Contradictions Between the Book of Mormon and the Bible

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:

"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.

Okay, found it. The “angel” Moroni said it.

In THE BOOK OF ETHER CHAPTER 3 - 17 “And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites.”

This makes no sense. Either Jesus was Spirit or Flesh after the Resurrection.

It is a vitally important point, and it is contradictory even within the Book of Mormon because the passage in the Nephites that Moroni refers to reads that Jesus had the South American people put their hands on his wounds.

"Ne. 3. 11 " ... and the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

So, either the Jesus of Mormonism showed himself to people as flesh or he showed himself as spirit. The bit from the angel Moroni makes absolutely no sense and purposely confuses the issue.

It is a vitally important point for Christians because if He is not Risen from Death, then WE have NO chance as BELIEVERS of overcoming our own "death" that we deserve as sinners. We have no chance of changing. We are damned without Jesus's bodily resurrection in the flesh. He had to come in the flesh and be raised in the flesh for the Cross to have power.

Now the Book of Mormon, here in the "book of Eter" cavorts with a Biblical sounding licentiousness. It is almost humorous -- how much of the Book of Mormon is taken directly -- though ALWAYS out of context -- from the Bible. For example, when Jesus was talking to His disciples AFTER the resurrection, He was not telling them the same type of ministry things He was saying before -- that they were to go out two by two, etc.

But the Book of Mormon has Jesus saying all the things He instructed His disciples for the time period of His three year ministry before the Cross. After the Cross and the Resurrection, Jesus had very different things to say -- the words to Peter to "Feed My Sheep" three times -- as a way of showing His forgiveness for the three times Peter denied Him when He was arrested.

After He had risen, Jesus was pointing to Pentecost and the time when the Spirit would come to teach them (and us) all things -- because it was better that He go to heaven than to stay on earth. Again God is so practical! The Spirit can fall all over the earth. Jesus could only walk and minister within a hundred mile radius in Israel.

All this to say that the Devil is a wily and ancient and crafty foe. The section of the "Book of Eter" makes no sense. Either Jesus came in the spirit or he was in the flesh.

if He was only resurrected in the spirit -- then we do not have the power over death He promised. (John Donne's poetry again -- Death Be Not Proud -- Death, where is thy sting? Death, thou art .... dead. !!!)

But the Devil can't deal with this, nor can he deal with John's admonition that the way to test the Spirits is to see if they deny that Jesus has come in the flesh.

You Mormon fellows. Please, please please. Just consider how well the Enemy knows the Word, he’s had a long time to study it. Your Book of Mormon reads like a gobbledy goop of Biblical sounding phrases and out of context Biblical rules and admonitions, delivered to people and supernatural beings who have pseudo sounding Biblical names and countenances - but – it doesn’t make sense.

And the part in Doctrine and Covenants where Joseph Smith tells people how to distinguish between demons and angels? He says it is by the sincerity or feel of their handshake?

This is very sad. The Book of Mormon is a crafty book that goes right against the Bible. Nuff said.

Jesus Christ did witness the Heavenly Father incarnate who once was without sin, so too was Jesus do as his Father did!

1 Tim 16
.And without controversy
.great is the mystery of godliness:
.God was manifest in the flesh,
.justified in the Spirit,
.seen of angels, .
.preached unto the Gentiles,
.believed on in the world,
.received up into glory.

John 5
.Then answered Jesus and said unto them,
.Verily, verily, I say unto you,
.The Son can do nothing of himself,
.but what he seeth the Father do:
.for what things soever he doeth,
.these also doeth the Son likewise.

John 5 20
.For the Father loveth the Son,
.and sheweth him all things that himself doeth:
.and he will shew him greater works than these,
.that ye may marvel.

21
.For as the Father raiseth up the dead,
.and quickeneth them;
.even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

22
.For the Father judgeth no man,
.but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

23
.That all men should honour the Son,
.even as they honour the Father.
.He that honoureth not the Son
.honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

24
.Verily, verily, I say unto you,
.He that heareth my word,
.and believeth on him that sent me,
.hath everlasting life,
.and shall not come into condemnation;
.but is passed from death unto life.

25
Verily, verily, I say unto you,
.The hour is coming, and now is,
.when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God:
.and they that hear shall live.

26
.For as the Father hath life in himself;
.so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

27
.And hath given him authority to execute judgment also,
.because he is the Son of man.

28
.Marvel not at this:
.for the hour is coming,
.in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29
.And shall come forth;
.they that have done good,
.unto the resurrection of life;
.and they that have done evil,
.unto the resurrection of damnation.

30
.I can of mine own self do nothing:
.as I hear, I judge:
.and my judgment is just;
.because I seek not mine own will,
.but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

"Since you are not a scholar of the Book of Mormon what prompted you to ask or try to show this? Just curious where you got this idea from?"

I got the "idea" from First John. In the New Testament.

Did you think, even as an eighteen year old girl who barely knew the Bible, that I would just make up some test about how to test the spirits as to whether or not the angels and supernatural beings in the Book of Mormon were from God?

Of course, even then, I was using this famous scripture from 1 John to see if the Book of Mormon lined up with the Bible:

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Psalm 82
6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. .

Hosea 1
10 ¶ Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.

11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

15 ¶ The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

****

John 10
30 I and my Father are one.

31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.

32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

1 Jn. 3:
10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

1 Jn. 4:
4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1 Jn. 5:
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

Is this what Mormons aspire to?

The LDS aspires to do the will of the Lord!

Thy will be done oh Lord not mine

A natural man will be changed into a new person who is sanctified and pure, born again in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5: 17; Mosiah 3: 19). ***

Matt. 5:
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Luke 6:
40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

Lets examin again-

1 Tim 3:16
.And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
.God was manifest in the flesh,
.justified in the Spirit,
.seen of angels,
.preached unto the Gentiles,
.believed on in the world, received up into glory.

In Glaatians we see some this discussion of 1 Tim 3 carried on...

GAl 3
1 O FOOLISH Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

2
.This only would I learn of you,
.Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law,
.or by the hearing of faith?

3
.Are ye so foolish?
.having begun in the Spirit,
.are ye now made perfect by the flesh?

4 .Have ye suffered so many things in vain?
.if it be yet in vain.

Eph.4
1 I THEREFORE, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed,and heirs according to the promise.

John 10
30 I and my Father are one.

This whole journey is For the perfecting of the saints to become one with so we will become ONE in Christ Jesus.

just like Jesus Christ and his Father in Heaven are ONE, we too are to be ONE in Jesus Christ! Malachi 2
10 .Have we not all one father?
.hath not one God created us?
.why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
.by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

The Covenant is to keep the Lord's Commandments so we will become join heirs!

Rom. 8:
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

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