El Libro de Mormón/Traducción

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La traducción del Libro de Mormón

• What do we know about the method used to translate the Book of Mormon?
• Were the plates sometimes not in the room while Joseph was translating them?
• Some claim that each sentence and word in the 1830 Book of Mormon "had supposedly come directly from God."

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All that we know for certain is that Joseph translated the record "by the gift and power of God." (DC 135:3) We are given some insight into the spiritual aspect of the translation process, when the Lord says to Oliver Cowdery:

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right." (DC 9:8)

Beyond this, the Church does not take any sort of official stand on the exact method by which the Book of Mormon translation occurred. Joseph Smith himself never recorded the precise physical details of the method of translation:

"Brother Joseph Smith, Jun., said that it was not intended to tell the world all the particulars of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon; and also said that it was not expedient for him to relate these things" ^[1]

It is important to remember that what we do know for certain is that the translation of the Book of Mormon was carried out "by the gift and power of God." These are the only words that Joseph Smith himself used to describe the translation process.

As Elder Russel M. Nelson stated in the July 1993 Ensign, the "details of this miraculous method of translation are still not fully known." We do know, based upon witness accounts, that Joseph employed instruments designated for that purpose: The Nephite interpreters and his own seer stone. Many have offered their own opinions about how these devices "functioned" in the process, but it should be kept in mind that these opinions are given by people who never performed the translation process itself: They can only report on what they observed the Prophet doing at the time. We also know that at some later point in time, both the Nephite interpreters and Joseph's seer stone were referred to using the term "Urim and Thummim." Whether Joseph used the "original" Urim and Thummim (i.e. Nephite interpreters or "spectacles") or his own seer stone to perform this sacred task is beside the point, and it does not diminish the power of the resulting work. One should read the Book of Mormon itself and evaluate its message rather than get wrapped up in the detail of its exact method of translation.

La transcripción de Anthon

Sumario: Más de una copia de la "transcripción de Anthon" existe. La copia más vieja (en la foto aquí) esta en posesión de la Comunidad de Cristo (anteriormente conocida como La Iglesia Reorganizada de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días). Este papel parece ser de la misma edad y tipo de la que fue usada por José Smith para la traducción del Libro de Mormón.

Plantilla:Endnotes label

1. [back] Russell M. Nelson, "A Treasured Testament," Ensign (July 1993), 61. off-site (Inglés)
2. [back] Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 volumes, edited by Brigham H. Roberts, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957), 1:220. BYU Studies link
3. [back] Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:541–542.
4. [back] Interview of Emma Smith by her son Joseph Smith III, "Interview with Joseph Smith III, 1879," in Dan Vogel (editor), Early Mormon Documents (Salt Lake City, Signature Books, 1996–2003), 5 vols, 1:539.