Why do people still read it today? The King James Bible and the Restoration explores these questions. It tells of the KJC's origins, the texts from which it was translated, the major characters involved in its creation, and its story to the present. But this book explores other questions as well:. What has been its lasting legacy in Mormonism? Why the King James Version eBook. In this volume, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. The work is the result of a lifetime of careful research and investigation.
It will be of inestimable value to all students of the scriptures, and particularly to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which accepts the King James Version as one of the four standard works of the Church. This work will add faith and testimony to every reader. Search Search Search. Book Club. Feature Stories. From the Church. Latter-day Saint Life. Twitter Pinterest Email Print. It is most important for us to have at our fingertips the scriptures that most of the Christian Churches and most Christians accept at their Bible.
Instead of inviting the Holy Spirit as a witness during the missionary discussion, we would be trying to justify and defend the different version of the Bible that we would use. Where those differences are critical to the understanding of a bible passage, they are immediately available for reference. Related Posts Does each inhabited world have its own Adam and Eve?
Was Shem the great high priest Melchizedek? Who is the archangel Raphael? This only complicates the matters though, since, as Philip Barlow points out, the KJV influence is so extensive throughout the Book of Mormon. More than fifty thousand phrases of three or more words, excluding definite and indefinite articles, are common to the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Some have tried to reconstruct the process and in so doing have established a theoretical spectrum ranging from a loose translation process to a tightly controlled translation process.
The loose translation idea suggests that regardless of the physical action via the Urim and Thummim, the seer stone, or other means, the translation was ultimately a mental effort on the part of the Prophet, who, while given impressions as to the meaning of the text, had to discern the full meaning and then provide the English words that best fit the impressions received. It is clear that KJV language is used throughout the Book of Mormon and not just in the biblical quotations.
The second theory, tight control, suggests that Joseph was shown words, clauses, or sentences of English text that are the result of the actual translation process being done in the divine realm. In the end, we are simply led to conclude that the similarities between the Book of Mormon and the King James Bible arise from the manner in which "the gift and power of God" title page, Book of Mormon was utilized to translate the record, with no real understanding as to what the "gift and power of God" actually alludes to.
But a lack of clear answers does not mean that we cannot make some observations. We do know that within the context of Joseph Smith's time, the use of King James English for religious purposes is neither unique nor strange but was common when one sought to establish tradition and authority for either the written or the spoken word. It does seem clear that the presence of King James English may have conveyed a sense of authority early in Church history because the early revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants that were given before the Book of Mormon was completed, as well as Joseph's earliest account of the First Vision, appear also to have utilized King James English.
The familiarity of Joseph's contemporaries with King James English would have made their reading of the Book of Mormon an easier experience and one in which they could more readily accept the claims made by the book as both scripture and as an ancient record that was tied to biblical history.
The specific phrase "manner of language" suggests that such transmission would occur not only in terms of the actual language but even in specific mannerisms that would be recognized by the audience in question. That this "manner of language" worked, at least in part, can be evidenced by how quickly the Book of Mormon became known as the "Golden Bible" or "Mormon Bible" by believers and critics alike, demonstrating a tacit understanding that, at the very least, the Book of Mormon sounded biblical.
Thus the presence of King James English and even KJV passages in the Book of Mormon functioned to establish the book's validity to people already familiar with the words of God via King James English while making it easier to recognize the truths found therein because of the text's familiar cadence and sound. As for the second observation, how Joseph Smith placed King James English and text in the Book of Mormon, we begin by summarizing that in terms of the translation process.
Whether Joseph used an actual KJV text is unknown, though all of the witnesses state that he did not. If one assumes that he did not, whether he used loose or tight control of the translating process is unknown because evidence can be provided either way.
As vague and ultimately inconclusive as these answers are, they may in fact reveal an important facet of the Book of Mormon and its relationship with its readers. Like other claims the book makes that can neither be confirmed nor denied through solely academic means, one is left to rely on the Lord to know whether or not the book is true. Though Moroni's promise concerning "these things" is specifically about the gospel message found within the Book of Mormon Moroni ; see v.
In other words, the promise has as much to do with the revelation that Joseph Smith was a true prophet as it does with the revelation that the events described in the Book of Mormon really happened. The lack of any firm answers about the translation process requires that one take Moroni's promise seriously, as only the Holy Ghost can resolve the uncertainty by helping us find peace in Joseph's declaration that the Book of Mormon, and thus its King James English, came about through "the gift and power of God," however it was done.
Of course, the relationship between the Book of Mormon and the Bible is more than textual passages and beautiful prose. It is also manifested in a metanarrative, or theme, in which the text of the Book of Mormon references itself in relation to the existence of another written record containing God's word, known in the Book of Mormon as "the Bible. Our relevant passage begins in 1 Nephi with Nephi's introduction to the colonization of the New World by Europeans.
As Nephi watches the colonists' growing prosperity, he notices their possession of a book: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among them" v. The angel asks Nephi, "Knowest thou the meaning of the book? The question may appear straightforward, but there is no indication that Nephi has ever seen this book before in any context.
