Islam and mormonism have been compared to one another ever since the earliest origins of the latter in the nineteenth century, often by detractors of one religion or the otheror both. The book of mormon is an account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi. For certain we know that the plates of the book of mormon contain arabic characters. This volume explores the relationship between a major world religion islam and what some scholars have called the newest world religion mormonism. Moroni then appeared to 17yearold joseph smith in 1823 as an angel to reveal the location of the plates. By 1900, translations of the book of mormon were published in ten languages. Eyewitness descriptions of the gold plates from which the book of mormon was translated. The revelations claimed by muhammad were gathered into a book called the quran from the arabic verb qaraa, to read or to recite within a decade or two of his death. The book of mormon, though transmitted and translated by divine ministration, was an earthly book, written by the hands of men, as is all scripture, and hence apt to contain the mistakes of men. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from store. Moses, elijah, and alma the younger in the book of mormon were translated. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, which has translated the full book of mormon into 90 languages selections are offered in 21 others since the work was first printed in. The book of mormon was written between 2500 bc the fall of the tower of babel and 420 ad. According to mormon theology, mormons son moroni buried these plates in what is today new york.
Based on his knowledge of arabic and his experience translating the book of mormon into arabic, sami thought there were numerous things in the book of mormon text that were consistent with a semitic original of that book. When he was told that the book of mormon was translated from the ancient egyptian or modified hebrew type of hieroglyphic into the english language by the prophet joseph smith, he became even more engrossed, for this was his native language and he knows much about the other semitic languages as well as the modern languages. As a linguistic exercise, he translated the book of mormon from english into arabic. Being true, however, is much different than being as perfect as god is perfect. Reflections of sami hanna as recorded by elder russell m. Of course, this method of translation is as occultic as it gets. The correlation of muslim doctrine and latterday saint. Ive read the quran, my brother married a muslim girl, and i had the opportunity to discuss this subject and other theological distinctions at length with the imam of a mosque in rome, italy when i was a young man, so i have some perspective on t.
According to latter day saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which joseph smith said he translated the book of mormon. The book of abraham and muslim tradition book of mormon. The book of abraham is another book that joseph smith claimed to have translated. A muslim joins the lds mormon church after translating. National day of prayer features latterday saints, evangelicals, catholics, muslims, jews and. From time to time there are those who wish to rewrite the book of mormon into familiar or modern english. Hanna learned during his translation of the book of mormon into arabic is accurate and verifiable. Mormons are a religious group that embrace concepts of christianity as well as revelations made by their founder, joseph smith. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. These days, missionary work has been so successful with this population that the utahbased faith has translated the entire book of mormon into persian farsi, martinich says, irans language. Be it known unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come.
These writings became the book of mormon, and were said to. The prophet joseph did not merely render an interpretation, but a word for word translation from the egyptian type of hieroglyphic into the english language. It was first published in 1830 in palmyra, new york, and was thereafter widely reprinted and translated. Its followers hold that it is a divinely inspired work revealed to and translated by the.
All the information mentioned in this talk regarding what mr. The lds church asked him if he would translate the book of mormon from. The book of mormon shall stand as a testimony against the world, ether 5. A muslim translates book of mormon back to egyptian and is converted reflections of sami hanna as recorded by elder russell m. The mormon claim is proven false by a book called 39 changes to book of mormon by sandra tanner. The koran, on the other hand, is held by most moslems to be identical with the uncreated eternal word of god that is written on the heavenly tablets. If the book of mormon is the most correct of any book on earth, as joseph smith said, why does it contain over 4000 changes from the original 1830 edition. The document is generally regarded by most scholars as a forgery. Byu professor discusses book of mormon translation. This compilation of groundbreaking articles about mormon views on islam is selected from over fifty years of lds scholarship published by byu studies. The doctrine and covenants of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints contains revelations given to the prophet joseph smith, as well as additions from his successors in the presidency of the church. Composed of 114 chapters, the quran isnt a story about muhammad. Posted by mormon heretic on february 17, 2008 in islam, judaism, mormon, multifaith, old testament, scripture, theology i was reading an article in time magazine a while back about how abraham is a central figure in islam, judaism, and christianity. Joseph smith translated these plates into the book of mormon, according to the bbc.
Brother hanna said the book of mormon simply flowed back into the arabic language. Both include gods will revealed to prophets for different peoples. Nelson, apostle for the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. Those familiar with the book of mormon will recognize that similar witnesses were provided for it. Why does the book of mormon state that jesus was born in jerusalem alma 7. Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church.
No privacy, no internet, no entertainment, no booze, no sex go inside the lives of some of the 800 mormon missionaries working in australia. Nelson general sunday school presidency 1976 disclaimer elder nelson has mentioned sami hanna in several talks. As a muslim, i would recommend this to other muslims who are interested in learning about aspects of the mormon faith, as you will find more than you expect. They are the bible king james version, 1611, book of mormon 1830, doctrine and covenants 1835 and the pearl of great price 1851. We discourage this type of publication and call attention to the fact that the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god, who has declared that it is true. Sister nelson and i have a close friend and former neighbor, sami hanna, who was born in egypt. Islam and mormonisma comparison church of jesus christ. Who translated the book of mormon into spanish answers. It was first published in march 1830 by joseph smith as the book of mormon. There are more than 12 million mormons today, with a slight majority residing outside north america. A very nice collection of articles by academics written in a very pleasing manner. Only this time we have access to the source material, which is an ancient egyptian burial text that he bought off of a traveling showman.
