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The Joseph Smith Translation in Light of the New Testament: An Examination of Key Passages in the Gospel of John

The Joseph Smith Translation in Light of the New Testament: An Examination of Key Passages in the Gospel of John

This is the full text of Joel Groat’s M.T.S. thesis, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, 1990, updated for this website in 2001. Click here to download a free PDF of the entire thesis. A more lay-friendly summary article is also available on this website.

Table of Contents

Introduction and Purpose

1. Historical Background and Significance of the

        1.A. Joseph Smith’s Reasons for Making a  New Translation

        1.B. Joseph Smith’s View of the Revision Work

        1.C. Significance Of The JST To Early Latter-day Saints

        1.D. Historical Note: Differing Views of LDS and RLDS Churches

        1.E. Significance of the JST to Contemporary Latter-day Saints

2. Grounds for Testing the Joseph Smith Translation

        2.A. Historical Grounds for Verifying the JST

        2.B. Textual-Critical Grounds For Verifying The JST

        2.B.i. Why Biblical Textual Criticism is Possible

        2.B.ii. Why Biblical Textual Criticism Is Necessary

3. Textual Comparison: Key John Passages Changed in the JST

        3.A. Textual Changes for Clarification and Grammatical Improvements

                Representative Texts: John 5:36a; John 6:54b; John 7:24

        3.B. Textual Changes for Harmonization or Better Logic

                3.B.i. Text 1 - John 4:2 Jesus and Baptizing

                3.B.ii. Text 2 - John 1:27 Who is Elias, Jesus or John?

        3.C. Textual Changes for Alteration of Doctrinal Teachings

                3.C.i. Text 1 - John 1:1,4 Emphasizing the Gospel

                3.C.ii. Text 2 - John 1:42 Introducing Occultism

                3.C.iii. Text 3 - John 4:24 Eliminating a God of  Spirit

                3.C.iv. Text 4 - John 5:29 Removing Eternal Punishment

Conclusion

Appendix A: “Inspired Version” Manuscript Pages For Johanine Passages Analyzed

Appendix B: Noah Webster’s First Edition [1828] Dictionary (Entries for “TRANSLATE”)

Bibliography