FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The New Testament and the Book of Mormon
Question: How can text from the New Testament appear in the Book of Mormon?
The Book of Mormon claims to be a "translation," and the language used is that of Joseph Smith
It is claimed that the Book of Mormon cannot be an ancient work because it contains material that is also found in the New Testament. In fact, in the Book of Mormon, Jesus quotes a paraphrase of Moses' words found in Acts 3:22-26. However, all these parallels demonstrate is that:
- the Book of Mormon translation language is closely based in KJV English; and
- King James phrases were exceedingly common in the speech and writing of Joseph's day.
Neither of these is news, and neither can tell us much but that the Book of Mormon was translated in the nineteenth century.
The Book of Mormon claims to be a "translation." Therefore, the language used is that of Joseph Smith. Joseph could choose to render similar (or identical) material using King James Bible language if that adequately represented the text's intent.
Only if we presume that the Book of Mormon is a fraud at the outset is this proof of anything. If we assume that it is a translation, then the use of Bible language tells us merely that Joseph used biblical language.
If Joseph was a fraud, why would he plagiarize the one text—the King James Bible—which his readers would be sure to know, and sure to react negatively if they noticed it? The Book of Mormon contains much original material—Joseph didn't "need" to use the KJV; he is obviously capable of producing original material.
Furthermore, many of the critics examples consist of a phrase or a concept that Joseph has supposedly lifted from the New Testament. This complaint, however ignores several factors.
Chief among the difficulty is that the critics seem ignorant or unconcerned about the extent to which the language of the King James Bible dominated preaching, common speech, and discussion of religious and non-religious topics in Joseph Smith's day.
In a Bible-based culture like Joseph Smith's, Biblical phrases are simply "in the air," and are often used without an awareness of where they come from (this is especially true for those whose literary exposure did not extend much beyond the Bible—like Joseph). By analogy, many modern authors or speakers will use phrases like the following, completely unaware that they are quoting Shakespeare!
Common phrases originally from Shakespeare
| List | Phrase | Shakespeare | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
* |
"All's well that ends well" |
|
|
* |
"As good luck would have it" |
|
|
* |
"Bated breath" |
|
|
* |
"Be-all and the end-all" |
|
|
* |
"Beggar all description" |
|
|
* |
"Brave new world" |
|
|
* |
"Break the ice" |
|
|
* |
"not budge an inch" |
|
|
* |
"Dead as a doornail" |
|
|
* |
"Devil incarnate" |
|
|
* |
"Fool's paradise" |
|
|
* |
"For goodness' sake" |
|
|
* |
"Full circle" |
|
|
* |
"Good riddance" |
|
|
* |
"Household words" |
|
|
* |
"Heart of gold" |
|
|
* |
"In...a pickle" |
|
|
* |
"Lie low" |
|
|
* |
"Love is blind" |
|
|
* |
"Melted into thin air" |
|
|
* |
"Naked truth" |
|
|
* |
"I have not slept one wink" |
|
|
* |
"One fell swoop" |
|
|
* |
"Play fast and loose with" |
|
|
* |
"We have seen better days" |
|
|
* |
"The short and the long of it" |
|
|
* |
"Too much of a good thing" |
|
|
* |
"Wear my heart upon my sleeve" |
|
|
* |
"What the dickens" |
|
|
* |
"The world's my [mine] oyster" |
|
Would we accuse someone who used these phrases of "plagiarizing" Shakespeare? Hardly, for they are common expressions in our language—most people are probably unaware that they even come from Shakespeare, and most have probably not read the plays at all. In a similar way, some biblical phrases and vocabulary were likely part of Joseph Smith's subconscious verbal world. It would be strange if it were otherwise.
- often the relation between the texts is not that close; only a few words are used that are the same. It is sometimes hard to see how there would be a different way of discussing the same sort of issue. Even if one believes Joseph forged the Book of Mormon, it seems more plausible that these cases are just a coincidence, or a case where one is almost "forced" to use the same type of language (e.g., 1 Nephi 1:18, Alma 19:10, Mosiah 16:7).
- some phrases which approximate the New Testament are quite famous, classic renderings in the King James. Such phrases might be used almost instinctively or subconsciously when translating (e.g., 1 Nephi 12:11, 2 Nephi 4:17). Even academic translators sometimes struggle to avoid using the type of scriptural language with which they are very familiar—it can take a real effort to give a different rendering than one that is well known.
