Posted on 01/10/2006 4:14:51 AM PST by Quester
Contradictions Between the Book of Mormon and the Bible
Copyright © 1999 Institute for Religious Research. All rights reserved.
There are many serious objections to the claim of Joseph Smith and the LDS church that the Book of Mormon is divinely inspired latter-day scripture supplemental to the Bible. However, none are more significant than the numerous contradictions between Book of Mormon teaching and the Bible. This list is illustrative only, not exhaustive.
1. The Book of Mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature (Moroni 8:8). In contrast, the Bible in Psalm 51:5 clearly teaches that we have sinful nature from birth: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (NIV). (This does not mean that those who die in infancy are lost.*)
2. The Book of Mormon teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit was necessary so that they could have children and bring joy to mankind (2 Nephi 2:23-25). In contrast, the Bible specifically declares that Adam’s transgression was a sinful act of rebellion that unleashed the power of sin and death in the human heart and throughout God’s perfect world (Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 5:12; 8:20-21). There is no Biblical support for the view that Adam and Eve could only fulfill the command to "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28) by disobeying God’s command regarding the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17). The Book of Mormon teaching that these divine commands are contradictory, and that God expected Adam and Eve to figure out that in reality He wanted them to break the latter command ("of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it") in order to keep the former ("be fruitful and multiply"), has no basis in logic or the Biblical text, and attributes equivocation to God.
3. The Book of Mormon teaches that black skin is a sign of God’s curse, so that white-skinned people are considered morally and spiritually superior to black skinned people (2 Nephi 5:21). In contrast, the Bible teaches that God "made of one blood all nations of men" (Acts 17:26, KJV), that in Christ distinctions of ethnicity, gender and social class are erased (Galatians 3:28), and that God condemns favoritism (James 2:1).
4. The Book of Mormon teaches that, "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23; see also Moroni 10:32). In contrast, the Bible teaches that apart from Christ we are dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1,5) and unable to do anything to merit forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation is wholly of grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6; Titus 3:5-6), not by grace plus works. Good works are a result, not the basis, of a right relationship with God (Ephesians 2:10).
5. According to the Book of Mormon, about 600 years before Christ, a Nephite prophet predicted that "many plain and precious parts" (1 Nephi 13:26-28) would be removed from the Bible. In contrast, from the Bible it is clear that during His earthly ministry, Jesus himself constantly quoted from the Old Testament Scriptures, and showed full confidence in their completeness and accurate transmission as they had survived down to His time. Jesus declared that "heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away" (Mark 13:31; see also Matthew 5:18), and promised His disciples who were to pen the New Testament that the Holy Ghost "shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26); Jesus further promised the apostles that they would "bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" (John 15:16). These promises clearly imply that the fruit of the apostles — the New Testament Scriptures and the Christian church — would endure.
6. According to a Book of Mormon prophecy (Helaman 14:27), at the time of Christ’s crucifixion "darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days." In contrast, the New Testament gospel accounts declare repeatedly that there was darkness for only three hours while Jesus was on the cross (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44).
An earlier prophecy in 1 Nephi 19:10 implies the three days of darkness will be more than regional in scope for it says this sign will be "unto those who inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel." The darkness then would extend over the ocean to the islands and reach as far as Israel in the Middle East.
Book of Mormon references to the fulfillment of this prophecy, however, use wording that could be understood to mean the three days of darkness was only in the Americas, stating that the three days of darkness would be "over the face of the land." (3 Nephi 8:3ff; 10:9). This appears to be the position of the late Mormon General Authority B.H. Roberts in his book Studies of the Book of Mormon, p. 292). If this is the case, then this would resolve the apparent contradiction between the Bible and the Book of Mormon regarding what happened at the time of Christ's death, for we would have 3 hours of darkness in Israel and 3 days of darkness on the American continents. However, this would make the earlier prophecies of 1 Nephi and Helaman internally contradictory with later BOM references, since their phrasing of "the isles of the sea ... those who are of the house of Israel" and "the whole face of the whole earth" is difficult to understand as merely a localized time of darkness.
7. The Book of Mormon people are said to have observed "all things according to the law of Moses (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:24). However, although they are supposed to have been Hebrews, they were descendents of the tribe of Joseph (1 Nephi 5:17) or Manasseh (Alma 10:3), not the tribe of Levi and family line of Aaron, as the Law of Moses dictates (Numbers 3:10; Exodus 29:9; Numbers 18:1-7), so they would not have had a legitimate priesthood.
