Joseph Smith and the KJV

I don't know about the KJV but--having read the book of Mormon--I'd say ole Joe was ahead of his time as a fantasy writer.

--Ralph

 

Just goes to prove that if you mess with God's word he meses with your mind. Joseph Smith is just one example.

 

No. He was an egocentric heretic completely devoid of anything resembling a logical approach to textual criticism. His issues with translation had more to do with the text not saying what he needed it to say than with evidence that the text should be different.

Even still, the LDS uses the KJV exclusively which primarily means that they have developed a system of scripture distortion that depends in part upon the unique wording of the KJV. A scholarly produced MV is an obvious threat to them.

 

That's just doubletalk. Any translation effort is scripture "where translated correctly." And to Smith, obviously much of scripture-- of which the KJV was virtually the only English efort available-- was not translated correctly, and so thought many others dissatisfied with churches around them. Very interestingly, as he wrote new 'scripture,' he wrote them in the KJV style of language becaue that what 'scripture sounds like,' It worked to quite an extent.

 

Jason, no he wasn't. You'll find that "translated correctly" in his opinion often meant where prophecies about HIM or that related to mormonism weren't in the text, and the rest of the time they changed doctrine. Try to pick up a copy of the KJV as corrected by Joseph Smith, it shows the KJV and the Joseph Smith "corrections" side by side.
Gina

 

Refreshed said:

Joseph Smith states that the KJV is scripture, "where translated correctly." Was he ahead of his time in textual criticism?

No, that is just the Mormons' way of saying that where the teachings of the Bible contradicted the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is because the text of the Bible has been corrupted to teach false doctrines.

Oddly enough, the Mormons are not unlike the KJV-onlyists in this respect: setting up an arbitrary standard (Mormon teaching or the KJV text, as the case may be) and pronouncing as "corrupt" anything that deviates from it.

"The KJV is the Word of God insofar as it is translated correctly" is quite true, as a matter of fact - provided, that is, that it is understood correctly.

 

I agree with that...I've always thought he should have been given an award for the best fictional series, posthumously of course...LOL

AJL

 

A more likely reason than the one Dr. Bob presented: dark tends to mimic light. They want to stay as close to the truth visibly as they can, so that members are more easily tricked into believing the falseness they will later present to be truth.
Gina

 

The original LDS version of the KJV was "translated correctly" which meant as others stated, that it was amended to conform to their doctrine.

E.g GJ 1:1 said "In the beginning was the gospel of the word"
which, as you can see, denies that Jesus was the Logos.

There were many more alterations and they finally dumped the 1831 KJV so as to appear more mainline.