The Importance of Timing in the Translation of the Book of Mormon

What would you say if somebody told you that a 23 year old farm boy dictated to a scribe a sacred text of 531 pages while looking down at stones placed in the bottom of his hat? And what would you think if they then told you that this book was dictated and written in one pass—from beginning to end—in approximately 60 days without any punctuation and with little to no revising? And what if they then showed you countless examples of how this book contains a high degree of literary and semitic complexity, suggesting highly skilled and detail-oriented authors who wrote in ancient Hebrew writing forms? Would you be open to accepting the proposition that this book was the product of a genuine miracle? If so, you’re not alone. And if not, you’re also not alone. In fact, several alternative naturalistic theories about the Book of Mormon’s origins have been put forth by those who reject the possibility of the miraculous. 

In this episode we examine all of this—the speed of the Book of Mormon translation, the complexity of the text itself, and the naturalistic theories of the Book of Mormon’s origins.

For show notes and transcript for this and other episodes go to https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/church-history-matters-podcast/