Patience; Articles of Faith

Hello Curious Readers of the Arabic Book of Mormon,

We are working to make these entries more easily readable.  The Entry titled Coverpage... has been updated, dividing up the pages into segments so that the Arabic script is easier to read.   Believe it or not, it is a slow process of taking the picture, sending it to email, downloading it to the hard drive, and then uploading it to the blog.

The rest of the introductory pages (the Testimony of the 3 Witnesses, and 8 Witnesses, Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and a Brief Explanation) will be added.   A Table of Contents will also be added.

Also, the first few pages of 1st Nephi will be re-done, so that the images are easier to read.   Considering that this work is being inserted into our already very busy life, this will take most likely, 2-4 weeks (something being added every week).

So, please be patient dear reader.   You do have the option of ordering your own copy of the Book of Mormon.  Please see the links on the right side of the blog for your options.

Thank you.


Here is a list of the Articles of Faith of the LDS Church.  The list came from an 1842 letter written by Joseph Smith Jr, to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, and first published in the Latter Day Saint newspaper Times and Seasons.  (per Wikipedia).  

فيما يلي قائمة بمواد الإيمان الخاصة بكنيسة LDS. جاءت القائمة من رسالة كتبها جوزيف سميث جونيور عام 1842 إلى "لونج" جون وينتورث، محرر صحيفة Chicago Democrat، ونُشرت لأول مرة في صحيفة Latter Day Saint Times and Seasons. (لكل ويكيبيديا).

I am sorry about some of the spacing, brought to you by "copy and paste" which won't let me edit it.

Translation by Google.  الترجمة عن طريق جوجل

The Articles of Faithof The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

بنود الإيمان

من كنيسة يسوع المسيح لقديسي الأيام الأخيرة

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

1 نؤمن بالله الآب الأزلي، وابنه يسوع المسيح، وبالروح القدس.

2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

2 نحن نؤمن أن البشر سيعاقبون على خطاياهم، وليس على تعديات آدم.

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

3 نحن نؤمن أنه من خلال كفارة المسيح، يمكن خلاص البشرية جمعاء، من خلال طاعة قوانين ومراسيم الإنجيل.

4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

4 نؤمن أن مبادئ الإنجيل ومراسيمه الأولى هي: أولاً، الإيمان بالرب يسوع المسيح. ثانياً، التوبة؛ ثالثًا، المعمودية بالتغطيس لمغفرة الخطايا. رابعًا، وضع الأيدي لهبة الروح القدس.

5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

5 نحن ن الذين هم في منصب، للتبشير بالإنجيل وتنفيذ فرائضه.ؤمن أنه ينبغي أن يدعى الإنسان من الله بالنبوة ووضع الأيدي بواسطة

6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

6 نحن نؤمن بنفس التنظيم الذي كان موجودًا في الكنيسة البدائية، أي الرسل، والأنبياء، والقساوسة، والمعلمين، والمبشرين، وما إلى ذلك.

7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing,  interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

7 نحن نؤمن بموهبة الألسنة، والنبوة، والإعلان، والرؤى، والشفاء، وترجمة الألسنة، وما إلى ذلك.

8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

8 نحن نؤمن بأن الكتاب المقدس هو كلمة الله طالما تمت ترجمته بشكل صحيح؛ ونحن نؤمن أيضًا أن كتاب مورمون هو كلمة الله.

9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

9 نحن نؤمن بكل ما أعلنه الله، وكل ما يعلنه الآن، ونؤمن أنه سيكشف أيضًا العديد من الأمور العظيمة والمهمة المتعلقة بملكوت الله.

10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

10 نحن نؤمن بالتجمع الحرفي لإسرائيل وباستعادة الأسباط العشرة؛ وأن صهيون (القدس الجديدة) سيتم بناؤها في القارة الأمريكية؛ وأن المسيح سيملك شخصياً على الأرض؛ وأن الأرض سوف تتجدد وتستقبل مجدها الفردوسي.

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

11 نحن نطالب بامتياز عبادة الله القدير وفقًا لما يمليه علينا ضميرنا، ونسمح لجميع البشر بنفس الامتياز، فليعبدوا كيفما شاءوا وأينما شاءوا.

12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

12 نحن نؤمن بالخضوع للملوك والرؤساء والحكام والقضاة، وفي طاعة القانون وإكرامه والحفاظ عليه.

13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

13 نحن نؤمن بأن نكون صادقين وصادقين وعفيفين ومحسنين وفاضلين وأن نفعل الخير لجميع الناس. في الواقع، يمكننا القول إننا نتبع نصيحة بولس: نحن نؤمن بكل شيء، ونرجى كل شيء، وقد تحملنا الكثير، ونأمل أن نكون قادرين على تحمل كل شيء. فإن كان هناك شيء فضيل أو جميل أو حسن الصيت أو مدح، فإننا نطلب هذه الأشياء.

Joseph Smith.   جوزيف سميث

Pages 3-4 of Book of mormon

First Two Pages of the Book of Mormon (1st Nephi)

Cover Page and Title page of The Book of Mormon, Arabic

Book Cover



At any time, if you want a larger view, try left-clicking on the image.

