Gilbert, the nonmormon typesetter who worked for e. The manuscript was supposed to be in the handwriting of oliver cowdery. Why didnt joseph smith translate the book of mormon right. Finally, the mormon church leaders became so embarrassed about the grammar that they decided to abandon the idea that god gave joseph smith the english that is found in the book. Each chapter of golden answers highlights an aspect of the gospel that the book of mormon clarifies for us in ways the bible does not. Of course, nobody then dreamed that the book of mormon was destined to achieve the notoriety which it has gained, or that it was to cut such a figure in the history of this country. Gilbert added both punctuation and paragraphing matthews, ensign. Kelley, the hill cumorah, and the book of mormon, saints herald 28, no. Currently, the book of mormon has been divided into chapters and verses, and many key words have been marked for crossreferencing, with the original punctuation marks inserted by mr. Joseph smiths negotiations to publish the book of mormon. The lds church historical department owns gilberts own complete. The book of mormon was written for the intent that we may believe the bible, morm. Gilbert, wrote in pencil and occasionally in ink on some pages of the manuscript, providing punctuation, capitalization, pilcrows, and other clarifying marks. History of the manuscripts of the book of mormon by shirley r.
Gilbert made this statement on 9 september 1892, when he was 90 years old. The printing and binding of the book of mormon were finished and the book was offered for sale to the public on march 26, 1830, just eleven days before the church was officially organized. Gilbert states that the entire text of the book of mormon manuscript was without punctuation page 1, as well as his assertion that the text comes from the solomon spaulding manuscript page 2. The book of mormon is an account of the former inhabitants of this continent that contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. Gilbert, found that the manuscript was closely written and legible, but not a punctuation mark from beginning to end. John was giving them a key to discern false spirits. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book of mormon. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. Nowhere is this more evident than in the writings attributed to moroni toward the end of the book of mormon. Oliver cowdery prepared a copy of the manuscript, and grandin bought 500 pounds of new small pica type in new york. In his statement, a typescript located in the kings daughters library in palmyra, gilbert describes events that.
Mormon john gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of. The book of mormon infamously draws heavily on the bible, including the new testament, which its supposed ancient authors would never have seen. A printing history of the book of mormon mormon historic sites. Gilbert woodrow scharffs june 27, 1930 february 26, 2015 was a latterday saint religious. Although joseph smith was the translator of the book of mormon, the spelling in the first edition was oliver cowderys, and the punctuation was john h.
Dirkmaat and michael hubbard mackay, joseph smiths negotiations to publish the book of mormon, in the coming forth of the book of mormon. For just one contemporary example, see the interview with john h. Gilbert is the only lds actor and only lds person on this list. A ranking of the most influential people in the history of the movies. Gilbert as the chief compositor for the first edition of the book of mormon had the primary responsibility for setting the type and doing the presswork. His name was john gilbert, and he was the one who set the type for that first printing. Gilbert, the typesetter for most of the book, said that he had asked harris, martin, did you see those plates with your naked eyes. In this worthy of a another look, royal skousen, the undaunted scholar of the text of the book of mormon, comments on excerpts of john gilbert s statement.
Gilbert, the non mormon typesetter who worked for e. Printers manuscript of the book of mormon, circa august. Finally, editor dan vogel has included in this volume interviews with the smiths palmyra neighbors. Gilbert s interpretations have appeared in published editions of the book of mormon ever since. Egbert bratt grandin march 30, 1806 april 16, 1845 was a printer in palmyra, new york, best known for publishing the first edition of the book of mormon. Reportedly not capitalized in the book of mormon manuscripts. The copying of the printers manuscript, which was used by the typesetter, had been started in july 1829. The great lover of the silver screen was born john cecil pringle july. Martin harris, hyrum smith and oliver cowdery, were very frequent visitors to the office during the printing of the mormon bible book of mormon. The first edition of the book of mormon was printed in 1830 in palmyra, new york, by the e. Grandins print shop to print the book was signed on tue 25 aug 1829, and the completed book was on sale by fri 26 march 1830. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our. In 1986, while preparing the text for first nephi of the study book of mormon project, zarahemla research foundation began a wordforword comparison of the original and printers manuscripts with the.
He does a superior job of giving great hereos and how they fit into todays world. Gilbert states that the entire text of the book of mormon manuscript was without punctuation page 1, as well as continue reading. Since 1949 john sorenson has been collecting archaeological and anthropological evidence to show that joseph smith translated the book of mormon from a native mesoamerican codex, or book. That a prophet is not without honor except in his home town was true in joseph smith s case. John gilbert, typesetter of the book of mormon 20191230 this letter dated feb. According to gilbert, it was hyrum smith who brought the first twentyfour pages of the handwritten printers manuscript to the publisher.
