The spalding enigma did an angel of god in the late 1820s really give 18yearold con artist joseph smith mormon bible, as he claimed. If you believe the bible, then why not the book of mormon. The book of mormon is a second witness to the bibles teachings. For years now ive heard people offhandedly dismiss the book of mormon as a known plagiarism of the solomon spaulding manuscript. The bible is not a book but a collection of 66 books, written over a span of 1600 years across 3 continents, by over 40 writers. If the book of mormon is true, why do indians fail to turn white when they become mormons.
Mormons, while holding that the bible is a part of the canon of scripture, add to it several mormon works. When we study the book of mormon, our understanding of the doctrines in the bible is clarified. As a companion to the bible, the book of mormon is a witness of jesus christs divinity and his role as the savior of the world. Historians and scholars can no longer acquiesce in perpetuating the myth that the spalding theory has been refuted, repudiated, demolished, or disproved. The bible, the book of mormon, and the concept of scripture. But its still of david from the standpoint its of jesus and his divine calling and his message. How the bible and the book of mormon work together. We consider the bible, the book of mormon and the doctrine and covenants to be our three standard works of scripture, but we dont mandate the way you need to believe in them. So much for the book of mormon being a different gospel than the bible the record of this visit is found in the book of 3rd nephi, in the book of mormon.
Additional information from part 1 of joseph smiths plagiarism of the bible in the book of mormon, pages 3738 in 2008 another computer study was done by matt jockers, craig criddle and daniela witten, comparing various authors word prints, including solomon spalding and sidney rigdon, with that of the book of mormon. Publishers from different factions of the latter day saint movement have. But now that i was teaching the bible six days a week and reading the book of mormon one day a week, i began finding subtle differences between them. These groups were led by prophets who recorded their religious and secular histories on metal plates. Following is a comparison between christian doctrine and mormon doctrine. Bible references supporting the beliefs of the lds church. Here are the significant points of difference between the bible and the book of mormon. It will become very obvious that mormonism does not agree with the bible. Different authors contributed to the writing of the holy bible whereas the book of mormon was first published by one man, joseph smith. The bible contains 2 testaments of jesus christ, the old and the new testaments. Mormon writers have noted that although the portions of the book of mormon that quote from the bible are very similar to the kjv text, they are not identical. The bible is one of my favorite books, and i love to do bible study along with other holy scriptures.
Solomon spalding book of mormon parallels mormons often insist that there are no similarities. Lds view of scriptures is that the bible is a compilation of 66 booksepistles but we tend to not consider songs of solomon scripture, so 65 are useful. Following is a short comparison between christian doctrine and mormon doctrine. Similar analysis showed that the sound correspondences in the names sidney rigdon, parley pratt, oliver cowdery, ethan smith, and solomon spalding individuals proposed as book of mormon authors were different than correspondences with joseph smith in the unique names of the book of mormon, but not enough to identify any as a possible author. The bible has numerous sections that are nondoctrinal in nature, such as historical, proverbial. The book of wisdom, or the wisdom of solomon, is a jewish work written in greek and most likely composed in alexandria, egypt. The solomon spalding theory chapter 9 of joseph smiths. The egyptian language was a very corrupt language from idol. What is the difference between what we call illumination and what mormon s call revelation, especially concerning the canonization of scripture. The book of mormon actually apologizes for being poorly written, yet. It was first published in 1830 in palmyra, new york, and was thereafter widely reprinted and translated. Despite what your pastor told you, mormon s do believe in the bible and our beliefs are in there, when you look at other verses besides john 3.
Joseph smith says the book of mormons is the most correct of any book on earth, kjv is 1611 published, mormon book is 1830, so i do disagree as i think the bible is the best book ever and i have studied the book of mormons as seriously as i did the bible and i did study the people in that book as serious as i have all the people in the bible. Book of mormon citys only a letter or two different from. This is precisely the type of distortion of the gospel that brings to bear the anathemas of the new testament gal. The book of mormon is a religious record of three groups of people who migrated from the old world to the american continents. If biblical writers wanted or needed to distinguish one temple from another in a different way than by their. The book of mormon and the bible support one anothers teachings, and we love both books. Book of mormontranslation errors from the kjv fairmormon. Behold, david and solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the lord. The book of mormon vs the bible christian research institute. I love to study the life of the ancient covenant people, their trials as well as their blessings, as they strive to follow gods commandments.
And whereas the bible is organically linked to the earthly ministry of jesus christ by extensive surviving manuscript evidence going back as far as a. According to lds scholar donald parry, the fact that the book of mormon uses the expression temple of solomon instead of. All im trying to say is that if youre willing to accept and believe the bible, then why not give the book of mormon a chance. My plan was to write a book showing that no doctrinal contradictions exist between the teachings of the book of mormon and those of the bible. It is the amount of similarities which persuades them. The differences in wording between the kjv and the book of mormon highlight the areas in which there were theologically significant differences between the nephite versions and the masoretic text, from which the bible was translated. When he came to this book he said, the song of solomon is biblical trash. Ive finally gotten around to researching this oftcited alternative theory about the true origins of the book of mormon, and i was both perplexed and amused by what i found.