- the Book of Mormon never hides its intent to use King James style English. It is not surprising, then, that there are parallels in language and vocabulary. The translation may even intend to call to mind these biblical verses or phrases, since the Book of Mormon is intended to complement the Bible
- Joseph is clearly able to produce huge amounts of text that do not rely on the KJV at all. Why, if he wants to produce a believable forgery, does he adapt the occasional well-known phrase that could be noticed by even a relatively casual Bible reader? The critics require Joseph to be clever enough to produce independent text, and yet foolish enough to betray his dependence on the Bible.
- Often, although the wording may be similar, the concept being explored is expanded, or the context is substantially altered in the Book of Mormon. The critics seem to think that Joseph flips through the Bible to find something, but the Book of Mormon certainly extends and adapts this material dramatically. The "copying" model seems more complex than needed, as it has Joseph taking small snippets of text from the Bible and other sources and somehow weaving it into the Book of Mormon text. Yet, eyewitnesses do not describe anything like this process; it is not even clear that Joseph owned a Bible during the Book of Mormon translation.
Oddly enough, the high quantity of New Testament/Book of Mormon intertextuality should not lead one to believe that Joseph Smith simply plagiarized from the King James Bible. Using the Original and Printer's Manuscripts of the Book of Mormon, Latter-day Saint scholar Royal Skousen has definitively shown that none of the King James language contained in the Book of Mormon could have been copied directly from the Bible. He deduces this from the fact that when quoting, echoing, or alluding to the passages, Oliver (Joseph's amanuensis for the dictation of the Book of Mormon) consistently misspells certain words from the text that he wouldn't have misspelled if he was looking at the then-current edition of the KJB.[1]
A Proposed Scenario
When considering the the data, Skousen proposes that, instead of.Joseph or Oliver looking at a Bible (which is now confirmed by the manuscript evidence and the statements of the 6 witnesses to the translation to the Book of Mormon), that God was simply able to provide the page of text from the King James Bible to Joseph's mind and then Joseph was free to alter the text as he pleased. In those cases where the Book of Mormon might simply be alluding to or echoing the text, the Lord may have simply given the translation as would be more comprehensible/comfortable to his 19th century, Northeastern, frontier audience. This theology of translation may feel foreign and a bit strange to some Latter-day Saints, but it seems to fit well with the Lord's own words about the nature of revelation to Joseph Smith. The Lord speaks to his servants "after the manner of their language, that they may come to understanding" (Doctrine and Covenants 1:24). Latter-day Saints should take comfort in fact that the Lord accommodates his perfection to our own weakness and uses our imperfect language and nature for the building up of Zion on the earth.
Book of Mormon Central's 9 Part Series on New Testament Language in the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon Central has produced a 9 part series exploring this criticism in depth. This is the latest take on New Testament - Book of Mormon Intertextuality and will prove the most beneficial.
- Why Do New Testament Words and Phrases Show Up in the Book of Mormon?
- Why do New Testament Words and Phrases Show Up in the Book of Mormon? Part 2: The Resurrected Jesus as the Source
- Why Do New Testament Words and Phrases Show up in the Book of Mormon? Part 3: Revelations to Nephite Prophets as a Source (Part A)
- Why Do New Testament Words and Phrases Show Up in the Book of Mormon? Part 4: Revelations to Nephite Prophets as the Source (Part B)
- Why New Testament Words and Phrases Are in the Book of Mormon Part 5: How Often Were Scriptures on the Plates of Brass the Common Source?
- Why New Testament Words and Phrases Are in the Book of Mormon? Part 6: Why Do Similar Clusters of Old Testament Texts Appear in Both?
- Why New Testament Words and Phrases Are in the Book of Mormon Part 7: How Often Did These Commonalities Come through the Hand of Mormon or Moroni?
- Why New Testament Words and Phrases Are in the Book of Mormon Part 8: Were These Expressions Parts of Joseph Smith's Linguistic Toolbox?
- Why New Testament Words and Phrases Are in the Book of Mormon Part 9: Above All, Were These Words Given by the Gift and Power of God?
Appendix: New Testament Phrases in the Book of Mormon
For those looking to further understand the interaction of the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, BYU Professor Nicholas Frederick has provided an exhaustive listing of New Testament/Book of Mormon interactions at the phrasal level.[2] Frederick follows a rigorous methodology laid out in detail in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies that improves substantially on the methods of other scholars and critics in identifying phrases that depend in some measure on the New Testament text contained in the King James Bible.[3] He divides the types of interactions into 7 different groups:
- Simple: A verse in the Book of Mormon uses a phrase from the New Testament with no significant change in language.[4]
- Simple—Expanded: A verse in the Book of Mormon uses a phrase from the New Testament, but the Book of Mormon usage is a redactional expansion of the New Testament phrase.
