Has the scriptures changed drastically over the years?

[Holly3278]

Hi everyone. A friend of mine who is a former Mormon who converted to Catholicism is claiming that the LDS scriptures have changed drastically over the years. Is this true?

[MaidservantX]

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Look on the upper right hand corner under frequently asked questions. That particular question may be featured on the front page, OR you may need to click on "More".

Here is some more reading

LDS.org - Topic Definition____

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Understanding Textual Changes in the Book of Mormon

LDS.org - Ensign Article - I Have a Question

LDS.org - Liahona Article - The Book of Mormon Will Change Your Life

And you can peruse through any of this, if it interests you.

LDS.org - Search

It is good you are seeking and asking questions -- that's how you get answers. :)

God bless.

X

[Holly3278]

The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship

Look on the upper right hand corner under frequently asked questions. That particular question may be featured on the front page, OR you may need to click on "More".

Here is some more reading

LDS.org - Topic Definition____

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Understanding Textual Changes in the Book of Mormon

LDS.org - Ensign Article - I Have a Question

LDS.org - Liahona Article - The Book of Mormon Will Change Your Life

And you can peruse through any of this, if it interests you.

LDS.org - Search

It is good you are seeking and asking questions -- that's how you get answers. :)

God bless.

X

Thanks Xhenli.

[NeuroTypical]

Hi everyone. A friend of mine who is a former Mormon who converted to Catholicism is claiming that the LDS scriptures have changed drastically over the years. Is this true?

No.

There have been thousands of changes from edition to edition, but the vast, vast majority of them have been minor punctuation and grammar changes.

There have been a few small substantive changes - I think the biggest one was changing the phrase "white and delightsome" to "pure and delightsome". Good fodder for church critics, bad fodder for a claim of "drastic changes".

LM

[Moksha]

As I understand it, most of the nearly 4,000 changes to the original Book of Mormon have been corrections in spelling and grammar.

[JLFuller]

Let's hope scripture has changed! Some traditional Christians, if not all, believe God said everything he was ever going to say to man and therefore any changes or additions to holy scripture is evidence of a false teaching and a false church. Apparently they think we claim to be just another variety of the hundreds of other traditional Christian denominations. We are not and never have been. Our contention is that we are very much Christian, however, but their branch of Christianity went off the path long ago and they have no authority to say who is and is not Christian. It is just their opinion. So of course they are going to claim we are heretical. It is expected.

Moses 1:4 says "And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show unto thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease." To Mormons, this sets the stage for additional scripture. Tradional Christians don't accept it but it should be no surprise to LDS people.

[ruthiechan]

No.

There have been thousands of changes from edition to edition, but the vast, vast majority of them have been minor punctuation and grammar changes.

There have been a few small substantive changes - I think the biggest one was changing the phrase "white and delightsome" to "pure and delightsome". Good fodder for church critics, bad fodder for a claim of "drastic changes".

LM

Yes, that was changed because some people took that to mean that only people with white skin are the chosen people of God. . . I met someone who actually believed that, and I was like noooooooo, they mean white as in pure. (Yay for language changes as time passes.) The more you have the Light of Christ in you the more bright you become. We perceive the light of the sun as white. So when the Light of Christ emanates from you it doesn't matter what color skin you have, you are bright and beautiful and delightsome and "white", pure. And people see that. They will notice the difference.

[havejoy]

You can get a copy of the original BOM at almost any Deseret book store. The big change was that it was originally written in normal book form with paragraphs. The individual verses were not numbered. It's so much easier now that the numbers have been added.

[puf_the_majic_dragon]

Hi everyone. A friend of mine who is a former Mormon who converted to Catholicism is claiming that the LDS scriptures have changed drastically over the years. Is this true?

The ONLY changes I'm aware of, besides changes in format and the addition of chapter headings, footnotes, and appendices (Topical Guide and Bible Dictionary), would be corrections from scribal errors after careful comparison with original manuscripts. I found a book at a local LDS bookstore detailing ALL of these such changes and explaining them with comparisons between different editions - a really fantastic reference.

On the other hand - the Bible has changed literally thousands of times not only in format but in content. The Bible as we have it today mentions several books not included in the standard compilation, and the standard KJV or other Bible as organized today didn't even exist in its current form in JOSEPH SMITH'S time! Joseph Smith's KJV included the Apocrypha - a collection of obscure books no longer included in modern canon - and Catholics accept an even larger canon, which went through numerous revisions, additions, deletions, and ecumenical debates until it was finally settled upon in its current form around roughly 1000 AD.

The Dead Sea Scrolls offer a prime example of the many variations and changes that occurred in the remarkably stable Old Testament as we've copied it from the Tanakh. Even when the Tanakh was being finalized around 500 bc there were many many variations on the content and organization of these books of scripture.

[ruthiechan]

From a site I think you may enjoy reading Holly: Mormon Truth and Book of Mormon Evidences: Not Proof, But Indications of Plausibility

" Yes, punctuation was a problem in the original manuscript because it was dictated (translated) without punctuation. Punctuation had to be added and then further corrected. That sounds crazy for anyone composing an English document--but ancient Hebrew and other Semitic languages were written without punctuation, and a relatively direct translation would likewise not have punctuation in it."

[Dale]

I don't have the link but FAIR Wiki has an article on the revision of the Book of Commandments revelations that became the D.&C. The link to the Wiki is on FAIRS Main page. LDS FAIR Apologetics Homepage

Martin Harris assumed that because the Lord prevented Joseph Smith from making textual mistakes that was always the Lords process. I see the thousands of Book of Mormon changes as proof he was wrong. The translation was a speedy process and the Lord left the editing of the book to man. FAIR Wiki also has articles on the Book of Mormon changes.

[a-train]

English has had thousands of changes since 1830.

-a-train

[Dale]

Doctrine and Covenants textual changes - FAIRMormon

Book of Mormon textual changes - FAIRMormon

Both articles give examples of the changes.

[Hemidakota]

Hi everyone. A friend of mine who is a former Mormon who converted to Catholicism is claiming that the LDS scriptures have changed drastically over the years. Is this true?

As the bible will change or be corrected upon return of the Savior. There are flaws from translation of scribes, press settings as to some Book of Mormon flaws, and authors viewpoint was not 100-percent accurate. Though, for the life of me, being a former Roman Catholic, why would this individual would choose such?