LDS.org Book of Mormon Translation

I am extremely happy that these are being published.

Seriously, they got criticized for white-washing, and now they are getting criticized for publishing accurate materials?

Why can’t we be happy that the right thing is being done?

Just out of curiosity mom3, how did you come across the article?

I’m not trying to claim ulterior motives, but are these articles being advertized or are they quietly added to the site as a reference so it can be at the top of the list when someone does a google search on BoM translation. All of the info was already out there to be had. I can see how the church would want to share that same information in a controlled manner to ensure people aren’t only getting their information from sources that definitely have ulterior motives.

So… when do church produced videos on the restoration start including the hat/seer stone method of translation? :angel:

Has anybody found value in these articles? I mean, anybody here, who has already dug into these issues quite a bit? Do you read them and get any new perspectives? I read one and found it lacking in detail, but at least it was accurate and well written.

Has anybody found value in these articles? I mean, anybody here, who has already dug into these issues quite a bit? Do you read them and get any new perspectives? I read one and found it lacking in detail, but at least it was accurate and well written.

Sure.

I give the church credit for admitting they made mistakes.

I give the church credit for acknowledging that much of the talking points critics are angry and frustrated about are not just anti mormon lies.

I find validation and resolve to speak up and do my part for reformation when my conscience disagrees with the church institutional dogma and policies.

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Actually, I find the article to be as honest, accurate and complete, as I imagine the Church thinks of it. It describes using the seerstone, tells that JS had previously used the same stone for treasure hunting, refers twice and clearly to him burying his face in a hat. Folks, these are huge admissions. I’m shocked to see it and think the Church has done a wonderful job in letting out this information. Not that long ago, we had a discussion here of the false portrayal of the way that the BofM was translated. Well, that is now gone away. I don’t think there is anything left for the Church to say that they haven’t already said.

I think those that view the BofM as not divine or JS’s account of it all as dishonest would say that the Church is still concealing. But that is because they see it differently from the Church.

For example, the Church tells a story (part of the official script at the Smith Family Home in Palmyra), that JS hid the box containing the plates one evening out in the barn under some floor boards. Later that evening, JS was prompted to go out and re-hide them, so he took the plates out of the box and hid them up in the loft of the barn in some hay. In the early morning hours, some people crept onto the farm, looking for the plates. They successfully found the box, but the plates were not in it. The Church’s view of this event is that JS was inspired by the Spirit to remove the plates from the box before hand. My version of the story is that in the morning, when it was discovered that someone had found and opened the box, JS explained to his frightened family and cohorts not to worry, that he had gone out after everyone was in bed and had moved the plates to a different location, that they hadn’t been found and that JS had put them back into the box again. When the Church tells their version of the story, they aren’t being deceitful… they are just saying what they believe to be true. I might take exception, because I don’t believe the story, but that is a matter of faith, not honesty.

Same way with the BofM translation. What exactly is there that the Church believes but is still holding back now?

I think it’s a good thing that they are letting this information out as well. Like someone said before, the link can be something to point members to should these things get brought up in SS. In fact I wonder how well that would go over – someone mentions the more correct version of events in SS, someone else thinks differently, then the article is cited. That could create an awkward scene.

Also, suppressing information like this can potentially lead to a FC once the truth is discovered but now that this article exists the rising generations won’t necessarily run into that problem… at least with respect to that bit of information. I say rising generations because I think some people may have difficulty fitting a new history in with what they have believed and possibly even defended for their entire lives. How might a member feel if they had argued that the stone/hat version of history was “just anti material?”

I’m shocked to see it and think the Church has done a wonderful job in letting out this information.

I know what you are saying, I just don’t think it’s the church that is letting this information out. I believe the church would have kept down the path of the scrubbed version of history in perpetuity had there not been fairly conclusive evidence that was already out in the wild.

I am extremely happy that these are being published.

Seriously, they got criticized for white-washing, and now they are getting criticized for publishing accurate materials?

Why can’t we be happy that the right thing is being done?

I’m happy with this as well. I just think that the people that are still critical are more concerned with all the other stuff – whether imagined or real. It takes a while to regain trust. Here we have an example of the truth coming out but perhaps some feel that it only came out due to public pressure. Events like these naturally raise the question – what else is there? What else could they be hiding? The questions we’ve all probably asked ourselves.

Seems to be a common theme on this site of late. I’m all for the church making these bits of info official. At the very least it allows us to move past these issues and start applying pressure for the next thing in line. :angel:

This year has been the first year I have heard of the “head in hat” method of translation or the multiple accounts of the first vision, along with other things, and I am a lifelong church member. I am glad this information is being provided on the church’s website, but it does seem to be sort of slipped in there, and I think I would appreciate it more if it was being mentioned in church or brought to members’ attention. I know these things had never been brought up in church before. It should make things easier for the next generation in that it has at least been published on church websites. They hopefully won’t be caught off guard like I was.