Hi. Lately I’ve been reading the Book of Mormon and I have a few small questions.
1. There’s a part in the Book of Mormon that uses the word “Christian” some time before Christ was born. According to my understanding, the word Christian was only used after Christ’s death and resurrection. I understand that the nephites might have used some word to refer to those who believed in the coming of Christ in that era, but why was it exactly the word “Christian”? My theory is that the word Christian was not originally in the Book of Mormon, but that Joseph Smith translated it this way because it was a word he was familiar with. I’d still like to hear your opinion, though.
2. A few chapters later, I read about the signs that announced the birth of Jesus. The nephites changed their calendar system to start on the date of the signs. In other words, they started to count time from the date of Christ’s birth. My question is, why did they do this? It seems like quite a coincidence that they chose the same date as the old-world Christians. The only explanation I can come up with is that God inspired them to do so. I’d still like to know what you think. I know for myself that the Book of Mormon is true. I’m just curious about these minor issues. Thanks.
One Response to “Questions about the Book of Mormon”
Gabriel Ramos
2013-12-16 01:23:39
Hi Daniel. I'm happy you posted your questions. Let me answer them as best I can.
Joseph Smith was the first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He received a message from God to restore Christ's ancient church in modern times.
1) The explanation you gave is exactly the one that I would give. Many members of the church don't understand what Joseph Smith really meant when he said that he "translated" the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith didn't intellectually understand the original language of the Book of Mormon, and he certainly didn't translate the text the same way that a modern, academic translator would. He was an uneducated farmboy who was only able to translate the Book of Mormon through revelation. It's most likely not a word-for-word translation.
Joseph himself described the translation process in Doctrine and Covenants 9:8: "But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."
In other words, Joseph first studied the "translation" in his own mind, considering the general ideas that God revealed to him. Only once he had formulated the words and sentences himself did he ask God to confirm that the translation was adequate. I imagine that in Joseph's mind it was appropriate to call people who believed in a future Christ "Christian," even before Christ had been born. When he asked God to confirm the wording he'd chosen, God too thought "Christian" was acceptable. That doesn't necessarily mean that the ancient Nephite disciples of Christ used that exact word to describe themselves.
2) It is curious that the new Nephite calendar also began with the birth of Christ. However, this is not so surprising when one considers the fact that human cultures often choose to base their calendar systems on singular, important events. The Islamic calendar, for example, begins with the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. The North Koreans count the passage of years from the birth of their founder Kim Il-Sung. For a time, the French counted the number of years since the day the French First Republic was proclaimed. In computer science, it's customary to keep track of time by counting the number of seconds since January 1st, 1970, the start of the decade in which in the Unix operating system became popular (a very important date for us computer nerds!).
The signs that accompanied the birth of Christ must have been astonishing for the primitive Nephite people. Given the human proclivity for establishing calendar systems based on singular events, it's not so surprising to me that the Nephites chose to base their calendar system on the birth of Christ as well.
I hope these answers help! It's excellent that you're thinking so carefully about the Book of Mormon. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I'm happy to help.
Joseph himself described the translation process in Doctrine and Covenants 9:8: "But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."
In other words, Joseph first studied the "translation" in his own mind, considering the general ideas that God revealed to him. Only once he had formulated the words and sentences himself did he ask God to confirm that the translation was adequate. I imagine that in Joseph's mind it was appropriate to call people who believed in a future Christ "Christian," even before Christ had been born. When he asked God to confirm the wording he'd chosen, God too thought "Christian" was acceptable. That doesn't necessarily mean that the ancient Nephite disciples of Christ used that exact word to describe themselves.
2) It is curious that the new Nephite calendar also began with the birth of Christ. However, this is not so surprising when one considers the fact that human cultures often choose to base their calendar systems on singular, important events. The Islamic calendar, for example, begins with the emigration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. The North Koreans count the passage of years from the birth of their founder Kim Il-Sung. For a time, the French counted the number of years since the day the French First Republic was proclaimed. In computer science, it's customary to keep track of time by counting the number of seconds since January 1st, 1970, the start of the decade in which in the Unix operating system became popular (a very important date for us computer nerds!).
The signs that accompanied the birth of Christ must have been astonishing for the primitive Nephite people. Given the human proclivity for establishing calendar systems based on singular events, it's not so surprising to me that the Nephites chose to base their calendar system on the birth of Christ as well.
I hope these answers help! It's excellent that you're thinking so carefully about the Book of Mormon. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I'm happy to help.