The Bible is the Only word of God?

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Trying to challenge my beliefs, I've had a few people tell me the Bible is the only word of God. Is it? Where has God ever said the Bible is his only words to us today? Which translation of the Bible? King James? New International Version? New Revised Standard Version? Revised English Bible? Each of the many versions of the Bible renders verses a little differently, giving a slightly different meaning to them. It is impossible to translate anything word for word with exactly the same meaning from one language to another which is one of the reasons of the differences. The bible states that the truth of all things will be established by two or more witness. The Book of Mormon is God's second book of scripture to witness to us the divinity of Jesus Christ and his teachings of the Gospel.

To disqualify The Book of Mormon as scripture people always quote Revelation 22:18:-19 to me.

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What does Revelation 22:18-19 really say?

Revelation 22:18-19

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.

Just because these verses are at the end of the Bible doesn't mean these verses pertain to the whole Bible, they just pertain to the book of Revelation. John started the book of Revelation with a similar statement. Pay particular attention to verse 3.

Revelation 1:1-3

1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2. Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

There are similar statements to Revelation 22:18-19 in Deuteronomy 4:2 and Proverbs 30:5-6.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2

1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.

2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

 

Proverbs 30:5-6

5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

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The Bible it's self is not a book but a collection of books. Even the origin of it's title indicates this. The word "Bible" is of Greek origin, being derived from "ta biblia", meaning "the books." In the course of time "biblia," a neuter plural, started to be rendered as a feminine singular, and in that way "the books" came to be spoken of as "the book." The Bible is not a book but a collection of books of scripture. The Old Testament and the New Testament are both composed of several books of scripture.

The books of the Bible were compiled over centuries, being the work of many prophets and writers inspired by the Holy Spirit. It came into being "in many parts and in many modes," and when we study the books themselves we can see the varied conditions of time, place and thought under which they were composed. The Old Testament is the canon of scriptures accepted by the Jews at the time of Christ's ministry on earth and were accepted by the Christians. The New Testament is composed of writings written by various writers around the time of Christ and the Apostles and after their deaths. It took centuries before what we know as the New Testament was compiled into what it is now. The writers often were reporting second hand, their back grounds influenced what they recorded, the same with those who transcribed and translated the records. There's no way to know how far from the original truths all this has caused the text to stray. Think of how a story is changed as it is passed from one person to another. This is why God brought forth another record, The Book of Mormon, to testify of the divinity of Jesus Christ and to clarify and restore the teachings of Christ and His prophet's. God has told us that through two or more witnesses shall a truth be established, hence we need the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

I don't have the time or space here to go into depth on the development of the Bible, but if you study for yourself how it was developed you will see there are imperfections in it. Don't take the word of your pastor or any one else, read it for yourself. A book you might consider:

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There are differences in the Gospels (nice summery), also see Harmony of the Gospels.

Other diffrences I can point out; Two versions of Paul's conversion; Acts 9:3-8; Acts 22:6-9, in one the men with him hear the voice and the other they don't. Also:

Who were Jesus's original twelve Apostles?

Matthew 10:2-4

2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

 

Mark 3:14-19

14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:

16 And Simon he surnamed Peter;

17 And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:

18 And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite,

19 And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

 

Luke 6:13-16

13 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;

14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,

15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,

16 And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

Ok, who exactly were Jesus Christ's Apostles? Here are lists of their names, although I've reordered the way they were given in Mark and Luke to the same order as they are given in Matthew for easy comparison. The Gospel of John does not name the all the Apostles.

Matthew 10:2-4 Simon Peter Andrew his brother James the son of Zebedee John his bother Philip Bartholomew Thomas Mathew the Publican James the son of Alphaeus Lebbaeus Thaddaeus Simon the Canaanite Judas Iscariot

Mark 3:14-19 Simon Peter Andrew James the son of Zebedee John the brother of James Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew James son of Alphaeus Thaddaeus Simon the Canaanite Judas Iscariot

Luke 6:13-16 Simon Peter Andrew his brother James John Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew James son of Alphaeus Judas brother of James Simon called Zelotes Judas Iscariot

So who is the tenth apostle? Lebbaeus Thaddaeus or Judas brother of James?

There are all kinds of variations in the Gospels and the books that follow where details aren't mentioned from one place to another and sometimes contradict each other. Read the New Testamant for yourself and compare the stories.

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Missing Books

In the New Testament there are several references to writings which are not in the Bible today; 1 Corinthians 5:9 (missing epistle), Ephesians 3:3 (as I wrote afore in few words), epistle from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16), Prophesies of Enoch (Jude 1:14) known to Jude which we don't have today.

As well as several books mentioned in the Old Testament that we do not have today:
Book the Covenant (Ex. 24:7), Wars of the Lord (1. Num. 21:14), the Book of Jasher, (1. Josh. 10:13) Also (2 Sam. 1:18), Acts of Solomon (1 Kgs. 11:41), Book of Samuel the seer, Nathan the Prophet, Gad the Seer (1 Chr. 29:29), Book of Nathan the Prophet, Prophecy of Ahijah, Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 9:29), Acts of Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:22), Iddo the Prophet (2 Chr. 13:22), Book of Shemaiah the prophet, Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 12:15), Book of Jehu (2 Chr. 20:34), Sayings of the Seers (2 Chr. 33:19).

This shows we do not have all the words of the Lord to his people in various times and places, and these are only the works we know that are missing, there no telling how many we don't know about. How many other works of Prophets have been lost, maybe yet to be found or lost forever? What about the Dead Sea Scrolls, many books of Apocrypha and other non-canonical works?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints position on the bible is "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."- Articles of Faith

We use the King James version of the Bible and all scriptures quoted from the bible on my site are from that version.

We are blessed in these last days to have God's Priesthood restored to earth, God's Prophet to reveal the Will of God to us and have the Book of Mormon to act as a second testament of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. If you are interested in learning more about THE Church of Jesus Christ, I recommend getting in contact with the full time missionaries in your area. You can arrange to for them to contact you by calling 1-800-638-1119. If you don't want to do that, then visit the Church's web page (URL's below) where you can find all kinds of information about the Church's teachings and programs. You can learn about God's Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon at these pages of my site. I testify to you that God has revealed to me the truth by the Holy Spirit and I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints IS Christ's church on earth today. Come and learn from us the simple truths of Jesus Christ's gospel.

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Bible Prophecies of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Questions Answered by the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ
God's Plan of Salvation, explained with an illustration and supporting Scriptures
Which is the True Church of Jesus Christ?

LDS Apologetic Sites links

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Joseph Smith's Testimony Jesus Christ, the Son of God Learn about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles The Scriptures, Internet Edition Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Family: A Proclamation to the World Read the Gospel Principles manual on www.lds.org

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Read The Book of Mormon on-line.

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