He stressed that he would focus on spiritual, not worldly, things on the small plates and that on his other plates were to contain the more part of the reign of the kings 1 nephi 9. Two sets of plates i mormon made this record out of the plates of nephi, and hid up in the hill cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the lord, save it were these few plates which i gave unto my son moroni mormon 6. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. The book of mormon can be described as all of the following. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Book of mormon plates and records the encyclopedia of. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the church of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. Notice that the large plates of nephi contained a comprehensive summary of lehis record, including lehis genealogy and nephite history.
On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. Two top plates are made of brass and imprinted with reformed egyptian characters. Book of mormon central archive book of mormon plates and records. When reading through the book of mormon, one finds references to many. But, on the other hand, we have the fact before us. Through the book of mormon we are better able to grasp many of the veiled or deficient details of our present bible. Problems with the gold plates of the book of mormon. The book of mormon and millions of other books are available for instant access. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to adherents, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The abridgments, quotations, and original writings of those book of mormon historians are displayed on. Nephi said that the plates of brass contained the five books of. The video is the third in book of mormon centrals evidence video series, the two previous videos being one on the archaeological evidence for the place called nahom, mentioned by nephi 1 nephi 16. Students of the book of mormon will note that this is precisely the time and place in which the book of mormon claims that there existed similar bronze plates which contained the ancient sacred laws of the hebrews, the close cultural cousins of the phoenicians. The following other plates are described in the book of mormon.
Golden plates to book of mormon more about the plates the pages were thin sheets of metal. As said in the title page of the 1908 rlds book of mormon, the text contained in this android app is faithful copy from the original translation by joseph smith jr. The book of mormon has been described as the bible of north america i. There is, of course, another way by which the knowledge on the brass plates is to be disseminatedfar more extensive in its scopethan through the book of mormon. The first portion the first six books, ending with omni is a translation from the small plates of nephi. Part of the plates were sealed so they couldnt be opened.
The church of jesus christ of latterday saints uses four holy books. Commentary on the book of mormon, a work promoted in the churchs desert book store included. First, he specifically mention 3 witnesses, then a few, and also as many witnesses as seemeth the lord good. There were books piled up on tables, book upon book. Joseph smith claimed he translated the book of mormon from a set of golden plates that were given to him by an angel named moroni. According to latter day saint belief, the golden plates also called the gold plates or in some 19thcentury literature, the golden bible are the source from which joseph smith claimed to have translated the book of mormon, a sacred text of the faith. Compared to all that could have been recorded on the gold plates, mormon and others were inspired to choose only a small portion for. Today, what nephi recorded on his small plates is found in the first and second books of nephi. Thomas stuart fergusons archaeological search for the book of mormon larson, stan on. Sjodahl journal of book of mormon studies 101 2001. Joseph smith translated two sets of plates book of. Since then, researchers have found several examples of ancient metal plates, gold plates, and plates with rings.
Mormon and moroni, the book says, had abridged earlier historical records from other sets of metal plates. The book of mormon comprises fifteen main parts or divisions, known, with one exception, as books, usually designated by the name of their principal author. Scripture revelation latter day saints standard works latter day saint movement and engraved metal plates literature book books of the book of mormon. Book of mormon plates and records book of mormon central. According to mormon belief, the book of mormon was inscribed on golden plates by generations of prophets, quoted and abridged by the prophethistorian mormon, and buried in the ground by mormons son, moroni. The plates were written in a language called reformed egyptian.
The small plates of nephi, the source of the first and second books of nephi, and the books of. Why is words of mormon at the end of the small plates. This insert connects the record engraved on the small plates with mormons. Fourteen centuries later, in 1823, the angel moroni led joseph smith to the plates hidden in a hillside in upstate new york. It fits the ancient pattern of a colophon, and its location at the end is consistent with the ancient practice of subscriptioplacing the intro at. It had been mislabeled as an original gold plate of the book of mormon. Copying that original manuscript, parts of which survive today, oliver cowdery prepared a printers manuscript owned by the rlds church. And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold, and silver, and iron, and brass.