- Simple—Condensed: A verse in the Book of Mormon uses a phrase from the New Testament, but the Book of Mormon usage is a redactional condensing of the New Testament usage.
- Compound: A Book of Mormon verse redacts a series of phrases from multiple verses within the same New Testament document.
- Complex: A series of verses from the Book of Mormon redact a series of phrases from one lengthy New Testament pericope.
- Hybrid: A verse from the Book of Mormon redacts phrases from multiple New Testament documents.
- Paraphrase: A verse from the Book of Mormon incorporates the New Testament version of an Old Testament passage, rather than directly incorporating the Old Testament verse itself.
The table below organizes the data first by its location in the Book of Mormon, then the New Testament passage that the Book of Mormon is interacting with, and finally what type of interaction the Book of Mormon makes with the New Testament according to the typology Frederick has given us above.
| Book of Mormon Location | New Testament Location | Type of Interaction |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nephi 1:1 (1 Nephi 2:16) | 1 Corinthians 4:1 | Simple |
| 1 Nephi 1:9 | Revelation 21:10 | Simple—Expanded |
| 1 Nephi 1:14 | Revelation 4:8; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22 | Simple |
| 1 Nephi 2:10 (3 Nephi 6:14) | 1 Corinthians 15:58 | Simple—Expanded |
| 1 Nephi 2:11 | Romans 1:21 | Simple—Expanded |
| 1 Nephi 2:18 (twenty-five times total) | Mark 3:5 | Simple |
| 1 Nephi 2:24 (2 Nephi 5:25; Mosiah 1:17; 6:3; Alma 4:19; 25:6; Helaman 11:4, 34) | 2 Peter 3:1 (2 Peter 1:13) | Simple |
| 1 Nephi 3:20 | Acts 3:21 | Simple—Expanded |
| John 11:50 | Simple | |
| Acts 12:11 | Simple | |
| 1 Nephi 5:18 (1 Nephi 11:36; 13:40; 14:11; 19:17; 22:28; 2 Nephi 26:13; 30:8; Mosiah 3:20; 15:28; 16:1; Alma 37:4; 45:16; 3 Nephi 26:4; 28:29) | Revelation 14:6 (Revelation 5:9; 7:9) | Simple |
| 1 Nephi 6:5 | John 15:19 (John 17:14) | Simple |
Other interactions between the New Testament and the Book of Mormon have been noted by Royal Skousen.[5] These are organized in the order they appear in the Book of Mormon and not the New Testament.
| New Testament Location | Book of Mormon Location |
|---|---|
| Acts 3:22–23 | 1 Nephi 22:20 |
| Acts 3:22–26 | 3 Nephi 20:23–26 |
| Mark 16:16 | Mormon 9:22–24; Ether 4:18 |
| 1 John 3:2 | Moroni 7:48 |
Frederick has observed the potential presence of the Johannine Comma in 2 Nephi 31:21. Though he considers this a stretch. The passages from 1 John 5:7 and 2 Nephi 31:21 just don't line up like we might want them to.
Frederick wrote an insightful book about the interactions of John 1:1–18 with the Book of Mormon entitled The Bible, Mormon Scripture, and the Rhetoric of Allusivity (2016) that may be of additional use in understanding the interaction between the New Testament and the Book of Mormon.
Notes
- ↑ Interpreter Foundation, "The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon," <https://interpreterfoundation.org/the-history-of-the-text-of-the-book-of-mormon/> (25 January 2020).
- ↑ Nicholas J. Frederick, "The Book of Mormon and Its Redaction of the King James New Testament: A Further Evaluation of the Interaction between the New Testament and the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 27 (2018): 44–87; "The Language of Paul in the Book of Mormon," in They Shall Grow Together: The Bible in the Book of Mormon, ed. Charles Swift and Nicholas J. Frederick (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 2022), 227–28.
- ↑ Nicholas J. Frederick, "Evaluating the Interaction between the New Testament and the Book of Mormon: A Proposed Methodology," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 24, no. 1 (2015): 1–30. This methodology is certainly better than Jerald Tanner and Sandra Tanner, Joseph Smith’s Plagiarism of the Bible in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Utah Lighthouse Ministry, 2010), 47–148 and similar projects taken up by critics.
- ↑ Frederick says that "I recognize that the modern versification of the Book of Mormon wasn’t done until Orson Pratt completed his edition of the Book of Mormon in 1879. However, I believe it is useful to examine the multiple forms of redaction using modern versification, even if those divisions did not exist in 1830."
- ↑ Royal Skousen, The History of the Text of the Book of Mormon, Part Five: King James Quotations in the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2019), 301, 412–13, 430–31.