Why do the later versions of the Book of Mormon contain added phrases that seem to change the nature of Christ?
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Why did Joseph Smith change those verses? For clarity.
The December 1983 edition of the LDS-published Ensign magazine included the article Understanding Textual Changes in the Book of Mormon. The article addresses several types of changes including the specific ones asked about by the OP.
In a few places, however, Joseph Smith did intentionally add to the text to clarify a point. An illustration of this is the added words the son of in 1 Nephi 11:21, 32, and 13:40. The text would be correct with or without the additional words, but the addition helps the reader avoid misunderstanding.
Eternal Father is a term that can correctly refer to Jesus Christ in contexts such as father of the church (1 Corinthians 4:15, Mosiah 15:11) and father of the creation (Helaman 14:12).
Apparently Joseph Smith, as translator of the Book of Mormon, wanted to clarify that those verses were speaking of Jesus Christ and not Christ's Father. It wasn't a change of doctrine but a change to avert misinterpretation.
For further reading, see this article.
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Source: stackoverflow.com
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