I Will Not Burn the Book

I Will Not Burn the Book

BY DON VINCENZO DI FRANCESCA

Don Vincenzo di Francesca, a young priest from Italy, when he was visiting New York City in 1910, discovered a dirty, discarded book that was to change his life. This is his story in his own words as published in Liahona, June, 1988.

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As I think back to the events in my life leading to a cold morning in New York City in February1910, I am convinced that God had been mindful of my existence. That morning the caretaker of the Italian chapel delivered a note to me from the pastor. He was ill in bed and wished me to come to his house, as he had important matters to discuss regarding the affairs of the parish.

As I walked down a street near the harbor, the strong wind from the sea moved the pages of a book lying on a barrel full of ashes. The appearance of the pages and the binding made me think that it was a religious book. Curiosity pushed me to approach it. I picked it up and beat it against the barrel to knock off the ashes. It was printed in the English language, but when I looked to the title page, I found it was torn away.

The force of the wind turned the pages, and I hastily read Alma, Mosiah, Mormon, Moroni, Isaiah, Lamanites—except for Isaiah, all were names I had never before heard. I wrapped the book in a newspaper I had bought nearby and continued my walk toward the pastor’s house.

After a few words of comfort there, I decided what I should do for him. On the way home, I wondered who the people with the strange names might be. And who was this Isaiah? Was he the one in the Bible, or some other Isaiah?

At home, I seated myself before the window, anxious to know what was printed in the book. As I turned the torn pages and read the words of Isaiah, I was convinced that it was a religious book that talked of things to come. But I did not know the name of the church that taught such doctrine, because the cover and title page had been ripped off. The declaration of the witnesses gave me confidence that it was a true book.

I then bought some cleaning fluid and some cotton at the neighborhood drugstore and began cleaning the pages. For several hours I read the remainder of the pages, which gave me light and knowledge and made me wonder about the source from which this fresh revelation had come. I read and reread, twice and twice again, and I felt that the book was a fifth gospel of the Redeemer.

At the end of the day, I locked the door of my room, knelt with the book in my hands, and read chapter ten of the book of Moroni. I prayed to God, the Eternal Father, in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, to tell me if the book were of God, if it were good and true, and if I should use its words with the words of the four gospels in my preaching.

I felt my body become cold as the wind from the sea. Then my heart began to beat faster, and a feeling of gladness, as of finding something precious and extraordinary, comforted my soul and left me with a joy that human language cannot find words to describe. I had received the assurance that God had answered my prayer and that the book was of greatest benefit to me and to all who would listen to its words.

I continued my services in the parish, but my preaching was mixed with the new words of the book. The members of my congregation were so interested that they became dissatisfied with my colleagues’ sermons. When members began leaving the chapel during their sermons and remained when I occupied the pulpit, my colleagues became angry with me.

The beginning of real discord began Christmas Eve, 1910. In my sermon that evening, I told the story of the birth and mission of Jesus Christ as given in my new book. When I had finished, some of my colleagues publicly contradicted all I had said. They denounced me and turned me over to the Committee of Censure for disciplinary action.

When I appeared before this committee, the members gave what they supposed to be fatherly advice. They counseled me to burn the book, which they said was of the devil, since it had caused so much trouble and had destroyed the harmony of the pastoral brothers. I replied, “I will not burn the book because of the fear of God. I have asked him if it were true, and my prayer was answered affirmatively and absolutely, which I feel again in my soul as I defend his cause now.” I felt then that the day would come when the source of the book would be known to me and I would be able to enjoy the effects of the faith that led me to solemnly resist the Committee of Censure.

Not until 1914 was I once again brought before the council. A church official spoke in a friendly way, suggesting that the sharp words at the previous hearing may have provoked me, which was regrettable, since they all loved me. However, he said, I must remember that obedience is the rule and that I must burn the book.

I could not deny the words of the book nor burn it, since in so doing I would offend God. I said that I looked forward with joy to the time when the church to which the book belonged would be made known to me and I could become part of it. “Enough! Enough!” the official cried. He then read the decision, of the council: I was to lose my position as a pastor of the church and of every right and privilege I had previously enjoyed.

In November 1914, I was back in my native Italy, and called to serve in the Italian army and fought in France. Once I told some men in my company the story of the people of Ammon—how they had refused to shed the blood of their brothers and had buried their weapons rather than be guilty of such great crimes. The chaplain reported me to the commanding officer, and the next day I was escorted to his office. He asked me to tell him the story I had told. Then he asked how I had come into possession of the book. I received as punishment a ten-day sentence of bread and water, with the order that I was to speak no more of the book.

After the end of the war, I returned to New York, where I met an old friend, a pastor of my former church. He interceded for me with the synod, and I was finally admitted to the congregation as a lay member. As an experiment, it was agreed that I should accompany one of the pastors on a mission to New Zealand and Australia.

In Australia, we met some Italian immigrants who asked questions about the errors in some Bible translations. They were not satisfied with my companion’s answers. When they asked me about it, I once again told the story of Christ’s appearance to the people of America. When they asked me where I had learned such teachings, I told them of the book I had found. The story was good to them but bad for my colleague. He reported me to the synod, and once again they cut me off from the church.

