biblical quotations in the Book of Mormon as follows:
a) God, for some reason known only to himself, allowed the Nephite prophets to make copious quotes from the King James Version of the Old Testament, and anachronistic quotes from the New, or
b) The Book of Mormon is a nineteenth century work, and Joseph Smith simply copied the King James Version into the Book of Mormon.
It does not require much reasoning to see which solution is the simplest.
Conclusion
There really is only one theory which fully accounts for all the features of the phenomenon. This theory is that the Book of Mormon was written by someone who either had a KJV Bible in front of him, or was intimately familiar with its contents. When we add to this phenomenon other Book of Mormon problems, such as the lack of any historical, archaeological or linguistic confirmation, the large number of anachronistic terms and items referenced in the book, and its mirroring of the issues and problems of the nineteenth century Protestant Church, we come to the inescapable conclusion that the Book of Mormon originated in the early nineteenth century.
Interesting
claims of the Book of Mormon
SPEEDY OCEAN
TRIP in Ether 6:
5 And it came to pass that the Lord
God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the
waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of
the sea before the wind.
8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.
Ether 6:4-11 says that the Jaredites traveled across the ocean to the New World in barges. V. 5 says that they were blown “by a furious wind ... towards the promised land.” V. 6 refers to this wind driving them speedily to the Americas as “terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.” V. 8 says “that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land...”
1. It does not say how fast these "furious winds” were blowing the barges to the Americas, but if they blew them at only a mere 10 mph for the 5,000 miles from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to the North American east coast, it would take only 21 days, not the 344 days that v. 11 says!
2. In 344 days they could have made the trip 10 times!
3. If it were possible to go around the Earth’s equator of 24,902 miles at a casual 10 mph, it would only require slightly less than 104 days, not 344 days!
4. And, traveling 5,000 miles in 344 days is 14.5 miles per day, hardly a furious speed. They could have paddled faster than that!
8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
11 And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.
Ether 6:4-11 says that the Jaredites traveled across the ocean to the New World in barges. V. 5 says that they were blown “by a furious wind ... towards the promised land.” V. 6 refers to this wind driving them speedily to the Americas as “terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.” V. 8 says “that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land...”
1. It does not say how fast these "furious winds” were blowing the barges to the Americas, but if they blew them at only a mere 10 mph for the 5,000 miles from the middle of the Mediterranean Sea to the North American east coast, it would take only 21 days, not the 344 days that v. 11 says!
2. In 344 days they could have made the trip 10 times!
3. If it were possible to go around the Earth’s equator of 24,902 miles at a casual 10 mph, it would only require slightly less than 104 days, not 344 days!
4. And, traveling 5,000 miles in 344 days is 14.5 miles per day, hardly a furious speed. They could have paddled faster than that!
RACIAL
DIVISIONS in 1 Nephi 12
20 And it came to pass that I beheld,
and saw the people of the seed of my brethren that they had overcome my seed;
and they went forth in multitudes upon the face of the land.
21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw awars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw bmany generations pass away.
22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief.
23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.
Astoundingly, 2 Nephi 26:33 divides humanity into “black and white” and “Jew and Gentile” --most unrealistic for the Americas as the Mongoloid race dominated at that time. Native American Indians are obviously neither black nor white, but of the Mongoloid race (tan to brown). Serious error in BOM.!
SKIN CURSE: The Book of Mormon teaches that Native American Indians (Lamanites) originated from Jewish settlers in the Americas who had wandered away from the Lord. 1 Nephi 12:11 says that as the Jews wandered away in unbelief, ‘They became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people.” 1 Nephi 13:15 (1948 edition) actually promises future Americans as being “white, and exceeding fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” But Judean Jews did not have pale skin like most British. They looked much like Arabs. 2 Nephi 5:21, Jacob 3:3-9, and Mormon 5:15-17 say that God cursed the Lamanites (Indians) with a dark skin.
2 Nephi 5:23 and Alma 3:6-10 say that anyone who marries a Lamanite (Indian) “shall be cursed with the same cursing.” If this were true, why do people who are only part Indian not look full Indian (Native American)?
CURSE REMOVAL: 2 Nephi 3 0:5-7 predicts that when Native American Indians accept the Mormon gospel, that they will again become “a white and delightsome people.” 3 Nephi 2:15 gives supposed examples of this. It of course never happens.
In 1981 the Mormon Church cleverly altered their Book of Mormon Scripture to read that the Lamanites will become “pure and delightsome” instead of the original “white and delightsome”! They actually changed their Scripture!
1. However in its many contexts, the Book of Mormon and other Mormon sources are highly explicit about the curse of dark skin!
21 And I saw them gathered together in multitudes; and I saw awars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars I saw bmany generations pass away.
