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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.〔Gordon B. Hinckley, ("Praise to the Man" ), 1979-11-04.〕〔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.〕 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''.〔.〕 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" engraved on golden plates. Smith said that the last prophet to contribute to the book, a man named Moroni, buried it in a hill in present-day New York, then returned to earth in 1827 as an angel,〔.〕 revealing the location of the book to Smith, and instructing him to translate it into English for use in the restoration of Christ's true church in the latter days. Critics claim that it was fabricated by Smith, drawing on material and ideas from contemporary 19th-century works rather than translating an ancient record.〔〔〔 The Book of Mormon has a number of original and distinctive doctrinal discussions on subjects such as the fall of Adam and Eve,〔E.g. 〕 the nature of the Atonement,〔E.g. 〕 eschatology, redemption from physical and spiritual death,〔E.g. 〕 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. The Book of Mormon is 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 historical record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas.〔 The Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, titled after the individuals named as primary authors and, in most versions, divided into chapters and verses. 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 108 languages. As of 2011, more than 150 million copies of the Book of Mormon have been published.〔 ==Origin== According to Joseph Smith, he was seventeen years of age when an angel of God named Moroni appeared to him〔("The Life and Ministry of Joseph Smith" ), ''Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith'' (2007), xxii–25.〕 and said that a collection of ancient writings was buried in a nearby hill in present-day Wayne County, New York, engraved on golden plates by ancient prophets. The writings were said to describe a people whom God had led from Jerusalem to the Western hemisphere 600 years before Jesus' birth. According to the narrative, Moroni was the last prophet among these people and had buried the record, which God had promised to bring forth in the latter days. Smith stated that this vision occurred on the evening of September 21, 1823 and that on the following day, via divine guidance, he located the burial location of the plates on this hill; was instructed by Moroni to meet him at the same hill on September 22 of the following year to receive further instructions; and that, in four years from this date, the time would arrive for "bringing them forth", i.e., translating them. Smith's description of these events recounts that he was allowed to take the plates on September 22, 1827, exactly four years from that date, and was directed to translate them into English.〔 Accounts vary of the way in which Smith dictated the Book of Mormon. Smith himself implied that he read the plates directly using spectacles prepared for the purpose of translating. Other accounts variously state that he used one or more seer stones placed in a top hat.〔 Both the special spectacles and the seer stone were at times referred to as the "Urim and Thummim". During the translating process itself, Smith sometimes separated himself from his scribe with a blanket between them. Additionally, the plates were not always present during the translating process and, when present, they were always covered up. Smith's first published description of the plates said that the plates "had the appearance of gold". They were described by Martin Harris, one of Smith's early scribes, as "fastened together in the shape of a book by wires." Smith called the engraved writing on the plates "reformed Egyptian".〔Only LDS linguists accept the existence of any language or character set known as "reformed Egyptian" as described in Mormon tradition. The only example of reformed Egyptian extant is the "Caractors Document", also known as the "Anthon Transcript", a paper written by Smith with examples of what he stated to be "reformed Egyptian" characters. See Reformed Egyptian for details and references.〕 A portion of the text on the plates was also "sealed" according to his account, so its content was not included in the Book of Mormon.〔.〕 In addition to Smith's account regarding the plates, eleven others stated that they saw the golden plates and, in some cases, handled them. Their written testimonies are known as the Testimony of Three Witnesses〔("Testimony of Three Witnesses" ).〕 and the Testimony of Eight Witnesses.〔("Testimony of Eight Witnesses" ).〕 These statements have been published in most editions of the Book of Mormon. Smith enlisted his neighbor Martin Harris as a scribe during his initial work on the text. (Harris later mortgaged his farm to underwrite the printing of the Book of Mormon.) In 1828, Harris, prompted by his wife Lucy Harris, repeatedly requested that Smith lend him the current pages that had been translated. Smith reluctantly acceded to Harris's requests. Lucy Harris is thought to have stolen the first 116 pages.〔, , 〕 After the loss, Smith recorded that he had lost the ability to translate, and that Moroni had taken back the plates to be returned only after Smith repented.〔Doctrine and Covenants, section 3 and〕 Smith later stated that God allowed him to resume translation, but directed that he begin translating another part of the plates. In 1829, work resumed on the Book of Mormon, with the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, and was completed in a short period (April–June 1829).〔Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005), 70."〕 Smith said that he then returned the plates to Moroni upon the publication of the book.〔〔("Testimony of Joseph Smith" ) 〕 The Book of Mormon went on sale at the bookstore of E. B. Grandin in Palmyra, New York on March 26, 1830. Today, the building in which the Book of Mormon was first published and sold is known as the Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site. Critics of the Book of Mormon claim that it was fabricated by Smith and that he drew material and ideas from various modern works rather than translating an ancient record. Works that have been suggested as sources include the King James Bible, ''The Wonders of Nature'', ''View of the Hebrews'',〔〔 and an unpublished manuscript written by Solomon Spalding. For certain adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, unresolved issues of the book's historical authenticity and the lack of conclusive archaeological evidence have led them to adopt a compromise position that the Book of Mormon may be the creation of Smith, but that it was nevertheless created through divine inspiration.〔Grant H. Palmer. 2002. ''An Insider's View of Mormon Origins''. Salt Lake City, Signature Books; Brent Lee Metcalfe, ed. 1993. ''New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology''. Salt Lake City: Signature Books.〕 The position of most members of the Latter Day Saint movement and the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is that the book is an actual and accurate historical record.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Book of Mormon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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