The "Most Correct Book"?
Joseph Smith called the Book of Mormon the most correct book on earth. What happens when we examine that claim?
What the LDS Church Teaches
Joseph Smith famously declared the Book of Mormon to be "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." The LDS Church regards it as divinely inspired scripture, a companion volume to the Bible, translated by the "gift and power of God" from ancient golden plates.
The Book of Mormon claims to be the record of ancient Israelite peoples who migrated to the Americas around 600 B.C. It tells the story of the Nephites and Lamanites, culminating in a visit from Jesus Christ to the American continent after His resurrection. The LDS Church holds the book as a witness alongside the Bible that Jesus is the Christ.
A Book That Admits Its Own Errors
Even the Book of Mormon's own title page contains a disclaimer: "And now if there be fault, it be the mistake of men. Wherefore condemn not the things of God." The book's narrative characters themselves repeatedly acknowledged the possibility of errors in their record (1 Nephi 19:6; Mormon 8:12, 16-17; Mormon 9:31; Ether 12:23-25).
Throughout its publishing history, the Book of Mormon has undergone thousands of textual changes from edition to edition. While many are grammatical or typographical corrections, some involve changes in meaning. For a book claimed to have been translated by divine power, the volume of corrections raises serious questions.
Consider the contrast with what the Bible says about itself:
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” (Psalm 12:6-7)“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)How Was It Actually Produced?
The popular image of Joseph Smith translating the Book of Mormon by reading golden plates through special spectacles does not match the historical record. According to eyewitnesses, Smith actually placed the same "seer stone" he had used as a treasure-seeker into a hat, buried his face in it, and dictated words that appeared to him.
The golden plates were frequently not even present during the translation process. Emma Smith, Joseph's wife, confirmed that the plates were sometimes covered with a cloth or not in the room at all. This method is identical to the folk-magic practice of "scrying" that Smith had been engaged in before claiming prophetic authority.
The LDS Church officially acknowledged these details only in recent years, after decades of artwork and teaching materials depicting Smith studiously reading from plates. This raises a question: If the translation method was something to be proud of, why was it obscured for so long?
Testing It by the Bible
The most serious problem with the Book of Mormon is not its textual changes or questionable origins, but its doctrinal contradictions with the Bible. The Bible came first and has been recognized as the word of God throughout church history. Any book claiming to be additional scripture must be measured against it.
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)When we examine the Book of Mormon by this standard, we find numerous and significant contradictions. Perhaps the most striking irony is that the Book of Mormon often contradicts the very doctrines the LDS Church teaches today.