The Bible Versus the Book of Mormon
by Eric Lyons, M.Min.
Similar to the insecure person who hangs around the rich and famous for the sole reason of establishing himself, the Book of Mormon has attempted to make a name for itself by “cozying up to” the Bible. The very first line in the “Introduction” to the Mormons’ revered text states: “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible.” Even the Book of Mormon’s subtitle (“Another Testament of Jesus Christ”—emp. added) lends credibility to the Bible. Obviously, the Mormons have attempted to give credence to their scripture by comparing it to the Bible. Furthermore, a crucial element of the Mormon religion found in their Article of Faith #8 says: “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” (emp. added). If both the Bible and the Book of Mormon are inspired by God, then reason demands that they must never contradict one another. No book from God’s hand will contain factual mistakes because He does not make mistakes. By definition, He is omniscient and perfect in all His ways (cf. Psalm 139:1-6; 1 John 3:20). The truth is, however, they do contradict one another.
The Book of Mormon contains numerous passages that contradict what the Bible says. The following examples are conspicuous instances of such contradictions.
- Rather than God confusing “the language of all the earth” at the tower of Babel as the Bible records (Genesis 11:9), the Book of Mormon contends that the language of Jared, his brother, as well as their friends and family members “were not confounded” (Ether 1:33-37).
- Contrary to the Bible prophecy concerning the Lord’s birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and the fulfillment of that prophecy in Matthew 2:1, the Book of Mormon reads: “And behold, he (Jesus) shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem” (Alma 7:10, parenthetical comment and emp. added). The writer of the Book of Mormon was simply wrong.
- The Bible tells us that at the crucifixion of Jesus, darkness covered the land for three hours (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44). However, the Book of Mormon states three different times that there was darkness “for the space of three days” (Helaman 14:20,27; 3 Nephi 8:3, emp. added). Of course, this is a big difference.
- Finally, whereas the Book of Mormon has people wearing the name Christian in about 73 B.C. (Alma 46:13, 15), the Bible clearly reveals that the disciples of Christ “were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26, emp. added). This was in approximately A.D. 40, and thus represents a difference of over 100 years. Which account are people to believe? After all, according to Mormons, both books are inspired.
The fact that there are numerous disagreements between the Bible and the Book of Mormon does not disparage the Bible in any way. In fact, a Bible believer would expect there to be contradictions between the two, since the Bible never gives any legitimacy to the Book of Mormon, but actually condemns it (cf. Galatians 1:6-9, Revelation 22:18-19, 2 Peter 1:3, and Jude 3). On the other hand, the Book of Mormon easily is exposed as fiction when compared to and contrasted with the Bible, which Mormons claim is “the word of God.”
Simply put, if both the Bible and the Book of Mormon were inspired by God, then they never would contradict each other. However, since they do disagree with one another (in a number of places), the Book of Mormon is obviously a fraud, written by con men, not inspired men.
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Copyright © 2002 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Comments: 14 ( 1 removed by scott .. )
Sometimes I get convicted.
I have known several ppl who are mormons and they all tell e different things baotu what they do belive in so I just don't go their with them. Sam ewith JW's
So, I know what you mean about Romney and Beck, Lee, but because I've watched the mormon mentality in the workplace, I could never vote for Romney. When you see mormons promoted to positions where they are able to do hiring, the workplace is going to fill up with mormons, there is very little opportunity for anyone else no matter what their experience and skills are. If you're part of the group, it seems admirable to look out for your own, but if your not part of that group, it can be a pretty bitter pill to swallow when others have to play fair, but they don't.
Sadly, that's one of the reasons that it's so very difficult for members to leave "the church," they are so heavily invested in every way. Even if they don't live in Utah, they are often working in an office that is managed by another church member so their very job depends upon their membership. They are not encouraged, in fact they are strongly discouraged, from having friends or relationships outside "the church." So, if they leave, they are leaving behind their entire social network along with their children's friends and playmates, their hopes for their kid's educations, etc. I have widowed aunts in my family who would never leave because all their lives they have depended upon their husbands for their salvation - they believe that when they die, their husbands need to call their secret names (given in temple ceremonies) before they can hope to enter paradise.
