Revision as of 21:35, 3 September 2014

The speed with which the Book of Mormon was translated

Parent page: Book of Mormon Translation

The Book of Mormon was produced at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day

Neal A. Maxwell:

One marvel is the very rapidity with which Joseph was translating—at an estimated average rate of eight of our printed pages per day! The total translation time was about sixty-five working days.^[1] By comparison, one able LDS translator in Japan, surrounded by reference books, language dictionaries, and translator colleagues ready to help if needed, indicated that he considered an output of one careful, final page a day to be productive. And he is retranslating from earlier Japanese to modern Japanese! More than fifty able English scholars labored for seven years, using previous translations, to produce the King James Version of the Bible, averaging about one precious page per day. The Prophet Joseph Smith would sometimes produce ten pages per day! ^[2][3]

Joseph did not revise or review his dictation

Neal A. Maxwell:

A second marvel of the Book of Mormon translation process is that from what we know, rarely would Joseph go back, review, or revise what had already been done. There was a steady flow in the translation. The Prophet's dictating resulted—just as the compositor, John H. Gilbert, remembered—in no paragraphing.

Emma Smith said of the inspired process: "After meals, or after interruptions, [Joseph] would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read to him."^[4] One who has dictated and been interrupted must usually resume by inquiring, "Now, where were we?" Not so with the Prophet!

If one were manufacturing a text, he would constantly need to cross-check himself, to edit, and to revise for consistency. Had the Prophet dictated and revised extensively, there would be more evidence of it. But there was no need to revise divinely supplied text. Whatever the details of the translation process, we are discussing a process that was truly astonishing!^[5]

Notes

1. ↑ John W. Welch, "How long did it take Joseph Smith to translate the Book of Mormon?" I Have a Question, Ensign, January 1988, 47.
2. ↑ See the bulletin Insights: An Ancient Window (Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), February 1986, 1.
3. ↑ Neal A. Maxwell, "By The Gift and Power of God," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 1, references silently removed—consult original for citations.
4. ↑ Joseph Smith III, "Last Testimony of Sister Emma," The Saints' Herald, 1 October 1879, 290.
5. ↑ Neal A. Maxwell, "By The Gift and Power of God," in Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon, edited by Donald W. Parry, Daniel C. Peterson, and John W. Welch (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2002), Chapter 1, references silently removed—consult original for citations.