Tuesday, January 25, 2022

E. Cecil McGavin, Cumorah’s “Gold Bible” (1940): Joseph Smith Used an Open Bible and Copied from It when the Plates Quoted Biblical Texts

  

Bible quotations in the Book of Mormon

 

“I would like to know,” explained Elder Barlow when it came his turn to ask a question, “just to what extent the Bible quotations in the Book of Mormon are taken word for word from the King James Version. This charge was the most common one made against the book by all the early critics, some of them saying that was the only thing in the book worth reading. I wish to know why the popular version of the Bible was copied from and if there is any evidence that the translator had access to an ancient text?”

 

To this the President replied: “This is the outstanding feature of the book that is a stumbling block to many scholars. Perhaps they are perfectly justified in assuming that the Nephite prophets should not have been quoting from the Hebrew prophets, yet putting their message in almost exactly the words of the King James Version of 1611 A.D. I think we are justified in saying that in 1830, long before the higher criticism of the Bible was known, it was a common belief that every feature of the Bible was inspired. Many preachers at that day were saying that every ‘jot, tittle and punctuation mark were inspired.’

 

“In such an atmosphere it was wisdom to make the new book agree as nearly as possible with the version of the Bible in use among the Protestants. I agree with the scholars who have said that the Prophet likely kept an open Bible before him and copied from it instead of translating word for word from the Nephite scriptures, unless there was a very important correction to be made. There is ample evidence that the translator had access to an ancient text and that he did not slavishly follow the Bible text, often pausing to make notable changes, many of which are far more like the ancient biblical manuscripts recently found than like the King James Version. (E. Cecil McGavin, Cumorah’s “Gold Bible” [Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1940], 130-31, emphasis in bold added)