DiscussMormonism.com

Was it Nephi or Moroni?

"He called me by name and said unto me, that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Nephi."
(Pearl of Great Price Joseph Smith History, p. 41)

Here is what the current version says.

He called me by name and said unto me, that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni.
(Pearl of Great Price Joseph Smith History, 1:33)

Who did Joseph see then?
All evidence indicates this change was made after the death of Joseph Smith, and cannot be considered a clerical error. Both the handwritten manuscripts for the History of the Church, and the printed history in the Church newspaper Times and Seasons (of which Joseph Smith was editor) give the visiting personage’s name as "Nephi."

http://www.irr.org/mit/cs-pgp-jshis-p41.html

And how did Nephi or Moroni appear to Joseph Smith Jr 3 times in the night and not wake up any of the rest of the Smith Family in a small 2 room cabin?

Who did Joseph see then? All evidence indicates this change was made after the death of Joseph Smith, and cannot be considered a clerical error. Both the handwritten manuscripts for the History of the Church, and the printed history in the Church newspaper Times and Seasons (of which Joseph Smith was editor) give the visiting personage’s name as "Nephi."

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing the unspoken subtext to your post must go something like this: If the cult of Mormonism is false, the Evangelical counter-cult must therefore be true. Does that about cover it?

There was a single error which was perpetuated in several publications. However, Moroni was the original and there are many publications to that effect prior to the TS article including an antiMormon one.

Q.E.D.

bcspace wrote:There was a single error which was perpetuated in several publications. However, Moroni was the original and there are many publications to that effect prior to the TS article including an antiMormon one.

Q.E.D.

From about line 28, here, it looks like Nephi was 'the original.' It's explained as a clerical error.

There is also this quote from one of the original 8 witnesses where Nephi shows the plates to his mother on several occasions. Maybe Joseph Smith Jr saw so many angels that he just couldn't keep their names straight. http://www.whitmercollege.com/interviews/95-john-c-whitmer-with-edward-stevenson-and-andrew-jenson-in-richmond-missouri-1888

What are the dates of these publications?

bcspace wrote:What are the dates of these publications?

Links are provided.

bcspace wrote:What are the dates of these publications?

ehm, don't you have a saying about someone's theory of laziness?

On P. 41 of the original Pearl of Great Price, it states that the "Angel Nephi" revealed the gold plates to Joseph Smith. This has now been changed, of course.

The Millennial Star Vol. III, pp. 53 &71....and also the Time and Seasons Vol. III pp. 749 & 753 also state it was "Angel Nephi". In this latter source, Joseph Smith states, "This paper commences my editorial career. I alone stand responsible for it." (page 710) One would think he would have caught such a glaring and important error before it was published.....so if there was an error, it falls on the shoulders of Joseph Smith, in my opinion.

Also in 1853, Lucy Mack Smith stated that the angel's name was Nephi. (Biographical Sketches, p. 79).

All apologists have here is to claim that this was all just a big mistake and that Joseph misspoke, etc. Just seems that he would have at least gotten the name of the angel right....doesn't it?