When oliver cowdery was making the printers manuscript of the book of mormon, he copied the text of the original book of mormon manuscript faithfully, including putting down chapter iii from the original manuscript, but couldnt find chapters 1 and. The lds church purchased the manuscript from the community of christ on wednesday, sept. The most important one is the original manuscript, the one that joseph smith dictated to. Manuscripts of the book of mormon the book of mormon. Uncorrected, coalesced, and transcribed text from the original blue and printers black manuscripts.
Royal skousen has spent decades studying the original manuscript and the printers manuscript of the book of mormon along with the 1830 and other editions of the book that came out during joseph smiths lifetime and under his direction and those later editions from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and the, now, community of christ, as well. The original manuscript of the book of mormon and the printers manuscript of the book of mormon author royal skousen volumes 12 are offered for the first time as a three book set from byu studies while supplies last. These are the first couple of pages of the printers manuscript of the book of mormon. When joseph smith translated the book of mormon in the spring of 1829, he dictated the text line by line. Experience the book of mormon just as early converts such as emma smith, brigham young, and parley p. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of errors. This manuscript was begun no later than april 1829 and finished in june 1829. Four samples from the surviving fragments of the original manuscript of the book of mormon, penned by oliver cowdery. Critics long speculated that smith had access to the original script and that smith heavily.
A copy of the original was then made by oliver cowdery and two other scribes. There are several theories as to the origin of the book of mormon. Foundation for ancient research and mormon studies, brigham young university, 2001. Watch skousens lecture series on the book of mormon. In the second lecture, the printed editions, skousen discussed his analysis of twenty printed editions of the book of mormon fifteen published by the lds church, four by the rlds church now the community of christ, and one private edition published in 1858 by james wright in new york city. The following lists are not meant to be exhaustive. Jun 26, 2017 it is possible that verses 1218 of words of mormon were not originally part of words of mormon, but were part of the book of mosiah. The original book of mormon transcript the book of mormon. Four samples from the surviving fragments of the original manuscript of the book of mormon, penned by oliver cowdery 1828 original manuscript facsimiles of historic book of mormon editions. A page of the original manuscript of the book of mormon.
Lds church acquires printers manuscript of the book of. The earliest text, attempts to sift through changes in the manuscript to bring the reader back to the best approximation of what the original text of the book of mormon would have said. Church acquires another piece of the original book of. These pages include what is now 1 nephi, chapter 2, verse 2 through 1 nephi, chapter, verse 35. The original book of mormon transcript book of mormon central. A stray ink drop and a quirk of nineteenthcentury script make the difference between retain that wrong and repair that wrong. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. Royal skousen is professor of english at brigham young university and since 1988 has served as the editor of the book of mormon critical text project. This copy is called the printers manuscript p, since it was the one normally used to set the type for the first 1830 edition of the book of mormon. After this original manuscript was completed, a second copy was made for the printers use.
The original manuscript of the book of mormon contains few punctuation marks or paragraph breaks. Book of mormon sets new record for most expensive manuscript ever sold this article is more than 2 years old founding text of the church of jesus christ of. The first volume of skousens work, the original manuscript of the book of mormon. What does the original book of mormon manuscript reveal about. According to the accounts of joseph smith and his associates, the original record was engraved.
And we can find clear evidence of the spelling out of book of mormon names in the original manuscript. Book of mormon original manuscript 1829 this page from the original book of mormon manuscript contains the story of nephi trying to obtain the brass plates from laban, found today in 1 nephi 4. The book of mormon and the manuscripts meridian magazine. In 2001, facsimile transcripts of the two book of mormon manuscripts volumes 1 and 2 of the critical text were published by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms. Mar 25, 2020 in this episode, dave takes a closer look at the original manuscript of the book of mormon and shows that theres a surprising amount of insight we can gain from it. The printed versions of the book of mormon derive from two manuscripts. The first, called the original manuscript o, was written by at least three scribes. It is enclosed by folding the casing and then by sliding it into an additional case. We build enduring faith in jesus christ by making the book of mormon accessible, comprehensible, and defensible to the entire world. The original manuscript of the book of mormon book. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august 1829.
