Unit 6
How was Joseph's translation of the Bible accomplished?
by heavenly inspiration
Who may the planet Kolob best symbolize?
Jesus
What was the process of acquiring and printing the JST?
After Joseph's death, the Bible translation manuscript was kept by Joseph's widow, Emma Smith, as it was deemed by her to be Smith family property. Brigham Young made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain the manuscript of the New Translation prior to departing with the body of the Saints from Nauvoo in February 1846. In 1866, Emma Smith gave Joseph's biblical manuscript to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1867, the first complete text of the Inspired Version of the Bible was published under the direction of Joseph Smith III, who was the first prophet of the Reorganized Church (RLDS). Beginning in the 1950s, a graduate student named Robert J. Matthews8 began an intensive study of the Joseph Smith Translation. He was given access to the original Joseph Smith Translation manuscripts by the RLDS Church, and he spent many years as a master's and PhD student meticulously studying the original documents. Over time he confirmed that the published RLDS Inspired Version of the Bible was accurate and contained only a very few minor typographical errors. Largely as a result of Dr. Matthews's work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received legal permission from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1979 to include hundreds of JST verses in footnotes and an appendix in an Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible. Since this time, usage and understanding of the JST has been steadily increasing within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 2013 edition of the scriptures added many additional JST verses.
Why was Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible considered to be open ended?
Because Joseph Smith's biblical "translation" implies a revelatory "interpretation," it is possible that additional changes would have been made by Joseph Smith if he had lived longer and as new needs arose for Joseph to render plainer translations for the Saints
What types of changes to the Bible did Joseph Smith make?
Clarification, correcting errors, addition, explanation, deletions, removing contradictions, modern application, grammatical changes,
When was the Book of Abraham translated?
Early July to late November of 1835. Still a little unclear though
Where did the Book of Abraham come from?
Egyptian mummies and papyrus excavated by Thebes eventually came into the hands of Michael Chandler. He sold them to Joseph Smith. Then Joseph learned through revelation that some of the papyri were records of Abraham. How it was translated or what use the papyri were used for in the translation is unknown.
How many changes did Joseph Smith make to the Bible, and how many of those changes are included in the Latter-day Saint Bible today?
He made 3410 changes. We have about ⅓ of those changes in our bible today
What are the facsimiles in the Pearl of Great Price, and what can they represent?
Facsimile 1 is a deliverance scene, with Abraham being faithful and miraculously saved by the Lord. Facsimile 2 is a hypocephalus—meaning "under or beneath the head." A hypocephalus is an oval or circular object that Egyptians placed under the head of their dead. It represented the eye of Horus, the sun god, and portrayed knowledge relating to resurrection and life after death. Facsimile 3 is a judgment scene. This is explained in the Pearl of Great Price as "Abraham sitting upon Pharoah's throne" (figure 1), and he "is reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king's court." This scene may be a symbolic future representation of Abraham becoming exalted and sitting upon a throne9 in heaven
What does it mean that Joseph Smith "translated" the Bible?
Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible did not render the text from one language to another, but through revelation, Joseph Smith restored lost doctrines, clarified existing passages, corrected errors, and added information to clarify the intent and meaning of the text.
How does the JST contribute to the restoration of truth and the education of Joseph Smith?
Much of Joseph's translating changes were to help restore and clarify such contradictions throughout the Bible. He was able to make clear and restore gospel truth. The Bible translation process was an important tool that the Lord used to help Joseph better understand gospel doctrines of the kingdom of God. Joseph's translation work directly and indirectly influenced dozens of revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants.
By what names have Joseph's Bible translation been known?
New translation, inspired version, and Joseph Smith translation
How did we get the Pearl of Great Price, and when was it canonized?
The first edition of the Pearl of Great Price was published in 1851 by Franklin D. Richards, who was serving as the president of the church's British Mission. This new compilation gave Latter-day Saints in the British Isles ready access to a select few of Joseph Smith's revelatory texts. The Pearl of Great Price was eventually adopted as Latter-day Saint scripture; it was officially canonized on 10 October 1880 by a vote at a general conference of the church. Over the years, texts have been added and removed from the Pearl of Great Price. (For more information on the texts Richards included in the original Pearl of Great Price, see the Encyclopedia of Mormonism.) In 1878, for example, the book of Moses was expanded to include passages Richards did not have access to in 1851. In addition, several revelations were removed from the Pearl of Great Price in 1902 because they were by then included in the Doctrine and Covenants.
What are some of the academic challenges and responses to the Book of Abraham?
The surviving parts of the papyrus don't seem to have any connection to the book of Abraham
What is the Abrahamic covenant?
the Abrahamic covenant can be summarized into three p's: priesthood, posterity, and promised land. The Abrahamic covenant in reality is not Abraham's, nor was it new with him. It is the covenant of exaltation—the covenant or promise of the fathers. It is the covenants, ordinances, power, and promises to become like God.
What main gospel themes are present in the Book of Abraham?
the Book of Abraham forms a grand picture: being made a high priest, receiving covenants of exaltation, being taught and instructed about the premortal life, and God's plan, being given knowledge to pass into the presence of God (Facsimile 2); and sitting upon a throne (Facsimile 3). These are the same themes found in the temple endowment today.
What does it mean that Abraham desired the "blessings of the fathers"?
the priesthood covenants and power ancient patriarchs (Adam, Seth, Noah, etc.) received