Description
The story of the creation of the Book of Mormon has been told many times, and often ridiculed. A Documentary History of the Book of Mormon presents and examines the primary sources surrounding the origin of the foundational text of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the most successful new religion of modern times.The scores of documents transcribed and annotated in this book include family histories, journal entries, letters, affidavits, reminiscences, interviews, newspaper articles, and book extracts, as well as revelations dictated in the name of God. From these texts emerges the captivating story of what happened (and what was believed or rumored to have happened) between September 1823-when the seventeen-year-old farm boy Joseph Smith announced that an angel of God had directed him to an ancient book inscribed on gold plates-and March 1830, when the Book of Mormon was first published. By compiling for the first time a substantial collection of both first- and secondhand accounts relevant to the inception of the divine revelation-or clever fraud-that launched a new world religion, A Documentary History makes a significant contribution to the rapidly growing field of Mormon Studies.
Table of Contents
IntroductionOne: "He Appeared unto Me Three Times in One Night"Joseph and the Angel: September 1823-September 1826Two: "The Same Heavenly Messenger Delivered Them Up To Me"Joseph and the Plates: September-December 1827Three: "I Cannot Read a Sealed Book"Martin Harris's Venture to Eastern Scholars: February 1828Four: "I Stood Alone, an Unlearned Youth"The Translation Begins: April-June 1828Five: "I Have Lost My Soul"Martin Harris and the Missing Manuscript: Summer 1828Six: "It Is Marvelous to Me"Interlude: Autumn 1828-March 1829Seven: "Days Never To Be Forgotten"The Translation: April-May 1829Eight: "I Often Sat By and Saw and Heard Them Translate and Write for Hours Together"The Translation: June 1829Nine: "An Angel of God Came Down from Heaven"The Three Witnesses: Late June 1829Ten: "The Appearance of Ancient Work, and of Curious Workmanship"The Eight Witnesses: Late June 1829Eleven: "Written by the Hand of Mormon"Publication of the Book of Mormon: June 1829-March 1830
