What are the major differences between the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Is the Book of Mormon reliable? Can we view it with the same regard as we view the Bible? Can anything helpful be gleaned from it?
Authors
The Bible
Voddie Baucham at the Ever Loving Truth Conference in 2016 said, “I choose to believe the Bible because it is a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They reported supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claimed that their writings are divine rather than human in origin.” The Bible is God-breathed, and it is alive.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Book Of Mormon
The Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith in March 1830. Smith claims that the prophet who last contributed to the work returned to earth as an angel and told him where to find it. This angel then helped Smith translate the work from “reformed Egyptian” characters into English. However, no such ancient language has ever existed.
History
The Bible
Archaeology has proven many aspects of the Bible. Names of kings, cities, government officials and even festivals have been verified in archaeological evidence. One example: the Biblical narrative of Jesus healing the man by the Pool of Bethesda. For years archaeologists didn’t believe such a pool existed, though the Bible clearly describes all five porticoes leading to the pool. However, later these archaeologists were able to find the pool – forty feet down, and with all five porticoes.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon, though it mentions a lot of historical things, lacks the archeological evidence to back it up. None of the cities or people mentioned specifically in regard to the Book of Mormon have been discovered. Lee Strobel says “Archaeology has repeatedly failed to substantiate its claims about events that supposedly occurred long ago in the Americas. I remember writing to the Smithsonian Institute to inquire about whether there was any evidence supporting the claims of Mormonism, only to be told in unequivocal terms that its archaeologists see ‘no direct connection between the archaeology of the New World and the subject matter of the book.’
Publication
The Bible
The Bible is intact and complete. The early church accepted the books of the New Testament immediately since they were written by the immediate followers of Jesus. While other books were attempted to be added, they were considered non-canonical due to the lack of eyewitnesses, the heavy Gnostic heresy content, historical errors, etc.
Book Of Mormon
The Book of Mormon has no claim to validity due to its lack of incorporation into the Biblical cannon. It took Smith less than 3 months to “translate” the writings and publish it into a 588 volume.
Original languages
The Bible
The Bible was originally written languages of the people composing it. The Old Testament was predominantly written in Hebrew. The New Testament is mostly in Koine Greek and a portion was also written in Aramaic. There were over forty authors of the Bible spanning over three continents.
Book of Mormon
The Book Of Mormon claims that Moroni, a “prophet”, originally wrote the book and that it was translated by Joseph Smith. Now, some critics also claim that Smith gained most of his theories from a manuscript of a novel written by Solomon Spaulding.
Books
The Bible
The Bible consists of 66 books, divided into two sections: The Old and New Testament. Genesis tells us about the Creation and about the Fall of Man. In Exodus we see God saving His people from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the Old Testament we are given the Law of God to show us our sin and how perfection is demanded by a Holy God – a perfection we cannot hope to attain. The Old Testament is filled with stories about God redeeming His people over and over again. The New Testament starts with Matthew, which tells us about the lineage of Jesus. The four Gospels, the four first books of the New Testament are first person accounts of some of the followers of Jesus. Also, in the New Testament are books, or letters written to various churches, explaining how Christians are to live. It concludes with a book of prophesy on the end of times.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon likewise consists of smaller books bound together. Such books include Book of Moroni, First Book of Nephi, Book of Ether, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, Words of Mormon, etc. Some are written in first person narrative, while others are written in third person narrative.
Authority, Inspiration, and Reliability
The Bible
The Bible is self-authenticating. It is the only book with supernatural confirmation to support its claim of God-inspired. The testimony of Christ, the fulfillment of prophecies, the lack of contradictions, etc. The Bible is God-breathed, written by over forty authors, over the course of fifteen hundred years, and in three different continents. There were many unique circumstances held by the authors – some wrote from prison, some wrote during times of war or times of sorrow or when out in a desert. Yet throughout this diversity – the Bible remains unified in its message and has archaeological evidence backing it.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon has absolutely no credibility. The people and places are not proven to exist, it was written by a man and not God-breathed. Also, the Book of Mormon contains grave errors and contradictions.
The person of Christ
The Bible
The Bible says that Jesus is God incarnate. Jesus is a part of the Trinity – He is God wrapped in flesh. He was not a created being but existed eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He came to earth in flesh to bear the wrath of God on His person on the cross to atone for the sins of mankind.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon says quite the opposite. Mormons claim that Jesus was a created being and NOT God. They also claim that Lucifer is his brother – and that we too are His brothers and sisters in a very literal way; the offspring of god and his goddess. Mormons claim that Jesus was the first person to receive a spirit body and that He atoned for the sin on the cross AND in the garden of Gethsemane.
The Doctrine of God
The Bible
The Bible teaches that God is perfectly Holy and that He has always existed. He is a Triune God – three persons in One essence.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon teaches that God has flesh and bones and that He has a wife with whom they produce spirit offspring in heaven that will inhabit human bodies on earth.
Salvation
The Bible
The Bible teaches that all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All sin is treason against our Holy God. Since God is the perfect Judge, we stand before Him guilty. The Punishment for sinning against a perfect and eternal God is eternal torment in Hell, where we will be separated from His presence forever. Christ paid the ransom on our souls. He bore the wrath of God in our place. He paid the penalty for our crimes against God. It is by repentance of our sins and trusting in Christ that we are saved. When we are saved we can be sure that we will go to Heaven.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon claims that Jesus’s atonement provided for the immortality for all people. But to achieve Exaltation – or godhood – it is available only to Mormons who obey the teachings specific to the Book of Mormon. These include endowments, celestial marriage, and specific tithing.
Contradictions
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is filled with many contradictions. God is a spirit is said in some places where God has a body is said in others. God dwells in the heart is mentioned where God does not dwell in the heart is said in other places. Four times the creation is said to have occurred by one God and in two other places the Book of Mormon says that creation occurred by plural gods. The Book of Mormon three times says that God cannot lie – but in another book it says that god lied. The list of contradiction is vast.
The Bible
The Bible, however, contains no contradictions. There are a few places that appear to contradict, but when read in its context the lack of contradiction is clearly evident.
Mormons are not Christians. They deny the basic and essential doctrines of the Christian faith. They deny that there is one God, and that God has always existed as He is. They deny the deity of Christ and the eternality of Christ. They also deny that forgiveness of sins is by grace alone through faith alone.
Conclusion
We must continue to pray for Mormons that they may come to know the real God and find salvation in Christ. Do not be deceived when a pair of Mormons come to your door – be willing to show them who Jesus is according to the very word of God.