Shockingjospeh smiths story book of mormon s names and citys are only one or a few letters off of the names of the bible and the citys surrounding jospeh at the time he wrote his fictional book. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible. Each book describes gods interactions with people in a different area of the world, but both books teach many of the same principles. What is the difference between the bible, the book of. Yet even among believers this biblical template for the book of mormon authors. Evidence for solomon spaulding authorship of the book of. The difference is that the book of mormon and the quran are derivative, finding their many of their stories in retelling the more ancient tales in the bible. The book of mormon confirms what the bible says about jesus christ and clarifies many other christian doctrines. The book of mormon records the visit of jesus christ to people in the americas following his resurrection. The holy bible is the sacred text of jews and christians while the book of mormon is the sacred text of the latterday saints movement.
And for those of you who want proof outside the bofm, there is archaeological evidence supporting jesus appearance in the new world, including the ruins of preeuropean christian churches. Both take faith, and if what happened in the bible is possible, then what happened in the book of mormon is also possible. According to lds scholar donald parry, the fact that the book of mormon uses the expression temple of solomon instead of solomon s temple reflects a hebraic grammatical feature called the construct state. To me the book of mormon is more of a supplemental book you can get at a christian bookstore, not an addition to the bible. Some have argued that the similarities between the sermon on the mount in the new testament and the sermon at the temple in bountiful in the book of mormon are evidence that joseph smith simply plagiarized from the bible. We believe that the church discovered what was inspired through prayer and the leading of the holy spirit. The book of mormon in no way contradicts the bible. The curious case of solomon spaulding mormon matters.
The book of mormon teaches that little children are not capable of sin because they do not have a sinful nature moroni 8. Generally dated to the mid first century bc, 1 the central theme of the work is wisdom itself, appearing under two principal aspects. Bible ties to the book of mormon bible reference for lds. Contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible. Bible references that support mormon doctrines and beliefs. The book of mormon is a sacred text of the latter day saint movement, which, according to. The book of mormon can actually be sourced back to the king james bible, while the quran comes from a variety of jewish, christian, gnostic and pagan sources. What are the key differences between mormonism and christianity. The bible the bible was originally written languages of the people composing it. It shows that the book of mormon has committed plagiarism by utilizing our beloved final authority the king james bible without giving credit to whom credit is due. If we compare the historical, prophetical, and doctrinal parts of the book of mormon with the great truths of science and nature, we find no contradictionsno absurditiesnothing unreasonable. The most interesting literary controversy of the time, and the only one which has important practical bearing, is raging around the book of mormon, sometimes but incorrectly called the mormon bible. Points out the contradictions between the bible and book of mormon as well as errors in translation in the king james version kjv of the bible that were copied into the book of mormon. Mormon scholars have also noted that at least seven 4 of the ancient textual variants in question are not significantly different in meaning.
Yet there are several elements present in the 3 nephi text that distinguish it from the version in matthew. A comparison between christian doctrine and mormon. Each book describes gods interactions with people in a different area of the world. The question of book of mormon authorship cannot be solved by dismissing or excising solomon spalding from mormon. Or was the book really derived from solomon spalding. When they talk about the bible they say staff of judah or something to that effect signifying israel. This may be the view of faith in the book of mormon, but it is decidedly not the biblical view see john 20. How does the book of mormons and the bible compare. Unless otherwise indicated, bible quotations are taken from the king james version. Differences between lds mormon and community of christ mormon. The book of mormon has no claim to validity due to its lack of incorporation into the biblical cannon.
The contradictions between the book of mormon and the bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the book of mormon as latterday scripture supplemental to the bible. Other areas can be assumed to be essentially the same. Disproves mormonism using the bible, mormon scripture, statistical analysis and common sense. In fact, mormonism uses the same words found in christianity, but it redefines them. So, with a proper understanding of what mormonism really teaches, you will be able to see past those definitions. The bible has zero grammatical or spelling errors but the first edition of the book of mormon looks exactly like what you would expect from someone like the uneducated but otherwise brilliant joseph smith. The book of mormon restores plain and precious truths that have been lost from the bible. The book of mormon and the king james bible wikipedia. Reading the song of solomon as a latterday saint religious. Large parts are also plagiarized from the king james version of the bible. While claiming to follow the bible, are they actually contradicting the word of god. Printed in canada first edition, isbn 9780981146720. What is the difference between the bible and the book of mormon.
Yet keep in mind, also, that the lack of differences is not what, in part, persuades believers in the spaldingridgon theory. Book of mormon, work accepted as holy scripture, in addition to the bible, in the church of jesus christ of latterday saints and other mormon churches. Although the mormon church denies it, the book of mormon actually was plagiarized from an unpublished novel, i. And the book of mormon supposedly is of a different lineage but essentially its the same scripture. The prophet joseph smith said, i told the brethren that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to god by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book joseph smith, history of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, 7 vols. Christianity christians hold that the bible is the sole infallible authority for life and faith. Because solomon had never built a temple, and did not know what was necessary in the arrangement of the different apartments, any better than moses did what. No personal name or title is ever used in this construction in the bible.
For rarely does one find an alternative theory advanced to expose the true origins of a. It took smith less than 3 months to translate the writings and publish it into a 588 volume. He stated that while the church affirms the book of mormon as scripture, and makes. The second chapter of the book of jacob in the book of mormon contains the only explicit teaching about polygamy in the nephite record. This is the foundation stone of the church of jesus christ of latterday. Generally dated to the mid first century bc, the central theme of the work is wisdom itself, appearing under two principal aspects. Differences between lds mormon and community of christ. This is a list of some of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints doctrines and beliefs and the bible passages that support them. The wisdom of solomon or book of wisdom is a jewish work, written in greek, and most likely composed in alexandria, egypt.
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