Editing Book of Mormon (section)

===Community of Christ===
The [[Community of Christ]] (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or RLDS Church) views the Book of Mormon as scripture which provides an additional witness of Jesus Christ in support of the Bible.<ref name="Moore-2014">{{Cite journal|last=Moore|first=Richard G.|date=Spring 2014|title=LDS Misconceptions About the Community of Christ|url=https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LDS-Misconceptions.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ensignpeakfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LDS-Misconceptions.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|journal=[[Mormon Historical Studies]]|volume=15|issue=1|pages=1–23}}</ref> The Community of Christ publishes two versions of the book. The first is the Authorized Edition, first published by the then-RLDS Church in 1908, whose text is based on comparing the original printer's manuscript and the 1837 Second Edition (or "Kirtland Edition") of the Book of Mormon.{{sfn|Gutjahr|2012|p=82}} Its content is similar to the Latter-day Saint edition of the Book of Mormon, but the versification is different.{{Sfn|Maffly-Kipp|2008|p=xxiv}} The Community of Christ also publishes a "New Authorized Version" (also called a "reader's edition"), first released in 1966, which attempts to modernize the language of the text by removing archaisms and standardizing punctuation.{{sfn|Gutjahr|2012|p=83}}

Use of the Book of Mormon varies among Community of Christ membership. The church describes it as scripture and includes references to the Book of Mormon in its official lectionary.<ref name="Howlett-2007">{{cite interview|last=Howlett|first=David|interviewer=|title=Q & A – The Community of Christ and Latter-day Saints|url=https://bycommonconsent.com/2007/08/13/q-a-the-community-of-christ-and-latter-day-saints/|work=[[By Common Consent]]|date=August 13, 2007}}</ref> In 2010, representatives told the [[National Council of Churches]] that "the Book of Mormon is in our DNA".<ref name="Moore-2014" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Welsh|first=Robert|date=November 3, 2010|title=Memorandum to the 2010 General Assembly of the NCC|url=http://www.ncccusa.org/witnesses2010/ga-merc-report-community-of-christ.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819200311/http://www.ncccusa.org/witnesses2010/ga-merc-report-community-of-christ.pdf|archive-date=August 19, 2014|access-date=June 2, 2021|website='Witnesses of These Things: Ecumenical Engagement in a New Era,' 2010 Centennial Ecumenical Gathering and General Assembly of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and Church World Service|publisher=[[National Council of Churches]]}}</ref> The book remains a symbol of the denomination's belief in continuing revelation from God.<ref name="Peter-2022">{{cite podcast |title=Theo-History {{!}} Early Church |website=Project Zion |publisher=Publisher |date=August 16, 2022 |url=https://www.projectzionpodcast.org/podcast/503-cuppa-joe-theo-history-early-church/ |access-date=22 October 2022 |last=Peter |first=Karin |time=1:33:33 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022204831/http://www.projectzionpodcast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/503-Cuppa-Joe-Theo-History-Early-Church.pdf |archive-date=October 22, 2022 |last2=Mackay |first2=Lachlan |last3=Chvala-Smith |first3=Tony |url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, its usage in [[North America]]n congregations declined between the mid-twentieth and twenty-first centuries.<ref name="Howlett-2007" /> Community of Christ theologian Anthony Chvala-Smith describes the Book of Mormon as being akin to a "subordinate standard" relative to the Bible, giving the Bible priority over the Book of Mormon,<ref name="Peter-2022" /> and the denomination does not emphasize the book as part of its self-conceived identity.{{Sfn|Maffly-Kipp|2008|p=xxiv}} Book of Mormon use varies in what David Howlett calls "Mormon heritage regions": North America, Western Europe, and French Polynesia.<ref name="Howlett-2022">{{Cite web |last=Howlett |first=David J. |date=December 11, 2022 |title=Community of Christ |url=https://wrldrels.org/2022/12/11/21325/ |access-date= |website=World Religions and Spirituality Project |language=en}}</ref> Outside these regions, where there are tens of thousands of members,<ref name="Howlett-2007" /> congregations almost never use the Book of Mormon in their worship,<ref name="Howlett-2022" /> and they may be entirely unfamiliar with it.<ref name="Howlett-2007" /> Some in Community of Christ remain interested in prioritizing the Book of Mormon in religious practice and have variously responded to these developments by leaving the denomination or by striving to re-emphasize the book.<ref name="Stokes-2016">{{Cite journal |last=Stokes |first=Adam Oliver |date=2016 |title=Mixing the Old with the New: The Implications of Reading the Book of Mormon from a Literary Perspective |url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1592&context=jbms |department=Reviews |journal=[[Journal of Book of Mormon Studies]] |volume=25 |pages=85–92 |via=BYU ScholarsArchive|jstor=10.18809/jbms.2016.0108 }}</ref>

During this time, the Community of Christ moved away from emphasizing the Book of Mormon as an authentic record of a historical past. By the late-twentieth century, church president [[W. Grant McMurray]] made open the possibility the book was nonhistorical.{{sfn|Gutjahr|2012|p=83}} McMurray reiterated this ambivalence in 2001, reflecting, "The proper use of the Book of Mormon as sacred scripture has been under wide discussion in the 1970s and beyond, in part because of long-standing questions about its historical authenticity and in part because of perceived theological inadequacies, including matters of race and ethnicity."<ref name="McMurray-2001">McMurray, W. Grant, [https://archive.today/20050218115333/http://www.cofchrist.org/docs/NativeAmericanConference/keynote.asp "They 'Shall Blossom as the Rose': Native Americans and the Dream of Zion,"] an address delivered February 17, 2001, cofchrist.org.</ref> When a resolution was submitted at the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference to "reaffirm the Book of Mormon as a divinely inspired record", church president [[Stephen M. Veazey]] ruled it out-of-order. He stated, "while the Church affirms the Book of Mormon as scripture, and makes it available for study and use in various languages, we do not attempt to mandate the degree of belief or use. This position is in keeping with our longstanding tradition that belief in the Book of Mormon is not to be used as a test of fellowship or membership in the church."<ref name="Stokes-2016" />