Original BofM manuscript

[Palerider]

Apparently the church has newly acquired some small fragments of the original BofM manuscript. In the telling of the acquisition it is emphasized how terribly important the original manuscript is and that "you can't get any closer to the gold plates than this." It is a direct link to the connection Joseph had with the divine...yada, yada, yada.

In the telling of the story it is mentioned how the highly prized and invaluable manuscript was placed by Joseph (a prophet, seer and revelator) in the cornerstone of the Nauvoo House where it subsequently became subject to water leakage and deterioration. Much of the original was lost through this type of damage. The LDS church currently holds only 28% of the artifact that is arguably the nearest thing to the ark of the covenant showing the connection between God and Joseph.

I can understand the loss of the ark of the covenant. Israel rebelled, wars were fought, they lost favor with God. Who knows where the ark actually went? But the original BofM manuscript is a mere 186 years old or so. And the church is supposedly doing wonderfully. So how could Joseph have been inspired to place the manuscript in such an unwelcoming and vulnerable place? Really......a boarding house?

Was he just not thinking that day? Were the Urim and Thummim not available to tell him, "Hey, don't do that?"

[Red Ryder]

Ironically, reading the BOM for family scripture study deteriorates in the same fashion as the original manuscript.

Thus, part of the manuscript, beginning with 1 Nephi is fairly well preserved, Jensen said, as he displayed extant portions that were already in the Church’s possession.

“By the time we get to Alma, it is just falling apart,” he said. “There are very few full leaves, and when they are full, they’re really worn away.”

[wtfluff]

I the telling of the acquisition it is emphasized how terribly important the original manuscript is and that "you can't get any closer to the gold plates than this." It is a direct link to the connection Joseph had with the divine...yada, yada, yada.

Too bad the "current" version of the Book of Mormon doesn't match the original manuscript... I wonder what the "divine" thinks about all the changes?

The LDS church currently holds only 28% of the artifact that is arguably the nearest thing to the arc of the covenant showing the connection between God and Joseph.

The church is actually in possession of the religious artifact that PRODUCED the manuscript: The Magic Rock™. For mormons, that magic rock should literally be the most important religious artifact on earth. But alas... We know they really don't like to talk about it...

Was he just not thinking that day? Were the Urim and Thummim not available to tell him, "Hey, don't do that?"

No, Joseph didn't have the "real" Urmim and Thummim (the pre-historic magic nephrite spectacles.) Moroni took those after the loss of the 116 pages, and never returned them. Joseph did however have The Magic Rock™, I wonder why it didn't give him any direction?

[Emower]

Ironically, reading the BOM for family scripture study deteriorates in the same fashion as the original manuscript.

Thus, part of the manuscript, beginning with 1 Nephi is fairly well preserved, Jensen said, as he displayed extant portions that were already in the Church’s possession.

“By the time we get to Alma, it is just falling apart,” he said. “There are very few full leaves, and when they are full, they’re really worn away.”

A truer statement cannot be found.

[Hagoth]

"you can't get any closer to the gold plates than this."

In light of the Gospel Topics essays isn't the Correlation Committee obligated to change this to "closer to the rock"?