I. The Mystery of Translation
In the spring of 1827, Joseph Smith claimed to receive the long-promised golden plates from the angel Moroni. He said they were engraved in “Reformed Egyptian” — a language unknown to linguists then and now. According to Smith, he translated these ancient writings “by the gift and power of God,” using seer stones and divine revelation rather than conventional scholarship. The resulting work, The Book of Mormon, was completed within approximately ninety days.
“And it was not [possible] for this Qur’an to be produced by other than Allah…”
Unlike the Qur’an, which was revealed verbatim in Arabic and memorized by thousands in the Prophet’s lifetime, the Book of Mormon’s translation process was opaque and unverifiable. No one except Smith claimed to understand or even see the language of the plates. Once the translation was complete, the plates were reportedly taken back by the angel — removing any possibility of comparison between the source and its translation.
II. The Role of the Scribes
Several individuals served as scribes during the translation, most notably Oliver Cowdery. They recorded the text as Smith dictated, often behind a curtain or while Smith placed the seer stones into a hat to block light. This peculiar method left the production of a 500-page scripture entirely dependent on oral dictation, without editorial revision or linguistic verification.
“If the truth were to follow their desires, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been corrupted.”
The dictation produced a complex narrative, yet one filled with anachronisms, linguistic inconsistencies, and 19th-century idioms. Critics saw evidence of a modern origin; believers saw divine inspiration transcending grammar and time.
III. Structure and Sources
The Book of Mormon consists of smaller books, each named after its primary prophet or leader — Nephi, Alma, Mosiah, Ether, and others. Its narrative parallels the Bible in form and style, often echoing verses from the King James Version. Entire sections, including lengthy quotations from Isaiah and Matthew, appear nearly identical. This literary dependence raised questions about whether Smith’s “translation” was, in fact, an adaptation of existing scripture woven into an American setting.
“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.”
While the Qur’an challenges the world to produce even a single chapter like it, the Book of Mormon often borrows tone and structure from preexisting Christian texts. For scholars, this contrast defines the difference between revelation that authenticates itself and revelation that depends on imitation.
IV. Witnesses and the Question of Verification
Smith presented eleven witnesses who affirmed they had seen the plates — three by angelic vision and eight by physical sight. Yet none were allowed to handle or translate the record themselves. Several of these witnesses later left the Latter-day Saint movement or contradicted earlier testimonies. While their signed statements remain a central pillar of Mormon faith, their human inconsistencies invite scrutiny when compared with the Qur’anic model of transmission through thousands of companions, reciters, and scholars.
“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its Guardian.”
In Islam, preservation is not entrusted to a handful of witnesses but to a living community bound by memorization and consensus. Revelation is never isolated to private experience; it exists within verifiable transmission (tawatur).
V. Printing and Publication
By 1830, the translation was complete, and The Book of Mormon was published by E. B. Grandin in Palmyra, New York. Its first edition contained numerous grammatical errors and later underwent thousands of revisions. Successive printings refined the text but also altered its phrasing — a process foreign to the Qur’an, whose letters and recitations have remained identical since its revelation.
“None can change His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”
The instability of the Book of Mormon’s text raises theological questions: if the translation was inspired word-for-word, why did it require correction? If it was not, can it claim divine infallibility?
VI. Reflection
The making of the Book of Mormon reveals both the devotion and the dilemma of modern revelation. Its story intertwines faith, imagination, and ambition — but its foundation rests on a process invisible to history. In contrast, the Qur’an stands not as a mystery of translation but as a miracle of preservation. Its revelation was public, its transmission collective, and its language untouched.
“It is but a revelation revealed, taught to him by one intense in strength.”
Thus, the Qur’an’s authority endures where others fade: not by secrecy or novelty, but by divine self-authentication. It is the Word preserved against the erosion of time, translation, and human interference — the standard by which all later scriptures are weighed.