Changed LDS Scripture/Part 18
| By: Marvin W. Cowan; ©2011 |
| The Book of Mormon, written even before the LDS Church began, says in I Nephi 13:24-26, “the great and abominable church” has “taken away from the gospel of the lamb many parts which are plain and most precious and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away” (from the Bible). But, did the Joseph Smith Translation restore those “important points touching the salvation of men” or any of the gospel or the covenants of the Lord that II Nephi 13:24-26 said were missing from the Bible? |
Ever since Mormonism began in 1830 it has questioned the reliability of the Bible. The Book of Mormon, written even before the LDS Church began, says in I Nephi 13:24-26, “the great and abominable church” has “taken away from the gospel of the lamb many parts which are plain and most precious and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away” (from the Bible). When he was writing the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible (JST), Smith said on February 16, 1832,
- Upon my return from Amherst Conference, I resumed the translation of the Scriptures [JST]. From sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of men, had been taken from the Bible or lost before it was compiled. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pages 9-11; History of the Church, vol. I, page 245.)
But, did Smith’s JST restore those “important points touching the salvation of men” or any of the gospel or the covenants of the Lord that II Nephi 13:24-26 said were missing from the Bible? Try to answer that question as you read the changes Smith made in the following paragraphs. When LDS are asked for examples of such things, they usually can’t give any. It really is LDS scripture that has serious problems, not the Bible. In this series of articles we have given numerous examples of changes and problems in LDS scripture which are important to LDS who believe their scripture was revealed by God and, therefore, without error.
Each of the following paragraphs is based on the content in Isaiah 49:24 through 52:2 in the King James Version Bible (KJV). That content, with Smith’s alterations, is also in the same verses in the JST and on pages 75-78 of the original 1830 Book of Mormon and in II Nephi 6:16 through 8:25 in the current Book of Mormon. Some verses in the JST are longer or shorter than in the Book of Mormon because of those alterations or because some verses were combined, so the verses don’t always start or end the same in each book. The same content in Isaiah 50 in the KJV is II Nephi 7 in the Book of Mormon, and both chapters have eleven verses. But the JST of Isaiah 50, which has the same content, only has eight verses because some verses were combined. The original 1830 Book of Mormon has no verses and the chapters are longer and start and end in different places than the current Book of Mormon, so we refer to page numbers in that edition.
Isaiah 49:25 in the JST is II Nephi 6:17 in the Book of Mormon. After the phrase, “And the prey of the terrible shall be delivered,” both books add “for the Mighty God shall deliver his covenant people.” That phrase isn’t in the KJV or any real translation of this verse, but it is on page 75 in the original 1830 Book of Mormon which Smith published two or three years before he wrote the JST Bible. So, he apparently copied that phrase from his Book of Mormon into his JST.
Isaiah 50:1 in the JST is II Nephi 7:1 in the Book of Mormon. Both begin with, “Yea, for thus saith the Lord, Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off for ever? For…” and then Isaiah 50:1 of the KJV follows that. Isaiah 50:1 in the JST also ends with “Yea, to whom have I sold you?” That phrase is in the middle of II Nephi 7:1 in the Book of Mormon, because half of the next verse (Isaiah 50:2 in the JST) was added to Isaiah 50:1. Those two phrases aren’t in the KJV or any true translation of Isaiah 50:1, but they are on pages 75-76 of the original Book of Mormon, so Smith must have copied them into his JST.
Isaiah 50:4 in the JST is II Nephi 7:4 in the Book of Mormon. After the phrase, “I should know how to speak a word in season,” both books add, “unto thee, O house of Israel when ye are….” That phrase isn’t in the KJV or any other translation of Isaiah 50:4, but it is on page 76 in the 1830 Book of Mormon, so Smith again copied it into his JST.
Isaiah 50:5 in the JST is II Nephi 7:5 in the Book of Mormon. But the JST says “The Lord God hath appointed mine ears…,” while II Nephi 7:5 says, “The Lord God hath opened mine ear.” But the word “appointed” is on page 76 of the original 1830 the Book of Mormon, so Smith must have copied it into his JST. Second Nephi 7:5 in the Book of Mormon later changed the word “appointed” to “opened” like it is in the KJV of Isaiah 50:5, which makes more sense. So, did God or Joseph Smith make a mistake in the original Book of Mormon and the JST?
Isaiah 50:6 in the JST is II Nephi 7:8-9 in the Book of Mormon (except the first sentence). After the words “Let him come near to me,” in both books it says, “and I will smite him with the strength of my mouth.” Those words are not in the KJV or any other real translation, but they are on page 76 of the original 1830 Book of Mormon, which the JST of Isaiah 50:6 evidently copied.
Do the underlined words in this article restore important points of salvation, the Gospel or the covenants of the Lord which Smith said were missing from the Bible? If they don’t, they are essentially worthless additions and Smith’s claims against the Bible are without merit.
More can be read on this subject in 17 articles that preceded this one. Next time we will examine more problems with the JST and Smith’s other scriptures.
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