Church Backtracks on Deceptive Change to Book of Mormon Introduction | Ep. 1970 | LDS Discussions 59

Introduction

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has partially reversed a controversial rewrite of the Book of Mormon introduction that removed Joseph Smith, the Three Witnesses, and specific claims about the book’s ancient origins. The retreat, documented in a recent Mormon Stories Podcast episode, applies only to the missionary-focused "Book of Mormon app," leaving the sanitized 2024 text intact while restoring some elements for internal use. This episode exposes an institutional pattern that has repeated for two decades: when historical claims become unsustainable, the Church edits the packaging rather than confronting the contents.

Background: The 1981 Text and the 2006 Retreat

The 1981 introduction carried the fingerprints of a Scriptures Publication Committee led by Thomas S. Monson, Boyd K. Packer, and Bruce R. McConkie. Their text presented the Book of Mormon as literal history, declaring it contained "the fulness of the everlasting gospel" and identifying Lamanites as the "principal ancestors of the American Indians."

That specific claim collapsed under genetic