8. According to the Book of Mormon, there were many high priests serving at the same time (Mosiah 11:11; Alma 13:9-10; 46:6,38; Helaman 3:25) in the New World, among those it describes as Jewish immigrants from ancient Israel who "kept the law of Moses" (e.g., 2 Nephi 25:10; Jacob 4:5; Jarom 1:5). In contrast, it is clear from the Bible that only one individual at a time occupied the office of high priest under the Old Testament dispensation (see, for example Leviticus 21:10; Matthew 26:3; Hebrews 8:6-7). (The mention in Luke 3:2 of "Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests" is not a real exception -- in Christ’s time Israel was under the domination of the Romans, who intervened to change the high priest at will. That is, this office became a kind of "political football," rather than following the appointment process dictated in the Law of Moses. See John 18:13, which describes Annas as "father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.")
9. The people described in the Book of Mormon operated multiple temples (Alma 16:13; 23:2; 26:29). This violates the dictates of the Old Testament Scriptures on two counts: First, God commanded Israel to build only one temple to reflect that fact that there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 12:5,13-14; 16:5-6). Second, the one legitimate temple was to be built in Jerusalem (Zion), the location designated by God (The Old Testament is filled with explicit references to God choosing Jerusalem [Zion] as the place where "His name would dwell" in the temple: for example, 1 Kings 8:44,48; 11:13,32,36; 14:21; 2 Kings 21:7; 23:27; 1 Chronicles 28:4; 2 Chronicles 6:6; 7:12,16; Psalm 78:68-69; Isaiah 18:7.
10. The most common biblical terms used to describe the Old Testament priesthood, temple and appointed feasts, are entirely missing from the Book of Mormon. Here are 10 examples of such biblical terms with their frequencies, that never appear once in the Book of Mormon:
"laver" (13 times in Bible)
"incense" (121 times in Bible)
"ark of the covenant" (48 times in Bible)
"sons of Aaron" (97 times in Bible)
"mercy seat" (23 in Bible)
"day of atonement" (21 times in Bible)
"feast of tabernacles" (17 times in Bible)
"passover" (59 times in Bible)
"house of the LORD" (627 in Bible)
"Aaron" – this name appears 48 times in the Book of Mormon, but never in reference to the biblical Aaron or the Aaronic priesthood
Conclusion: The contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the Book of Mormon as Latter-day scripture that is supplemental to the Bible. The Bible came first, not the Book of Mormon. And whereas the Bible is organically linked to the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ by extensive surviving manuscript evidence going back as far as A.D. 125-30, the Book of Mormon is wholly lacking in any such evidences of ancient origin.
Is it not reasonable, therefore, to make the Bible the standard for judging the Book of Mormon, and not the other way around? If we accept the Bible as our "measuring stick" for spiritual truth, the Book of Mormon must be rejected.
— Luke P. Wilson
My BS is in Life.
My BS is from the School of Hard Knocks.
How about yours?
Same School
I've been doing great! Trying to cut back on computer time to have a life. :) I think I am just about finished on this thread...
My apologies to you. I was thinking in my head some churches spend a lot of time doing that, but not all. I shouldn't have made a generalization.
Revelation and seeing the future are two different things. Unfortunately, Mark Hoffman conned a lot of people, including members and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
As far as the church hiding the documents they bought from Mark Hoffman, not true. I know people who work in the historian's library/office/archives and they have full access to those documents, any document. Researchers do too, even non-Mormons do. Of course, that doesn't fit in with your theory that all evil emanates from the LDS church. I won't argue this point anymore.
Why did Christ establish a church and an organization then? Why did he establish baptism by immersion in His name?
I agree with your theory that perhaps you don't have to belong to a church to be Christ-like, I have a friend who eschews any kind of organized religion, and she is one of the kindest most generous person I know. ButThere are many reasons I go to church, one is to fellowship with others that have the same beliefs I have. Another is to worship Jesus Christ, and to learn more about Him. Another is that devoting a day to worship of Christ reminds me weekly of what I should be doing and how I should be living my life, which is the way He taught us.
Again, I will leave it to Christ to judge me, to judge if I follow His teachings, treat people in a Christ-like manner, etc.
**So you're saying the Catholics and all other religions apostatized. Could this mean you're saying their Church isn't true?**
The Catholic Church was here long before any other churches. Might want to check your views of aposotasy.
The first council is even in the Bible!
Long live our Christian brothers, the Mormons!
United we stand. Divided we fall.
Don't let the dividers divide us Christians.
