2 And I seal up these records, after I have
spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you.
3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye
shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that
ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men,
from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these
things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, 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.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may
know the truth of all things.
(Moroni 10:2-5)
However the original reading of the Book of
Mormon as found in both the Printer’s Manuscript and the 1830 Edition has:
4 And when ye shall receive these things, 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, and he will manifest
the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may
know the truth of all things.
(Moroni 10:4-5 Printer’s Manuscript and
1830 Edition)
This word “and” which was removed starting
with the 1837 edition, is retained in both the Restored Covenant Edition (from
the ZRF) and in The Book of Mormon; the Earliest Text (Royal Skousen).
In Hebrew the word “and” can also indicate
“then” (as indicated in a footnote to the Restored Covenant Edition text). However this is not the case in English, so
beginning in the 1837 edition the word “and” was removed to create an implied
“then” understanding the text to mean:
4 And when ye shall receive these things, 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, [then] he will manifest the truth of
it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may
know the truth of all things.
However one can just as easily retain the
“and” in verse 4, and understand the “and” at the beginning of verse 5 to mean
“then” as follows:
4 And when ye shall receive these things, 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, and he will manifest the truth of it
unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 [Then] by the power of the Holy Ghost ye
may know the truth of all things.
This gives us a radically different
meaning. If we understand the “and” in
verse 4 to mean “then” there is an implied guaranteed answer. However is we understand the “and” at the
beginning of verse 5 to mean “then” there is no such implied guarantee.
In the original text, Moroni 10 does not
guarantee that everyone who asks with a sincere heart will get a special
revelation.
In fact the directive from Moroni is not
about a mystical process, but a rational one.
In verse 3 Moroni directs us to: “ponder it in your hearts”. Lets look at this word “ponder”.
The 1828 edition of Webster’s dictionary
defines “ponder” as follows:
1. To weigh in the mind; to consider and
compare the circumstances or consequences of an event, or the importance of the
reasons for or against a decision.
Mary kept all these things, and pondered
them in her heart. Luke 2:19.
2. To view with deliberation; to examine.
Ponder the path of thy feet. Proverbs 4:26.
The Lord pondereth the hearts. Proverbs
21:2.
To ponder on, is sometimes used, but is not
be to countenanced.
And the 1828 edition of Webster’s
Dictionary defines “deliberation” as:
1. The act of deliberating; the act of
weighing and examining the reasons for and against a choice or measure;
consideration. We say, a measure has been taken with deliberation
2. Mutual discussion and examination of the
reasons for and against a measure; as the deliberations of a legislative body
or council.
This word is clearly describing a rational
process, by which one considers the Book of Mormon with rational judgment. The text goes on to say that if a person
receives a mystical revelation, that person will know “by the power if the Holy
Ghost”, but that the typical person would have to simply rely on rational judgment.
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