Is the Book of Mormon legit?

[Elijah19]

Well, if you need direct Scriptural evidence as to whether the Book of Mormon is legit or not, devoid of human bias, go with what it says in the book of Galatians 1:8-9, in which Paul states:

"[SUP]8 [/SUP]But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. [SUP]9 [/SUP]As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Now an interesting fact to note here about the Book of Mormon is that it usually contains a subtitle on the cover in gold calling itself "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." By definition, the Book of Mormon calling itself another testament of Jesus Christ would automatically mean that it defines itself as "another Gospel" other than the Gospel originally revealed to the disciples. I'll let you figure out the rest by common logic.

Also, remember that just because people from another faith, or even a similar faith, may have a lot of good traits in their practice - this does not mean they are necessarily right about anything. On a few other notes, the Book of Mormon makes several elaborate claims which are quite frankly mythical in quality. A few of these include the idea that the American Indians came to the Americas on a second ark, that Joseph Smith transcribed the Book of Mormon from Golden Tablets with Mystical Glasses, and that Polygamy and racism against blacks was permitted under God's Law (early Mormons under Joseph Smith practiced both frequently).

Given all of that, and the fact that there is virtually zero archaeological evidence to back up the stories of the Book of Mormon, yet literally thousands to back up the Bible, it seems dubious that it could even conceivably come close to a true Revelation. Lastly, a lot of the Book of Mormon was copied (i.e. plagiarized) directly from the Old King James Version (about 1/3 of it I think). Fishy? Coincidence? Hmm...

 

[Tintin]

And what is it that makes you able to declare who is and is not a christian... Idk about you but my bible dosent say you can't be a christian because you read an extra book.. Jesus says not everyone who calls his name will see the kingdom of heaven but those who do the will of his father.... I may call myself a christian and so do you but we could both be wrong, because you see we don't get to decide who the real christians are only God does... But what I can say is I see a lot more Mormons out there trying to spread the word of God and trying to do what's right than I do so called Christians... So what about there other book, you show me a scripture that though shall read no other than the bible an maybe I'll agree with you... But you can't because the bible wasn't even the bible when it was written it was a bunch of separate books later brought together into one.

I see now. You're a Mormon pretending to be a Christian.

 

[allaboutlove]

Elijah19 I appreciate that scriptural enlightment I had forgot about that one and I'm mature enough to admit when I'm wrong which I was about there not being a scripture specifically about there being no other books. However my original point still stands which is that dosent make them a cult or unchristian it may make them sinners but any christian who says he isn't a sinner is a lier. Mislead as they me be about the book of Mormon they still love God and Jesus and believe that he is there savior.... And tintin your wrong, I'm simply trying to defend them because they where being atracked, I have this bad habit of trying to stand up for people who are being wronged.

 

[Tintin]

We weren't attacking Mormons. They can be lovely people. But they're still teaching lies. Did Jesus defend false teachings in order to be 'loving'. Heck, no! He told it like it was. Instead of being AllAboutLove (which is pretty arbitrary) how about you also try to be AllAboutTruth? Or even better AllAboutLoveByWayOfTruth?

 

[Jimbone]

Elijah19 I appreciate that scriptural enlightment I had forgot about that one and I'm mature enough to admit when I'm wrong which I was about there not being a scripture specifically about there being no other books. However my original point still stands which is that dosent make them a cult or unchristian it may make them sinners but any christian who says he isn't a sinner is a lier. Mislead as they me be about the book of Mormon they still love God and Jesus and believe that he is there savior.... And tintin your wrong, I'm simply trying to defend them because they where being atracked, I have this bad habit of trying to stand up for people who are being wronged.

Well I can understand why you feel that way, and it sounds real nice and understanding from a worldly perspective, but there is a TRUTH and there are falsehoods and Joseph Smith and his book of Mormon is a falsehood with NO power to save. Just being nice and telling them "you have your beliefs and I have mine" does sound real nice to the carnal ear, but it is the same as telling them it doesn't matter to me if you spend eternity in hell. That to me is the most hateful thing we could ever do to anyone.

