Inspired Mess

Do you think Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible is accurate compared to modern translations?
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Ray Farmer
Jealous of and Zealous for the Book of MormonJust now

It is best to reject the whole work referred to as the inspired version. use to refer to it often, but discovered enough to reject it entirely.

In the Bible we read

Matthew 5

40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

When Jesus came to the Nephites, He taught the same principle

3 Nephi 12

40. And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also;
41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

So, the Book of Mormon that was translated by the gift and power of God agrees with the New Testament.

But then you read the “inspired Version and you get this:

Matthew 5

42 And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have it; and if he sue thee again, let him have thy cloak also.
43 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him a mile; and whosoever shall compel thee to go with him twain, thou shalt go with him twain.

Well, one is left to choose the inspired Book of Mormon and the Bible, or to choose the “Inspired Version”. I choose The Book of Mormon.

Next, in the Book of Hebrews in the Bible we read

Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

The Inspired Version changes this verse to read

Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better things for them through their sufferings; for without sufferings they could not be made perfect.

Okay. Fine. The trouble is, later on Joseph needed the verse to say what it said before the “inspired” change when he taught about work for the dead.

Doctrine and Covenants 128

15. And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers--that they without us cannot be made perfect--neither can we without our dead be made perfect.

18. I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other--and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time

We also see, in the Book of Ether, that Moroni didn't include anything about the time between the Creation and the Tower because that account was was had among the Jews

Ether 1

2. And I take mine account from the twenty and four plates which were found by the people of Limhi, which is called the Book of Ether.
3. And as I suppose that the first part of this record, which speaks concerning the creation of the world, and also of Adam, and an account from that time even to the great tower, and whatsoever things transpired among the children of men until that time, is had among the Jews--

So, that period of time, between the Creation and the Tower, is covered by the Jews in the Old Testament. But this Old Testament does not contain the additional "inspired" chapters now known as the Book of Moses, which is included in Genesis in the "Inspired Version".

Follow me on this last observation.

Nephi saw the early Americans that made their way to the New World. They carried a Book. I am kind sure it was the King James Version.

1 Nephi 13

19. And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
20. 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.
21. And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the book?
22. And I said unto him: I know not.
23. And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

As we all know, there were things removed, taken away from the Bible by the great and abominable church.

28. Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God.

We may ask ourselves if the Book of Moses was taken away at this time. Seems possible. But then we read that the Book of Mormon would restore those parts of the Gospel that were taken away. Even with plain and precious parts taken away, the Bible is still called by the Angel "the book of the Lamb of God". It is also important to note that parts were taken away. This means that things WERE NOT changed. Therefore there was no need for an inspired reworking of what was not taken away! It means also that parts WERE NOT added to the book of the Lamb of God. There were only things taken away which means what was left was just fine the way they were.

What happens next is the precepts that were taken away from the Bible, "the records of the prophets and the twelve apostles" would be restored by the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi 13

40. And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records [Book of Mormon], which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [Bible, KJV], and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.
41. And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed [Book of Mormon], as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [Bible, KJV]; wherefore they both [Book of Mormon and Bible, KJV] shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.

I know that was long, but the point is that there is no need to make inspired changes or additions to the text of the King James Version, or as the Book of Mormon calls it, the Book of the Lamb of God.

Incidentally, the Book of the Lamb, KJV, is translated just fine, you guys who believe it insofar that it is translated correctly. The Book of Mormon never warns about mistranslated verses, just missing parts.

Conclusion

As we can see, that whole “Inspired” work is completely unreliable. Joseph Smith had one gift and he was not to get any other. That gift was to translate the Book of Mormon. When he pretended to translate other records, he got in trouble.