Loving Life mentioned that she doesn't seem to get the straight story from them and this is one of the reasons - they wait until people have joined and are fully invested in the church and really involved with the temple ceremonies (meaning that they are paying their full - before taxes, 10% tithe to the church, which is confirmed each year by the Bishop and before they get their okay to go to the temple) before they tell them the entire "plan" as revealed by Joseph Smith. Once the couple has gone to the temple and the wife has been given her secret name, then the husband will call her secret name after her death so she can join him at some level in heaven. Then they can continue working their way through the levels of heaven until they are finally awarded their own planet where they are the god and goddess and begin procreating and filling the planet with their offspring. One of the mormon benefits - guaranteed sex after death and your own planet to rule. That's the cornerstone of their belief - as man is now, God once was, as God is now, man can be. It's the original lie from the Garden of Eden, but they don't see that. Okay, now that you are all shaking your heads and saying, "She's bonkers!" here's some other websites you can check out if you are interested:
This has numerous links to other sites with apologetic type info on mormonism: Utah Lighthouse and this is at the Institute for Religious Research, the web page with more info regarding the validity of the Book of mormon: Mormons in Transition
Anyone who comes here and wants to try and prove that the book of mormon is true, there's also plenty of web sites that argue towards that, but I'm not obligated to provide those links so ya gotta google on your own.
There are many, many good mormons who do have, independent of "the church," strong family bonds and excellent moral values. I don't mean to disparage those people at all. It's the teachings of the church that I'm in disagreement with and the very claim that Joseph Smith or any who have followed in his footsteps are prophets of the True and Living God. The Book of Abraham that Joseph Smith supposedly translated from Egyptian papyrus is just another example of why he was not a prophet. There is much written on that subject and even an excellent DVD that can be purchased from IRR, just look at the menu to the left at the 2nd website shown above. However, this is a very well written piece on that subject: False Translation of Book of Abraham
Why do I care if a church that has grown so large, seems to be popular, certainly is able to raise billions of dollars from its members was started by a con man or a saint? Because, as I stated above, this church is based upon the original lie - you can become like God. It's based on a lie from Satan and it's controlled by Satan and in my book, that ain't good. I lived in that atmosphere for the first 18 years of my life and I saw, firsthand, the damage that those false beliefs can do to a family and to individual lives. It left me disillusioned and rebellious for many more years of my life. And, to my shame, I was an excellent servant of Satan's because I denied that Satan even existed - what, do you actually believe in some demon with horns and a tail having any power on this earth? Well, I certainly believe in Satan's power now and while I don't see him with horns and a tail, I know what kind of chaos he can create in people's lives and how he can deceive people so that they stay away from God. I claimed that the Bible was nothing but an outdated history book - that was easy to do since I'd never read it! Well, not only have I read it numerous times, but I study it continually now because it's always revealing new truths to me that help me with my every day life. It's far from outdated, it's relevant in every way to our lives today, but you have to be able to actually study it with an open heart that's ready to receive truth. Even when I did attempt to read it before giving my life to Christ, it really didn't make much sense to me which I found to be very frustrating since I'm the kind of person who learned to play guitar and program computers from reading books. However, the minute that I sincerely asked Christ to rule and reign in my life, there was a hunger in me to read and study God's Word and I found that there was no longer any problem with understanding it. There were many other, very tangible changes in my life right from the moment that I admitted that I couldn't live life the way that I wanted to, I was not living abundantly without help and I chose to turn to Christ for the help that I knew I needed. That was not an easy thing for me to do because I had bad mouthed Him for years and I had denied that there was anything unique or special about Him. I certainly wouldn't admit that He was God! And, I wasn't in a life threatening position or anything, but I'd come to a point in my life where even though I was very content with my professional life, I knew that there were real problems with my personal life and I was taking it personally - ha ha! I didn't like to fail at anything, but there were no books, no tapes, no how to's that were helping me figure out what was wrong with my personal life and I'd looked at every other option I could imagine. There was only one option left and by the strangest of circumstances, I'd ended up where I was going to hear how Christ loved me and wanted to forgive me for all those years of rebellion, for all the times I'd denied Him. It honestly sounded way too easy to me and I was waiting to hear how large a check they were going to ask for or what kind of secret handshake I'd have to learn, even when my heart was crying out for help, my mind was still capable of being cynical. But, when that final moment came and I found out that all I had to do was admit that I was a sinner and that I needed Christ's help and I wanted Him to rule and reign in my life, well, easy, sneezy - hehe, then I wanted to write a check and learn a secret handshake. It still did seem too easy to be real - as humans, we're just never content! It took me a few hours, to realize that He'd created a consciousness in me that cleaned up my language (I was working in law enforcement and while I didn't sound as bad as some sailors I've heard, it wasn't far from it, but not after that moment - I didn't even realize at first until someone else pointed out that my language was downright acceptable! ha ha!). And then, that hunger for His Word - if I couldn't read it, I wanted to hear it on the radio or the TV, but then I had to develop discernment about who was appropriate to listen to and who should be avoided - that should not have been an easy task for someone like me who knew nothing about Bible study or doctrine, but some how He was able to guide me through those minefields. And, on and on it goes. Those of you who have been similarly blessed will have no trouble identifying with what I'm writing and sadly, most of you who don't want to believe will still find your arguments to seem valid - I always did until it was time for me to soften my heart. I'm just very grateful that there was a time for my heart to soften and that I didn't fight it. My life has been so much better with Christ ruling it. But, now I'd better shut up before I way exceed some space limit.
