Today, the book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages, with select passages translated into another 20 languages. Mormon scriptures to be translated into 34 additional languages. Book of mormonlanguagereformed egyptian fairmormon. There is a specific reason that the book of mormon is not translated into more modern english. For the latter as a gn in the book of mormon see the same. Jul 27, 2016 as of 2015, the book of mormon has been translated into 110 different languages spoken by over 76 percent of the worlds population, truly beginning to bring the book of mormon to, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. The book of mormon teaches about god and jesus christ. Language availability of latterday saint scriptures scripture tools. There are many hebrew literary forms found in the book of mormon. Are translations of the book of mormon into other languages. Book of mormon translation by joseph smith the encyclopedia. Translating the book of mormon religious studies center. And in 2000, the church achieved a milestone, bringing the total number of translations of the book of mormon to 100, including english. Translated beings mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs.
Here are a few languages the book of mormon is translated into that you may not have known about. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ. What is the original language of the book of mormon. Translating the book of mormon into other languages commenced relatively soon after the first publication in 1830. A fulltime missionary force of more than 52,000 helps distribute free copies of the book of mormon worldwide, and free copies can also be obtained from mormon. Being an expert in ancient languages, its interesting to speculate the he may have been the source for teaching the authors of the book or mormon about chiasm patterns in ancient writings. Language availability of latterday saint scriptures. What translating harry potter reveals about the book of mormon. After the prophet joseph smiths original translation of the book of mormon from the gold plates into english in 1829 and the return of those plates to the angel moroni, no translations from english into other languages appeared until the 1850s. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. Analytical and contextual commentary on the book of mormon and the gift and power. Today, all or part of the book of mormon has been translated into 112 languages. Church to translate scriptures in 34 more languages. April 06, 1829 to june 16, 1829 translation of the book of mormon at this point we move to a daily analysis of the translation of the book of mormon.
Because joseph smith was a contemporary of the early 19th century the english is much closer to our own english usages. Since it was first published in english in 1830, the book of mormon has been fully translated into 82 languages, and printed copies have totaled more than 150 million. The joseph smith papers, revelations and translations, vol. Jul 12, 2019 at least portions of the book of mormon have been translated into 111 languages, from danish 1851, welsh 1852 and hawaiian 1855,3 to pohnpeian, sesotho, and tshiluba, announced in 2017. New scripture translation projects approved over the last several years include the book of mormon in burmese, efik, georgian, navajo. Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. By 1968, the book of mormon was translated in only 18 languages. The purpose of these physical instruments was to facilitate that revelatory process and assist joseph smith as he struggled to receive the inspired thoughts, feelings, meanings, and words as he translated the book of mormon by revelation. He commented that when he had difficulty with a given passage, he searched the book of mormon carefully in other languages for help. Joseph smith and his scribes wrote of two instruments used in translating the book of mormon.
An examination of the original manuscript reveals that joseph smith, as he translated, apparently. The book of mormon says that alma was taken up by the spirit, and that the scriptures saith the lord took moses unto himself. His early work on the translation, with emma smith and martin harris serving as the main scribes, was lost in 1828. The first german edition and the second printing of the french translation were published side by side, because those were the two main languages spoken in hamburg. As of 2015, the book of mormon has been translated into 110 different languages spoken by over 76 percent of the worlds population, truly beginning to bring the book of mormon to, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people. He said, i finally tried egyptian, and to my complete surprise, i found that the book of mormon translated flawlessly. To date, the book of mormon has been fully translated into 82 languages and partially translated in 25 more. On monday, the 6th i assisted him arranging some business of a temporal nature, and on tuesday the 7th, commenced to write the book of mormon. How the book of mormon was translated let us reason. Careful study of the book of mormon s vocabulary and grammar suggests that seeming errors arent errors at all. The very surprising language of the book of mormon. David whitmer, an address to all believers in christ, richmond, mo n.
Oct 15, 2019 the book of mormon teaches about god and jesus christ. In 1851 the book of mormon was translated into danish, its first translation to a nonenglish language. This name is not found in the book of mormon but is mentioned as the name of the brother of jared in george reynolds, era 8, 705 and alma p. If youre familiar with joseph smiths history and the founding of the lds church, this wont be too hard, but if youre not, it may be challenging. Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god, and not by any power of man. When i see the word translate, it means to me that a scribe read a manuscript written in one language e. Sep 19, 2016 in an article in his defending the faith column in the deseret news, byu scholar daniel c. The story recounted as a faith promoting aspect of this that he translated the text from english first into ancient egyptian, and then from there into afrikaans, and the text was. A page about the wonderful worldwide diversity of the church. Gardner earned a masters degree in anthropology and mesoamerican ethnohistory from the state university of new york at albany.