I agree with user12266596052733915141 both are inspired books of scripture. Muslims believe that when the prophet muhammad was. These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. When he was told that the book of mormon was translated from the ancient. Smith later translated these plates and called the new scripture the book of mormon.
A muslim joins the lds mormon church after translating the book of mormon. A book about the influence of the book of mormon on american religious thought and culture is an appropriate followup volume, and gutjahr does an admirable job of presenting information that objectively informs nonlds readers about the book that gave the church of jesus christ of latterday saints its popular name and in a way that is. Is there an arabic translation of the book of mormon. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. Frequently asked questions about latterday saints for muslims. At one time elder nelson had a neighbor named sami hanna, who was an arabic scholar and a member of the church.
As a young woman, ayses years were shadowed by turmoil, desperate poverty, depression, and alcoholism. For instance, joseph smith, the founding prophet of mormonism, was referred to as the modern mahomet by the new york herald, shortly after his murder in june 1844. The book of mormon, though transmitted and translated by divine ministration, was an earthly book, written by the hands of men, as is all scripture, and hence. Joseph smith said that the book of mormon translation was performed by the gift and power of god the lost 116 pages of the book of mormon manuscript. Smith also asserted that john the baptist appeared to him while he was translating the book of mormon and instructed him to restore the. The lord covenanted with enos to bring forth the book of mormon to the lamanites, enos 1. Sami hanna on semitic uniqueness and the book of mormon. Such a ban as trump has proposed through his executive order would have blocked mormon convert mehrsa baradaran from entering the u. It displays a distinctly muslim bias, and purports to show that jesus was not the son of god, nor the messiah. Most lds church members were taught that joseph smith used seer stones referred to as the urim and thummim nephite interpreters to translate the book of mormon bom 1 to various scribes. Book of mormon translated back to egyptian a muslim translates book of mormon back to egyptian and is converted reflections of sami hanna as recorded by elder russell m. The book of mormon was translated and published in 1830. They primarily belong to the church of jesus christ of latterday saints.
The reasons that these scholars give for rejecting the gospel of barnabas are instructive, because the book of mormon displays many of the same problems. Book of mormon translator converted the mormon urban. Devoted to increasing understanding and interfaith dialogue between mormons and muslims around the world. Because joseph smith was a contemporary of the early 19th century the english is. The book of mormon was written for the intent that we may believe the bible, morm. A scanned pdf of the arabic book of mormon can be found here, and a physical copy can be purchased from storea list of other lds materials in arabic can be found on the full book of mormon is currently available in 88. The book of mormon is considered companion scripture to the bible. Dant although in islam jesus is not the divine being revered by christians, he is often seen as a prophet second in importance only to muhammad. An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi, who claimed that it had been. Each of these series has published bilingual translations of significant muslim or christianarabic works. The book of mormon says that alma was taken up by the spirit, and that the scriptures saith the lord took moses unto himself.
Of course the proof that these claims are invalid is found in two books. The book of mormon department of christian defense. In 2007, 70 percent of those raised in the lds church were still in it as adults, but in 2014, only 64 percent wereand among millennials, it was down to 62. On 26 mar 2019 a book entitled the sealed book of mormon was published. Mormonism is the predominant religious tradition of the latter day saint movement of restorationist christianity started by joseph smith in western new york in the 1820s and 30s the word mormon originally derived from the book of mormon, a religious text published by smith, which he said he translated from golden plates with divine assistance. He is a scholar with special expertise in semitic languages. The majority of it was translated in 1829 and it was first published early in 1830. Translated beings mormonism, the mormon church, beliefs. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. Three witnesses of the book of mormon department of. When he was told that the book of mormon was translated from the ancient egyptian or modified hebrew type of hieroglyphic into the english language by the prophet joseph smith, he became even more engrossed, for this was his native language and he knows much about.
An account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of. The weight of the book of mormon gold plates book of mormon translation timeframe. Islam and mormonism may not initially seem comparable, but the comparison is actually not new, going back to a few years after the founding of the mormon church. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the american continent from approximately 2200 bc to ad 421. As i started reading this book, i became more and more interested. I will now give you a description of the manner in which the book of mormon was translated. The urim and thummim was preserved in a stone box, along with the gold plates, for over 1,500 years for the purpose of enabling joseph to. The mormon church is for the first time publishing photos of the stone it believes founder joseph smith used to help translate the story that became the basis of the religion.
The exercise converted him to the divinity of the book of mormon. Byu professor discusses book of mormon translation deseret news. The book of mormon is absolutely loaded with anachronisms that betray its fraudulent origin. Joseph smith translated these plates into the book of. I also know that proselyting to muslims, regardless of their location, is a sensitive issue, but in special circumstances is still done. Thus the book of mormon was translated by the gift and power of god and not by man david whitmer, an address to all believers in christ concord, ca. That we, through the grace of god the father, and our lord jesus christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of nephi, and also of the lamanites, their. References in the text give the book followed by the exact chapter and verse.
Some had waited all of their lifetimes to read the book of mormon in afrikaans. The islamic claim is proven false by a book in arabic language called, making easy the readings of what has been sent down by muhammad fahd khaaruun. The kjv was translated into english as used at the time of king james. Joseph smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light. Articles of faith confirmation gifts of the spirit views on god islam and mormonism judaism and.