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Interview transcript available below In this episode, we welcome back Jerry Smith who has been on the Leading Saints podcast before. I will remember, yeah, he is the author of Schooling the Prophet, How the Book of Mormon Influenced Joseph Smith and the Early Restoration. Jerry is originally from Salt Lake City and served his mission in Boston, Massachusetts area and later returned there to continue his college education. He now teaches in the School of Business at Boston College and also teaches institute classes at the Boston LDS Institute. He has served as bishop three times and in a stake presidency and in many other church callings.  Specifically in this episode we talk about a very interesting subject regarding the changes or corrections ancient prophets made in the Book of Mormon text— not grammatical changes that Joseph Smith made or others in the translation of the Book of Mormon, but changes ancient prophets themselves made, anciently as they were actually writing this and why they made it. Through this discussion we discuss the concept of every leader being human and making errors from time to time as they are given a daunting task of leading. We sometimes hold up these Book of Mormon prophets as impeccable leaders. In reality, they were human and we can see a lot of their mortality through their writings in the Book of Mormon but that makes it very rich. It makes it real and we can learn more about the Book of Mormon, about these prophets, about the personalities and so I think you will enjoy this conversation as I geek out with Jerry about the extemporaneous changes that we see in the Book of Mormon.  Links: Improvisation and Extemporaneous Change in the Book of Mormon (Part 1: Evidence of an Imperfect, Authentic, Ancient Work of Scripture) Improvisation and Extemporaneous Change in the Book of Mormon (Part 2: Structural Evidences of Earlier Ancient versus Later Modern Constructions) Jerry Smith's first interview on the Leading Saints podcast Schooling the Prophet, How the Book of Mormon Influenced Joseph Smith and the Early Restoration Understanding the Book of Mormon: A Reader's Guide, by Grant Hardy Interview Transcript Jerry Smith: Well, Kurt, nice to just talk to you again. Kurt Francom: Now you are originally from Boston and you just happened to be in Salt Lake so we thought let's get together and talk about something. Jerry Smith: I'm actually originally from Salt Lake City. Kurt Francom: [00:03:30] Oh right, yes, but you've lived there. Jerry Smith: I've lived in Boston for 40 years, so does that count as a Bostonian? Kurt Francom: Well, you're the better judge of that than I am. We talked prior in a previous interview, which I encourage all to check out about your book called Schooling the Prophet: How the Book of Mormon Influenced the Early Restoration. Did I get that subtitle right? Jerry Smith: Almost, How the Book of Mormon Influenced Joseph Smith's Restoration. Kurt Francom: Oh yes, of course. That was a fascinating interview and also, I read the book and I encourage people to check that out and learn more about [00:04:00] that, but now, we wanted to connect and talk about some articles that you've been researching and putting together about, I don't know how you would frame it exactly but some of the adjustments that are found in the Book of Mormon, in that scripture and the way they are manifested, right? Jerry Smith: Yes. This is a discovery. These are discoveries I guess that I came across as I was researching the book Schooling the Prophet, and I was especially interested in Joseph Smith's interaction with the Book of Mormon and therefore, [00:04:30] what did he read, what did he see, what did he assimilate into his thinking, how did it influence his revelations, and in the process of that, I discovered these absolutely fascinating spontaneous changes and I'll describe those as we go along, but yes, so that's exactly it.