Debate topic: Joseph Smith Abandoned The Book of Mormon's Trinitarianism
Updated: Jun 25
Resolved: Joseph Smith abandoned The Book of Mormon’s Trinitarian Theology
(This post will be updated as the case is being updated.)
Summary: No events in the history of Mormon theology are as significant as Joseph Smith’s purported “First Vision” and the publication of The Book of Mormon, both of which started as strictly Trinitarian documents. That is why Joseph Smith’s Historical revision of these doctrines is important to Mormon History and to understanding how “Restoration” theology evolves. As humans grow and change, so do their Gods.
Considerations: Contributors to my research on this topic include Rob Lauer, Steve Pynakker of Mormon Book Reviews, Evan Sharley, and others.
Please consider the table below and the links to records.
1832 | 1835 | 1838 | 1842 | |
Binitarian Doctrine One personage appears to Joseph and then another personage appears to Joseph. They testify of one another but are neither recognized as a physical being. | Economical Trinitarianism “Two personages whose glory…” Not published until 1842, Canonized by LDS in 1880. Accepted by LDS, RLDS, FLDS, rejected by all others | “Exaltation” (Theosis) - Joseph adds that he was “enquiring the plan of salvation I found” in Protestantism | ||
Historical Context | 1831 - Relocation from NY to OH & MO 1832 - Joseph Smith makes Frederick G. Williams his personal scribe | The tragic Camp of Israel and the creation of the KSSABC. 1834 - Oliver Cowdery removed from Church History 1836 - Dedication of Kirtland Temple | Feb 1836 - Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon and a handful of leaders start studying Hebrew under Joshua Seixas 1837 - Collapse of KSSABC 1838 Schism - Warren Parrish establishes a new “Church of Christ”in OH and David Whitmer establishes new First Presidency in MO 1838 Mormon War | April 1842, The “Happiness Letter” and polygamy. Smith/Rigdon fallout The Quorum of the Annointed, the Council of Fifty and Endowment 1844 - Martyrdom and Succession Crisis |
New Scripture | 1830 - The Book of Mormon contains the same Consubstantial doctrine as the Nicene Creed. Jun 1830, "Revelation to Moses" in which God speaks to Moses "as a man speaketh unto another" 1831-1832 - Joseph and Sidney Rigdon work together on The JST of the Bible, preserving the Johannine Comma, added by Erasmus in the 1500’s “The Book of Moses” and ”Joseph Smith Matthew” both come out of the JST 1832-1833 - The “Olive Leaf” Revelation received in School of the Prophets, defining The Plan of Salvation. | Winter 1834-5 - The Lectures on Faith delivered by Smith/Rigdon Lecture 5 teaches that the Father is a personage of Spirit 1835 - The Book of Commandments heavily edited to remove The Church of Christ and compiled with Lectures on Faith for print as The Doctrine and Covenants | 1836-1837 More than 100 substantive changes are made by Joseph Smith to the Printer’s Manuscript, itself, including multiple instances in the first 100 pages where he changed Christological references | Jan 19, 1841 Revelation to William Law to use his money to print the JST 1842 - The Book of Abraham published Polygamy Revelation The Sermon in the Grove The King Follett Discourse Wentworth Letter containing First Vision, Articles of Faith 1880 - The PofGP canonized, adding JST excerpts in “Moses” and “JS-Matthew” and 1838 account of First Vision JST Bible canonized by Israel Smith of RLDS as “Inspired Version” (LDS never canonize) |
Historical Revisionism | Earliest recorded First Vision Account | Revisions to “Olive Leaf” significantly revised theology, Priesthood, and other key doctrines | 1921 - Lectures on Faith removed from D&C on by James E. Talmage, citing the “confusing” theology of Lecture 5. | |
1837 - Smith and Rigdon desert Kirtland and excommunicate Warren Parrish, Oliver Cowdery May-April 1838 - William McLellin, David Whitmer excommunicated | Sep 8, 1844 - Sidney Rigdon excommunicated by B. Young |
New Scriptures Referencing the Evolution of Joseph Smith's Theology
Book of Mormon References to the Trinity in 1830 and current
1 Nephi 3 p. 25 (1830 Edition) on the "Condescension of God"
"Knowest thou the condescention of God? And I said unto him, I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin which thou seest, is the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh.
"And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the spirit; and after that she had been carried away in the spirit for the space of a time, the angel spake unto me, saying, look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a chi[l]d in her arms. And the angel said unto me, behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Eternal Father!"
1 Nephi 11:18 (Current - Altered by Joseph Smith in 1837)
18 And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God.
1 Nephi 11:21 (Current - Altered by Joseph Smith in 1837)
21 And the angel said unto me, behold the Lamb of God, even the Son of the Eternal Father!
1 Nephi 3, p. 26 (1830 Edition)
And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying, look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Everlasting God, was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross, and slain for the sins of the world.
1 Nephi 13:40-41 (Current)
40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.
41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
2 Nephi 26:12
12 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.
