View source for Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?

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==Question: Why did Joseph Smith say that the Book of Mormon was the "most correct book"?==
===Joseph Smith: "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth"===

In the ''History of the Church'', the following entry is recorded as having been made by Joseph Smith on November 28, 1841.<ref>{{HoC1|vol=4|start=461}}</ref>

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Sunday, 28.--I spent the day in the council with the Twelve Apostles at the house of President Young, conversing with them upon a variety of subjects. Brother Joseph Fielding was present, having been absent four years on a mission to England. I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.
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Critics of the Church assert that the phrase "the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth" means that the Prophet Joseph Smith was declaring the Book of Mormon to be without error of any kind. Since each edition of the printed Book of Mormon since 1829 (including editions published during the life of Joseph Smith) has included changes of wording, spelling, or punctuation, critics declare Joseph Smith's statement to have been demonstrably false, thus proving that he was a false prophet.
===Joseph Smith referred to the Book of Mormon as the "most correct book" because of the principles it teaches===

When Joseph Smith referred to the Book of Mormon as the [[Book of Mormon as the most correct book|"most correct book"]] on earth, he was referring to the principles that it teaches, not the accuracy of its textual structure.
Critics of the Book of Mormon have mistakenly interpreted "correct" to be synonymous with "perfect," and therefore expect the Book of Mormon to be without any errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity of phrasing, and other such ways.

But when Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon was the "most correct of any book," he was referring to more than just wording, a fact made clear by the remainder of his statement: He said "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." When read in context, the Prophet's statement refers to the correctness of ''the principles it teaches.'' The Book of Mormon is the "most correct of any book" in that it contains [[Book of Mormon and the fulness of the gospel|the fulness of the gospel]] and presents it in a manner that is "plain and precious" ({{scripture|1|Nephi|13|35,40}}).

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{{endnotes sources}}
[[Category:John Dehlin's "Questions and Answers"]]
[[Category:MormonThink]]
[[Category:One Nation Under Gods]]
[[Category:The Kingdom of the Cults]]

[[de:Frage: Ist das Buch Mormon am richtigsten übersetzte Buch auf Erden?]]
[[pt:Pergunta: Por que Joseph Smith disse que o Livro de Mórmon era “o livro mais correto"?]]
[[Category:Questions]]