Due to resistance from the orkish community, it is projected that this translation will not be completed until early january 3022. In august 1830, just after the translation of the book of mormon was finished and the mormon church had been organized, joseph smith began translating the king james version of the bible. Could joseph smith have authored the book of mormon. He is directed to and sees the plates for the first time. Take a journey through the book of mormon through this. The truth of the book of mormon and its divine source can be known today.
Book of mormon timeline brigham young universityidaho. The last prophet of that time, ether, wrote the history of his people on plates. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a. In fact, the book of mormon translation process was performed entirely without looking at the plates, which were either out of the room or said to have been covered with a cloth. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon translation was performed by the gift and power of god the lost 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript. The young man, however, had very little formal education and was incapable of writing a book on his own, let alone translating an ancient book written from an unknown language, known in the book of mormon as reformed egyptian. Welch and rathbone on book of mormon translation book of. Elaborating on a paper he had presented on problems in book of mormon archeology, thomas ferguson, the man that singlehandedly launched the search for mormon archeology, writes that you cannot set book of mormon geography down anywhere because it is fictional and will never meet requirements of dirt archeology. Maxwell, 1 and building on my chapter in the second edition of opening the heavens, 2 this article strives to be as precise as possible about the timing of the events and progress of the book of mormon translation. A look back at select milestones in the translation of the latterday saint standard works. Kirkhams suggestion that the book of mormon was translated within seventyfive.
It contained a lengthy historical chronology of the events in 182829. Prophetic parallels in the book of mormon timeline youtube. Lds apologists like to say that the book of mormon was written in only 60 days and what a amazing feat this was. Dates given correspond to dates in the footnotes of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church edition of the book of mormon. Welch presenting on the translation of the book of mormon. With basic figures, it could read like a 4th grade math problem. Pratt had possession of about the same time 1841 millennial star 1 july 1840. The first 5,000 copies of the book of mormon are printed.
This timeline overlays the book of mormon history with latterday prophetic history and organizes the matching events. This was not a translation of one language to another, but was actually revelation that joseph smith received concerning truths that had been lost or changed in the bible. Department of seminaries and institutes of religion. Day april nephi or pages a marvelous work and a wonder book of mormon translation challenge. Prophet joseph smith, is a translation of ancient plates written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelationwritten and sealed up, and hid up unto the lord, that they might not be destroyedto come forth by the gift and.
Book of mormon geography settings, timeline, overview. See how the book of mormon is the keystone of mormon religion. The church translation department released a statement on the timeline for this new book of mormon publication. Printed on high quality photo paper 20x30 print sketch artwork done by joseph f. Book of mormon central evidences of the book of mormon. March 26 the first copies of the book or mormon went on sale in palmyra. Final battle between the nephites and lamanites at cumorah. The book of mormon jaredite king list gives only 7 exact dates lifespans and reigns for the jaredite chronology. Mulekite history represented by light pink on the timeline. After joseph smith received the golden plates in september 1827, he faced the difficult task of. Professor figures out book of mormon translation timeline. Here are four printable versions of my book of mormon timeline. However, what they fail to say is this claim means 60 different individual days translation.
The book teaches that black skin is the mark of the curse of cain see also blacks and the book of moses. While a select few did hear joseph refer to magical items, nobody ever saw a breastplate, spectacles, or ancient interpreter stones. Welchs excellent article entitled the miraculous translation of the book of mormon, from opening the heavens, accounts of divine manifestations 18201844, p. Mormon deposited all the plates except the plates of mormon, which he gave to his son moroni. Willes book of mormon lecture is now available online. The book of mormon presents itself to the world as a miracle and as a sign that god has begun the process of gathering scattered israel, as he anciently covenanted to do see 3 nephi 21.
In the americas, the people fought each other in a civil war and destroyed themselves. Spring 1820 first vision 21 september 1823 joseph receives a visit from moronithree that night, and one the next day. What do we know about the chronology of the book of mormon translation and publication. Not the chronological passing of time from when joseph smith started to when it ended. According to the prophet joseph smith, the titlepage of the book of mormon is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the. On september 21, 1823, joseph smith, then seventeen years old, was in his bed praying when a light began to fill his room. More details can now be known about the key events that anchor our historical understandings of the pace of translation, about. Joseph smith published the book of mormon and founded the lds church. Comparison of the history of the bible and the book of mormon other books the event the date the event relating to time period the nephitesapproximate the jaredites the creation genesis 1, 2 4004 b. Lucy says that it was arranged before joseph smith left palmyra that martin harris was to follow as soon as joseph had enough time to translate some of the. The resulting translation was published in 1830 as the book of mormon. Joseph smith used a urim and thummim to translate the book of mormon. Timeline chronology for the jaredite culture from the book of ether in the book of mormon.
