Joseph Smith's Translation : The Words and Worlds of Early Mormonism

Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith, claimed to have translated ancient scriptures. He dictated an American Bible from metal plates reportedly buried by ancient Jews in a nearby hill, and produced an Egyptian "Book of Abraham" derived from funerary papyri he extracted from a collection of mummies he bought from a traveling showman. In addition, he rewrote sections of the King James Version as a "New Translation" of the Bible. Smith and his followers used the term translation to describe the genesis of these English scriptures, which remain canonical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whether one believes him or not, the discussion has focused on whether Smith's English texts represent literal translations of extant source documents. On closer inspection, though, Smith's translations are far more metaphysical than linguistic. In Joseph Smith's Translation , Samuel Morris Brown argues that these translations express the mystical power of language and scripture to interconnect people across barriers of space and time, especially in the developing Mormon temple liturgy. He shows that Smith was devoted to an ancient metaphysics--especially the principle of correspondence, the concept of "as above, so below"--that provided an infrastructure for bridging the human and the divine as well as for his textual interpretive projects. Joseph Smith's projects of metaphysical translation place Mormonism at the productive edge of the transitions associated with shifts toward "secular modernity." This transition into modern worldviews intensified, complexly, in nineteenth-century America. The evolving legacies of Reformation and Enlightenment were the sea in which early Mormons swam, says Brown. Smith's translations and the theology that supported them illuminate the power and vulnerability of the Mormon critique of American culture in transition. This complex critique continues to resonate and illuminate to the present day. cover 1 Half title 2 Joseph Smith’s Translation 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Chronology 12 Key Abbreviations Used in Footnotes 14 Introduction: Language, Time, and the Human Cosmos 16 Nineteenth-​Century Contexts 19 Smith’s Goals and Aspirations 22 Implications 26 Part 1 30 1. The Quest for Pure Language 34 Language and Its Origins 36 The Sacred Pictogram 44 Joseph Smith on Language 46 Conclusion 63 2. The Nature of Time 66 Time in History 69 Flattening Time 72 The Primordium and Historylessness 74 The Saints and the Collapse of Time 76 Life in Yon Time 84 The First and Eternal Theology 89 Time and Space 91 Conclusion 93 3. Human and Divine Selves 96 Nineteenth-​Century Selves 98 Smith’s Modernist Sensibilities 104 The Modern Prison of Individualism 111 Escape Routes from Individual Isolation 112 Conclusion 135 part 2 138 4. The Task of the Book of Mormon: To Save the Bible, First You Must Kill It 142 The Bible in Crisis 145 The Gold Bible 147 The Problems of Language 150 Transmitting the Bible 152 Canon and Completeness 156 The Acts of Translation 159 Self-​Interpreting Scripture 161 Saving Evidential Christianity 165 Evidence in a Modern Age: The Problem of Miracles 170 Getting from Bible to Church 173 Conclusion 175 5. Rereading the Bible: Joseph Smith’s New Translation 178 Taxonomy of Smith’s Bible Translations 179 Smith’s Bible Timeline, 1829–​1833 181 Context and Competition 185 Expanding Smith’s Bible Translation 188 Interpretation 198 Marvelous Literalism and the Metaphysics of Reading 200 Conclusion 205 6. The Egyptian Bible and the Cosmic Order 208 Egypt in America 210 Immediate Contexts and Continuities 212 Overview of the Texts 214 Themes of the Egyptian Bible 226 Secularity and the Egyptian Bible 244 Conclusion 246 7. The Transcendent Immanent Temple 248 A Brief History of Temples 250 The Harmony of the Cosmos 261 Divine Anthropology in the Temple Endowment 263 The Right Name of Things 267 That Which Must Not Be Spoken 271 Living the Temple 275 The Immanent-​Transcendent God 278 A God Split in Two (or More) 280 Conclusion 284 Epilogue 286 Bibliography 290 Index 310 Mormonism's founder, Joseph Smith, claimed to have translated ancient scriptures. He dictated an American Bible from metal plates reportedly buried by ancient Jews in a nearby hill, and produced an Egyptian "Book of Abraham" derived from funerary papyri he extracted from a collection of mummies he bought from a traveling showman. In addition, he rewrote sections of the King James Version as a "New Translation" of the Bible. Smith and his followers used the term translation to describe the genesis of these English scriptures, which remain canonical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Whether one believes him or not, the discussion has focused on whether Smith's English texts represent literal translations of extant source documents. On closer inspection, though, Smith's translations are far more metaphysical than linguistic. 