Scribes recorded Prophet's 'crooked, broken language'

While that statement might sound foreign to members, considering his testimony and revelations have been spread around the world in more than 160 languages, it should come as no surprise when you realize the Prophet had no more than a third-grade education.

"We can't underestimate the significance of all these scribes," said Alex Baugh, professor of church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. "Their contributions are incalculable."

Why did the Prophet call the men he did to transcribe his largely oral revelations? The answer to that question depends on whom you ask.

Despite their contributions, the Prophet said the one thing that hampered the keeping of his history was that so many of his scribes fell away or died. The list is saddening: Whitmer, Rigdon, Parrish and Robinson all left the church, never to return. Cowdery, Williams and Phelps were excommunicated, but came into full fellowship. Hyde was disfellowshipped for a time. Mulholland and Thompson died in Illinois.

From the Mormon Times' article: Joseph Smith was a terrible writer.

Yes, indeed. To such an extent, Smith not only needed a lot of scribes, but a LOT of editors through the generations! (And in many ways, his scribes were the "pre-editors" who kept what he dictated from coming out even worse!)

The BIGGEST impact all of these edits have had is that they clearly help erase the obviousness of the original text that a portion of the Book of Mormon was written by an uneducated, grammar-challenged bumpkin -- in which suddenly phrases stolen word-for-word out of the King James Bible stand out in major contrast.

The obviousness of this contrast is greatly diluted by the perhaps hundreds of Book of Mormon editors of what Joseph Smith called "the most correct book on earth."

With the Bible, you have Hebrew & Greek and distinct interpretations of phrasing and even meaning on some things (though not major doctrinal issues)...with the Book of Mormon, they have no original gold-plated text -- therefore they've had no excuses for doing any editing -- especially any editing when you don't know who the editors are and why they've changed something.

So, here we have the pure majesty of the KJ Version of the prophet Isaiah's words all throughout a book in the Book of Mormon like 2 Nephi. (That's the "mountaintop" portion of 2 Nephi). The grammatical "gutter" portion of 2 Nephi is when Joseph Smith speaks forth out of supposed "poetic license":
2 Nephi 4:14: "for a more history part are written upon mine other plates" ["more history part"??]
2 Nephi 27:13: Colleen Ralson of Watchman Fellowship: First is says "none" and then it says "a few." A few is not none. Which does he mean? (Ralson, Color Me Confused, p. 20, 1988)
2 Nephi 30:18: Ralson: Here it states "no more, for a long time." This is a stupid statement. Is it no more or is it a long time?
2 Nephi 31:2: Ralson: The words "save it be a few words..." are really funny when you examine 4 Nephi 1:6, where it takes the author 57 words to say 59 years past.
2 Nephi 31:3: "he speaketh unto men according to their language." Ralson: Why then were they to write in reformed Egyptian? They probably did not understand it and surely the ones who would receive the plates would not understand it, either.

Now that you've viewed the grammatical "gutter" writing of Joseph Smith, all you have to do is stay in the same book -- 2 Nephi -- to see all the majestic writing!!! And how does that happen? Well, Smith plagiarizes 15 chapters, word-for-word, from the book of Isaiah in the Bible!!! (Chapters 1-->14 and 29). So, compare the above verses to Isaiah's KJ translation -- and you'll see that the Inspirer who inspired Isaiah is not the Inspirer who inspired the writer of 2 Nephi!!!

Smith's plagiarism:
2 Nephi 7 --> a copy of Isaiah 50
2 Nephi 8 --> a copy of Isaiah 51 [Ralson notes: "even italicized words that were added later to the King James Version for clarification, are found here"]
2 Nephi 12 --> a copy of Isaiah 2
2 Nephi 13 --> a copy of Isaiah 3
2 Nephi 14 --> a copy of Isaiah 4
2 Nephi 15 --> a copy of Isaiah 5
2 Nephi 16 --> a copy of Isaiah 6
2 Nephi 17 --> a copy of Isaiah 7
2 Nephi 18 --> a copy of Isaiah 8
2 Nephi 19 --> a copy of Isaiah 9
2 Nephi 20 --> a copy of Isaiah 10
2 Nephi 21 --> a copy of Isaiah 11
2 Nephi 22 --> a copy of Isaiah 12
2 Nephi 23 --> a copy of Isaiah 13 [and please note...that the italicized words of Isaiah 13, KJ Version during Joseph Smith's day, were not in the original Hebrew from which the KJV was translated...So if they weren't in the Hebrew, how did Nephi get them? Did he reach into the future of 1611 in the UK, and superimpose them into golden plates between 559 and 545 BC?]
2 Nephi 24 --> a copy of Isaiah 14
2 Nephi 27 --> a copy of Isaiah 29

I am another apostate Mormon and I sympathize with you and the chore that you are faced with in teaching your family about the true nature of God.

I mourn for my family....the family of my birth, who were taught for generations that they too would become gods, that they were blessed to be born into the mormon cult because they were very valiant in the pre-existence when we dwelled with a “god” who was once a man, but by obedience finally became our father-god and sent our brother-god Jesus Christ to die so that universal eternal life would be given to all, good or bad, believers or non-believers. My family and ancestors believed that they were part of the straight and narrow followers of Joseph Smith who could mate with many wives, and have many dozens of children who would expand their empire-kingdom in the life to come.

Now it is my chore, to teach my family, the meaning of words like; God, the Son, Savior, Grace, Eternal Life, Kingdom. Those very words were hijacked and given new meaning by the cult that has enslaved my family since 1838. Yes, I truly hate a cult that hijacks the very gift that Christ died to give us. I love the Mormon people enough to reach out to them in love and show them the deceptions of their "prophets," and how they are enslaved to a non-christian sect. I pray that they will come to Christ, but in reality, on He knows. He has asked me to spread the Gospel, the Good News of salvation and eternal life, right now, in Him.

My wife and son, devout mormons, could not answer this question: “What is the work of God?”

For me it just shows how the lds teachings don’t even cover the basics. I suppose when one is searching out the truth as opposed to being spoonfed doctrine, one will find it.

I look at it as a form of welfare, if you keep getting something given to you, you don’t start looking for ways to improve your current situation, you just accept what you’re given. The lds would fall into that category. They just blindly accept what they’re told, because, afterall, they’re not to question their “prophets” even if they’re wrong.

I have to tread very lightly when discussing theology, what little I know of it. When one is so heavily invested in something emotionally, it’s hard to hear an opposing point of view which sheds the light of truth upon what you claim to believe.

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