Mar 07, 2011 the kjv was translated into english as used at the time of king james. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, which has translated the full book of mormon into 90 languages selections are offered in 21 others since the work was first printed in 1830, also. Litster, administrator for established languages, church distribution and translation services since the publication of the first five thousand copies in. The full book is currently being translated in 1 languages, and published online. Deseret english and hebrew selections were previously published, but these are out of print. I will now give you a description of the manner in which the book of mormon was translated. By its own terms, the book of mormon is a translation of an ancient book. The book of mormon was written by a series of prophets from 600 b. Translations of the book of mormon into other languages have sometimes been miraculous, in their own small way. The miraculous translation of the book of mormon into.
One mormon scholar points out that there are other texts that are available only in translation but that scholars agree are ancient. To that date, the book of mormon had been fully translated into 82 languages and partially translated in 25 more. Dec 12, 2012 translating the book of mormon into other languages commenced relatively soon after the first publication in 1830. Again, it is the rate of translation, approximately 6. From a 1993 statement from the first presidency of the church. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into and how many copies have been distributed in the years since it was first. How many languages is the book of mormon printed in answers. The book of mormon is another testament of jesus christ. Nov 24, 20 today, all or part of the book of mormon has been translated into 109 languages. Book of mormon mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and the style of the king james version kjv of the bible. From time to time there are those who wish to rewrite the book of mormon into familiar or modern english. Few books have been translated and distributed so widely. Some argue that since we lack the original plates from which the book of mormon was translated, it should be read as a 19thcentury englishlanguage text rather than as an.
Thus, the book of mormon was translated by the spirit of revelation using the seer stones. The book of mormon s old testament portion bmot quotes heavily from the new testament of the bible. Welchs excellent article entitled the miraculous translation of the book of mormon, from opening the heavens, accounts of divine manifestations 18201844, p. Those historical interests are manifest in the recent description of the translation of the book of mormon found on the churchs official website. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. The study so far is yielding a deeper appreciation of the original manuscript. But translations of the book of mormon into other languages have also been miraculous, in their own small way. The translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans.
Book of mormon translation in englishnavajo dictionary. Apr 01, 2019 elder holland taught in 2009 that the book of mormon contains the power of christ to counter all troubles in all timesincluding the end of times. He listed a halfdozen languages he tried, all of which did not accommodate the strange sentence structure found in the book of mormon. Joseph smith translated an ancient text by the gift and power of god to produce the book of mormon. Some latterday saints may not be aware that danish was the first foreign language into which the book of mormon was translated. Unable to provide them with church materials in their language, the church has felt inspired to flood middle earth with the book of mormon. The book of mormon is available in print in various sizes, bindings, and colors. The book of mormon is now published in more than 80 languages, with selections available in another 25 languages. There are at least185 quotations and 2,500 unique vocabulary words from the new testame. The book of mormon and other translated documents mormons.
The translation of the book of mormon into ukrainian is one such small miracle in church history. The book of mormon has the structure of a translation from the hebrew language. The book is published in its entirety in 81 nonenglish languages, with selections of it published in. For instance, the afrikaans translation of the book of mormon was done by such a man, who was eminently qualified and highly recommended by local leaders. The church translation department released a statement on the timeline for this new book of mormon publication. Joseph smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light. There are, in fact, at least 922 chiasma in the book of mormon. From the beginning, church members have accepted it. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. A translation can legitimately use words from many languages. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. Jun 29, 2016 he listed a halfdozen languages he tried, all of which did not accommodate the strange sentence structure found in the book of mormon. Litster, administrator for established languages, church distribution and translation services since the publication of the first five thousand copies in palmyra, new york, in the spring of 1830, the book of mormon has been published in twentyseven languages.