Again, thanks so much for this subject, Scott. You can see that I have just a few opinions to express about it - ha ha! God bless and keep you!
The hunger ... I could not get enough of the Bible after I stopped fighting against Christ. Oh yes, I was 'a' Georgiana .. a Sandy K. (not an insult to Georgiana or Sandy, just a fact of who I used to be). The Bible was a foreign language, and more than that I read into it things that weren't there; false things, things the text and spirit of the text never taught and never pointed to.
When I started bible study I thought I'd have trouble understanding ... but I didn't. It wasn't easy but it was open, finally. It was almost exactly like I'd had the spoken of "veil" pulled from my eyes.
Even when I did attempt to read it before giving my life to Christ, it really didn't make much sense to me which I found to be very frustrating since I'm the kind of person who learned to play guitar and program computers from reading books. However, the minute that I sincerely asked Christ to rule and reign in my life, there was a hunger in me to read and study God's Word and I found that there was no longer any problem with understanding it.
I so appreciate your reminder, Scott, of our great blessing that soon, we will all be together forever with our Savior! No more emails, no more flu, just enjoying worship and the future that God has planned. Sometimes I don't think about that too much, just to be content to remain here, but it is the best thing in our future!
Lee, I really like your description of the veil being pulled from our eyes - yes! It was very much like that! I'd spend time trying to map our genealogies from the Bible and taking notes just so I could make sense of what I was reading, but it was useless as long as I was an unbeliever. Now, I look back and have to remind myself of just how hard I did try to read and understand the Bible before, because now it's just such a wonderful and helpful document to me - I would feel so deprived to have it taken from me. Sometimes I think about that in reference to spending eternity in heaven - no more Bible study - at first thought, I don't like the sound of that until I remember that we'll be with the author, oh, duh! Ha ha!
Stay well, dear friends! God bless & keep you and yours
I get weak sometimes.
Goodness, kidney stones are not silly!! Neither is BP when it's misbehaving. Need to increase the prayers. I'm guessing that you take meds for both conditions - do you also help out nutritionally? Just read an article about BP reminding folks that it's not only the sodium you have to worry about, but the balance of sodium to potassium and suggesting to get the potassium via foods - bananas, apricots, avocados, cantaloupe, figs, seedless raisins, beans, potatoes, winter squash, & unsalted tomato sauce. Another food that's getting credit for lowering BP along with all other sorts of good benefits is Quinoa - google it. I fix it a couple times a month for Phoebe and me, just remember to rinse it very well before cooking. Ooooh, and looking at kidney stones in The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies shows that potassium rich foods are good for fighting kidney stones - double whammy for you! There's a whole description there about what certain foods do of course, but it comes down to alkaline foods increase the level of citrate and that blocks the formation of stones. Many of the foods that are high in citrates, like citrus fruits and vegetables, are also high in potassium. There's a paragraph discussing how good orange juice is and suggests 3x's per day. There's another section that suggests that foods high in magnesium helps to lower another mineral, oxalate, that forms stones. Some magnesium rich foods are: fish, rice, avocado, and broccoli. Limit black tea, chocolate (sob!), peanuts and other nuts, spinach and other leafy greens (sob, sob!), and strawberries. Also, need plenty of fiber - well, that's true for everything!
Well, I hope that you are able to treat yourself nutritionally. Some meds can be so hard on the body, but I'm also grateful that we have them when we need them! Time for me to finish up my chores and get settled in for the night - Phoebe is telling me it's time to cuddle up and get warm. Winter seems to have arrived here; I don't think it's been above 60 for several days.
God bless & keep you & yours