0In Joseph Smith's Translation, Samuel Morris Brown argues that these translations express the mystical power of language and scripture to interconnect people across barriers of space and time, especially in the developing Mormon temple liturgy. He shows that Smith was devoted to an ancient metaphysics-especially the principle of correspondence, the concept of "as above, so below"-that provided an infrastructure for bridging the human and the divine as well as for his textual interpretive projects. Joseph Smith's projects of metaphysical translation place Mormonism at the productive edge of the transitions associated with shifts toward "secular modernity." This transition into modern worldviews intensified, complexly, in nineteenth-century America. The evolving legacies of Reformation and Enlightenment were the sea in which early Mormons swam, says Brown. Smith's translations and the theology that supported them illuminate the power and vulnerability of the Mormon critique of American culture in transition. This complex critique continues to resonate and illuminate to the present day "Among many remarkable claims, Mormon founder Joseph Smith reported that he had translated ancient scriptures. He dictated the Book of Mormon, an American Bible from metal plates associated with Native antiquity; directly rewrote the King James Bible; and produced a scripture, derived from Egyptian funerary papyri, which he called the Book of Abraham. Smith and his followers used the term translation to describe the genesis of these English texts, which remain canonical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most commenters see these scriptures as merely linguistic objects; the central and controversial question has been whether Smith's English texts are literal translations of extant source documents. On closer inspection, though, his translations are far more metaphysical than linguistic. These translations express a non-ordinary power of language to connect people across barriers of space and time. Within these metaphysical scriptures, Smith expounded a theology of human deification that he also termed "translation." This one word thus referred to a scripture capable of mediating between the living and the dead and to the transformation of humans into divine beings. Joseph Smith's projects of metaphysical translation place Mormonism at a productive edge of tense transitions later associated with secular modernity, a modernity challenged by the very existence of the Latter-day Saints. Smith's translations and the theology that supported them illuminate the power and vulnerability of his critique of American culture in transition as they set the stage for two more centuries of cultural change"-- University Press Scholarship Online "Among many remarkable claims, Mormon founder Joseph Smith reported that he had translated ancient scriptures. He dictated the Book of Mormon, an American Bible from metal plates associated with Native antiquity; directly rewrote the King James Bible; and produced a scripture, derived from Egyptian funerary papyri, which he called the Book of Abraham. Smith and his followers used the term translation to describe the genesis of these English texts, which remain canonical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most commenters see these scriptures as merely linguistic objects; the central and controversial question has been whether Smith's English texts are literal translations of extant source documents. On closer inspection, though, his translations are far more metaphysical than linguistic. These translations express a non-ordinary power of language to connect people across barriers of space and time. Within these metaphysical scriptures, Smith expounded a theology of human deification that he also termed "translation." This one word thus referred to a scripture capable of mediating between the living and the dead and to the transformation of humans into divine beings. Joseph Smith's projects of metaphysical translation place Mormonism at a productive edge of tense transitions later associated with secular modernity, a modernity challenged by the very existence of the Latter-day Saints. Smith's translations and the theology that supported them illuminate the power and vulnerability of his critique of American culture in transition as they set the stage for two more centuries of cultural change"-- Provided by publisher Among many remarkable claims, Mormon founder Joseph Smith reported that he had translated ancient scriptures. He dictated the Book of Mormon, an American Bible from metal plates associated with Native antiquity; directly rewrote the King James Bible; and produced a scripture, derived from Egyptian funerary papyri, that he called the Book of Abraham. Smith and his followers used the term "translation" to describe the genesis of these English texts, which remain canonical for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most commenters see these scriptures as merely linguistic objects; the central and controversial question has been whether Smith's English texts are literal translations of extant source documents. On closer inspection, though, his translations are far more metaphysical than linguistic