Bible
According to the Mormon religion, the Bible is the inspired Word of God in so far as it is translated correctly (8th Article of Faith). LDS view it more as a human document than a divine document, and thus reject the Christian doctrine of inerrancy, believing the Bible to have errors in various places within it's text.
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It is a foundational Mormon belief that the Bible has been corrupted in its transmission and translation. In Mormonism's 13 Articles of Faith, the eighth says that "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly..." This is an ambiguous statement in that it leaves the door open for the question, "How do you know when it has been translated correctly?" The Book of Mormon goes even further saying, "Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God," (1 Nephi 13:28). The "abominable church" has traditionally been interpreted as the Christian church that went in to apostacy, and the "book" is known as the Bible.
According to contemporary Mormon Robert Millet:
- "To be sure, we believe the Bible is the word of God, that it is in fact God-breathed and is an inspired statement of actual historical events, fundamental doctrines, and life-expanding principles of truth. We love the Bible. We read it, we memorize it, and we cite it regularly in our sermons and writings. But we do not believe that one must subscribe to a notion of either scriptural inerrancy or biblical sufficiency in order to retain the kind of reverence and respect and commitment to the scriptures so necessary to a solid faith. While we are convinced that the hand of God was involved in the overall preservation of the Bible, we are realistic about the fact that scribal errors in the form of deletions, additions, and changes took place through the centuries of textural transmission" [1]
This is a very subtle way of stating that the Bible has not been preserved. Thus, as the Book of Mormon says, many "plain and precious things [have] been taken away".
[edit] King James Version only
The only Bible translation that Mormons officially use and read is the King James Version (KJV). Thus, they find other translations such as the NASB, NIV, or other similar translations to be of poor quality. They trust that those who translated the KJV in 1611 were faithful to the text and preserved the most accurate translation we possess today. It is not uncommon to hear LDS pray and use words that sound as though they are from the KJV (e.g. thy, thou...).
[edit] Quotes
- "There are many things in the Bible which do not, as they now stand, accord with the revelations of the Holy Ghost to me. " (Joseph Smith, History of The Church, 5:422-427; Sunday, June 11th, 1843. See also Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 310)
- "If it be admitted that the apostles and evangelists did write the books of the New Testament, that does not prove of itself that they were divinely inspired at the time they wrote... Add all this imperfection to the uncertainty of the translation, and who, in his right mind could for one moment suppose the Bible in its present form to be a perfect guide? Who knows that even one verse of the Bible has escaped pollution, so as to convey the same sense now that it did in the original?" - LDS Apostle Orson Pratt, Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, pp. 45-47
- "Joseph Smith claimed the Holy Ghost as his textbook (Teachings, p. 349) and made his translation of the Bible from the original language–the language in which all the revelations were originally given–the language of revelation" (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, p.236).
- "There has never been a man on the face of the earth that had greater faith in the Bible than the Prophet Joseph Smith, and save Jesus only there has never been a man who knew more about it. A library containing everything the world knows about the book would not rival his understanding. It is one thing to read the book and quite another to be instructed by its authors. Who among the world's scholars can boast of having stood face to face with Adam, Noah, a messenger from Abraham's dispensation, Moses, Elijah, John the son of Zacharias, Peter, James, and John? While religious leaders were claiming the heavens to be sealed to them, Joseph Smith was being personally tutored by these ancient prophets and had their hands laid upon his head that they might bless him and confer upon him the power, keys, and authority they held" (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism, p.236).
- "Joseph Smith spoke as one having authority. He was a living Bible, and in restoring the Book of Mormon and giving us the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants he has done more to enhance the world's understanding of the Bible than any man who ever lived in it" (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Gospel Symbolism , p.236).
- "It will be seen by this that the most plain parts of the New Testament, have been taken from it BY THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS while it was CONFINED IN THAT CHURCH,-say, from the year A. D. 460 to 1400: This is a sufficient reason for the Lord to give command to have it translated a new: Notwithstanding King James' translators did very well, all knowing that they had only the common faculties of men and literature, without the spirit of Revelation." -Evening & Morning Star, Vol. I, Independence, Mo. June 1832, No. 1, page 2
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- We Believe the Bible?, by Sharon Lindbloom
- The Bible: Restored and Revised, by Sharon Lindbloom - "Joseph Smith's revision of the Bible"
[edit] Mormon
- Reflections on the Documentary Hypothesis, by Kevin Barney - Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 33 No. 1, Spring 2000: 57-99
- The Bible's Plain and Precious Things - Were they removed by the G&A Church After Christ?, by Joseph Antley
