I don’t see the comment now, but I have had people in the past year claim that Joseph Smith said the name Mormon was Egyptian and meant “more good”. For details about his comment read the article at Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU. You can read it here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON They have another entry in their fun facts section which you can read here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts And you can view the video I made about it here ruclips.net/video/GpmMuzVWj8Y/видео.html
That is in dispute, and I should have addressed it in this video. For details about his comment you can read the article at Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU. You can read it here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON They have another entry in their fun facts section which you can read here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts And you can view the recent video I made about it here ruclips.net/video/GpmMuzVWj8Y/видео.html
@@DGHamblinFOTW Just to point out a few inaccuracies in the links you give. The first claim the name Mormon is first given as a geographical name (in Mosiah), then a personal name (in 3 Nephi). However, the first time we see the name is in 'The Words of Mormon' as a personal name. The second article makes the claim that no proper name in the Bible begins with an F, but the name Felix appears a number of times in the Book of Acts. This name also contains an X, which the article claims is not used in any names in the Bible. Besides Felix, there is also Arphaxad in the Bible that has an X. When such simple errors are made, which could easily be identified, I don't have too much confidence in the accuracy of the claims being made. As for the definition given, the first article states that, even though W. W. Phelps wrote the letter, it was edited and approved by Joseph Smith, so any claim that it wasn't Joseph Smith's words is just silly. And, given that it provides an etymology for the word, the claim that it is just metaphorical is equally silly.
Interestingly, I’ve been sharing these same thoughts with my family over the years regarding this scripture in Mosiah. I’m happy to see that others have come to the same idea. I didn’t delve into the Hebrew or Egyptian languages, I just thought it made sense that the definition would be given to explain why the word Mormon was used to describe such a place. It is also interesting to note that naming practices of Native Americans for thousands of years have reflected a deep respect for nature (crazy horse, sitting bull, Blackhawk) and would make sense that a mighty prophet such as Mormon may have been named after a such majestic creature. The bison also holds a strong spiritual connection with Native American tribes in the eastern United States.
Thank you! I agree that it is indeed satisfying to see that others have come to the same conclusion. I recently found this entry in the fun facts section of the Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU: onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts They also have an entry in their name index addressing the article in the Times and Seasons which claimed that Mormon meant "more good". The author (which BH Roberts did not think was Joseph Smith) combines an Egyptian word with a contracted form of the English word "more". But this would require the Nephite king to have a prophetic understanding of the English language and would have made no sense to his people at the time.
FWIW, there's another simpler explanation: 1. The BoM was written in "reformed Egyptian". 2. The language of Egypt is Arabic. 3. The Arabic language has no vowels. 4. In Arabic, "al Mumin" means "believer". Arab Muslims routinely call themselves and each other "Mumin", meaning they are "believers" (in Allah). 5. Translated, "al Mumin" would be written "MMN", and the reader fills in their own vowels. 6. "MMN" is the Arabic version of "Mormon". 7. Thus, a "Mormon" is a "believer" (except now it's a "win for Satan"). 8. The Book of Mormon is literally translated as "The Book of the Believers".
Thank you for your comment! That is decent logic. And you may be right. It has a few weaknesses. It does not give an explanation for why the king would have named it that. Mosiah 18:4 indicates that the king named the land Mormon because it “being in the borders of the land having been infested by times or at seasons by wild beasts.” The name should therefore have something to do with the information in v4. With such limited space to write on plates, the info in Mosiah 18:4 is there for a reason and that reason appears to be an explanation for the meaning of “Mormon”. As for its meaning in Arabic. There some connections we find between Arabic and words in the Book of Mormon. For example the Arabic word cmr and Cumorah. But the root cmr can be traced all the way back to Proto-Indo-European with little change in its meaning. Like other languages, Arabic words have multiple meanings. I have not found a source which gives your definition for Al Mumin. But it was not an exhaustive search. However, It is one of the names given Allah in the Quran. Here is one link with the meaning… understandquran.com/names-answer-16-december-2012/#:~:text=Allah%20calls%20Himself%20Al%2DMu,Faith%20and%20Security%2C%20the%20Faithful Thank you again for commenting.
The Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU has this entry in their "Fun Facts" section. Link below. onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts They also have an entry addressing the Times and Season article on the meaning. Link here: onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON
I don’t see the comment now, but I have had people in the past year claim that Joseph Smith said the name Mormon was Egyptian and meant “more good”. For details about his comment read the article at Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU. You can read it here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON They have another entry in their fun facts section which you can read here
onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts
And you can view the video I made about it here
ruclips.net/video/GpmMuzVWj8Y/видео.html
Fantastic research!
