Take for example the simple French phrase "de rien." If someone says "Merci" (meaning "Thank you"), someone might say "De rien" in reply. "De" can be translated most often as "of" or "from" into English. "Rien" is usually translated as "nothing." But it would be nonsensical to translate "de rien" as "of nothing" or "from nothing." What the phrase suggests in French is that what is being thanked is not a big deal. It could be translated into English as "It's nothing" or "Don't worry about it" or "No problem" or many other things. But each one is somewhat different and has a slightly different meaning in English from the French.
When you take a much more complicated sentence, the hazards multiply.
I'm not going to attempt to make this a linguistic discussion, but translation invariably loses something. Some translaters are extremely adept at maintaining meaning, but often they have to take great liberties in doing so.
The Bible is an ancient text. It has been translated, transcribed and even outright modified countless times. Even the sincerest errors have created wildly divergent meanings. I'm not sure how many versions of the Bible exist in English alone, but there are many. The different translations can help understand the original Hebrew and Greek texts. They can also contradict each other or create even slightly different meanings.
To illustrate, I'm going to choose just one verse of scripture from the New Testament. If you click on this link, you can see that Matthew 4:17 reads variously. Among the translations of this short sentence are:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
From then on, Jesus began to tell people, "Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!"
From that time Jesus went about preaching and saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say: Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
From that time began Jesus to proclaim and to say, 'Reform ye, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens.'
As you can see, even this simple sentence can be interpreted to mean different things, each of which might support a different viewpoint. Do we need to repent? Turn to God? Turn from sin? Do penance? Reform ourselves? Is it the kingdom of heaven that is near? The reign of the heavens? Arguably, they mean the same thing. And yet they don't say the same thing. I'm no expert on language or on religions, but I can imagine that the translations result in different practices and doctrines and ideas.
And that's just English. I can only imagine how a Hmong translation as compared to a Xinca translation might differ.
My point is that LDS embrace the Bible as scripture, while acknowledging that it may not have been translated perfectly and that different groups have made changes over time to support their own teachings. Also, until the printing press, transcriptions were done by hand. Mistakes were carried forward from transcription to transcription.
Despite the problems of translation and transcription, the Bible contains important teachings and is an indispensable text. We learn about the purpose of life, the importance of moral living, the life of the Savior, the acts and teachings of the Savior and apostles, the commandments, etc. There are endless stories and teachings of great value. The Bible is the word of God, to the degree something isn't lost or changed in translation. The Bible itself refers to other books of scripture that are lost (perhaps dozens, such as the Book of Enoch)--it's apparent that much more was out there of great value that is not available to us today and that the Bible as a compilation of ancient texts is not the sum total of all revealed word.
LDS embrace other books of scripture, namely The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. Each is a sacred text that reveals the will of God and eternal principles and each helps us understand the Bible so we're not victims of lost meaning.
The Book of Mormon has been translated into 83 languages in whole, and 26 other languages in part (assuming Wikipedia is current and accurate). I imagine each of those translations carries different assumptions or meanings--again, the hazards of translation can cause problems. However, the manner in which the English version came about is unique and presents an interesting story about why we believe The BofM is of particular value and accuracy.
The Book of Mormon contains the writings of ancient prophets, which were inscribed at the time on metal plates. For the most part, the writings cover the period of about 600 BC to 400 AD. There is also a section that is much more ancient and contains an abridgement of the records of a group scattered at the time of the destruction of the Tower of Babel and the confounding of languages. Near 400 AD, one of the prophets, Mormon, compiled and edited many of those writings into what is now known as The Book of Mormon. His son, Moroni, witnessed the destruction of their people and took that compilation, also engraved on metal plates, and safeguarded them until shortly before he died. He then buried them in the ground.
In the early 1800s, after Joseph Smith had what we call the First Vision, Joseph Smith was visited by an angel--the deceased Moroni who had buried those plates. As Joseph Smith later explained:
"He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants; Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted “seers” in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book." JS-History 1:34-5
Having been directed by Moroni, he went and uncovered the plates, as he recounts here:"Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth. Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger." JS-History 1:51-2.
By means of the Urim and Thummim, Joseph Smith began translating portions of the plates he uncovered. In other words, Joseph Smith did not use a dictionary or even a Rosetta Stone, but claims he translated the text through divine revelation. His claim is unique: either he received the translation from God, or he made it up. If one believes his claim, then as a divinely revealed text, it's free from the hazards I described above of multiple translations and changes over centures and millennia. (If one does not believe it, then it's a hoax and fabrication.)
The Book of Mormon has since been translated into many languages, introducing the possibility of first generation error in the translation process in other languages. However, the original English translation can be referred to--so each subsequent translation in a particular language does not have to rely on the original and can improve on the previous translation. Not to mention that English is the closest thing we have to a universal language today, thus (not coincidentally, in my opinion) making it available to much of the world.
Having read The Book of Mormon more than any other book (I would estimate around 35 times), and having studied it with diligence over the past 20 years, I am quite familiar with it. I have used it as a source for finding answers to life's challenges, as a lift when I'm down, as a guide for when I'm lost, and a source of inspiration and intelligence. It has served me well. I can attest that it is true and has positively influenced my life. I have tested its principles and applied its teachings and found its fruit good. While reading it, my mind is frequently opened and I have found deep satisfaction, peace and joy.
Mormons believe that anyone can gain a similiar assurance and knowledge that The Book of Mormon is true. Moroni himself wrote as follows:
"And when ye shall receive these things [The Book of Mormon], I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." Moroni 10:4.
The formula for receiving that knowledge is therefore: (1) to receive these things (i.e., read, study and ponder them); (2) ask God (through prayer) if they're true, with sincerity, real intent and faith in Christ; and (4) the truth will be manifested by the power of the Holy Ghost.
To recognize the Holy Ghost, you need only review your mind and heart. I will address this elsewhere, but in brief, the Holy Ghost communicates through thoughts and feelings. Not just any thoughts and feelings, but through enlightenment and strokes of ideas (thoughts) and exalted feelings (such as peace, joy, comfort, and other fruits of the Spirit). When we think and feel these things, we can have a spiritual confirmation that they're good and true. What is unique about a spiritual witness of the truth, however, is that accompanying those feelings is a sense of conviction or assurance or confirmation that something is just and true.
The invitation is extended to all to put The Book of Mormon to the test to determine for oneself whether it is true or a hoax. I have put it to the test time and time again and offer testimony that it's true and the word of God.
1 comment:
Beautiful and reasonable. Thanks
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