Changing Critics Criticisms of Book of Mormon Changes

by Brian C. Hales

Overview

In early 1830 Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon, a 269,938-word volume that discusses religious themes intermingled with a history of ancient American peoples. Claiming it was scripture like the Bible, in 1841 he declared it to be "the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion." Yet, many changes in the text of the Book of Mormon can be detected when comparing the original manuscript to the version available today. These changes have served as a lightning rod for some critics who imply that a divinely inspired book should not require any alterations. This article examines the types of changes that have occurred while trying to assign levels of significance and identify Joseph's motives in making those alterations in the 1837 and 1840 reprintings of the book.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940162048374
Publisher:	Interpreter Foundation
Publication date:	01/26/2018
Series:	Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture , #28
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	232 KB

About the Author

Brian C. Hales is the author of six books dealing with polygamy, most recently the three-volume Joseph Smith’s Polygamy: History and Theology (Greg Kofford Books, 2013). His Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations after the Manifesto received the “Best Book of 2007 Award” from the John Whitmer Historical Association. He has presented at numerous meetings and symposia and published articles in The Journal of Mormon History, Mormon Historical Studies, and Dialogue as well as contributing chapters to The Persistence of Polygamy series. Brian works as an anesthesiologist at the Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, Utah, and has served as the president of the Utah Medical Association.