Category: Book of Mormon Translation
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Divided by a Blanket or “Thick Curtain”
Note: The following was originally printed in the April 2024 edition of MRM Update, a special edition given to supporters of Mormonism Research Ministry. In our Book of Mormon display at the Utah Christian Research Center is a table with a 19th century-style hat on top. In the hat is a rock that looks very similar…
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Book of Mormon Translation: Though Questions Persist, One Thing is Clear
How was the Book of Mormon translated from the Reformed Egyptian found on the gold plates into English? Despite available eyewitness accounts and an official position stated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself, Mormons don’t seem to know the answer. The process Joseph Smith used to produce the Book of Mormon…
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Joseph Smith and the Seer Stone: The Art of the Book of Mormon Translation Process
This article was revised on 9/25/24 Art can be very powerful. It tells a story. For instance, what is your idea when you see this photograph from June 1989 regarding the issue of China and democracy? This image had a powerful effect on many who knew little about the details of the June 1989 student…
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Inaccurate Presentations of Mormon History Persist
On Sunday (7 May 2017), LDS General Authority Kim B. Clark of the Seventy addressed young adult members of the Mormon Church in a Worldwide Devotional. Within his talk, Elder Clark spoke a great deal about the history surrounding the Book of Mormon translation. To augment his talk, Elder Clark introduced dramatic video clips, saying,…
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Gospel Topics Essay: Book of Mormon Translation
To see an introduction to the Gospel Topics essays, click here. The entire essay is printed below, underlined, with my commentary included throughout. Because I will try to be short and to the point as much as possible, a number of sites (many from MRM) to support my disagreement are included. I encourage interested readers to consider…
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Did Joseph Smith Use the Seer Stone…or Didn’t He?
For many years, many Mormons have denied that Joseph Smith used a “seer stone” to translate the Book of Mormon. They were led to believe that he used the “urim and thummim,” special instruments even mentioned in the Old Testament, to aid him in the translation. Tenth Mormon President Joseph Fielding Smith was quite adament…
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The Translation of the Book of Mormon plates
Chip Thompson from Solid Rock Cafe uses the illustration of the translation of the Book of Mormon plates for some fascinating discussions.
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Urim and Thummim (Defined)
Urim and Thummim. Described by Joseph Smith as “two stones in silver bows…fastened to a breastplate” (Joseph Smith-History 1:35).He said, “With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called ‘Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the…
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How Did Joseph Smith “Translate” the Book of Mormon?
In the recent PBS special, The Mormons, Daniel Peterson publicly and explicitly admitted that “most of the translation [of the Book of Mormon] was done using something called a seer stone.” Since many Mormons have labeled claims like these “anti-Mormon“, Peterson’s statement is significant because he is a professor at BYU and is considered the…
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A Seer Stone and a Hat – "Translating" the Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon via a seer stone is debated. Eyewitness accounts describe his use of a hat to block light during the process, raising questions about its credibility.