In hoc signo vinces.
These are the reasons I attend Church too. But nowhere in the Bible, or the Book of Mormon, is a membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints required.
When one is baptized in most Christian Churches I've attended, it does not mean you have membership in that denomination. It means you've accepted Christ as your Savior, thus Christian and eligible for Salvation.
In order to reach "Exaltation" in the LDS teaching, certain works and ordinances MUST be performed. Adherence to the Word of Wisdom (no Coffee, tea, tobacco, illegal drugs etc), Church Attendance, 10% tithing, among other things. Adherence to these things allows you to progress to a point where you are "worthy" of a Temple Recommend.
A "Recommend," from your bishop allows you to take out your Endowments. This is a ceremony where you take vows, oaths, and covenants are made - this is where the "Blood Oath" was taken in the past. Your Endowments allow you to take part in the ordinances of Celestial(eternal)Marriage, and performing those ordinances for the Dead. Without being able to perform these ordinances (works), one can never reach the Celestial Kingdom - the highest kingdom and dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father. So if you drink coffee (tea or alcohol) or fail to pay 10% of your income, or don't attend Church - -in essence you are not eligible to dwell in the presence of the Lord. Thus other Christians would say that is is a works based tradition - and in their opinion is not Biblical.
When an LDS child or adult is baptized it "officially" means you are now a "member" of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Just another difference.
Not exactly. First of all, the Apostasy occurred before what we now call the Catholic Church came into being (and of course long before the Protestant movement). That is, the original Church of Jesus Christ ceased to function properly after the apostles were taken. The faithful attempted to carry on as best they could without apostolic authority and direction. The result has been the many different Christian churches.
I regard the Catholic Church and its progeny as being doctrinally true on many issues. But without the apostles, the Church lacks the authority to bind on earth and in heaven (Matthew 16:19; 18:18). Moreover, some knowledge has been lost, and in some cases replaced by the philosophies and traditions of men (Col. 2:8).
That said, the Catholic Church was responsible for collecting and preserving--often under difficult conditions ---the Gospels and the Epistles. Millions of catholics have learned faith in Jesus Christ from the teachings of the Church. Millions more have learned faith in Christ from the other Christian churches.
This is the very thing we were arguing on this thread, Mormon's who think it unfair for us to say their Church isn't true.
Well, I can only speak for myself. I do not think it unfair for anyone to say that the LDS Church is not true. Nor does it bother me in the least.
What is unfair and bothersome is for someone to attempt to "prove" that the LDS Church is untrue by misrepresenting what we believe.
You can say that all other religions are apostates, but we get accused of name-calling when we say the same thing.
I would never say that all the other religions are apostates for the simple reason that I do not believe it. Remember, apostasy in this context implies a rejection of the truth. Most religious people I know, Christians and non-Christians alike, live their lives according to the truth as they understand it. I might disagree with someone on theology, but it is hard to disagree with a Christlike life.
Ironic isn't it...yet this is exactly how all politically correct discussions proceed, with one side calling the other insensitive, name-calling, bigots. It is an effective ploy in shutting down the opposition. Logophile, I respect you for not being part of the name-calling. I also respect you for defending your religion. To do otherwise would be disingenuous. By all means continue to do so!
Thanks for your kind words.
And I will continue to defend mine. One of the ways I defend it, is to show that it is Christian and fundamentally different from Mormonism. They are not the same and that is based even upon the Mormon understanding as you highlighted in your post.
I think you exaggerate when you say "fundamentally different." Although we have differences that are wide and deep, we agree on some fundamental truths: that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Creator of heaven and earth, took upon himself the sins of the world, died upon the cross, rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven.
Amen!
I know what you mean. I am about finished with this one as well.
To me the Jesus Christ you speak of is fundamentally different...some of those differences have been adressed. Christians do not believe that Jesus Christ is the spiritual brother of Lucifer. We do not believe that God was man or a man-like being that progressed to become a God. Again these are just the points of contention in the posting of the original thread, with which I happen to agree.
God bless you, Utah Girl, and I hope you can get to enjoy your family.
Your comportment and politeness is unmatched on FR.
And I hope you can get to meet ES.
I don't think anyone directly addressed your concern about why God waited 1800 years after Christ to reveal the full gospel again. Let me try.
First, the same argument might be made about the timing of the Lord's coming. Why did He wait thousands of years after Adam to do His saving work and teach His gospel?
