Posted on 02/23/2010 9:54:36 AM PST by greyfoxx39
The truth is that the Church reveres the Bible as a sacred volume of scripture. Latter-day Saints cherish its teachings and engage in a lifelong study of its divine wisdom. Moreover, during worship and instruction services the Bible and its teachings are pondered and discussed. To increase biblical understanding, the Church provides extensive resources and tools: lesson manuals, cross-reference materials, Bible maps, a Bible dictionary, and articles in various magazines. Thus, the Bible is much more than simply a collection of antiquated writings and revelations that have only scant relevance to the modern world. On the contrary, it stands in the center of the Latter-day Saints spiritual lives.
In a recent sermon, Church apostle Elder M. Russell Ballard characterized the Bible as the bedrock of all Christianity and one of the pillars of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Furthermore, he described the Bible as a miracle: It is a miracle that the Bibles 4,000 years of sacred and secular history were recorded and preserved by the prophets, apostles, and inspired churchmen. It is a miracle that the Bible literally contains within its pages the converting, healing Spirit of Christ, which has turned mens hearts for centuries, leading them to pray, to choose right paths, and to search to find their Savior. It instills real, tangible power in the lives of Latter-day Saints and offers practical solutions and spiritual guidance that inspire them to overcome challenges and trials.
There is a broad range of approaches within the vast mosaic of biblical interpretation. For example, biblical inerrancy maintains that the Bible is without error and contradiction; biblical infallibility holds that the Bible is free from errors regarding faith and practice but not necessarily science or history; biblical literalism requires a literal interpretation of events and teachings in the Bible and generally discounts allegory and metaphor; and the Bible as literature educational approach extols the literary qualities of the Bible but disregards its miraculous elements.
The Church does not strictly subscribe to any of these interpretive approaches. Rather, in the words of Joseph Smith, it regards the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly (8th Article of Faith). Accordingly, Church members believe that during the centuries-long process in which fallible human beings compiled, translated and transcribed the Bible, various errors entered the text. However, this does not override the overwhelming predominance of truth within the Bible. As Elder Ballard noted, Without the Bible, we would not know of His Church then, nor would we have the fullness of His gospel now. Part of that fullness is the Bibles seminal instruction that God reveals Himself to those who seek Him. The Bible is a living invitation to know personally the sacred revelatory experience that fills its pages.
The scriptures, or standard works, of the Latter-day Saints comprise the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. According to Elder Ballard, these scriptures constitute a great, indivisible whole of Gods revealed word that help humankind understand the past, present and future. The great gospel plan contained in these works does not apply to one generation or one people alone but to all of Gods children throughout all time. Thus, in the words of Elder Ballard, those who think that one part is more important or more true than the other parts are missing some of the beauty and completeness of the canon of ancient scripture.
During previous periods of time when God organized His church, He added new revelations to pre-existing scripture, forming a connection between believers of the present and believers of the past. For example, the Old Testament book of Isaiah gives shape and meaning to the Gospel of Matthew. The two revelations need not be viewed as rivals competing with each other: the existence of one does not negate the relevance or legitimacy of the other. This ongoing revelation of scripture gives uniformity and continuity to an unfolding gospel narrative and unites people under one standard of doctrine.
Of all the standard works, the Bible remains the best source for an intimate understanding of the character and personality of Jesus Christ during His mortal mission. While the Old Testament offers a prophetic foretelling of that mission, the New Testament provides an unmatched account of the events, experiences, teachings and personal interactions of Christ. The Book of Mormon strengthens and reinforces His teachings through additional witnesses and provides moving accounts of the personal experiences many individuals had with Him. According to Elder Ballard, The Book of Mormon does not dilute nor diminish nor de-emphasize the Bible. On the contrary, it expands, extends, and exalts it.
I never watched the shoe until 3 years ago. Jeopardy and Wheel are great shows for people who cannot hear.
If the kids get their own planets, who do I get to god over, they have all moved out. [svcw]
And if the "hubby" ain't "celestial material" -- to toss out a phrase used by a speaker @ the BYU women's conference in 2001 -- and the wife is -- does that mean the "forever family" has to settle into a lower-class godly ghetto? And what about the kids sealed to them? What if the kids were "celestial stuff" upon reaching earthly adulthood, but both parents were only "telestial" couch 'taters?
How would that temple sealing "take" -- when those telestial parents weren't "temple Mormons"?
And then when we realize that we could have 3 generations of Mormons whereby the "generation in the middle" didn't match either the one before OR the one after...where will those "sealings" destine them to be?
Is it a "trump card" over what was lacking in the rest of their life?
If it is, doesn't that then constitute "religious ritualism" as the bottom line of the Mormon religion?
And if it's no "trump card" at all, doesn't it give lie to the Mormon claim that "families are forever?"
Don't Mormons know how to observe ANY logical reasoning instead of letting a chest burning rule their eternal destiny?
***which of the two examples I gave are, then, correct - in your eyes.***
They are both correct. Years ago I saw a photo of the “Potters Field” there. It is located at the bottom of a cliff face where people were said to commit suicide by hanging themselves from the trees at the top of the cliff.
If Judas hanged himself there, someone had to have cut him down before the Passover started, just as they took Jesus and the thieves down before the Passover. The fall down the cliff to the ground would have made him burst open.
I would have responded sooner but I fainted from all their (lds) spinning.
I have a Geneva Bible which has a few letters of the words accidentally upside down. Can these be called “errors”! ;-)
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”?
Some claim these are Gentiles to be grafted in. I believe they are the Jews that were still in Babylonia. If you have read the scripture, when Christ said he was preparing to go away the diciples thought he was going to these “people beyond the river”.
have a Geneva Bible which has a few letters of the words accidentally upside down. Can these be called errors! ;-)
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No it was published that way so people Down Under in Aussie and NZ could read it...
All our Bibles were like that when i was young...
I still have one...
All the letters upside down...
I stand on my head to read it...
:)
***Was the Change Tribe part of the Algonquins of the north?***
Did they change from Abinaki to Algonquins or Algorikins? ;-)
Oh, I made a funny!
Are all the letters upside down ???
***Well have to wait a bit for the Navajo at least.
Their language was NOT written until 1849****
It is kind of hard to make English letters for their words as some of it sounds like they are trying to cough up a luggi.
That sudden ‘revelation’ didn’t hit until 1870, a fair step after young died. Polygamy was the primary reason utah didn’t become a state sooner.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUo8OuFaiI
http://mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=353
Are you familiar with the art of Brummet Ecohawk?
and I bet you can probably read this better than Joseph Smith, with or without his magic specticals and hat.
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Probably by mormon standards
I held up to a mirror and it said “Ambulance”. Big deal.
Did I pass?
You read my post earlier in the day didn’t you? LOL
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