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The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2200 BC to AD 421.[1][2] It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith as The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi.[3] The Book of Mormon is one of the earliest of the unique writings of the Latter Day Saint movement, the denominations of which typically regard the text primarily as scripture, and secondarily as a record of God's dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas.[4] Many Mormon academics and apologetic organizations strive to affirm the book as historically authentic through their scholarship and research,[5][6] and the majority of Latter Day Saints accept the book as historically accurate, but most archaeological, historical and scientific communities do not consider the Book of Mormon to be a record of actual events.[7]

According to Smith's account and the book's narrative, the Book of Mormon was originally written in otherwise unknown characters referred to as "reformed Egyptian"[8] engraved on golden plates. Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni, buried it in the Hill Cumorah in present-day Manchester, New York, before his death, and then appeared in a vision to Smith in 1827 as an angel,[9] revealing the location of the plates, and instructing him to translate the plates into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days. Latter Day Saints believe that the Book of Mormon and the associated Great Apostasy and Restoration of the Gospel are the fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies and writings, which are regarded by the faithful as holy scripture. Some critics argue instead that it was authored by Smith, drawing on material and ideas from his contemporary 19th-century environment rather than translating an ancient record.[10][11][12]

The Book of Mormon has a number of doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve,[13] the nature of the Christian atonement,[14] eschatology, agency, priesthood authority, redemption from physical and spiritual death,[15] the nature and conduct of baptism, the age of accountability, the purpose and practice of communion, personalized revelation, economic justice, the anthropomorphic and personal nature of God, nature of spirits and angels, and the organization of the latter day church. The pivotal event of the book is an appearance of Jesus Christ in the Americas shortly after his resurrection.[16][17] The book can also be read as a critique of Western society and contains passages explicitly condemning immorality, individualism, social inequality, ethnic injustice, nationalism, and the rejection of God, revelation, and miraculous religion.

The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after individuals named as primary authors or other caretakers of the ancient record the Book of Mormon describes itself as and, in most versions, is divided into chapters and verses.[18] It is written in English very similar to the Early Modern English linguistic style of the King James Version of the Bible, and has since been fully or partially translated into 112 languages.[19][20] As of 2020, more than 192 million copies of the Book of Mormon had been printed,[21] and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by far the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, claimed 16.7 million members worldwide.[22] It was the third-largest Christian denomination in the United States, with 6.7 million American members.

  1. ^ Hinckley, Gordon B. (November 4, 1979). "Joseph Smith: 'Praise to the Man'". BYU.edu. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  2. ^ Church Educational System (1996, rev. ed.). Book of Mormon Student Manual (Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), ch. 6.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Coe, Michael D. (Summer 1973). "Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 8 (2): 41–48.
  6. ^ Bushman 2005, pp. 92–94.
  7. ^ Southerton 2004, p. xv. "Anthropologists and archaeologists, including some Mormons and former Mormons, have discovered little to support the existence of [Book of Mormon] civilizations. Over a period of 150 years, as scholars have seriously studied Native American cultures and prehistory, evidence of a Christian civilization in the Americas has eluded the specialists... These [Mesoamerican] cultures lack any trace of Hebrew or Egyptian writing, metallurgy, or the Old World domesticated animals and plants described in the Book of Mormon."
  8. ^ Mormon 9:32
  9. ^ Roberts (1902, pp. 11, 18–19).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tanner Shadow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Brody was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Krakauer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ E.g. 2_Nephi 2
  14. ^ E.g. 2_Nephi 9
  15. ^ E.g. Alma 12
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Hardy 2010, p. 5–6.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Translations of the Book of Mormon at LDS365.com
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "2020 Statistical Report for the April 2021 Conference". April 3, 2021.
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