Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of Mormonism, first published by Joseph Smith, Jr. in March 1830 in Palmyra, New York. The book's self-declared main purpose is to testify of Jesus Christ, through the writings of ancient American prophets. It asserts that it was abridged and compiled by the prophet Mormon and his son Moroni in the 4th century, for "the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God." Joseph Smith claimed to have translated the record by divine inspiration with assistance from the Urim and Thummim.

Book of Mormon Editions

The Book of Mormon is published today in the following forms:

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• by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints under the expanded title The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
• for the Community of Christ by Herald House as Book of Mormon - Revised Authorized Version (1966) and Book of Mormon - Authorized Version (1908)
• by the Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite) as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates taken from the Plates of Nephi — an original edition compiled by a committee made up of Church of Jesus Christ apostles Thurman S. Furnier, Charles Ashton and William H. Cadman
• for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) by Richard Drew, Burlington (Voree), Wisconsin — a photo enlarged facsimile of the 1840 edition
• by Zarahemla Research Foundation as The Book of Mormon - Restored Covenant Edition
• by the University of Illinois Press as The Book of Mormon: A Reader's Edition (2003)
• by Double Day Press under the title The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ (2004)

For the first time since its original publication, a special edition of The Book of Mormon was printed by a trade publisher for commercial distribution. While it contains all the original text of the English edition of the Book of Mormon, it lacks the footnotes and cross-references of the church-published version. This hardcover edition of the book was made available on November 16 2004 by Doubleday.

Related Topics:
English - Footnote - November 16 - 2004 - Doubleday

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Some critics have suggested that some of the changes across editions significantly affect the meaning of the Book of Mormon and indicate an agenda inconsistent with the idea of a revealed or inspired book. Most of these changes have been discussed in official Church publications including the Ensign, Improvement Era, Millennial Star and Times and Seasons, and usually are consistent with early pre- and post-publication edits made by Joseph Smith. See Linguistics and the Book of Mormon.

Related Topics:
Ensign - Improvement Era - Millennial Star - Times and Seasons - Linguistics and the Book of Mormon

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