Moreover, the angel is not asking whether or not Nephi is aware of this record but more pointedly if he knows what the book represents. In other words, the angel is not asking, "What is the book? In them, one can see a pattern emerging in which God's work to fulfill the covenant, the marvelous work, is ultimately the deliverance of the plain and precious truths leading to the establishment of covenants.
He accomplishes this work through the transmission of records containing the necessary knowledge about both truths and covenants. The book itself, we are told, originated "from the mouth of a Jew. Thus the term was used by Nephi to refer to himself and his group, though he was of the tribe of Manasseh.
The presence of this designation suggests then that the book's origin began at some time in the seventh or sixth century BC and had a Judean origin. There is some confusion as to what Nephi meant by "book. But the original record from which the Gentile book came, also designated as "book," is, we are told, "a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass," which does not exactly resemble a modern book 1 Nephi More importantly, what the angel highlights is not the medium of the writing but the engravings themselves, however those engravings are preserved.
The record contained a history of the Israelite people "the Jews" , including the covenants between God and Israel and presumably the specific history involved with those covenants.
Notwithstanding the lesser amount of material, the angel states that what is contained within the text, specifically the covenants of God with Israel, sufficed and would be of "great worth unto the Gentiles" 1 Nephi Significantly, this material also apparently, includes, the texts now found in the New Testament, for later, in 1 Nephi , Nephi is shown John the Revelator and told, "Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew.
Following the description of the book, Nephi is told of its transmission process under the leadership of the twelve Apostles of the New Testament, and he is introduced to the corruption of this record with the formation of the great and abominable church, which stripped from the gospel many plain and precious truths as well as many of the "covenants of the Lord" 1 Nephi Yet, even in this state, the book retains its designation as the book of the Lamb of God and appears to be necessary to the furthering of God's purposes.
Though Nephi sees the effect that the loss of plain and precious truths has on the Gentiles, he is also shown the following:.
And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.
And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first. The chapter closes with the angel stressing the unity in purpose of both records: "And the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one" 1 Nephi In these texts, the prominent role of the Bible to revealing God's word is demonstrated.
Even in its corrupted state, as the book of the Lamb of God it is the means by which Lehi's descendants are reintroduced to the gospel of Christ, to Christ as the Lamb. In fact, the text establishes that the transmission of the Bible to Nephi's descendants must happen before the restoration of the plain and precious truths through the Book of Mormon.
Thus, without the introduction of the Bible, the Gentiles would not receive the record of Nephi's seed, nor would Nephi's seed be prepared for the earlier Nephite record. In both cases, it is the Bible that prepares the way for the Restoration. Finally, we are told the later records that would emerge are to establish the truths already present within the first book, not replace them, again stressing the importance of the book of the Lamb of God.
In this sense, then, Nephi is not just shown the history of the Bible but more important, its function or, as the angel had suggested earlier, its meaning within the plan of salvation. The meaning of the Bible, or its purpose, coincides with the concept of the condescension of the Lamb of God presented earlier in the vision. Like Christ, who would come down into a mortal, corrupted body, and in so doing provide a way for others to partake of the fruit of the tree, so the Bible, even in its corrupted state, would be spread across the world and become the primary means by which all of humankind could learn of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Nephi's vision, the condescension of Christ is also associated with the covenantal history of Israel. Not surprisingly, so is the Bible. Throughout chapters 13 and 14, the covenantal relationships between the house of Israel, God, and the Gentiles are described. Within those descriptions, the role of the books Nephi was seeing, particularly as mediums of revelation by which an understanding comes of those relationships and their role toward salvation, is provided.
Thus, the angel's question concerning meaning can apply to what the book means in terms of the covenant. As a symbol of the covenant itself, the history outlined to Nephi concerning the book's creation, loss of plain and precious truths, and transmission across the world can parallel the same pattern of scattering that Israel experiences, a pattern of movement necessary for the fulfillment of the Father's covenant.
As the Book of Mormon makes clear, the scattering of Israel is associated with the fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise that through Abraham's seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This purpose for the Abrahamic covenant is found three times in the Book of Mormon and in each case is associated with the necessity of scattering Israel so that all can hear the gospel of Christ. Yet the scattering necessitates a return as well, not just spatially but spiritually.
In other words, the scattering also causes members of the house of Israel to forget who they are and therefore requires that they be restored to their proper understanding. This second form of return is begun, according to the vision, with the dissemination of the Bible, the primary tool by which God has revealed more of his word to more of his children.
The complex symbolism of the Bible as both condescension and covenant can lead one to associate the Bible's presence in Nephi's vision with the purpose and function of the iron rod in Lehi's dream, bringing others safely and truly to the tree whose fruit is most precious. This association may be implied in Nephi's later description of the fruit of the tree as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits" 1 Nephi and the angel's description of the restoration of "plain and most precious" truths through the emergence of the Book of Mormon 1 Nephi If one views the Book of Mormon as the tree, the plain and precious truths within being the fruit, then the Bible acts as the iron rod, which leads one to the tree.
It goes without saying that both are necessary for salvation, but the function of the Bible as the instrument that leads one to the fruit, and therefore as a condescension, does appear to be one of the primary principles of Nephi's vision.
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