In their commentary on the Book of Mormon, George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl offered the following commentary on 1 Nephi 13:28, arguing it refers to the removal/destruction of books no longer extant/part of the canon as opposed to textual corruption of those that are now extant:
VERSE 28
Many
plain and precious things taken away from the book. This, as I understand it,
refers to books and, perhaps, parts of books, that have been destroyed, rather
than to the corruption of the texts in the books extant.
Many
modern scholars are changing their attitude toward the Bible. They admit, for
instance, that the books of the New Testament almost without exception belong
to the first century, although they were not gathered together in a volume, as
we know them, until a couple of centuries later. Archeological finds prove that
the grammar, the vocabulary, the form of the letters, the diction and the
historical background stamp them as products of that early age. They also admit
that in all essential particulars the text we have is identical with the
original writings. They consider these conclusions established by the
scientific methods of criticism applied to thousands of manuscripts.
There
are discrepancies. And even apparent contradictions. In the Old Testament, and
particularly in the Chronicles, dates and names are sometimes hopelessly
changed. In fact, the entire chronology of the Old Testament, before the Temple
of Solomon, is guesswork. Usher calculates the time from the creation to the
flood to be, 1656 years; the Septuagint makes it, 2262 years; Josephus, 2256
years. Similar discrepancies appear in the following periods. From the flood to
the call of Abraham, Usher, 427 years; Sept., 1207; Josephus, 1062. From the
call of Abraham to the exodus, Usher, 430, Sept. 425, Josephus, 445. From the
exodus to the foundation of the temple of Solomon, Usher, 479, Sept. 601,
Josephus, 621. From the temple of Solomon, to the restoration of Cyrus, Usher,
476, Sept. 476, Josephus, 493. From the restoration by Cyrus to our Lord,
Usher, 536, Sept. 537, and Josephus, 534 years. That is, the entire time from
the creation to the beginning of our era appears thus:
Usher
4004 years
Septuagint
5508 years
Josephus
5411 years
To
this may be added that the Samaritan text makes the period between the creation
and the exodus 2809 years.
In
the New Testament, too, there are numerous variations. A few of these will have
to suffice for illustrations. In Matthew 19:17: "Why callest thou me
good?" Griesbach notes another reading: "Why asketh thou me
concerning the good?" The doxology in the Lord's prayer, "For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen," is lacking
in some MSS. Matt. 16:2, is omitted in some MSS. The last 12 verses
of Mark are missing in some MSS. The story of an angel "moving" the
water of Bethesda (John 5:4) is absent from some MSS. Many omit the story of
the woman in John 8:1-11. Peter's visit to the grave (Luke 24:12) is
omitted in some MSS, but Griesbach considers the verse genuine.
Such
are the variations in the text. Dr. Joseph Angus remarks: "In the 7959
verses of the New Testament there are not more than ten or twelve various
readings of great importance, and these affect not the doctrines of the
Scriptures, but only the number of proof passages in which they are
revealed."
Such
variations are easily accounted for. Many of them are accidental. A copyist can
accidentally mistake one letter for another. He can happen to leave out words
or lines, or repeat sentences. Sometimes the changes are made deliberately, in
order to correct grammar, or perhaps establish proof of a doctrine. Sometimes
owners of a manuscript would make marginal notes, and a copyist may have
incorporated them in the text, thinking that they belonged to it originally. An
Armenian translation of St. Mark has been found in which the last 12 verses of
Mark are said to have been written by a church father, Aristion. If that is
correct, he, no doubt, added it to the gospel because it was an accepted
tradition at that time in his part of the church. They may have been part of
the original, for the end leaf of a papyrus might easily get lost.
Nephi,
in his wonderful vision, sees that many precious things had been taken away
from the book. For the reasons here given I believe this was fulfilled in
the destruction of books that originally belonged to the collection of inspired
literature. (George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the
Book of Mormon, volume 1, emphasis added)
Further Reading
Not
By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
Refuting Christina Darlington's Claim the Bible has Been Preserved with 99.5% Accuracy
Modern (Evangelical Protestant) New Testament Scholarship vs. Christina Darlington
Brant Gardner on 1 Nephi 13:24-28 and a Note on Psalm 110:3 in the MT and LXX