This was a staggering job for a western new york community of about 1,800 inhabitantsbut the lord had also prepared a man by the name of egbert bratt grandin, a newspaper man and a printerand another man, john gilbert, a typesetter and copy editor, both of whom would play a critical role in bringing forth the book of mormon. Gilbert, punctuator and thus unacknowledged cotranslator of the book of mormon. Journal of book of mormon studies and other restoration scripture 21, no. The seven months it took to print the book of mormon is well documented. The king james quotations in the book of mormon kjq, 2019 royal skousen, with the collaboration of stanford carmack. The number of copies to be printed was unusually large. John was the compositor or typesetter for the 1830 edition of the book. The book of mormon shall stand as a testimony against the world, ether 5. The order and glory of the plan of salvation, including the reality of the atonement and resurrection of jesus christ, unfold beautifully as john examines that plan through the lens of book of mormon teachings. In this part 5 of volume 3 of the critical text, we identify one more use of early modern english in fact, a very specific one in the original text of the book of mormon, namely, quotations from the king james bible. Book of mormon, 8 september 1892, palmyra, new york, typescript, byu. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book of.
In 1892, when john gilbert was 90 years old, he made a statement about the process of setting the type for the book of mormon at the grandin print shop. Book of mormon cancels 2020 denver performance dates. Gilbert was not much interested in the book, thought it rather dry and prosy, and to this day has never thought it worth his while to read it a second time. The original 1830 edition, book of mormon had s of. John gilbert s 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book of mormon. I told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book book of mormon, introduction. Martin harris may 18, 1783 july 10, 1875 was an early convert to the latter day saint movement who financially guaranteed the first printing of the book of mormon and also served as one of three witnesses who testified that they had seen the golden plates from which joseph smith said the book of mormon had been translated. Non mormon writers have criticized the grammar of the book of mormon stating that god could not make the many grammatical mistakes that are found in the book of mormon. These groups were led by prophets who recorded their religious and secular histories on metal plates. Understanding textual changes in the book of mormon. John gilbert is ranked as the 28th most influential person in the history of film in the book the film 100. Gilbert, the typesetter for the 1830 book of mormon, in william h.
The manuscript was marked up to facilitate typesetting. The man responsible for punctuating the first edition of the book of mormon was john h. The detroit post and tribune 3 december 1877 of the ad instant prints the following. For a thorough documentary treatment of this subject, see john w. The book of mormon is a religious record of three groups of people who migrated from the old world to the american continents. As always, use the official gospel doctrine manual in your preparation, these ideas are supplemental. Welch and tim rathbone, the translation of the book of mormon.
Gilbert, found that the manuscript was closely written. John gilbert, typesetter of the book of mormon lds. I do not believe it was inspired by god or that it. The other instance of jehovah in the book of mormon moroni 10. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. In this article, i would like to consider a statement made by john gilbert, the compositor or typesetter for the 1830 edition of the book of mormon. Early mormon dcouments, volume 2 early mormon documents. Mormon s codex is the culmination of a lifetime s labor by mormonism s preeminent mesoamerican specialist. The story of the golden plates consists of how, according to joseph smith and his contemporaries, the plates were found, received from the angel moroni, translated, and returned to the angel before the publication of the book of mormon. John gilbert s 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the book of mormon in the disciple as witness 2000 manuscripts of the book of mormon in to all the world 2000 the original book of mormon transcript in reexploring the book of mormon 1992 the systematic text of the book of mormon in uncovering the original text of the book of. John gilberts 1892 account of the 1830 printing of the.
According to gilbert, harris looked down for an instant, raised his eyes up, and said, no, i saw them with a spiritual eye. An interesting case study in point is the occurrence of two clear parallels to 1 john in moroni 78, as shown in the table below. In 1892 he wrote about his experiences back in 182930. Smith is the only source for a great deal of the story because much of it occurred while he was the only human witness.
I have been a resident of palmyra, new york, since about. He also assisted grandin in estimating the cost of printing 5,000 copies p. Mormon 7 mormon laments the loss of life among the lamanites, and turns his attention to the lamanites descendants, and to any future readers who may have the opportunity to read the book of mormon. On june 26, 1829, the twentythreeyearold grandin announced in the wayne sentinel that he intended to publish the book of mormon as soon as the translation is complete. Book of mormon cancels denver summer dates amid national tours demise scheduled for june 928, the touring broadway musicals opera house shows are canceled by john. In his statement, a typescript located in the kings daughters library in palmyra, gilbert describes events that occurred 63 years earlier. According to gilbert, it was hyrum smith who brought the first twentyfour pages of.