MORMONS AND THE BIBLE
Biblical Perspective
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away. Lk.21:33
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. II Tim 3:14-16
...(W)hen you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of man, but as it actually is, the Word of God. I Thes. 2:13
Every Word of God is flawless... do not add to His Words or He will rebuke you. Prov 30:5-6 emphasis added
And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book. Rev.22:19 emphasis added
Do not go beyond what is written. I Cor. 4:6
Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us... Ro.15:4
The foregoing verses of Scripture clearly tell us that not only is God capable of protecting the integrity of His Word, but that the Bible is complete in and of itself.
According to their own publications the Holy Bible KJV is, along with the Book of Mormon, The Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine & Covenants one of the Mormon churches four foundational books. On the surface, the Mormons appear to accept the King James translation of the Holy Bible as the inspired Word of God. Note the following often quoted statements of the Mormon church:
1) "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly."
(8th Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints)
2) "...the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the everlasting Gospel; so also does the Bible"
(Bruce McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 399) emphasis added
3)"And again, the elders, priests, and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in which is the fullness of the gospel."
(Doctrine & Covenants 42:12) emphasis added
4)"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accepts the Holy Bible as the foremost of her standard works, first among the books which have been proclaimed as her written guide in faith and doctrine."
(James Talmage, Articles of Faith p. 236). emphasis added
5)"We believe it (the New Testament) to be basically accurate, fairly complete and in the greater measure true."
(LDS Church News, Feb, 7, 1987, p. 13)
However, deeper study reveals that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has nothing but contempt for the Bible, regardless of which translation is used, to wit:
1)"Moreover, Joseph (Smith) verified the fact that critical issues pertaining to the Spirit cannot be settled alone by 'an appeal to the Bible'."
(Ensign May, 1990 p. 63) (parenthesis added)
2)"The fact is definite, however, that the Bible does not contain as comprehensive and detailed a picture of Christ's work before his birth into mortality, nor as complete a picture of the plan of redemption as does the Book of Mormon."
(Milton R. Hunter, The Gospel Through the Ages, p. 149)
3) "Even that portion of the divine word that we are qualified to receive has not been preserved for us within the covers of the Bible."
(Bruce McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith p. 397)
4) "The Bible has been robbed of its plainness; many sacred books having been lost, others rejected ... and what few we have left, were copied and recopied so many times that it is admitted that almost every verse has been corrupted and mutilated to that degree that scarcely any two of them read alike."
(Orson Pratt, The Seer, p. 213) emphasis added
5) "No one can tell whether even one verse of either the Old or New Testament conveys the ideas of the original author."
(Journal of Discourses Vol 7.p.28) emphasis added
6) "...in repeated copying of the ancient records and their repeated translations, scribes and translators took from the record the plain and precious parts because they were contrary to their beliefs or comprehension"
(Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol 1 p. 51) emphasis added
7) The Bible has "passed through generations of copyists, translators and
corrupt religionists who have tampered with it."
(Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign Jan 92, p.5) emphasis added
8) "The Bible itself is but the dead letter."
(Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 102) emphasis added
9) "It is the Book of Mormon, not the Bible that prepares men, in the full
sense, for the second coming of the Son of Man. And when the eternal ledgers
are finally balanced, more souls will have been saved in the celestial
kingdom - ten thousand times over - because of the Book of Mormon than have so obtained because of the Bible."
(A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 394) emphasis added
10) "(T)he Book of Mormon ... records the terms and conditions whereby salvation comes. And it does it with a plainness, clarity, and perfection that far
surpasses the Bible."
(Ensign, Dec. 1985, p. 55) Note, this statement is made in spite of the fact that as we clearly saw in the previous section of this study, the Book of Mormon does not teach the very doctrines which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains are necessary for complete salvation. On the otherhand, the Book of Mormon contradicts many of the teachings of the Mormon church.
11) "Thou fool, that shall say: 'A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no
more Bible."
(Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 29:6)