Victor R. Claveau, MJ
The first edition of the Book of Mormon identified Joseph Smith as “Author and Proprietor.”
The title-page was as follows:
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 Lamanites; written to the Lamanites, which are a remnant of the House of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of Prophesy and Revelation. Written, and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed; to come forth by the gift and power of God, unto the interpretation thereof; sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by the way of Gentile; the interpretation thereof by the gift of God; an abridgement taken from the Book of Ether.
“Also, which is a Record of the People of Jared, which were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people when they were building a tower to get to Heaven: which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel how great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever; and also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting Himself unto all nations. And now if there be fault, it be the mistake of men; wherefore condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ.
“By JOSEPH SMITH, Junior, Author and Proprietor.
“Palmyra:
“Printed by E. B. Grandin, for the Author.
“1830.”
In revised editions as printed at Nauvoo and Salt Lake, “Author and Proprietor” as above was removed by identifying him as “Translator” only. The first edition also contained a precautionary “preface” in reference to the lost translations, which is omitted in the revised editions. It is in the following words:
“To the Reader –
“As many false reports have been circulated respecting the following work, and also many unlawful measures taken by the evil-designing persons to destroy me, and also the work, I would inform you that I translated, by the gift and power of God, and caused to be written, one hundred and sixteen pages, the which I took from the Book of Lehi, which was an account abridged from the plates of Lehi, by the hand of Mormon; which said account, some person or persons have stolen and kept from me, notwithstanding my utmost exertions to recover it again — and being commanded of the Lord that I should not translate the same over again, for Satan had put it into their hearts to tempt the Lord their God, by altering the words, that they did read contrary from that which I translated and caused to be written; and if I should bring forth the same words again, or, in other words, if I should translate the same over again, they would publish that which they had stolen, and Satan would stir up their hearts of this generation, that they might not receive this work: but behold, the Lord said unto me, I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing; therefore thou shalt translate from the plates of Nephi, until ye come to that which ye have translated, which ye have retained; and behold ye shall publish it as the record of Nephi; and thus I will confound those who have altered my words. I will not suffer that they shall destroy my work; yea, I will shew unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil. Wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, I have, through His grace and mercy, accomplished that which he hath commanded me respecting this thing. I would also inform you that the plates of which hath been spoken, were found in the township of Manchester, Ontario county, New York.
“THE AUTHOR.”
C. S. Lewis wrote in the Screwtape Letters (A fictionalized account of a communication between the devil and one of his deceptive servants):
“And since we cannot deceive the whole human race all of the time, it is important thus to cut every generation off from all others; for where learning makes free commerce between the ages there is always the danger that the characteristic errors of one may be corrected by the characteristic truths of another.”[1]
There have been numerous edition of the Book of Mormon. Four editions were published during Joseph Smith’s lifetime. The first edition was published in 1830, with subsequent editions in 1837, 1840, 1841. Additional editions were published in 1852, 1858, 1874, 1879, 1908, 1920, and 1981. Additional editions were published in England 1n 1849, and 1852.
Over 150 million copies of the Book or Mormon have been printed.
The Mormon Church has a history of change, censorship, and suppression. According to Jerald and Sandra Tanner there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the Book of Mormon from the time it was first published in 1830, and there have been over 2,800 changes to the Doctrines and Covenants since its first publication in 1835. [2] “At one time we made a study of the changes in the History of the Church and estimated that more than 17,000 words have been added and over 45,000 deleted from the time the history was first printed. We now have evidence to show that many important changes were made even before the history was first printed.”[3]
[1] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2001) p. 151.
[2] Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Mormonism, Shadow or Reality, (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry) 1987, 5th ed.
[3] Ibid., p. 8.