Thank you!!
Brilliant.
THANK YOU
You’re welcome!
Because they wrote in reformed Egyptian you may need a reformed Egyptian concordance. Probably exceedingly rare...
Joseph Smith said Mormon was Egyptian meaning "more good".
That is in dispute, and I should have addressed it in this video. For details about his comment you can read the article at Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU. You can read it here onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON They have another entry in their fun facts section which you can read here
onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts
And you can view the recent video I made about it here
ruclips.net/video/GpmMuzVWj8Y/видео.html
@@DGHamblinFOTW Just to point out a few inaccuracies in the links you give.
The first claim the name Mormon is first given as a geographical name (in Mosiah), then a personal name (in 3 Nephi). However, the first time we see the name is in 'The Words of Mormon' as a personal name.
The second article makes the claim that no proper name in the Bible begins with an F, but the name Felix appears a number of times in the Book of Acts. This name also contains an X, which the article claims is not used in any names in the Bible. Besides Felix, there is also Arphaxad in the Bible that has an X.
When such simple errors are made, which could easily be identified, I don't have too much confidence in the accuracy of the claims being made.
As for the definition given, the first article states that, even though W. W. Phelps wrote the letter, it was edited and approved by Joseph Smith, so any claim that it wasn't Joseph Smith's words is just silly. And, given that it provides an etymology for the word, the claim that it is just metaphorical is equally silly.
Interestingly, I’ve been sharing these same thoughts with my family over the years regarding this scripture in Mosiah. I’m happy to see that others have come to the same idea. I didn’t delve into the Hebrew or Egyptian languages, I just thought it made sense that the definition would be given to explain why the word Mormon was used to describe such a place. It is also interesting to note that naming practices of Native Americans for thousands of years have reflected a deep respect for nature (crazy horse, sitting bull, Blackhawk) and would make sense that a mighty prophet such as Mormon may have been named after a such majestic creature. The bison also holds a strong spiritual connection with Native American tribes in the eastern United States.
Thank you! I agree that it is indeed satisfying to see that others have come to the same conclusion. I recently found this entry in the fun facts section of the Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU: onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts
They also have an entry in their name index addressing the article in the Times and Seasons which claimed that Mormon meant "more good". The author (which BH Roberts did not think was Joseph Smith) combines an Egyptian word with a contracted form of the English word "more". But this would require the Nephite king to have a prophetic understanding of the English language and would have made no sense to his people at the time.
FWIW, there's another simpler explanation:
1. The BoM was written in "reformed Egyptian".
2. The language of Egypt is Arabic.
3. The Arabic language has no vowels.
4. In Arabic, "al Mumin" means "believer". Arab Muslims routinely call themselves and each other "Mumin", meaning they are "believers" (in Allah).
5. Translated, "al Mumin" would be written "MMN", and the reader fills in their own vowels.
6. "MMN" is the Arabic version of "Mormon".
7. Thus, a "Mormon" is a "believer" (except now it's a "win for Satan").
8. The Book of Mormon is literally translated as "The Book of the Believers".
Thank you for your comment! That is decent logic. And you may be right. It has a few weaknesses. It does not give an explanation for why the king would have named it that. Mosiah 18:4 indicates that the king named the land Mormon because it “being in the borders of the land having been infested by times or at seasons by wild beasts.” The name should therefore have something to do with the information in v4. With such limited space to write on plates, the info in Mosiah 18:4 is there for a reason and that reason appears to be an explanation for the meaning of “Mormon”.
As for its meaning in Arabic. There some connections we find between Arabic and words in the Book of Mormon. For example the Arabic word cmr and Cumorah. But the root cmr can be traced all the way back to Proto-Indo-European with little change in its meaning. Like other languages, Arabic words have multiple meanings. I have not found a source which gives your definition for Al Mumin. But it was not an exhaustive search. However, It is one of the names given Allah in the Quran. Here is one link with the meaning… understandquran.com/names-answer-16-december-2012/#:~:text=Allah%20calls%20Himself%20Al%2DMu,Faith%20and%20Security%2C%20the%20Faithful
Thank you again for commenting.
The Book of Mormon Onomasticon published by BYU has this entry in their "Fun Facts" section. Link below. onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=Fun_Facts
They also have an entry addressing the Times and Season article on the meaning. Link here: onoma.lib.byu.edu/index.php?title=MORMON