The book of mormon plates on 22 september 1823, after receiving repeated instruction from the angel moroni, joseph smith went to a large hill convenient to his fathers home. In 1820, a young boy named joseph smith prayed to know which church was true. Top 10 embarrassments of the mormon religion listverse. Tvedtnes, the book of mormon and other hidden books. Book of mormon gold plates mormonism research ministry. Book of mormon coloring pages gallery free coloring book. The translation continues from the rest of the plates of mormon, which were abridged from the large plates of nephi, and includes the books of mosiah, alma, helaman, 3 nephi, 4 nephi, and mormon the last two chapters of which were written by moroni. It contains stories of ancient peoples migrating from the near east to the americas, and also explains that jesus christ appeared to the new world after his resurrection. Book of mormon the idea of an ancient record on gold plates was one of the most mocked claims of joseph smith. Between the books of omni and mosiah is an insert called the words of mormon. The book of mormon by joseph smith, paperback barnes. The book of mormon plates religious studies center.
The plates of mormon given to the prophet joseph smith. Mormon is allegedly a prophethistorian who was the native american believed by mormons to have written the book of mormon the main religious text of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints mormonism. Wilford poulson, former instructor at brigham young university, discovered a single kinderhook plate in the chicago historical society museum. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith, jr. Thus, the present book of mormon contains only the second account of early nephite history. The book of mormon itself portrays the golden plates as a historical record, engraved by two precolumbian prophethistorians from around the year ad 400. The idea that the book of mormon was engraved onto golden plates and. What parts of the old testament were on the plates of brass. Typically modern readers would expect that at the beginning of a text, as an introduction to the text. In 2004 and 2005 he selfpublished the golden plates, an actiongospelpacked. The teachings were etched on gold plates in an ancient reformed egyptian language and later translated by joseph smith into english as the book of mormon.
Thomas stuart fergusons archaeological search for the book of mormon. The first edition of the book of mormon was typeset from that printers manuscript. Mormons explanation for including the small plates of nephi. Of particular interest is the following passage from ether 10. How the plates of the book of mormon were translated part 2. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement that contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. The book of mormons description of sacred records written on bronze plates fits quite nicely in the cultural milieu of the ancient eastern mediterranean recent reevaluation of the evidence now points to the fact that the book of mormons description of sacred records written on bronze plates fits quite nicely in the cultural milieu of the ancient eastern mediterranean. Book of mormon plates the chart below shows the relationship that the book of lehi, the small plates of nephi, and the large plates of nephi have to the book of mormon.
On 22 september 1823, after receiving repeated instruction from the angel moroni, joseph smith went to a large hill convenient to his fathers home. Find thousands of lds books, movies, music and more. Joseph dictated the original manuscript of the book of mormon from the plates of mormon. Mormonism is a religion less than two centuries old, but in this short time it has managed to accrue a long list of embarrassments which the church leaders would prefer were kept. The abridgments, quotations, and original writings of those book of mormon historians are displayed on the lefthand and middle. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the plates of mormon translated by joseph smith and show how the other nephite records were used to produce the book of mormon. According to smiths account and the books narrative, the book of mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characte. Are there other ancient records like the book of mormon. The first six books of the book of mormon, from first nephi to omni are said to be a translation of the small plates of nephi. The plates and their relationship to the published book of mormon. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement.
The influence of the brass plates on the teachings of. The story of the gold plates is an absolutely essential part of the mormon narrative, for in the eyes of many latterday saints, the coming forth of this record, and its subsequent translation into the book of mormon, legitimizes their belief that smith was indeed a prophet sent by god to restore the true christian faith lost long ago due to a. The plates of brass contained a copy of the law five books of moses, a history of the jews, lehis genealogy, and the writings of many prophets. Because the plates were written in a language comparable to. The words of mormon is an explanation of the where the small plates came from, what they are, and why they are included by the editor mormon. Many ancient documents such as king benjamins speech or the plates of brass were quoted or abridged by the ancient authors who compiled the books found on. According to mormon belief, the book of mormon was inscribed on golden plates by ancient prophets. This is the book of mormon, an account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. Some of these records were comparable to certain books now found in the old testament, but others did not find their way into the bible. The book of mormon comprises fifteen main parts or divisions, known, with one exception, as books, each designated by the name of its principal author. The remaining plates are of a paper composite material colored gold but with no inscriptions. The depository in the hill cumorah in new york was the site of all the nephite records.
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