Holy Bible vs. The Book Of Mormon

Bible vs. Book of Mormon

Widely considered the Mormon Bible, the Book of Mormon is a very misunderstood book. First, it isn’t the Mormon Bible. They are alike in a few ways however.

1.       They are grammatically structured very similarly
2.          They contain a story that happens in Jerusalem
3.          They contain accounts of prophets that are called by God
4.         Christ is not only mentioned but appears in both texts
5.         They hold an account of the people of God
6.          They teach the doctrine of God

How are they different…. That is a very long list because you can mention all the different prophets and stories and events, etc. But here is the biggest detail of how they are different.

Bible

The history of the Bible includes the original writers of the books within the text. The Bible is basically the notes, journals and records kept by the people who followed god, or in some cases didn’t follow his teaching, piled into one big religious text book. Now as most people know, the Bible wasn’t always readily available for anyone seeking the word of god after its complete compilation (old and/or new testament). Pastors, priests, popes and other religious heads were the only ones with the literacy knowledge and access to read and study these books. Being human, they all had flaws. If one were the only person to view the important text and preach it to the masses, they could interpret the Bible any way they wish. They can even claim messages to come from the book (even if they don’t) just to fit whatever belief or theory they have, true or not.

Just like with any poetic text or quote or any group of words really, there can be multiple meanings derived. While a young child can read the phrase “Tom looked at the blue curtains and cried” and get “A man looked at curtains then proceeded to cry” while an educated scholar will understand that the blue curtains represent the sadness in Tom’s life. Tom realizes this and begins to cry to release all those emotions.” While both meanings are true, they mean different things to different people depending on age, experience, and even the circumstances that they read that passage.

Because of the multiple interpretations of a single passage and the changing or adding of passages to the Bible to fit one’s own beliefs or theories, there came many versions of the Bible. More came into existence when the Bible was able to be mass printed for the world. Translations came about. Those translations can be edited through the straining of multiple languages. If one were to take a passage from the Bible in Hebrew, translate that into Egyptian, translate that into Greek, then into Spanish, then French, Latin, German and then back into Hebrew, the passage will be completely altered with the original meaning all twisted around or lost completely.

Many versions of the Bible have been published to try an eradicate all the lost meanings that have come about because of the translating errors and preachers altered copies. All of this has caused over 100,000 versions of the Bible to be translated and published.

With so many versions of the Bible and so many different yet similar sects of Christianity, which version is the original. Which translation of the Bible is the most like what the was written down by Moses, Samuel, the apostles, and other prophets with their original meanings still intact? Hard game to navigate, right?

While the many versions of the Bible are similar in many ways, there are lots of big differences between verses along with small ones as well that change the message originally intended by God. It is the same with the sects of Christianity. There is the constant belief in heaven, but the difference in who gets to go to heaven and how one and get to heaven. All this confusion can cause many to explore different sects and even religions to see which one they believe to be the intended gospel and teaching of God and Jesus. Some may even not claim one religion and study different versions of the scripture to decide for themselves what they wish to believe in.

This confusion was evident in a young 14-year-old boy living Manchester New York. I will talk about him more in a second. For now, let’s go into the history of the Book of Mormon text.

Book Of Mormon 

Now the Book of Mormon was also written by many prophets called by god, but this time, they all inhabited a land which is now called the Americas.  So while the Bible is the account of God’s people in Jerusalem and its surrounding counties (the old land) the Book of Mormon is an account of the people in the Americas (the new land). Just like the Bible, it contains multiple books written by different people that was all joined together into one book. But while speculations arise with the Bible as to who was the person that combined all those journals and records together into one book and if any other journals and records were not included for other speculated reasons, the Book of Mormon in fact, has that very information within its own text.

There were many records kept in a few different languages and on either paper or brass plates. There was a general and a prophet of God by the name of Mormon. He lived many years after Christ, (so there is an account of Christ and his teachings in the Book of Mormon). He was tasked by his mentor to continue the work of compiling those journals and records together. He would trust in the lord and follow revelation given to him about what records to add into this compilation and what to leave out. The things that were added in where only what was important to God to have known to the future generations that would read this text (cough us cough). So, things such as, “I’m Daniel and today I met this beautiful girl names Sarah who has the prettiest hair and eyes and her smile is just gorgeous and I wish I could kiss her and marry her. Hey Daniel again, turned out that Sarah wasn’t very nice so I am now in love with this other girl named Tanya…” were left out because they have no significance to the truths that God wants his children to know.

Mormon completed a lot of work in compiling those important journals and text, but he died before it was completed. His son, Moroni, was the one to not only complete that work, but was also the last surviving person of his people, the Nephites (see Chapter 9 of the Book of Moroni in The Book of Mormon). Once the book was completed Moroni traveled long and far to be able to keep that record safe from anyone that would wish to destroy it before it could reach the future generations that would need it’s teaching and information (cough cough US cough cough). He buried it in the ground along with a few other spiritual artifacts of his people and soon died.

Fast forward to 1820. Many different Christian religions are preaching similar yet vastly different doctrines. A 14 year old boy by the name of Joseph Smith Jr., living in Manchester New York, is confused by the “war of words” (verse 10 of Joseph Smith – History in the Pear of Great Price). He studies the words of God in his family’s copy of the Bible, prays, studies and counsels with different religious leaders and studies and studies and studies to find the answer to which Christian sect was the correct one, the one that was uses the true word of God and nothing else.

