The Bible Or The Book Of Mormon?

by David Padfield

book of mormon lies "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ is regarded as divinely inspired scripture, as is the Holy Bible. Both volumes are used by Latter-day Saints side by side. Other writings accepted as scripture are the Doctrine and Covenants, a compilation of revelations and writings given since the restoration of the Church began, and the Pearl of Great Price, a selection from the revelations, translations and writings of Joseph Smith." ("Core Beliefs and Doctrines," www.lds.org). "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God" (Articles Of Faith, #8).

While Mormon elders will make great claims about their respect for the Bible, in reality, they have very little respect for it. They will tell prospects that a great deal of the Bible has been lost, and the rest is the object of bad translation. Orson Pratt, an early Mormon leader, said: "All therefore, is uncertainty as to the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament; they can be proved to be changed, added unto and corrupted in almost every text ... Who knows that even one verse of the whole Bible has escaped pollution, so as to convey the same sense now that it did in the original" (Orson Pratts Works, 217–218).

The Book Of Mormon

The Book of Mormon claims to tell of Christ's appearance to American Indians after His resurrection. The apostle Paul did not mention this appearance of Christ in America as he recounts our Lord's post-resurrection appearances (1 Cor 15:4–8).

The Book of Mormon was supposedly written in the "reformed Egyptian tongue" and translated with the aid of two miraculous stones. There is something very strange about the Book of Mormon. The Golden Plates, from which the Book of Mormon was supposedly translated, were, according to Mormons, written before the 1st century A.D., and yet one-eighteenth of the Book of Mormon is identical, word for word, to the 1611 King James Version of the Bible—1 Corinthians 13 and Isaiah 53 are quoted in full! They even quote words in italics that were supplied by the translators. In the KJV Bible, the words in italics are words that were supplied by the translators and are not in the original text.

How is it that the Book of Mormon, which they claim predates the KJV by 1500 years, could have precisely the same language word for word? Another strange thing is why there are no quotations from the New King James Version, the American Standard Version, or any other modern English translation? Could it be that since those translations had not yet been made, Smith could not copy them?

Nearly 4,000 changes in the book have been made since the 1830 edition. These 4,000 changes represent a staggering embarrassment to the claim of Mormon inspiration. Do the Mormons claim that God made 4,000 mistakes when helping Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon? These errors are not merely typographical errors—they are errors in grammar and even some contradictions.

According to Joseph Smith's testimony, there should not have been any reason to make changes in the Book of Mormon. He stated that when he and his "witnesses" went out to pray concerning it, a voice spoke to them from heaven telling them the translation of the Book of Mormon was correct. "...We heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, 'These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.'" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 1, 54–55). These 4,000 changes were not just grammatical, but changes of names and events, such as Mosiah 21:28, where in the 1830 edition the name of the king was "Benjamin," but in the modern editions, the name is "Mosiah."

A subtitle was added to the Book of Mormon in 1982: "Another Testament Of Jesus Christ." We all realize that in law, only the last will is binding. Once the testator dies, there cannot be another testament (Heb 9:16). Offering "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" declares that the blood of Christ is void (cf. Gal 1:8–9).

Compare the Book of Mormon with the Bible:

Notice some of the cardinal doctrines of the LDS church which are not even found in the Book of Mormon:

All of these doctrines required "additional revelation."

Where are we after 150 years of examining the Book of Mormon? No city peculiar to the Book of Mormon has ever been located. No names peculiar to the Book of Mormon have ever been found in New World inscriptions. No genuine inscriptions have ever been found in Egyptian or anything similar which could correspond to the "reformed Egyptian tongue." No ancient copies of the Book of Mormon have ever been found. No mention of people, nations, or places peculiar to the Book of Mormon have ever been found.

In short, there is not one iota of evidence from archaeology that can provide evidence for the truth of the Book of Mormon! This is in marked contrast to the Bible, the accuracy of which has been supported in thousands of ways by archaeological research.

Other Articles In This Series On Mormonism:

  1. Introduction to Mormonism
  2. The History Of Mormonism
  3. The Bible Or The Book Of Mormon?
  4. Other Sources Of Mormon Authority
  5. Mormon Doctrines
  6. Comparisons And Conclusions

For further study