Aug 31, 2017 reid neilson, left, assistant church historian and recorder, and robin scott jensen, associate managing historian and project archivist for the joseph smith papers project, go over portions of the original manuscript of the book of mormon that have been in the possession of the church history department. The printer s manuscript is the copy of the book of mormon text made by oliver cowdery, hyrum smith, and a third, unknown scribe from the original text written by scribes as joseph smith dictated an english translation of the nephite record. Royal skousen, the original and printers manuscripts, february 26, 20. Prepared by royal skousen, professor of english and linguistics at brigham young university, this volume contains typographical facsimiles of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august 1829circa. Restoring the original text of the book of mormon fairmormon. David whitmer was not aware of this commandment, or had forgotten it, and without doubt, believed that the printers copy was the original. Initial work concentrated on studying the two manuscripts of the book of mormon, namely the original manuscript and the printers manuscript. Facsimile copy of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. Title page if there be fault it be the mistake of men. The original manuscript of the book of mormon book of.
Critics long speculated that smith had access to the original script and that smith heavily plagiarized it for the book of mormon. Church history department officials have announced and displayed newly acquired fragments of the original book of mormon manuscript. It asks readers to understand that if there be fault in the book of mormon it be the mistake of men. That joseph smith dictated most of it in a period of less than three months and did not revise a single word before its initial printing is even more jawdropping. Skousens decades if painstaking effort have provided a whole new landscape for critical study of the book of mormon. Spaldings story, called manuscript story, revolves around a group of seafaring romans who sail to the new world some two millennia ago. Howe possessed the manuscript at the time of the book of mormon publication. Book of mormon printers manuscript is now online church news.
Recently royal skousen has been directing much further work on the original manuscript of the book of mormon, with the assistance of f. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august. Several decades later, when the manuscript was pulled out, water had seeped into the cornerstone, and the manuscript had started to fall apart from the bottom up. This article is being offered free as a courtesy to as it was footnoted in an expanded. One of the biggest discoveries of the critical text project was the finding that for one sixth of the book of mormon text the printers manuscript was not the manuscript taken to the printer. Oliver cowdery as book of mormon scribe religious studies. The original was never in the hands of the printer. Royal skousen describes what happened to the original manuscript, 28 percent of the original manuscript. This is the perfect gift for your lds friends and family. The original manuscript of the book of mormon neal a. Sep 22, 2009 first published in 1830, the book of mormon is the authoritative scripture of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and its estimated million members.
The lost 116 pages were the original manuscript pages of what joseph smith, founder of the. It is possible that verses 1218 of words of mormon were not originally part of words of mormon, but were part of the book of mosiah. The original book of mormon transcript the book of. Jul 16, 2015 royal skousen explains the significance of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon. The original manuscript was in this manner carefully guarded, and the copy struck off by oliver cowdery was used in the printing of the book of mormon. The manuscript pages contain the words written by josephs. Additional photos of the fragments of the original manuscript that survived may be viewed in dr.
Most adherents to the latter day saint movement view the book as a work of inspired scripture. According to the community of christ, the printers manuscript is a copy of the original dictated manuscript and was the guide to set the type for the first edition of the book of mormon printed. The printers manuscript is not an exact copy of the. Reid neilson, left, assistant church historian and recorder, and robin scott jensen, associate managing historian and project archivist for the joseph smith papers project, go over portions of the original manuscript of the book of mormon that have been in the possession of the church history department. Royal skousen explains the significance of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon. Royal skousen has spent decades studying the original manuscript and the printers manuscript of the book of mormon along with the 1830 and other editions of the book that came out during joseph smiths lifetime and under his direction and those later editions from the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and the, now, community of christ. The last of the plates of mormon was the title page. This copy is called the printers manuscript p since it was the one normally used to set the type for the first 1830 edition of the book of mormon. Church acquires another piece of the original book of mormon manuscript. The book of mormon critical text project, under the editorship of royal skousen, began in 1988 and is now nearing completion. The handwritten book of mormon is the most original authentic copyever produced. So read the title page in the june 1829 application, the printers manuscript, and the 1830 edition of the book of mormon.
This newlyreleased replica is a beautiful recreation of the original 1830 book of mormon printed in palmyra, new york. The website shows a sidebyside comparison of the pages. Book of mormon printers manuscript is now online church. Manuscripts of the book of mormon the book of mormon critical. Original printers manuscript of the book of mormon sold. The original book of mormon manuscript byu studies. This kind of transcription is an exact reproduction of the text in typescript, including original spellings, miswritings, crossouts, overwritings, erasures. Most of the work in recovering the original text involves two manuscripts. Sep 27, 2017 a page of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. Skousen found that there were three principal scribes. The original manuscript was used by smith to further correct errors printed in the 1830 and 1837 versions of the book of mormon for the 1840 printing of the book. Since oliver cowdery wrote the bulk of the original manuscript, i will concentrate on him first. Original book of mormon manuscript fragments could provide.
