Descriptions:
After Martin Harris lost the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon translation, where in the story did Joseph eventually continue the translation? Did he start over with the First Book of Nephi? Or did he continue where he left off? In this episode, Dave explores why most Latter-day Saint scholars believe the translation of the published Book of Mormon began with the Book of Mosiah.
Transcript and additional notes: https://bit.ly/3l30A0N
“Timing the Translation of the Book of Mormon,” by John Welch (BYU Studies): https://bit.ly/3yiY9dM
“The Small Plates of Nephi and the Words of Mormon,” by (BYU Studies): https://bit.ly/3DcdBvV
“Book of Mormon Plates and Records,” via the Encyclopedia of Mormonism: https://bit.ly/3jcBQ52
“Positivism and Priority of Ideology in Mosiah-First Theories of Book of Mormon Production,” by Alan Goff (BYU Studies): https://bit.ly/3musjZw
“The Book of Lehi and the Plates of Lehi,” by David E. Sloan (BYU Studies): https://bit.ly/3ybX7QU
“How Does the Mosiah-First Translation Sequence Strengthen Faith?” by Book of Mormon Central: https://bit.ly/3kpI80P
“The Miraculous Translation of the Book of Mormon,” by John Welch: https://bit.ly/3zeBAYY
“The Original Book of Mormon Manuscript,” by Dean Jessee (BYU Studies): https://bit.ly/3gwRuH0
John Whitmer’s handwriting in the original manuscript of 1 Nephi (Joseph Smith Papers Project): https://bit.ly/2Wm80SI
Notes:
— As Joseph translated, the text of the Book of Mormon sometimes caused Joseph and Oliver to have questions, which led to further revelation and certain experiences. For example, both 2 Nephi 27 and Ether 5 talk about 3 future witnesses of the ancient record. One of these verses likely prompted the experience of the 3 Witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates. The earliest understanding (though recorded sometime after 1852 in “History of the Church”) was that it was 2 Nephi 27 which prompted the experience of the Witnesses in June 1829. If this is accurate, this information supports the Mosiah-first theory, as the translation was completed by the end of June. However, Ether 5 is also plausible, so this information alone is far from conclusive. That said, together with the other points of evidence discussed in this video, this information may strengthen the overall argument.
— Chapters in the first edition of the Book of Mormon were about twice as long as they are in our current editions, which means we’re probably missing the equivalent of about 4 chapters from the beginning of Mosiah.
— Author Don Bradley even argues that if the title and first chapters of the Book of Mosiah were missing, the book may have been originally called the Book of Benjamin. Source: “The Lost 116 Pages,” by Don Bradley, pg. 276-278.
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