2 Nephi 31:21 (Current)
"And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.
Mosiah 15:1-5
1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.
2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son—
3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—
4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.
5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people.
Mosiah 16:15 (Current)
15 Teach them that redemption cometh through Christ the Lord, who is the very Eternal Father.
Alma 11:38-44 (Current)
38 Now Zeezrom saith again unto him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father?
39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last;
40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
44 ...and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
3 Nephi 11:27 (Current)
27 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father and I and the Holy Ghost are one."
Ether 3:14-15 (Current)
14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.
15 And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.
The Johannine Comma as recorded in The Joseph Smith Translation (same as in KJV)
"Let my servant William go and proclaim mine everlasting gospel, with a loud voice, and with great joy as he shall be moved upon by my spirit unto the inhabitants of Warsaw and also unto the inhabitants of Carthage and also unto the inhabitants of Madison [Fort Madison, Iowa Territory] and await patiently and diligently for further instructions at my general conference saith the Lord. If he will do my will let him from henceforth, hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph, and with his interest support the cause of the poor, and publish the new translation of my holy word unto the inhabitants of the earth; and if he will do this, I will bless him, with a multiplicity of blessings, that he shall not be forsaken nor his seed be found begging bread...and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall shew unto him the keys, whereby he may ask and receive, and be crowned with the same blessings I crown upon his head the bishoprick, and blessing and glory, and honor and priesthood, and gifts of the priesthood, that once were put upon him, that was servant Oliver Cowdery; that my servant Hyrum may bear record of the things which I shall shew unto him, that his name may be had in honorable remembrance from generation to generation for ever and ever...And again verily I say unto you, if my servant Sidney [Rigdon] will serve me and be councillor unto my servant Joseph, let him arise, and come up and stand in the office of his calling and humble himself before me; and if he will offer unto me an acceptable offering and acknowledgements, and remain with my people; behold I the Lord your God will heal him that he shall be healed, and he shall lift up his voice again on the mountains, and be a spokesman before my face. Let him come and locate his family in the neighbourhood in which my servant Joseph resides, and in all his journeyings let him lift up his voice as with the sound of a trump and warn the inhabitants of the earth to flee the wrath to come, let him assist my servant Joseph; and also let my servant William Law assist my servant Joseph in making a solemn proclamation unto the kings of the earth, even as I have before said unto you. If my servant Sidney will do my will, let him not move his family unto the easternlands, but let them change their habitation even as I have said. Behold it is not my will that he shall seek to find safety and refuge out of the city which I have appointed unto you, even the city of Nauvoo. Verily I say unto you even now, if he will hearken to my voice it shall be well with him, even so: Amen."
Israel Smith (President-Prophet of the RLDS Church) Statements about Joseph Smith's witness of the JST (Inspired Version) of the Bible as being a correction of the KJV
"Thou shalt ask, and my Scriptures shall be given as I have appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety; and it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning them, and not teach them until thou hast received them in full. And I give unto you a commandment, that then ye shall teach them unto all men; for they shall be taught unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people" (Doctrine and Covenants 42:15).
In visiting the congregations of the Church I generally try to talk about matters that are distinctly Latter Day Saint. About ten or twelve years ago I got an outline of my own, which satisfied me at the time, with respect to the Inspired Version of the Bible, recommending it to the saints at various places and giving my views in regard to and support of it. The recent coming out of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible has revived my interest in the Inspired Version. How fortunate it was, as I view it, that Joseph Smith wrote into the first "Epitome of Faith" that we believe the Bible "contains the word of God in so far as it is correctly translated," at a time when so many churches -- practically all of them -- were taking the position that the Scriptures were infallible, that every word in the Holy Bible was divine, and that their members should abide by everything in the record.
When this new Bible came out about three years ago, I found this statement [in it] with respect to the King James Version, which was a popular version and the one which was in use by Joseph Smith. (We have in our vault in the Auditorium the very Bible which he used in the work of correcting the Scriptures.)
Defects in the King James Version.
I find it interesting to note the following statements in this new Bible [the Revised Standard Version]:
"The King James Version had grave defects. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the development of Biblical studies and the discovery of many manuscripts more ancient than those upon which the King James Version was based, made it manifest that these defects are so many and so serious as to call for a revision of the English translation."
Another statement is this:
"The King James Version of the New Testament was based upon a Greek text that was marred by mistakes, containing the accumulated errors of fourteen centuries of manuscript copying. It was essentially the Greek text of the New Testament as edited by Beza, 1589, who closely followed that published by Erasmus, 1516-1535 -- which was based upon a few medieval manuscripts. The earliest and best of the eight manuscripts which Erasmus consulted was from the tenth century, and he made the least use of it because it differed most from the commonly received text."
You can see from these statements that Joseph Smith must have been inspired—at least once in his life -- when he said, "We believe the Bible contains the word of God in so far as it is correctly translated." So we find the world -- the ecclesiastical world -- continues to get out new translations, which is but a compliment to the far-reaching wisdom of the prophet in that early day. Therefore we, who are supposed to be a peculiar people, have what many people might designate a "peculiar" Bible...
