A Quick Review of Covenant of Christ: A Modern English Version of the Book of Mormon

Review of Covenant of Christ, A Modern English Version of the Book of Mormon (Restoration Scriptures Foundation, 2024). 525 pages. $26.95 (hardback), $21.36 (paperback).

This edition of the Book of Mormon has been produced through the restoration church commonly called the Snufferites, after their prophet, Denver Snuffer. It is a serious edition of the Book of Mormon that intends to make the text more accessible by modernizing the language. The introduction to the text lays out the directives behind this version of the text. One of the most important was that the meaning of the text not be changed as the language was updated. To assist with this intent, the editors consulted Royal Skousen’s The Earliest Text, as well as the publications of the Printer’s and Original Manuscripts from the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

Although the editors consulted those sources, they clearly followed the changes Joseph Smith made after the 1830 publication. I checked two easy references. 1 Nephi 11:18 has “the Mother of the Son of God” following the 1837 change rather than the original/printer’s manuscripts’ “mother of God.” Similarly, 2 Nephi 30:6 has the 1840 change to “pure and delightsome” rather than the original/printer’s manuscripts “white and delightsome.”

The major changes come from the removal of the archaic verb endings as well as all of the thees, thous, etc. Other changes have removed most, if not all, of the “and it came to pass” statements. Even though they removed those, they left the “and now” statements. Personally, I see those as structurally relevant and thus removing some important information.

The chapters are given according to the pre-1879 changes Orson Pratt made. Nevertheless, the current LDS chapter and verse numbers are indicated. As another personal note, I find that it makes a significant reading difference when the text is read with the original chapters. Less helpful is their reformatting of the text into paragraphs. The edition provides paragraph numbers, but I prefer Grant Hardy’s paragraphing to what I find in this edition.

To give an indication of how this edition reads, here is the beginning of 1 Nephi with which most Book of Mormon readers will be familiar:

I Nephi was born to excellent parents. As a consequence, my father taught me from all his knowledge. I’ve experienced many hardships during my life, while at the same time I’ve been greatly blessed by the Lord. I gained great understanding of God’s goodness and mysteries. Therefore I’m making a record of the important events of my life. I’m writing in my father’s language, which consists of Jewish knowledge written using Egyptian script. I know the record I’m making is true, written in my own hand, and based on what I know and experienced.

The declaration that Nephi wrote in Hebrew with Egyptian script is made explicit and represents a common reading of the text. However, this does show that in the process of changing some of the language, interpretations can be added that might not be recognized as a change.

Another familiar verse is Moroni 10:4. In this rendition:

When you consider these things, I would urge you to ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ: Aren’t these things true? And if you ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He’ll reveal the truth of it to you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost, you can know the truth of all things.

This edition includes the testimonies of the three and eight witnesses. It also includes the “testimony of the first witnesses,” Emma Smith and Mary Whitmer. There is a section listing ordinances, giving language of the ordinances of baptism and the sacrament according to the Book of Mormon. There is a glossary of terms and a page addressed “To the First Nations,” gives a modern address for the purpose of the Book of Mormon perhaps similar to Mormon’s final address (Mormon 7).

Although the language has been modernized, I did not find that it felt like the text had been simplified. It still feels like the Book of Mormon I am used to. As for whether I might recommend this version beyond its curiosity value, I think that it might be useful for readers who struggle with the King James style of the Latter-day Saint canonized versions. While some of the introductory and additional material leans into the Snufferite movement, the text itself appears to attempt to be authentic to the Book of Mormon Joseph translated.

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