22 And the angel said unto me: Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief.
23 And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.
Astoundingly, 2 Nephi 26:33 divides humanity into “black and white” and “Jew and Gentile” --most unrealistic for the Americas as the Mongoloid race dominated at that time. Native American Indians are obviously neither black nor white, but of the Mongoloid race (tan to brown). Serious error in BOM.!
SKIN CURSE: The Book of Mormon teaches that Native American Indians (Lamanites) originated from Jewish settlers in the Americas who had wandered away from the Lord. 1 Nephi 12:11 says that as the Jews wandered away in unbelief, ‘They became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people.” 1 Nephi 13:15 (1948 edition) actually promises future Americans as being “white, and exceeding fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.” But Judean Jews did not have pale skin like most British. They looked much like Arabs. 2 Nephi 5:21, Jacob 3:3-9, and Mormon 5:15-17 say that God cursed the Lamanites (Indians) with a dark skin.
2 Nephi 5:23 and Alma 3:6-10 say that anyone who marries a Lamanite (Indian) “shall be cursed with the same cursing.” If this were true, why do people who are only part Indian not look full Indian (Native American)?
CURSE REMOVAL: 2 Nephi 3 0:5-7 predicts that when Native American Indians accept the Mormon gospel, that they will again become “a white and delightsome people.” 3 Nephi 2:15 gives supposed examples of this. It of course never happens.
In 1981 the Mormon Church cleverly altered their Book of Mormon Scripture to read that the Lamanites will become “pure and delightsome” instead of the original “white and delightsome”! They actually changed their Scripture!
1. However in its many contexts, the Book of Mormon and other Mormon sources are highly explicit about the curse of dark skin!
Notice: The introduction to the 2006 edition of
the Book of Mormon has a new word: "among." The new wording comes in
a passage about American Indians, who have long been presented by Mormon
leaders as direct descendants of a tribe of Israel known as Lamanites. It
reads: "After thousands of years all were destroyed except the Lamanites,
and they are among the ancestors of American
Indiana." Previous editions have the phrase "are
the ancestors." Church defenders say there is nothing important in the
change. The new wording is obviously a concession to the fact DNA research
contradicts the BOM claim that the Native American were of Jewish descent.
Polygamy in
Jacob 2
23 But the word of God burdens me
because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people
begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to
excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were
written concerning David, and Solomon his son.
24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
Jacob 2:23-24 condemns the “abominable” sins of David and Solomon of having many wives and concubines. Mosiah 11:1-2 condemns King Noah for such wickedness as having “many wives and concubines”. This agrees with the Bible (Deuteronomy 17:17; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12: etc.) and with D & C 101:4 (1835 ed.) which prohibit polygamy as revolting and utterly wicked.
24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.
26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.
27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
Jacob 2:23-24 condemns the “abominable” sins of David and Solomon of having many wives and concubines. Mosiah 11:1-2 condemns King Noah for such wickedness as having “many wives and concubines”. This agrees with the Bible (Deuteronomy 17:17; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12: etc.) and with D & C 101:4 (1835 ed.) which prohibit polygamy as revolting and utterly wicked.
1. Amazingly, Doctrines & Covenants
132 contradicts the above by requiring polygamy as an everlasting covenant (v.
19), and as an absolute requirement for exaltations to godhood (v. 22).
2. Surprisingly, the LDS church contradicted itself again when LDS President Wilford Woodruff s Manifesto of 1890 actually repudiated polygamy! Contradiction!
3. There are now efforts amongst LDS to legalize same sex marriages in order to make polygamy acceptable again in spite of the 1890 Manifesto.
2. Surprisingly, the LDS church contradicted itself again when LDS President Wilford Woodruff s Manifesto of 1890 actually repudiated polygamy! Contradiction!
3. There are now efforts amongst LDS to legalize same sex marriages in order to make polygamy acceptable again in spite of the 1890 Manifesto.
The doctrine of the Mormon Church that
holds to continual revelation allowed for the violation of the Book of Mormon
concerning polygamy. Joseph Smith claimed polygamy as the revelation and will
of God. Some may question that Smith himself practiced it, but was a doctrine
of the Church. Emma Smith was also instructed to accept it, and her biography
reveals how she responded to it in the beginning--most negatively. Continual
revelation allowed the President of the Church to repudiate polygamy in 1890,
conviently due to threat of the national government of being denied statehood
in Utah because of the practice.
OFFICIAL
DECLARATION 1 To Whom It May Concern:
Press dispatches having been sent for
political purposes, from Salt Lake City, which have been widely published, to
the effect that the Utah Commission, in their recent report to the Secretary of
the Interior, allege that plural marriages are still being solemnized and that
forty or more such marriages have been contracted in Utah since last June or
during the past year, also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church
have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy—
I, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.