How long did it take joseph smith to translate the book of. How long did it take joseph smith to translate the book of mormon. Fair lds apologist timeline for book of mormon translation posted on january 18, 20 by mithryn i found this and really enjoyed the timeeffort he put into it. Joseph smith publishes the book of mormon, an english translation of the golden plates. Introduction to the approximate book of mormon translation. Welch examined how long it took joseph smith to translate the book of mormon a lecture wednesday night at the. Welch of brigham young university, delivered a powerful address on wednesday, november 8 on the timing of the translation of the book of mormon. Book of mormon translation timeline lds apologists like to say that the book of mormon was written in only 60 days and what a amazing feat this was.
Why is the timing of the book of mormons translation so. Church of jesus christ of latterday saints founded. The map is without any scale, and does not attempt to relate them to presentday geography or place names. The approximate book of mormon translation timeline was an interesting article to research. Willes center for book of mormon studies wednesday at the gordon b. The book of lehi mormons abridgement is translated. Welch, a byu law professor and author who served as the founding president of farms the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, examined the timing of the book of mormon translation as he gave the 2017 book of mormon lecture for the laura f. This page provides settings and an overview or summary timeline with approximate dates for the generic map or schematic diagram of the book of mormon lands, including nephite, lamanite and jaredite place names in the promised land in the americas.
Book of mormon title page markings i like this method of enhancing your study. Ammaron instructs mormon concerning the sacred records. For this and other reasons, many people have naturally been interested in the details of its coming forth, including the timing of its translation. Professor figures out book of mormon translation timeline book.
Understanding the timeline of book of mormon translation. Moroni wandered alone and abridged the jaredite history. A strong case can be made for the authenticity of joseph smiths account of the coming forth of the book of mormon first, the eyewitness testimony of those directly involved with the translation unanimously agree that joseph was not copying from another book or manuscript, but rather the text of the book of mormon as he peered into the sear. Understanding the timeline of book of mormon translation makes a. Martin harris also took some of the translation with the ancient characters to three professional linguists, including charles anthon. Welch meticulously tracks the timeline of the book of mormon s translation. One is just the right size to fit into the front of your scriptures.
Mormon is mortally wounded in the battle at a place called cumorah, and the nephites are nearly obliterated, but moroni survives another 36 years and adds material to the book of mormon before. Again, it is the rate of translation, approximately 6. Joseph smith translation mistakes timeline exploring. Mormon inserts his explanation about the large and small plates about 380 ad. Oliver indicated that their asking about baptism was stimulated by translating 3 nephi.
June 30 the translation of the book of mormon is complete. Part 2 contains the text of the book of mormon from alma 36 through moroni 10, statements of book of mormon witnesses, and reference material, including a chronology, a biographical register, and a table documenting how the printers manuscript was used in printing the 1830 and 1837 editions of the book of mormon. Visual overview of the flow of events in the book of mormon. Joseph smith finished dictating his translation of the early chapters of genesis, later known as the book of moses. When he sat down in 1832 to write his own history for the first time, he began by promising to include an account of his marvelous experience. Byu professors lecture examines the timeline of joseph smiths. Translation begins on the 7th of apriltwo days after oliver arrived. Joseph translates the book of mormon with oliver as scribe. Willes center for book of mormon studies at the gordon b. What if the events chronologically align with our own history. The translation of the book of lehi is completed, resulting in 116 pages of translated text. It is claimed that each sentence and word in the 1830 book of mormon had supposedly come directly from god. Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. The book of mormon is the keystone in our witness of jesus christ.
Those skeptical of joseph smiths claims sometimes insist that his account of the coming forth of the book. The three witnesses see the plates around this date see accounts. This paper aims to stimulate specific thinking about the intense and complex events during which the book of mormon was translated in 1829. Byu professors lecture examines the timeline of joseph. She commented that joseph could neither write nor dictate a coherent and wellworded letter. This is the most thorough work on book of mormon translation by a believing scholar. A better question since smith didnt translate anything nor do anything like unto it with his magicrockinhat is how long had smith been working on the basic story in his. Joseph and emmas first child, alvin, was born but died shortly. This chronology outlines the major events in the history of the book of mormon, according to the text. Fair lds apologist timeline for book of mormon translation.
It is an attempt to put an at least approximate date on each of those events which were recorded from the time joseph smith received the book of mormon plates, until the time that the translation was completed. The only real markers we have to build a working chronology from are firstly, the date of the dearth and megafauna extinction given in the narrative of heth ether 9. Welch gave the annual book of mormon lecture entitled hours never to be forgotten for the laura f. Book of mormon chronology timeline of jaredites mormon. It could be said that mormon history starts with the translation of the book of mormon. Approximate book of mormon translation timeline elden watsons. If joseph smith and oliver cowdery translated 10 words per minute, eight hours. What do we know about the chronology of the book of. Two are bookmarks, and the last is a word doc, so you can resize as needed. A timeline of the book of mormon translation i looked a bit at the timeline of the translation of the book of mormon to help me organize in my thoughts some of the main events related to the translation.
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