Title page, first half of page

Title page, second half of page

Also, if you are fluent in English, you can also read the Book of Mormon online (with all the study tools) at: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures?lang=ara

Here it is for comparison in English:

TheBook of MormonAn Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi

 Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.

 An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

 TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH SMITH, Jun.

****

Introductory page (in 3 parts)

For comparison in English:

Introduction

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel.

 The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C. and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

 The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.

 After Mormon completed his writings, he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the Hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language.

 In due course the plates were delivered to Joseph Smith, who translated them by the gift and power of God. The record is now published in many languages as a new and additional witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that all who will come unto Him and obey the laws and ordinances of His gospel may be saved.

 Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “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.”

 In addition to Joseph Smith, the Lord provided for eleven others to see the gold plates for themselves and to be special witnesses of the truth and divinity of the Book of Mormon. Their written testimonies are included herewith as “The Testimony of Three Witnesses” and “The Testimony of Eight Witnesses.”

 We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

 Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah.

****

Demo Replica of the Golden plates

Artistic representation of Joseph Smith, Jr, translator of Book of Mormon.  It was translated in parts of 1828-1829 AD.  The portion translated in the Spring of 1828 was lost.  The rest of the book (which is what we have today), was translated between April - June 1829.

If you wish to read more about the translation, click on this link:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/book-of-mormon-translation?lang=eng   :  

If you need to translate the article into Arabic, look for (in the upper right corner of the link's webpage)  look for a symbol where it says ENGLISH.  You can change the language there.  Or use:   https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/languages?lang=eng&clang=ara 

While I am waiting for the Arabic Book of Mormon, compare alphabets

While I am waiting for my copy of the Book of Mormon in Arabic to arrive in the mail, here is a little bit of information to get started on.   

In 1828 AD When Joseph Smith was translating (by divine assistance) the golden plates (which became the Book of Mormon), he wrote down a sample of the characters and gave the paper to his friend and helper, Martin Harris, who then took the paper to Professor Charles Anthon of Columbia College.  Professor Anthon said that the characters (called Reformed Eqyptian, a mixture of the Hebrew language and Egyptian) looked legitimate, and he signed a certificate.  Then when Professor Anthon asked afterwards about the origin, Martin Harris said that it was copied from a book delivered by an angel to Joseph Smith.  Professor asked for the certificate back, and in anger tore up the certificate, because he did not believe in angels and such.

Please see this link for a longer explanation:  https://eom.byu.edu/index.php?title=Anthon_Transcript

From the Book of Mormon:

1 Nephi 1: 2
 2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.

Mormon 9: 32-34

32 And now, behold, we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian, being handed down and altered by us, according to our manner of speech.

 33 And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew; but the Hebrew hath been altered by us also; and if we could have written in Hebrew, behold, ye would have had no imperfection in our record.

 34 But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof.    

How is it that Lehi (the first father in the Book of Mormon) and his sons could've known Egyptian and writing on metal?   Various engraved writings on metal plates, such as gold or copper, have been found, so it's not like the Book of Mormon is the only volume of writings to be on metal, anciently.   Some scholars see that Lehi might've been involved with metals coming from Timna and Faynan.  

For more information:

Ancient Egyptian mining:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mining_industry_of_Egypt

Lehi the smelter:  https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/lehi-the-smelter-new-light-on-lehis-profession/

Faynan mine:  https://www.world-archaeology.com/features/wadi-faynan-copper-mine/

Here's a comparison of alphabets for viewing, to compare with the Reformed Egyptian above:

Egyptian hieroglyphs, PICTOGRAPH

Other Egyptian alphabet

Paleo (old) Hebrew

Modern Hebrew block style

  

Modern Hebrew cursive

Arabic alphabet

So what do you think?  Without comparison for more than just a few minutes, I see the most similarity between the Reformed Egyptian (copied by Joseph Smith) and the non-pictograph Egyptian, and the cursive scripts of Hebrew and Arabic.

The Beginning - One in Your Hand, One in Your Heart

For a .PDF file of the Book of Mormon in Arabic, see:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/arabic/pdf/language-materials/34406_ara.pdf?lang=eng&clang=ara

I do want to say that the Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible.  It is complementary to the Bible.  It has messages found nowhere else.  In this day and age, of so much turmoil, the Book of Mormon is important because not only does it contain messages of Jesus Christ يسوع المسيح, but it has messages of peace (how to form an ideal society where people love each other), and also a warning of destruction.  What that means, is that if mankind fails to establish peace, we are at SERIOUS RISK OF ANNIHILATION OF THE HUMAN RACE, if we do not learn to love each other and live moral lives.

THE SCRIPTURES ARE MEANT TO BE ONE IN YOUR HAND.  UNITED TOGETHER IN YOUR HEART.

Ezekiel 37:

15 ¶ The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one ^astick, and ^bwrite upon it, For ^cJudah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and ^dwrite upon it, For ^eJoseph, the ^fstick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become ^aone in thine hand.

18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us ^awhat thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of ^aJoseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

20 ¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.