Finally, after a wondrous experience involving God, Christ, and prayer, (see verses 14-20 of Joseph Smith-History in the Pearl of Great Price for the full story of what happened to Joseph in 1820.) Joseph received revelation that none of the sects of the Christian church were correct. In fact, the true and FULL gospel and teaching of Christ and God didn’t exist in any of the religions that were on the earth.

Joseph proceeded to join none of the churches in his youth. But in the year 1823 (three years after Joseph received that revelation) he was visited by the angel Moroni late at night (yes the same Moroni who finished the Book or Mormon and hid it in the ground). 

Moroni revealed to Joseph that there was a record of the people that once lived in the Americas (his people). Moroni continued to tell Joseph where the record was buried (Shocker! It is a hill or drumlin in Manchester, the town in which Joseph lived). While Joseph was told of this book and its location, he was even taken to the site as well, it would be many years before he would be allowed to take the record from its resting place and begin the proper translation of the records into English.

Now that I have laid out the history of the each book, let’s compare.

The Bible when through many translations and editing’s before it was mass produced to the public after its final compilation. Who compiled it is unknown. Why is unknown and if other such records were not included is unknown. There are many people who contribute to the multiple versions of this sacred religious text. Which version is correct is a frequently asked question about the book.

The Book of Mormon was translated directly from its original language to English through the power of God (so it’s the real true word). Who compiled the original text is known (mostly Mormon). It is known that there are a lot of other records that were not included because they were not as important to God for future followers (US) to learn and understand. The frequently asked questions about the book isn’t whether which version of the book is true (because there is only one version that has been properly translated into multiple languages from its original source). The question that is asked about the book is “Is the Book of Mormon true?”

There is more detail as to the history of the Book of Mormon and its history isn’t messy and results in many, many, many, versions of the text unlike the Bible.

Does this mean the Bible isn’t true? Do Mormons even read the Bible and follow its teachings?  

As an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka Mormon) I can tell you that I own a copy of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon and I read both when studying the gospel.

Joseph Smith once wrote a letter to John Wentworth  explaining, very simply, the Mormon religion’s basic beliefs. They are called the Articles of Faith. The young children have fun throughout their youth trying to memorize these articles. Just like memorizing Bible verses, memories the 13 Articles of Faith can help children, teens, and even adult tell other about what they believe.

The 8^th Article of Faith goes as follows:

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

The key point that is made is that while the Book of Mormon IS the word of God, the Bible is only the word of God when it is TRANSLATED CORRECTLY.

So, which version do Mormons believe is the most true. Key word most, Joseph still when back through the Bible with the power of God and added foots notes and even full true translations/corrections to it in an appendix of the Bible that can be purchased through any LDS associated store (mainly Deserate Book). The version of the Bible that I own is the King James Version with the added footnotes and correct translations/corrections made by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

You know, Stokes, this is all great to know, but how do you even know the Book of Mormon and that version of the Bible are even true?

Great question. For one, at the end of the Book of Mormon, Moroni challenges the reader of the book to seek out the truths for themselves. Don’t just blindly believe what everyone tells you without proof basically. How do you find proof of stuff that has no evidence (there is a lot of evidence that the events in the Book of Mormon are true, I suggest researching that, it’s one of my favorite topics!) As readers, we are asked to pray with an open heart and mind about whether or not the book we just finished reading was true or not. I have done that and felt an over whelming feeling that of course this book is true.

Now I am not just a blind believer that trusts whatever she sees feels and reads all the time. No. Throughout school I loved the subject of science. There are truths about science that I cannot argue with, thus are true. I am a very logical thinking person. I won’t believe something unless I understand it and it is very, very, logical. So why do I believe that this silly book is true just from a prayer and a feeling? I don’t. In fact, the first time I actually took that challenge and prayed about the book after finishing reading it, I not only felt its truth a but a voice in my head told me “You know it’s true.” I was 17 when that happened. I had been a member of the church my entire life and I didn’t fully read the Book of Mormon and pray about its truth until I was 8 months away from becoming a legal adult. So how did I already know it was true?

Logic. One, I have done research on the historical evidence about the truth of the event of the Book of Mormon such as battles fought, people that lived and so on (I definitely suggest doing that research!). So logically if these wars depicted in the book actually happened then the rest of the book should be true as well. Yes, but not necessarily.

Did you know that the Bible mentions the people in the Book of Mormon along with the Book of Mormon its self? Don’t believe it? Read John 10:16. Christ mentions having other sheep then his followers there in Jerusalem. He will also visit them. Now, his apostles and followers understood the other sheep which are not of this fold to be the gentiles surround Jerusalem. But the Bible and history shows that Christ never visited them. So did Christ just lie?

No, Christ never lies, it is a sin, and he is sinless.

But in the book of 3^rd Nephi of the Book of Mormon, Christ ministered among the people of the America’s (chapters 11-26). He also said a similar line to the Nephites there.

3^rd Nephi 15:21 – And Verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold;

Christ also explains how his followers depicted in the Bible misinterpreted that line in verses 22-24

So, with the evidence of the event in the Book of Mormon, the feeling I received when I prayed to God with an open heart, and the verses in 3^rd Nephi Chapter 15 that fulfill the statement made by Christ in St. John Chapter 10, I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is the true word of the Lord through my feelings, research, and logic. Because if the verse in the Bible is true, then the account in the Book of Mormon is true as well.