Comments on: Book of Mormon Translations: Arabic, 1893

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:40:57 +0000

Very late to this post–the week of October 29, 2012, was a busy one for me.

But what caught my eye was the name of the Arabic newspaper, the Kawkab America–the Star of America.

In Abraham 3, Joseph Smith wrote “kokaubeam” for “stars”–which, when one removes the plural ending “eam” (usually transliterated “im” these days) leaves “kokaub” which is awfully close to the “Kawkab” that Mr. Arbeely published. And that’s the extent of my knowledge of Semitic languages.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:27:36 +0000

Thanks, Kent, both for the additional Mormon tie-in and for the tip on finding copies. Very helpful.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:03:50 +0000

Also, FWIW, the only libraries that have copies of Kawkab America (per Worldcat) are:

* Library of Congress
* Center for Research Libraries (Chicago)
* Wisconsin Historical Society
* Kansas State Historical Society

The CRL’s version covering 1892 to Feb 1896 is available online here to those associated with its member libraries. BYU is one of those members.

So, someone who can read arabic and has access to BYU’s electronic databases should be able to get this stuff easily.

By: Kent Larsen

Kent Larsen — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:50:09 +0000

I know I’m commenting about this very late, but I think it is worth observing that the location on Pearl street where the “Kawkab America” was published was likely just a few blocks from where the LDS newspaper “The Prophet” was published, and even closer to the boarding house that Joseph Smith stayed in when he visited New York City in 1832.

By: Julia

Julia — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 01:35:16 +0000

Very cool Carol. How did he get to be part of the translation? Do you know when they will have the translation completed? Very exciting to hear about!

By: Carol

Carol — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 17:06:53 +0000

Our son is now working for the church translating the Book or Mormon into Arabic. This is cool to know about the first time.

By: Maurine Ward

Maurine Ward — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 09:59:12 +0000

THis is fascinating. There is certainly more in our history than most people believe or know. I’m glad that you dug this up.

By: The Other Clark

The Other Clark — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 18:19:51 +0000

So much for the claim of Elder Nelson’s friend that the Book of Mormon was a word-for-word translation of an arabic-type language.

[Clark, I hope you don't mind, but I replaced your link with one that summarizes the story but also contains important corrections. If you do mind, please contact me privately and we'll negotiate.-- Ardis]

By: Bryan Buchanan

Bryan Buchanan — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:12:58 +0000

Hmm, as someone with, let’s say, passing interest in this time period and subject matter, I give you a large thumbs up–this is fascinating…

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:01:12 +0000

I remember coming across a 1893 letter from the FP Letterpress expressing interest in having copies of the newspaper sent to the missionaries in Turkey. I did a quick search at the time but didn’t see much about it, and it remained a mystery to me. And here you are cracking the story wide open! Wonderful.