One case has been reported, in which the parties allege that the marriage was performed in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, in the Spring of 1889, but I have not been able to learn who performed the ceremony; whatever was done in this matter was without my knowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the Endowment House was, by my instructions, taken down without delay.
Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.
There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy; and when any Elder of the Church has used language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he has been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.
Wilford Woodruff
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Lorenzo Snow offered the following:
“I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto which has been read in our hearing, and which is dated September 24th, 1890, and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding.”
The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous.
Salt Lake City, Utah, October 6, 1890.
EXCERPTS FROM THREE ADDRESSES BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF REGARDING THE MANIFESTO
The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty. (Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.)
It matters not who lives or who dies, or who is called to lead this Church, they have got to lead it by the inspiration of Almighty God. If they do not do it that way, they cannot do it at all. . . .
I have had some revelations of late, and very important ones to me, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me. Let me bring your minds to what is termed the manifesto. . . .
The Lord has told me to ask the Latter-day Saints a question, and He also told me that if they would listen to what I said to them and answer the question put to them, by the Spirit and power of God, they would all answer alike, and they would all believe alike with regard to this matter.
The question is this: Which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty millions of people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the heads of families in the Church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice); or, after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?
I, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our Temples or in any other place in the Territory.
One case has been reported, in which the parties allege that the marriage was performed in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, in the Spring of 1889, but I have not been able to learn who performed the ceremony; whatever was done in this matter was without my knowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the Endowment House was, by my instructions, taken down without delay.
Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.
There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy; and when any Elder of the Church has used language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he has been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.
Wilford Woodruff
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
President Lorenzo Snow offered the following:
“I move that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the Manifesto which has been read in our hearing, and which is dated September 24th, 1890, and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding.”
The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous.
Salt Lake City, Utah, October 6, 1890.
EXCERPTS FROM THREE ADDRESSES BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF REGARDING THE MANIFESTO
The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty. (Sixty-first Semiannual General Conference of the Church, Monday, October 6, 1890, Salt Lake City, Utah. Reported in Deseret Evening News, October 11, 1890, p. 2.)
It matters not who lives or who dies, or who is called to lead this Church, they have got to lead it by the inspiration of Almighty God. If they do not do it that way, they cannot do it at all. . . .
I have had some revelations of late, and very important ones to me, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me. Let me bring your minds to what is termed the manifesto. . . .
The Lord has told me to ask the Latter-day Saints a question, and He also told me that if they would listen to what I said to them and answer the question put to them, by the Spirit and power of God, they would all answer alike, and they would all believe alike with regard to this matter.
The question is this: Which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue—to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty millions of people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the heads of families in the Church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice); or, after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?
The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, you would have had no use for . . . any of the men in this temple at Logan; for all ordinances would be stopped throughout the land of Zion. Confusion would reign throughout Israel, and many men would be made prisoners. This trouble would have come upon the whole Church, and we should have been compelled to stop the practice. Now, the question is, whether it should be stopped in this manner, or in the way the Lord has manifested to us, and leave our Prophets and Apostles and fathers free men, and the temples in the hands of the people, so that the dead may be redeemed. A large number has already been delivered from the prison house in the spirit world by this people, and shall the work go on or stop? This is the question I lay before the Latter-day Saints. You have to judge for yourselves. I want you to answer it for yourselves. I shall not answer it; but I say to you that that is exactly the condition we as a people would have been in had we not taken the course we have.
. . . I saw exactly what would come to pass if there was not something done. I have had this spirit upon me for a long time. But I want to say this: I should have let all the temples go out of our hands; I should have gone to prison myself, and let every other man go there, had not the God of heaven commanded me to do what I did do; and when the hour came that I was commanded to do that, it was all clear to me. I went before the Lord, and I wrote what the Lord told me to write. . . .
If polgamy was God's revealed will to "the
prophet" Joseph Smith, then persecution and loss should not have been the
basis to cease the practice. Yet clearly, it was the threat of loss and
persecution that led to its repudiation in 1890.
THE DOCTRINE AND
COVENANTS
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
SECTION 132
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
SECTION 132
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the
Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and
everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant, as also
plurality of wives. HC 5: 501–507.
Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, it is evident from the historical records that the doctrines and principles involved in this revelation had been known by the Prophet since 1831.
1–6, Exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant; 7–14, The terms and conditions of that covenant are set forth; 15–20, Celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods; 21–25, The strait and narrow way that leads to eternal lives; 26–27, Law given relative to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; 28–39, Promises of eternal increase and exaltation made to prophets and saints in all ages; 40–47, Joseph Smith is given the power to bind and seal on earth and in heaven; 48–50, The Lord seals upon him his exaltation; 51–57, Emma Smith is counseled to be faithful and true; 58–66, Laws governing the plurality of wives are set forth.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—
2 Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
3 Therefore, aprepare thy heart to receive and bobey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting acovenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can creject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the blaw which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
6 And as pertaining to the new and aeverlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.
7 And verily I say unto you, that the aconditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, boaths, cvows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is eanointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this hpower in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the ikeys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.