Second, why wait for 1800 years? Well, was it really possible to establish a restored gospel before that time? Could it have happened in Europe where most kingdoms had state religions that would have snuffed out the restored gospel in a moment? In India, China, Africa, the Middle East? Could it have happened without the groundwork laid by Godly people like King James, Tyndale, Wycliffe, Gutenberg, and others who brought the Bible to the common folk? Or did it require specific ground to grow such as an independent nation that enshrined the value of religious freedom, an educated people who had access to printing presses, a citizenry at relative peace that knew and valued the Bible enough to seek for the truth, and egalitarian people who didn't judge a man by his station in life? Maybe, just maybe, the Lord brought it about as soon as possible, given world conditions. Mormons believe that many good people had a role in bringing about the restoration of the gospel and that salvation is offered to them all, regardless of when they lived.
Latter-day Saints believe in Christ as the Savior, the Redeemer, the Son of God, the Creator of the earth, and the only source of salvation. It is His love and grace that give meaning to life and hope to humanity. We believe in the Bible, which plainly teaches that Christ is our Savior and that all men must repent and come unto Christ to be saved. Some critics proclaim that Mormons are not Christians and don't believe in Christ. I really don't like other people telling me what I believe! As a Latter-day Saint, I have been taught, and have personally chosen, to accept Christ as my Savior. I am taught to follow Him, to rely on His love, and to feast on His word. I know that real Mormons are Christians. We worship Christ and covenant to follow Him. We are baptized in His name to follow Him, we partake of the sacrament (the holy communion) weekly to remember the sacrifice of His blood and to remember His victory over death, we pray to the Father in His name, and we strive to obey Him, knowing that it is only through His merits and grace that we are saved. He is constantly held up in our meetings as our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and the author of our faith and our salvation. We believe that He stands at the head of His living Church, leading it as in days of old through revelation to His prophets and apostles. The Christ we worship is the living Christ, the Son of God, foretold in the Old Testament, revealed in the New Testament, and affirmed in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.My other questions are: Why does it say in the Bible "Faith without works is dead?" (James 2:20, 26). Why does Christ say in Matthew 19:20 "...Keep the commandments." You can click on the links in the website, you can also visit Official LDS Church website.Although I may disagree with the theology of some other Christians, that gives me no right to say that they are not Christians because they don't see things the way I do.
Again, I will leave it up to Jesus Christ to judge me, my beliefs, and my actions. That would include following the 10 commandments and participating in the ordinances of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Thanks. :)
As a Latter-day Saint, I have been taught, and have personally chosen, to accept Christ as my Savior his sacrifice was vital in the PLAN of salvation, which also will also rely on my own performance and following of commandments, and ordinances. I am taught to follow Him, to rely on His love, and to feast on His word. I know that real Mormons arethe only believere is the whole truth so we are the only Christians that have the fullness of the Gospel. We worship Christ and covenant to follow Him. We are baptized in His name to follow Him, we partake of the sacrament (the holy communion) weekly to remember the sacrifice of His blood and to remember His victory over death, we pray to the Father in His name, and we strive to obey Him, knowing that it is only through His merits and grace that we are saved, but through our obedience to the commandments, not only of the Bible, but of the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, official Church Revelation and publications will we receive exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom (heaven) and dwell with God, Jesus and everyone else that is sealed through a spider web of eternal marriages that are performed in our temples. These marriages seal husband to WIVES, parent to child, daughter to her husband and in-laws, those in-laws to all their other in-laws, we will live in one tremendous, sealed, eternal family where we will all be brothers and sisters. He is constantly held up in our meetings as our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord, and the author of our faith and our salvation. We believe that He stands at the head of His living Church, leading it as in days of old through revelation to His current prophets and apostles. The Christ we worship is the living Christ, the Son of God, foretold in the Old Testament, revealed in the New Testament, and affirmed in The Book of Mormon: Another and very differentTestament of Jesus Christ.
The LDS are very unique among other Christians. In fact, we believe that only we have authority from God. We believe the Church was taken from the earth soon after Christ’s apostles died, so therefore all Christians that do no believe in our “Restored” Church, believe in teachings which may contain truth, but at their core they are churches that grew from the Great Apostasy and do not contain the full teachings of Jesus while he was here on earth.
These edits, of course are mine and mine alone…They have not been approved by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. These opinions are base upon my experience and can be verified by others. I am not slamming anyone, calling names or trying to belittle. So often the LDS release statements and articles that do not tell the whole truth, whether it be for lack of space, time, or speaking to babies who need milk not meat – the whole truth of their beliefs are not contained on their website.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.