No Plurality of Gods.
There is a sidelight in which I believe some will be especially interested inasmuch as one faction of the church [LDS] that went west cleaves to the doctrine of a plurality of gods. Somebody got hold of a little inside history of the minutes of their Council of Twelve Apostles held in 1866, I believe it was. They discussed the question whether the plurality of gods doctrine was "scriptural," and after a lengthy discussion they took a vote, and a majority of them voted to the effect that it was scriptural, that a belief in plurality of gods could be supported by the King James Version of the Bible.
It is strange to contemplate, but interesting to me at least, that in 1867, the next year, our Church came out with the Inspired Version which destroys the idea of a plurality of gods. Revelation 1:6 of the Inspired Version says: "And unto him who loved us, be glory; who washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, his Father." The King James records this "hast made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." This implies there is a father of God. In the Inspired Version there is a comma after "God." The word "and" is left out, and it speaks of "God, his Father," which is quite different.
(Saints' Herald January 28, 1957, pages 18-20)
First Vision Accounts
"A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr. an account of his marvilous experience and of all the mighty acts which he doeth in the name of Jesus Ch[r]ist the son of the living God of whom he beareth record and also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time according as the Lord brought forth and established by his hand <firstly> he receiving the testamony from on high seccondly the ministering of Angels thirdly the reception of the holy Priesthood by the ministring of—Aangels to adminster the letter of the Law and commandments as they were given unto him— and in the ordinencs, forthly a confirmation and reception of the high Priesthood...with regard to the all importent concerns of for the wellfare of my immortal Soul which led me to searching the scriptures believeing as I was taught, that they contained the word of God thus applying myself to them and my intimate acquaintance with those of differant denominations led me to marvel excedingly for I discovered that <they did not adorn> instead of adorning their profession by a holy walk and Godly conversation agreeable to what I found contained in that sacred depository this was a grief to my Soul thus from the age of twelve years to fifteen I pondered many things in my heart concerning the sittuation of the world of mankind the contentions and divi[si]ons the wicke[d]ness and abominations and the darkness which pervaded the of the minds of mankind my mind become excedingly distressed for I become convicted of my sins and by searching the scriptures I found that mand <mankind> did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatised from the true and liveing faith and there was no society or denomination that built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the new testament and I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday to day and forever...marvilous even in the likeness of him who created him <them> and when I considered upon these things my heart exclaimed well hath the wise man said the <it is a> fool <that> saith in his heart there is no God my heart exclaimed all all these bear testimony and bespeak an omnipotant and omnipreasant power a being who makith Laws and decreeeth and bindeth all things in their bounds who filleth Eternity who was and is and will be from all Eternity to Eternity and when <I> considered all these things and that <that> being seeketh such to worshep him as worship him in spirit and in truth therefore I cried unto the Lord for mercy for there was none else to whom I could go and to obtain mercy and the Lord heard my cry in the wilderness and while in <the> attitude of calling upon the Lord <in the 16th year of my age...a piller of fire light above the brightness of the sun at noon day come down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of god and the <Lord> opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying Joseph <my son> thy sins are forgiven thee. go thy <way> walk in my statutes and keep my commandments behold I am the Lord of glory I was crucifyed for the world that all those who believe on my name may have Eternal life <behold> the world lieth in sin and at this time and none doeth good no not one they have turned asside from the gospel and keep not <my> commandments they draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me and mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth to visit them acording to thir ungodliness and to bring to pass that which <hath> been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and Ap[o]stles behold and lo I come quickly as it [is?] written of me in the cloud <clothed> in the glory of my Father and my soul was filled with love and for many days I could rejoice with great Joy and the Lord was with me but could find none that would believe the hevnly vision nevertheless I pondered these things in my heart about that time"
1838
1842
Critical Historiography from dissenters and contemporaries
"Inasmuch as we have for years borne with the individual follies and iniquities of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and many other official characters in the Church of Jesus Christ, (conceiving it a duty incumbent upon us so to bear,) and having labored with them repeatedly with all Christian love, meekness and humility, yet to no effect, feel as if forbearance has ceased to be a virtue, and hope of reformation vain; and inasmuch as they have introduced false and damnable doctrines into the Church, such as a plurality of Gods above the God of this universe, and his liability to fall with all his creations; the plurality of wives, for time and eternity, the doctrine of unconditional sealing up to eternal life, against all crimes except that of sheding innocent blood, by a perversion of their priestly authority, and thereby forfeiting the holy priesthood”
"...we hereby notify all those holding licences to preach the gospel, who know they are guilty of teaching the doctrine of other Gods above the God of this creation; the plurality of wives; the unconditional sealing up against all crimes, save that of sheding innocent blood; the spoiling of the gentiles, and all other doctrines, (so called) which are contrary to the laws of God, or to the laws of our country, to cease preaching, and to come and make satisfaction, and have their licences renewed."
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