8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.
9 Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?
10 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?
11 And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?
12 I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment—that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord.
13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.
14 For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.
15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
18 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.
19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent iblood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.
24 This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.
25 Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in there at, because they receive me not, neither do they abide in my law.
26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder wherein they shed innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation; but they shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God.
27 The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law can in no wise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.
28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.
29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.
30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.
31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of aAbraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.
32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.
33 But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham.
34 God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.
35 Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, acommanded it.
36 Abraham was acommanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.
37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.
39 David’s wives and concubines were bgiven unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.
40 I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things. Ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you according to my word.
41 And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man areceiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed.
42 If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with another man, she has acommitted adultery.
43 And if her husband be with another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and hath committed adultery.
44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.
45 For I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time.
46 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven.
47 And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless I will bless, and whomsoever you curse I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God.
48 And again, verily I say unto you, my servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven.
49 For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the bend of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father.
50 Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.
51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to aprove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.
52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.
53 For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.
54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.
55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.
56 And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice.
57 And again, I say, let not my servant Joseph put his property out of his hands, lest an enemy come and destroy him; for Satan bseeketh to destroy; for I am the Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and behold, and lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham, thy father, even unto his cexaltation and glory.
58 Now, as touching the law of the priesthood, there are many things pertaining thereunto.
59 Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
60 Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.
61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man spouse a virgin, and desire to spouse aanother, and the first give her consent, and if he spouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.
62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.
63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.
64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.
65 Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not believe and administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife.
66 And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you, hereafter; therefore, let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen.
Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, it is evident from the historical records that the doctrines and principles involved in this revelation had been known by the Prophet since 1831.
1–6, Exaltation is gained through the new and everlasting covenant; 7–14, The terms and conditions of that covenant are set forth; 15–20, Celestial marriage and a continuation of the family unit enable men to become gods; 21–25, The strait and narrow way that leads to eternal lives; 26–27, Law given relative to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; 28–39, Promises of eternal increase and exaltation made to prophets and saints in all ages; 40–47, Joseph Smith is given the power to bind and seal on earth and in heaven; 48–50, The Lord seals upon him his exaltation; 51–57, Emma Smith is counseled to be faithful and true; 58–66, Laws governing the plurality of wives are set forth.
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines—
2 Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
3 Therefore, aprepare thy heart to receive and bobey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.
4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting acovenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can creject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.
5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the blaw which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.
6 And as pertaining to the new and aeverlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.
7 And verily I say unto you, that the aconditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, boaths, cvows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is eanointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this hpower in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the ikeys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.
8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.
9 Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?
10 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?
11 And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?
12 I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment—that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord.
13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.
14 For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.
15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.
17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.
18 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.
19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent iblood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.
20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.
22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.
24 This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.
25 Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in there at, because they receive me not, neither do they abide in my law.
26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder wherein they shed innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation; but they shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God.
27 The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law can in no wise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.
28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.
29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.
30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.
31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of aAbraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.
32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.
33 But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham.
34 God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.
35 Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, acommanded it.
36 Abraham was acommanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.
37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.
38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.
39 David’s wives and concubines were bgiven unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.
40 I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things. Ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you according to my word.
41 And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man areceiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed.
42 If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with another man, she has acommitted adultery.
43 And if her husband be with another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and hath committed adultery.
44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.
45 For I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time.
46 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven.
47 And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless I will bless, and whomsoever you curse I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God.
48 And again, verily I say unto you, my servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven.
49 For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the bend of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father.
50 Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.
51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to aprove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.
52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.
53 For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.
54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.
55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.
56 And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice.
57 And again, I say, let not my servant Joseph put his property out of his hands, lest an enemy come and destroy him; for Satan bseeketh to destroy; for I am the Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and behold, and lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham, thy father, even unto his cexaltation and glory.
58 Now, as touching the law of the priesthood, there are many things pertaining thereunto.
59 Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
60 Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.
61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man spouse a virgin, and desire to spouse aanother, and the first give her consent, and if he spouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.
62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.
63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.
64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.
65 Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not believe and administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife.
66 And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you, hereafter; therefore, let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen.
The "Pearl of Great Price"
contains Joseph Smith’s Book of Moses being a rewrite of Genesis 1-6 in 8
chapters; it is in the “Inspired” version of their Bible which only the Mormon
sect Community of Christ use. This sect does not recognize the Pearl of Great
Price as inspired revelation like the Utah sect does. It contains the Book of
Abraham which is claimed to be written by Abraham which speaks of the
preexistence of souls. It also contains an autobiography and Articles of faith.
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