can we trust the book of Mormon?

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Why not ? You can't accept the Bible and reject the BoM, using the same standards on both !

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I think if you accept the Bible as the word of God, you must reject the Book of Mormon based on these scriptures.Deut. 4:2: Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. (NIV)Prov. 30:6: Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. (NIV)Does anybody know how Mormons respond to these passages? or does anybody think that I am interpreting what these mean wrong.

I can see where Deut 4:2 can be taken as only meaning the law of that book, I don't think it is exclusive but I agree it can be taken that way.If you look in Deut 12:32: Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.This seems to indicate that "whatever" God cammands, do not add to it.Also to clarify Prov. 30:6 I posted before to add verse 5 it reads: Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar."Every word" would indicate that it is not talkig about proverbs alone but the sum of Gods word.Paul even wrote in 1Cor 4:6: that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.He clearly states do not read beyond what scripture says.

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No, you are missing the real problem. Deuteronomy doesn't give an explicit cut-off between "scripture" and "non-scripture". The only sensible way to read it as supplying an implict cut-off is to use the date of writing Deuteronomy. So how do you read Deuteronomy as excluding the Book of Mormon ?

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I am assuming that all the books of the Bible are written by God. This can be debated, but assuming they are all written by God, then Duet. 4 (as well as Prov 30:5-6) applies to all Gods commands and not just in Duet. The Book of Mormon is a seperate book from the Bible and cannot be trusted to be Gods word.

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Verse 18 and 19, may help to establish the fact that nothing is to be added or taken away from scripture. If you believe that God knew that scripture would be subject to tampering, then the warnings throughout the written word, should not fall victim to questioning.
And God knew that his word would be maligned in every shape and form possible.
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of
the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these
things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in
this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the
book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the
book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things
which are written in this book.

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Many think this is a warning for just the book of Revelation and not all the scriptures. "this book" is used to establish how this should be applied. I think that it can be applied to all of scripture as a principle outlined in other verses.

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You're also assuming that the Book of Mormon is NOT written by God. And you can't get that from Deuteronomy. But Mormons don't make the distinction between the Bible and the BoM that you do - both are scripture and the arguments for regarding one as the Word of God apply equally to the other.
So it is not Deuteronomy that is the issue - but your starting assumption that the BoM is not scripture versus the LDS assumption that it is. The only way to make Deuteronomy an issue is to argue that it supports your assumption over the Mormon assumption - but that gets you right back to the problems I identified.

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Maybe I am going in circles but I will try again. Mormons admit that the BoM is another testiment of Jesus Christ. If the Bible is true, as Mormons beleive, then they have added to the word of God. I still don't see how both can be true according to the Bible. Do Mormons beleive that the BoM is part of the Bible or another book of Jesus Christ? Maybe this is where I am misunderstanding what Mormons beleive.This message has been edited by Robb, 11-09-2004 06:52 PM

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What criteria have you applied to the Bible when you decided it's the word of God? Have you applied the same criteria to the BoM and if yes, how did the BoM fail ?

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I will first start with a few ideas that DO NOT prove that the Bible is the word of God, but they do keep it from being ruled out and adds to the body of evidence of its authenticity.
Historical accuracy — Again, a book can be accurate historically but not be inspired by God. (Can be discussed further if needed)Consistency of the message from book to book — The whole of the Book is about events leading up to, during and the meaning of Jesus’ death.No Contradictions — I know you are laughing now. It is even clear to me that there are contradictions in the bible. Just look at Mat 10:9-10, Mark 6:8-9 and Luke 9:3 all state different things about what to take on the disciples journey (sandals and staff). There are explanations for these contradictions that can be discussed further if anybody wants.The first reason that I know the Bible is the word of God is the hundreds of prophecies that have come true.One example is in Isaiah 13:19-20, he predicts the destruction of Babylon and that it will never be built upon again.Another are all the messianic prophesies throughout the Old Testament. One remarkable prophesy is in Daniel 9:25 where he predicts when Jesus presents himself as the Messiah to the day. The prophecy states that 69 weeks of years (173,880 days) after the command goes forth to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem the Messiah will come. If we count forward 173,880 days from March 14th 445 B.C. we arrive at April 6th 32 A.D.! In another thread we can confirm/debate the dates March 14th 445 BC and April 6th 32 AD.If all the prophesies of the Bible have come or will come true, then the only reasonable explanation is that they were divinely inspired.
God says in Isaiah 41:21-23:

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21 "Present your case," says the LORD . "Set forth your arguments," says Jacob's King.22 "Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, 23 tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.

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God wants you to see that prophesies prove the authorship of the Bible.The second reason is that I have applied it to my life and have seen the results. You may reject this as non scientific or subjective but you asked why I beleive the Bible is the word of God. I have accepted Jesus as my savior and have been able to change my life and love others as never before. I have put God’s word to work in my life and have seen the promises of the Bible fulfilled as well as in others that have done the same. I have seen marriages get back together, illnesses cured for no other reason, and have seen my resources stretched and multiplied to help others in need with no other explanation that I can think of, except for prayer to God. I have not experienced any other self help book, theory or idea’s that can do that.Applying these to the other two books claiming God's inspiration the BoM and Koran, they do not hold up as well.*Edited to correct bible passage.This message has been edited by Robb, 11-10-2004 10:04 AM

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Robb, do you believe that there is one Christian Bible?

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I beleive there is one message from God known as the Bible.

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Robb, do you believe that there is one Christian Bible?

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I beleive there is one message from God known as the Bible.

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But is that entity, the Bible, the same book for all Christians?

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No, Christians use different books, most Catholics use AKJV, Mormons use the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible (I think the use the AKJV as well). Jehova Witnesses use their own translation. These translations are debated as to which is the best translation or, as some beleive, that the AKJV is the only word of God and other translations are wrong. I know that all translations have led people to Christ and therefore think that they are all valid.I am sorry if I am not answering your question. If I have not answered it with this post let me know.Just for the record I am not trying to bash Mormons or anyone else with different christian beleifs than my own. I beleive that if a denomination teaches that Jesus is the only way to salvation, then they are saved and are fellow Christians. We do and will differ over doctrine and what scripture means, but we all must realize that Jesus is the center of what we beleive and not religion.

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Do you know of any contradictions in the BoM? If there weren't any, would you accept it as the word of God ?

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I will research contradictions in the BoM, I have researched contradictions between the BoM and the Bible. Here are two I have found:The Bible prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.However, the Book of Mormon said he would be born at Jerusalem.Alma 7: 10 "And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin..."andThe Holy Ghost was bestowed on the Christians at the time of Pentecost.Acts 2:1-4 "1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.The BoM claims that people received the Holy Ghost around 545 B.C.2 Nephi 31:12-13 "...the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me... Wherefore, my beloved brethren,... by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost;..."From these and others one can beleive the BoM is correct, the Bible is correct or neither is correct, but not that both are correct.