The Articles of Faith: A Series of Lectures on the Principal Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsTalmage, James E. (James Edward)
Religion
The Articles of Faith: A Series of Lectures on the Principal Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Talmage, James E. (James Edward)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Doctrines; Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines
=21.= Having chastened the prophet by depriving him for a season of
his gift to translate, as also of the custody of the sacred records,
and this for his dereliction in permitting the writings to pass into
unappointed hands, the Lord graciously restored His penitent servant
to favor, and revealed to him the designs of his enemies;[780] at the
same time showing how these evil machinations should be made to fail.
Joseph was instructed, therefore, not to attempt a re-translation of
that part of Mormon's abridgment, the first translation of which had
been stolen; but instead, to translate the record of the same events
from the plates of Nephi,--the set of smaller plates which Mormon had
incorporated with his own writings. The translation so made was
therefore published as the record of Nephi, and not as the writing of
Mormon; and thus no second translation was made of the parts from
which the stolen manuscript had been prepared.
[780] Doctrine and Covenants, x.
=22. The Translation of the Book of Mormon= was effected through the
power of God manifested in the bestowal of the gift of revelation. The
book professes not to be dependent upon the wisdom or learning of man;
its translator was not versed in linguistics; his qualifications were
of a different and of a far more efficient order. With the plates,
Joseph Smith received from the angel other sacred treasures, including
a breastplate, to which were attached the Urim and Thummim,[781]
called by the Nephites _Interpreters_; and by the use of these he was
enabled to render the ancient records in our modern tongue. The
details of the work of translation have not been authentically
recorded beyond the statement that the translator examined the
engraved characters by means of the sacred instruments, and then
dictated to the scribe the English sentences.
[781] Doc. and Cov. x. 1; xvii, 1; cxxx, 8, 9; Mos. viii, 13-19;
Ether iii, 23-28.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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