B.o.m

[John89]

I just had one question that i always wondered about, since joseph smith lived in the 19th century, why did he write the b.o.m in 17th century english? thx God Bless

 

[LongJourney]

Reports are, that a man by the name of Solomon Spalding wrote a story that JS & Co. then mangled into the book that came to be known as the BoM. Spalding was an ordained Congregationalist minister, but he married a “party girl” who ruined him for the ministry. In his bitterness, the story he wrote was a parody of judgmental, unloving, literalist, and racist “Christianity,” people who misinterpret what Jesus taught. It seemed appropriate for him to write it in KJE, as a parody of the Bible. Do you see the irony here?

cassiusuniversity.wordpress.com/mcb/
I promised our LDS friends here that I would take this out of my sig if they would lay off on trying to convert us, but nothing prevents me from linking it if an appropriate question comes up.

 

[LongJourney]

That, too, Mr. Carnelian.

 

[John89]

ya I heard about that whole solomon spalding thing, but havent read about it, thx for the link =) it just never made sense to me since he wasnt a 17th century english man lol

 

[ParkerD]

I just had one question that I always wondered about, since Joseph Smith lived in the 19th century, why did he write the B.O.M (Book of Mormon) in 17th century English? Thanks, God Bless

John89,
That is a good question that may go deeper than you intended, but here goes a try at answering it:

The LDS believe that William Tyndale was definitely inspired as he translated the Holy Bible into English “that a plow-boy could read”. As you may be aware, William Tyndale’s translation became the major basis for the King James Translation of the Holy Bible when that translation was completed. This was a period of time of major solidifying of English usage, meanings, and expanded language–contributed to in a major way by the King James Bible translation, and also by such notable and gifted writers as the author who used the name “William Shakespeare”, John Milton, John Bunyan, and several others who refined and enhanced the English language.

The idea of having scripture written in that refined, standard-setting language that is not paralleled in modern language usage, makes complete sense to me as being inspired by God. The scriptures should elevate the mind, and the language of communication used for the scriptures should thus be elevating, and set a standard that should hold firm for generations, giving children a basis for maintaining the deep roots of their language, even if it doesn’t match how they talk every day.

So, my answer is that Joseph Smith (familiar with the King James Bible but still a young man as he translated) was inspired in the translation of the Book of Mormon, just as William Tyndale was inspired in the translation of the Holy Bible, and the two scriptural books join for those who study them both as another means of standardizing the preservation of elegant, inspired language patterns. Translations into other languages would seek to do that also, I would surmise, as a means of also preserving standardized, elevated usage patterns in those other languages as well.

I hope that has made some sense to you, and thanks for asking since I would imagine that is a common question.

 

[Eric_Hilbert]

Question answered, thread closed