Editing Book of Mormon (section)

=== The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ===
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) accepts the Book of Mormon as one of the four sacred texts in its scriptural canon called the ''[[standard works]]''.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=44|ps=. The other three of the four standard works are the Bible, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price.}} Church leaders and publications have "strongly affirm[ed]" Smith's claims of the book's significance to the faith.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=|pp=45–47}} According to the church's [[Articles of Faith (Latter Day Saints)|"Articles of Faith"]]—a document written by Joseph Smith in 1842 and canonized by the church as scripture in 1880—members "believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly," and they "believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God," without qualification.<!-- The specific difference between the statements on the Bible and the Book of Mormon is noted by John G. Turner in The Mormon Jesus, page 46. -->{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=46}}<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/articles/histories-volume-1-joseph-smith-histories-1832-1844|title=Joseph Smith Histories, 1832–1844|publisher=Church Historian's Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-60641-196-4|editor-last=Davidson|editor-first=Karen Lynn|series=The Joseph Smith Papers: Histories|volume=1|pages=489–501|chapter=Historical Introduction to 'Church History,' 1 March 1842|editor-last2=Whittaker|editor-first2=David J.|editor-last3=Ashurst-McGee|editor-first3=Mark|editor-last4=Jensen|editor-first4=Richard L.|chapter-url=https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/church-history-1-march-1842/1#historical-intro}}</ref> In their evangelism, Latter-day Saint leaders and missionaries have long emphasized the book's place in a causal chain which held that if the Book of Mormon was "verifiably true revelation of God," then it justified Smith's claims to prophetic authority to restore the New Testament church.{{sfn|Givens|2009|pp=79–84}}

Latter-day Saints have also long believed the Book of Mormon's contents confirm and fulfill biblical prophecies.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Matthews|first=Robert J.|url=https://rsc.byu.edu/book/book-mormon-first-nephi-doctrinal-foundation|title=The Book of Mormon: First Nephi, the Doctrinal Foundation|publisher=[[Religious Studies Center]]|year=1989|isbn=0-8849-4647-9|editor-last=Nyman|editor-first=Monte S.|pages=193–215|chapter=Establishing the Truth of the Bible|editor-last2=Tate|editor-first2=Charles D. Jr.|chapter-url=https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-first-nephi-doctrinal-foundation/establishing-truth-bible}}</ref> For example, "many Latter-day Saints" consider the biblical patriarch [[Jacob]]'s description of his son [[Joseph (Genesis)|Joseph]] as "a fruitful bough{{nbsp}}... whose branches run over a wall" a prophecy of Lehi's posterity—described as descendants of Joseph—overflowing into the New World.{{sfn|Givens|2002|pp=43–44}} Latter-day Saints also believe the Bible prophesies of the Book of Mormon as an additional testament to God's dealings with humanity.<ref name="Meservy-1992">{{Cite book|last=Meservy|first=Keith H.|title=[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]]|publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan Publishing]]|year=1992|isbn=0028796055|editor-last=Ludlow|editor-first=Daniel H.|pages=158–160|chapter=Book of Mormon, Biblical Prophecies About|chapter-url=https://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Book_of_Mormon,_Biblical_Prophecies_About}}</ref>{{sfn|Givens|2002|p=95}}

In the 1980s, the church placed greater emphasis on the Book of Mormon as a central text of the faith.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=45}}{{sfn|Givens|2009|pp=109–111}} In 1982, it added the subtitle "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" to its official editions of the Book of Mormon.<ref>{{Cite news|date=January 2, 1988|title=Since 1982, Subtitle has Defined Book as 'Another Testament of Jesus Christ'|work=[[Church News]]|url=https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/1988-01-02/since-1982-subtitle-has-defined-book-as-another-testament-of-jesus-christ-154250|access-date=April 21, 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Turner|2016|pp=44–45}} [[Ezra Taft Benson]], the church's thirteenth [[President of the Church (LDS Church)|president]] (1985–1994), especially emphasized the Book of Mormon.{{sfn|Turner|2016|pp=45–47}}{{sfn|Givens|2009|pp=81–82}} Referencing Smith's 1832 revelation, Benson said the church remained under condemnation for treating the Book of Mormon lightly.{{sfn|Givens|2009|pp=81–82}}

Since the late 1980s, Latter-day Saint leaders have encouraged church members to read from the Book of Mormon daily, and in the twenty-first century, many Latter-day Saints use the book in private devotions and family worship.{{sfn|Turner|2016|p=46}}{{sfn|Givens|2002|p=242}} Literary scholar Terryl Givens observes that for Latter-day Saints, the Book of Mormon is "the principal scriptural focus", a "cultural touchstone, and "absolutely central" to worship, including in weekly services, Sunday School, youth seminaries, and more.{{sfn|Givens|2009|pp=111, 240–246}}

Approximately 90 to 95% of all Book of Mormon printings have been affiliated with the church.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Messick |first=Robert |subject-link= |interviewer=Steven Pynakker |title=Interview of Robert of ''Book of Mormon Editions'' YouTube Channel |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EtJrNbo-zQ |work=Mormon Book Reviews |publisher=YouTube |date=July 8, 2021}} (12:38).</ref> As of October 2020, it has published more than 192 million copies of the Book of Mormon.<ref name="Walch-2020">{{Cite news|last=Walch|first=Tad|date=October 4, 2020|title=12 Things I Learned About the Church That I Didn't Know Before General Conference|work=[[Deseret News]]|url=https://www.deseret.com/faith/2020/10/4/21500695/october-general-conference-mormon-lds-elder-matthew-holland-elder-jeffrey-holland-elder-gong-covid|access-date=April 21, 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Book of Mormon Talks.png|alt=Transcription follows: Book of Mormon Talks (line break) By Orion (line break) Birth Offering Series.—No. 4 (line break) Third Edition (line break) Lamoni, Iowa  Published by the Board of Publication of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (line break) 1912|left|thumb|289x289px|RLDS devotional literature about the Book of Mormon, published in 1912]]