Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Scripture
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who are sometimes nicknamed Mormons, believe the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. The Bible was compiled long after Jesus and His apostles died by people who gathered the many religious documents available and then decided which ones to include in the book. Since then, it has been translated many times and in many different languages. Since the translations are often very different and sometimes reflect specific agendas, they are not all equally valid. Many were translated using other translations as a basis, not the original language. Some were created to make a political statement. Today, there are many Bibles translated by a variety of organizations and people, and each reflects the opinions of the translators. It is impossible to make a word-for-word translation and so every translator must also interpret—and these interpretations may not always reflect the intent of the original authors.
Mormons today use the King James translation in English. Mormons reading in another language, of course, use different versions. The King James was chosen because it was the one Joseph Smith had always used and so his teachings were based on that translation.
Book of Mormon
Mormons also use several other books of scripture. The most famous is the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a companion to the Bible and contains additional information about the ministry of Jesus Christ. The most important part of this book is the record of a visit by Jesus Christ to people living in the Americas in ancient times. This occurred after His death and resurrection and is mentioned in the Bible when Jesus said he had other sheep to visit.
“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” (John 10:16).
The purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and not have a testimony that Jesus Christ is divine and our Savior and that the Bible is true. Because the people of the Book of Mormon were descendants of a prophet who left Jerusalem just prior to the fall of Jerusalem, they had the religious records known to the Jews at that time. They quote from them often in their sermons. Thus, if you know the Book of Mormon is true, you also know the Bible is true. Because Jesus appeared to these ancient people after His death, it is clear He is divine.
This book sends a wonderful message that Jesus was not just the Savior of the people of the Holy Lands; He is the Savior of the entire world. Those who lived in other places are just as important to Him as are those He knew during His mortal life.
The Book of Mormon mentions the Savior or His mission on average every 2.7 verses, more often than does the Bible. The title page, written by one of the ancient prophets, helps us to understand why this is so:
“Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”
A later section of the Book of Mormon states:
“23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. …
26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins (2 Nephi 25).
The Book of Mormon is translated in such a way as to be easily understood and does an especially good job of clarifying doctrine that often leads to debate in Christian circles that only use the Bible. Following are some Book of Mormon teachings on important subjects:
Grace:
24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.
25 Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen. (2 Nephi 10)
This verse clarifies that grace is the way we are saved. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, and without God’s determination to balance compassion and the law, we could not be saved.
Infant Baptism:
Churches today disagree on whether or not babies and small children require baptism and what happens to a baby who dies before it can be baptized. The Bible does not address the subject at all, but the Book of Mormon is very definitive on the subject and makes it clear that we are not punished by God for things beyond our control:
10 Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children.
11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
12 But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!
13 Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell.
14 Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell.
15 For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism (Moroni 8).
How to Know if the Book of Mormon is True
In the Bible, we learn from James that if we lack wisdom, we can ask God and He will tell us. God promises to answer our requests to know what is true, and God always keeps His promises. The Book of Mormon offers a similar promise. Mormons are expected, before baptism, to ask God if the book is true. They are taught from early childhood, or during the lessons they take prior to adult baptism, that they must not rely on the testimonies of other people; only God can tell them for certain it is true. If our testimony comes directly from God, we won’t dispute it.
“4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is. (Moroni 10)
Some people warn their followers not to pray about this, saying that they won’t be able to tell who is answering. Of course, those who read the Bible recognize that God has promised to tell us what is true, and if He tells us to pray for information and truth, He will find a way to let us know how to tell where the answers come from. We know Satan cannot produce feelings of true peace and joy, so that tells us that these feelings always come from God. The more time we spend communicating with God in honest discussion and the more time we spend quietly waiting for His answers, the easier it will become to recognize when He is speaking to us.
Additional LDS Scripture:
In addition to the Bible, Mormons use two more books of scripture in their “standard works.” The first is the Pearl of Great Price. This is a collection of various records and includes a partial translation of the Bible made by Joseph Smith. He was murdered before he could complete it. It also has translations of some ancient papyri concerning Moses and Abraham, portions of Joseph Smith’s testimony, and the Articles of Faith. The Articles of Faith are thirteen Mormon beliefs outlined by Joseph Smith.
The final book of scripture is the Doctrine and Covenants. This contains modern revelations given to the prophets.