The book of mormon text contains logical impossibilities. It has been described as the keystone of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Receiving translations of the book of mormon, the churchs signature scripture, for the first time will be speakers of burmese, georgian, navajo. This selections volume is being progressively replaced by full translations. The translation of the book of mormon from english into ukrainian is one such small. The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages. The book of mormon is published in 107 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online history. Despite the fact that the word adieu appears in the english translation of the book of mormon, the word adieu was certainly not known to any book of mormon writer, the word adieu was never used by any book of mormon writer, and the word adieu did not appear anywhere on the nephite plates. Book of mormon translations book of mormon central.
He said, i finally tried egyptian, and to my complete surprise, i found that the book of mormon translated flawlessly into egyptian, not modern, but ancient egyptian. Joseph continually insisted, the only real answer, from any perspective, is that the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god. In march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e. The first nonenglish translation of the book of mormon was the danish edition in 1851. See an updated list of translations of the book of mormon. This quiz is about joseph smiths discovery of the book of mormon, as he described it in his own words. It was written in an ancient language on gold plates by prophets in ancient america. As of 1990, the entire book of mormon was available in 36 languages. Book of mormon translations the encyclopedia of mormonism. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into.
The full book is currently being translated in 1 languages, and published online incrementally. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, not in use in 1830. He was the professor of grammar, being expert in greek, hebrew, latin, chaldiac, and some other languages. Test your knowledge on this religion quiz to see how you do and compare your score to others. Joseph smith at the age of 16 maybe 14,15 or 17 was led to the site of the plates by the angel moroni, joseph was instructed not to remove the items until he was given permission. Often, when we think about the translation of the book of mormon, we immediately think of how joseph smith miraculously translated its reformed egyptian characters into english. John gee, two notes on egyptian script, journal of book of mormon studies, vol. Also important is the demonstration that the book of mormon translation utilizes target source languages, and all transliterations are standardized to these languages. Translation projects take several years, as scripture texts are carefully translated. This book shows the meaning in sumerian compound words of all of the unknown words and glossed words in the book of mormon, as well as looking at all other book of mormon names. As i will never possess the actual plates, this book is the gold standard book of mormon for our day. How does god help translate the book of mormon into other.
Selections from the book of mormon are available in 21 other languages. The book of mormon an account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of nephi, and also of the. In fact, they may provide striking evidence that the book s translation in the 19th century was truly miraculous. Peterson offers a rebuttal to an objection he says some people make against treating the book of mormon as an ancient book. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian. The lds version of the book of mormon has been translated into 83 languages and selections have been translated into an additional 25 languages. In 2001, the lds church reported that all or part of the book of mormon was available in the native language of 99 percent of latterday saints and 87 percent of the worlds total population. Book of mormon translation englishnavajo dictionary. Joseph smiths translation of the book of mormon into english was arguably one of the most miraculous occurrences of this dispensation. Moses, elijah, and alma the younger in the book of mormon were translated.
Translation of the book of mormon language study edition russianenglish. For instance, over 50% of the book is couched in chiastic structures. As of april 2011, the book of mormon has been published in its entirety in 82 languages, with selections of the book available in an additional 25 languages. When joseph smith translated the book of mormon in the spring of 1829, he dictated the text line by line. As the video explains, some translators took considerable liberties in adapting the the harry potter books into the target language to better.
His early work on the translation, with emma smith and. Sam gamgee, an employee from the church translation department, explained that this new translation sparks from an uptick in investigators from middle earth. From that humble beginning, today the church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. There is only one version, unless you are asking how many languages it is in, in which case, the book of mormon is translated into 87 different languages, one of which is now extinct. Oct 10, 2017 the initial release for a few selected languages will begin on november 30, 2017. Book of mormon translator converted the mormon urban. The translators of the book of mormon deseret news. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. The book of mormon claims to be a translation of an ancient text, the original language version of which is not available. Because we do not have the original plates to examine, its impossible to identify the language used to make the ancient record. The full doctrine and covenants is available in 62 languages. The story behind the first foreign translation of the book of mormon. Many additional german editions of the book of mormon were printed over the next century. Separate copies of each language translation were also printed.
Can you name the languages the book of mormon has been translated into. The original book of mormon transcript the book of. I bought this book set the day i discovered it from deseret book and they arrived before the week was over. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated.
1215 728 824 42 813 1088 849 624 753 765 588 217 1140 362 909 1257 687 93 129 537 539 146 1409 344 1079 1435 495 419 1202 1425 938 1036 808 1461 814 582 701 1129 416 1326 958 960 566 639 1445 719 1023 1205 1 167