When the first copies of the book of mormon came off the press in march 1830, they were not based, for the most part, directly on the original manuscript written down by oliver cowdery as joseph smith dictated the text. More than a decade of meticulous research revealed such insights as royal skousen prepared transcripts of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon for publication. This page shows the original text and the changes that were made by joseph smith and others for later editions of the book of mormon. The most common belief of adherents is that promoted by joseph smith, who said he translated ancient golden plates inscribed by prophets. The printers manuscript is the earliest surviving copy of about 72 percent of the book of mormon text, as only about 28 percent of the earlier dictation copy survived decades of storage in a. Over the past twentyone years, editor royal skousen has pored over joseph smiths original manuscripts and identified more than 2,000 textual errors in the 1830 edition. Five of the scribesoliver cowdery, martin harris, john whitmer, christian whitmer, and samuel smithalso gave their testimonies as witnesses of the book of mormon.
The current critical text project of the book of mormon began in 1988 with major support from farms. The original manuscript of the book of mormon and the. Though the book of mormon text has since been updated with corrections, the precious truths it contains have remained unchanged through the centuries. It was begun in july 1829 and finished early in 1830. Smith reportedly placed the original dictation of the book of mormon in the cornerstone of a house in nauvoo, illinois, in 1841. Book of mormon manuscript excerpt, circa june 1829 1 nephi 2. An examination of the original manuscript reveals that joseph smith, as he translated, apparently never went back to cross out, revise, or modify. In the remainder of this paper, i will document many of the errors in the book of mormon manuscript, which provide clear evidence that the manuscript was copied rather than dictated. The original book of mormon transcript book of mormon. Evidence from the book of mormon manuscript mormonthink.
In this article i discuss what the original manuscript of. The yale edition of the book of mormon contains several hundred readings that have never appeared in any previous editions, including 216 that were found only in the original manuscript, 187 from the printers manuscript where the original is not extant, and 88 that were in both the original and printers manuscripts. Volumes 12 are offered for the first time as a three book set from byu studies while supplies last. Book of mormon manuscripts archives why the lds church. Sep 25, 2017 the printers manuscript was handwritten by a follower and was used to create the first printed edition of the book of mormon in 1830. It is enclosed by folding the casing and then by sliding it. The printers manuscript was handwritten by a follower and was used to create the first printed edition of the book of mormon in 1830. Church acquires more fragments of original book of mormon.
Typographical facsimile of the extant text royal skousen, royal skousen on. Smith completed the book of mormon without retranslating the book of lehi, replacing it with what he said was an abridgment taken from the. What im going to be talking about today is restoring the original text of the book of mormon. A photograph of the original manuscript of the book of mormon which is published in the book, a new witness for christ in america, vol. The first, called the original manuscript o, was written by at least three scribes as joseph smith translated and dictated. It is the most complete copy of the original manuscript, deseret news reports. Royal skousens presentation restoring the original text of the book of mormon 5 august 2010. From the original manuscript to the current lds edition of the book of mormon, various changes have made their way into the text. The original manuscript of the book of mormon contains virtually no punctuation, and the scribes for the printers manuscript added very little of their own. Lds church buys printers manuscript of book of mormon for.
Facsimile copy of the original manuscript of the book of. Book of mormon manuscript excerpt, circa june 1829 1. In 1841, joseph smith placed the original manuscript in the cornerstone of the nauvoo house, a boarding house in nauvoo, illinois. The original manuscript of the book of mormon and the printers manuscript of the book of mormon. Materials include a bound copy of fascimiles of pages 324 of the original manuscript of the book of mormon. Palmyra collectors edition 1830 book of mormon replica. Typographical facsimile of the extant text, was published in 2001 by the foundation for ancient research and mormon studies farms.
Book of mormon manuscripts the encyclopedia of mormonism. But beyond this, some surviving, badly weathered fragments of the original manuscript permit a consideration of the book of mormon from a paleographic standpoint. More than a decade of meticulous research revealed such insights as royal skousen prepared transcripts of the original and printers manuscripts of the book of mormon. Sep 29, 2017 the printers manuscript is the earliest surviving copy of about 72 percent of the book of mormon text, as only about 28 percent of the earlier dictation copy survived decades of storage in a. The book of mormon an account written by the hand of mormon upo.
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