No. Paul wanted everyone to read it. If God had wanted it it would be in the Bible. Do you honestly believe that the Creator is helpless?!
As they choose to follow Abraham, Moses, and prophets, and Christ. What is your objection? Of course God must allow competition to test the people, (Judges 2:21-23) and thus you have Muhammad, Joe Smith etc. But who are contrary to Christ.
Who knows what you're missing out on:
Indeed, only God knows, and since He did not consider them important to be preserved, or the body of Christ did not find that they fed their souls as did the books of Scripture, then you beef is with God and the body of Christ.
Obviously it was important. God wanted everyone to read it. So it wasn't God that didn't put it in the Bible, that was man's choice.
Obviously? And the word of the Lord does not remain due to man? Rather than your reasoning, what is obvious is that God preserves His word even though man seeks to destroy it. When Moses broke the tablets then God made a new set, and when Jehudi cut the written word of God with the penknife, and cast it into the fire, God commanded, "Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned." (Jeremiah 36:28)
And if there was no word of God, as a body of Truth that was progressively established by the community then one could not ever be charged with adding or subtracting from it.
one thing is for certain, God wanted us to read it.
Not so, as what is certain is that, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever," (Isaiah 40:8) but not everything that an apostle or any author of Scripture wrote was inspired, and nowhere do we even see anything referenced to the epistle from Laodicea. Thus the command was specific to the Colossians, and edifying, as can many works be, but not wholly inspired Scripture.
I'm glad you Mormons fixed that for us.
Would you please tell where the Epistle of Laodicea is located in the Standard Works?
Good point!
But; when Rome finally got around to compiling the BIBLE; that church was long gone; and, evidently, all of it's record's; too.
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
Wonder no more; Son; wonder no more.
If it HAD been important; Joseph Smith, Junior, would have put it in the JST.
So, supposedly prophetic words are...
...recorded at great difficulty on golden plates,
...survive the centuries of gold-diggers,
...with a ghost guy named Moroni given a special mantle to lead a lad named Smith to find,
...who is supposedly somehow handed a urium & thummim device we don't see operated by Mormon "prophets" today -- even tho it's rumored to be in the special underground vault maintained by the Mormon church...
...and this "revelation" is meticulously recorded by Martin Harris.
But...
...since Harris took the manuscript home...
...and it's been since alleged that his wife hid it or lost it...
...we just don't have it...
...only an alleged "abridgement" Smith hastily edited...
...leaving out aplenty as "Book of Mormon" editor/slasher.
Obviously it must have been important! The Mormon god wanted everyone to read it. So it wasn't the Mormon god that didn't put it in the Book of Mormon; that was man's choice. That included Joseph Smith's choice to FAIL to double back & reconsult his sources...
...whether it was...
...a gold plate...
...a urim & thummim...
...and a hat...
(I mean what kind of a god is this who falters at the hands of Mrs. Martin Harris???)
Likewise, perhaps...
...the large plates of Nephi
...& the unabridged version of Ether
...& all those buried plates buried in the ground that the "prophet" Mormon didn't touch...
...contained doctrine on not teaching age 8 as the golden age of accountability ... who knows...but one thing is for certain, the Mormon god wanted us to read it.
References above: See:
* The large plates of Nephi [reduced to an abridgement: 3 Nephi 5:8-17; Words of Mormon 1]
* The supposed "numerous plates" buried in a hill that the "prophet" Mormon didn't touch (Mormon 1:3-4)
* The unabridged version of Ether (Ether 1:1-5; Moroni 1:1)