I returned to Italy shortly after. Then, in May 1930, while looking in a French dictionary for some information, I suddenly saw the entry “Mormon.” I read the words carefully and found that a Mormon Church had been established in 1830 and that this church operated a university at Provo [Brigham Young University, Utah]. I wrote to the university president, asking for information about the book and its missing pages. I received an answer two weeks later telling me that my letter had been passed on to the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

On June 16, 1930, President Heber J. Grant answered my letter and sent a copy of the Book of Mormon in Italian. He informed me that he would also give my request to Elder John A. Widtsoe, president of the European Mission, with headquarters in Liverpool, England. A few days later, Elder Widtsoe wrote to me, sending me a pamphlet that contained the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the gold plates, and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Finally, I had learned the rest of the story of the torn book I had found on top of a barrel of ashes.

On June 5, 1932, Elder Widtsoe came to Naples to baptize me, but a revolution had started in Sicily, and the police at Palermo refused to let me leave the island. The following year, Elder Widtsoe asked me to translate the Joseph Smith pamphlet into Italian and to have 1,000 copies published. I took my translation to a printer, Joseph Gussio, who took the material to a Catholic bishop. The bishop ordered the printer to destroy the material. I sued the printer, but all I received from the court was an order to him to return the original booklet.

When Elder Widtsoe was released as president of the mission in 1934, I started correspondence with Elder Joseph F. Merrill, who succeeded him. He arranged to send me the Millennial Star, which I received until 1940 when World War II interrupted the subscription.

Elder Joseph F. Merrill was the grandfather of Hyde M. Merrill, 

the husband of my life's best friend Roxanne.

In January 1937, Elder Richard R. Lyman, successor to President Merrill, wrote that he and Elder Hugh B. Brown would be in Rome on a certain day. I could meet them there and be baptized. However, the letter was delayed because of war conditions, and I did not receive it in time.

From then until 1949, I was cut off from all news of the Church, but I remained a faithful follower and preached the gospel of the dispensation of the fulness of times. I had copies of the standard works, and I translated chapters into Italian and sent them to acquaintances with the greeting, “Good day. The morning breaks—Jehovah speaks!”

On February 13, 1949, I sent a letter to Elder Widtsoe at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City. Elder Widtsoe answered my letter on October 3, 1950, explaining that he had been in Norway. I sent him a long letter in reply in which I asked him to help me to be quickly baptized, because I felt that I had proven myself to be a faithful son and servant of God, observing the laws and commandments of his kingdom. Elder Widtsoe asked President Samuel E. Bringhurst of the Swiss-Austrian Mission to go to Sicily to baptize me.

On January 18, 1951, President Bringhurst arrived on the island and baptized me at Imerese. Apparently, this was the first baptism performed in Sicily. Then, on April 28, 1956, I entered the temple at Bern, Switzerland, and received my endowment. At last, to be in the presence of my Heavenly Father! I felt that God’s promise had been fully fulfilled—the day had come indeed when the source of the book was known to me and I was able to enjoy the effects of my faith.

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Below, a photo of the actual copy of The Book of Mormon that Vincenzo found (and his own photo)

Brother Francesca, born 23 September, 1888, died 18 November, 1966 strong in the faith, having completed temple work for himself and a number of others.

                                                        

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The Changing Finnish Bible

STEP BACK 

In a private account of my life experiences, I had included this article about how the Finnish Bible—in particular—had evolved and how the text was "changed" to support a key doctrine in the Lutheran dogma. This is a copy of that entry from 2003.

“Muuttuva Raamattu” (The Changing Bible) would clearly be  a blasphemous concept in the eyes of the Lutheran clergy. But it was the least of my concerns when I set out to put together an article with that title for our mission magazine, Valkeus. Though I was in virtually daily contact with the pastors in my parish via religion classes in high school, their views and cynical comments about my new-found faith did nothing but strengthen my resolve.

The impetus  for my research was just a portion of one verse in the Bible (Genesis 1:26):  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...” or, “Ja Jumala sanoi: ‘Tehkäämme ihminen kuvaksemme, kaltaiseksemme...’” Translated literally that says “And God said, ‘Let us make man to be our image (picture), to be like us...’”

Not many nuances there between those, but here’s where the plot thickens.

To better understand the intent here, let me go back in history, way back to Martin Luther.  As we know, he wanted the Bible in the hands of the common people, and translated it from Greek into his native language, German. It was first published in 1534, though Luther kept working on refining his work until his martyrdom in 1546. This translation is considered to be largely responsible for the evolution of the modern German language.

Martin Luther and the first German Bible as he translated it. Joseph Smith declared that Luther’s translation of the Bible is the most correct among all the other translations.

Now let us travel North to Finland. The same condition of illiteracy and ignorance prevailed in Finland that had prompted Luther to do something about it in his own country. Meet Mikael Agricola, a clergyman who became the de facto founder of written Finnish and a prominent proponent of the Protestant Reformation in Finland. He is often called the father of the Finnish written language.  Agricola was consecrated as the bishop of Turku  in 1554. As a result, he began a reform of the the Finnish church along Lutheran lines. Using the Luther’s German Bible as his source, he translated the New Testament. His other works include the prayer book, hymns, and the mass into Finnish, and through this work set the rules of orthography that are the basis of modern Finnish spelling. His thoroughgoing work is particularly remarkable in that he accomplished it in only three years. 

The first translation of the whole Bible was the so-called Vanha kirkko-raamattu (Old Church Bible), titled Biblia, Se on: Coco Pyhä Ramattu Suomexi (Bible, That is: The Entire Holy Bible in Finnish). This edition was published in 1642. 

As the Finnish written and spoken language evolved during the centuries and literacy became commonplace also amongst the laypeople, need for a new edition arose. The so-called Biblia or Vuoden 1776 raamattu (Year 1776 Bible) was published in that year. It was the first edition meant not only to ecclesiastical but also to domestic use, and first written in Modern Finnish.

Again a new translation was needed in the early 20th century, and a committee for translation was set 1911. It had its work ready 1933. Full edition of Bible was published in 1938. It was translated by the Finnish Lutheran Church, and intended to Lutheran use.

(I might interject here, Why Lutheran use? If it is the word of God, should it not be such as can be used by anyone? Or, as follows here, Just what would make the revision “ecumenical”?)

The latest official Finnish translation dates from 1992, the so-called Uusi kirkkoraamattu (New Church Bible). It is the first Finnish ecumenical edition; the translation committee consisted not only of the representatives of the Finnish Lutheran Church, but also of academics and representatives of Finnish Orthodox Church and Finnish Catholic Church, and is intended for  use of all Christian denominations.

Now that we have a taste of the Finnish church history, it’s time to get to the point of this study.

I am not quite sure why I was so attracted to the creation story, but I would guess it was because the nature of Godhead was such a large issue to me in those days as a new convert. I could not comprehend the Trinity doctrine of the Lutheran church, so the teaching of a loving God with flesh and bones who is separate from His Son and the Holy Ghost was like water in a desert. And it was not a mirage!

Somehow I had stumbled on an early Finnish Bible that clearly spoke of God being a tangible being, like us. When I was hired to work as a guide in a museum in Joensuu during the summer holidays, I was drawn to the old Bibles on display, and then finally decided it would be fine if I unlocked the glass cases where the books lay and checked that one passage of scripture. It turned out to be a gold mine!

The museum was located in the basement of this building, called Karjalantalo, or The Karelia House. Incidentally, the Joensuu Branch met here for a time when we had no other place.

In the museum, I had access to the first complete Finnish Bible. Can you believe my luck! Well, actually, I did not consider it luck but a blessing, for that opened the floodgates to all sorts of rumination. 

I will quote the passage in question in Finnish by years of publication, and then explain how it is different from the other ones. (Note: the years of publication are not the same as years of revision, yet they reveal the changes that have relevance in the doctrine of the Godhead. These are the ones that I found in the museum.)  

1642

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkäm Ihminen meidän cuvaxem joca meidän muotoisem on.

And God said: let us make Human to be our image who is shaped like us.

1758

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkämme Ihminen meidän cuvaxemme, meidän muotomme jälken.

And God said: let us make Human to be our image, after our shape.

1840

Pretty much the same, except for one letter, to make it more Finnish: c changed to k in the word kuvaxemme.

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkämme Ihminen meidän kuvaxemme, meidän muotomme jälken.

And God said: let us make Human to be our image, after our shape.

1893, 1911, 1923

Again, pretty much the same, except for a few letters, to make it more Finnish

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkäämme Ihminen meidän kuvaksemme, meidän muotomme jälkeen.

And God said: let us make Human to be our image, after our shape.

In 1927 version, the meaning was changed by one single word:

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkäämme Ihminen meidän kuvaksemme, meidän kaltaiseksemme.

And God said: let us make Human to be our image, like us.

“Like us” is a pretty loaded change. Now it is explained that it means “eternal like God,” and removes the supposition that God might have a body of flesh and bones, glorified and exalted. 

1938

Again, pretty much the same, except for dropping the word “meidän” before “kaltaiseksemme”, to make it more modern and fluent Finnish

Ja Jumala sanoi: tehkäämme Ihminen meidän kuvaksemme, kaltaiseksemme.

1992

Jumala sanoi: "Tehkäämme ihminen, tehkäämme hänet kuvaksemme, kaltaiseksemme.

God said: “Let us make Human, let us make him to be our image, our likeness.

I don’t know why in the revision, there is the repetition of “let us make” or why the word “meidän”(“our”)  is excluded, but there they are—or not.

Incidentally, the Bible that I studied and preached from was the 1938 edition. 

So that’s it for this time.

Here’s the article from the magazine, written in 1963, just before I graduated from high school. The article was one of the requirements for—have you heard of this?—the Golden Gleaner Award which I received. Part of the reason for the research and writing was my hope that the missionaries would find the article useful, but it is possible that the language was too high-flying. Even then, and especially then, since it was Finnish, my mother-tongue, I was quite verbose.