Jesus Christ is TRUE and the bible is TRUE. It can be put to the test and withstand the closest examination. The book of Mormon is a man made fabrication from start to finish that cannot stand up to even the smallest bit of scrutiny. I'm sorry if truth, standing for the REAL Jesus, and trying to expose the lie of Mormonism offends you, but maybe truth just means more to some of us than being PC, and some of us take Jesus words more seriously than others. I personally can't "nice" anyone into an eternity away from God in the name of not hurting feelings. I think their feelings will be much more hurt after they die and figure this out.

I understand where you're coming from though. Before I was TRULY reborn, just thought I was a Christian, and really only liked the "idea of Jesus", I had no clue Mormons weren't Christian, nor the VAST majority of what calls themselves Christians in the world. After He truly filled me and I was regenerated by His Spirit, it's all I ever do anymore, just learn all I can about His word and what these other religions believe. I challenge you to look into it yourself and see the HUGE difference between Mormonism and biblical Christianity. Jesus is THE truth not "a" truth.

 

[allaboutlove]

I have looked into it myself, and I agree there is no power from the book of Mormon especially not the power to save an if there entire religion was based off the book of Mormon I'd agree they weren't christians but its not. They read the same bible we do they believe the same things that we do. They worriship like we do they preach from the bible like we do an yes they have another book and some different beliefs but no two christian denominations believe all the same things, but we don't call baptist or methodist a cult they may have some different ideas on things but they got the basics the same. The same basics Mormons go by...... As far as teaching lies the majority of what they teach at lest in my experience with them is the bible.

 

[Tintin]

I have looked into it myself, and I agree there is no power from the book of Mormon especially not the power to save an if there entire religion was based off the book of Mormon I'd agree they weren't christians but its not. They read the same bible we do they believe the same things that we do. They worriship like we do they preach from the bible like we do an yes they have another book and some different beliefs but no two christian denominations believe all the same things, but we don't call baptist or methodist a cult they may have some different ideas on things but they got the basics the same. The same basics Mormons go by...... As far as teaching lies the majority of what they teach at lest in my experience with them is the bible.

Might need to do some research on Mormon beliefs then. They vary ever so greatly from Christianity.

http://bristolworks.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/mormonism-echart-imagepdf.jpg

 

[allaboutlove]

As previously stated I have... I heard all the stories about there beliefs and I thought it was crazy and I wonderd how people could really believe such stuff, but instead of just going by what I heard from people I decided to look into it myself. What I discovered is the craziness of there beliefs or often exaggerated as far as what they believe about the bible and about Jesus... If you were to go into a Mormon Church not knowing what it was and they weren't to mention anything about the book of Mormon or Joseph smith you wouldn't even know the difference.

 

[allaboutlove]

It seems as if we will never agree on this matter though. So perhaps its better to just agree to disagree and move on.

 

[posthuman]

It seems as if we will never agree on this matter though. So perhaps its better to just agree to disagree and move on.

actually, seems like we all (except you) agree that LDS and Christianity are opposed to one another.

even their prophet joe smith agrees -- he founded his religion by claiming that all Christians were wrong, had been wrong for almost 2,000 years, that the true gospel had been lost since the first apostles died and that he alone knew the truth, he alone had the true gospel, he alone spoke for God in the whole world, and everyone who rejected him is damned, that he himself would sit at the right hand of God and judge the whole world. it's true; look it up.

so honestly, it's mormonism that been doing the attacking, ever since it began, and Christianity that's been on the defense.
it's like we've all said - the mormons you meet day-to-day may be very lovely people. they are very well trained missionaries; devoted, very disciplined and very well organized. they control more money than any other non-governmental institution in the world apart from the Catholic church. they are very powerful, especially in the western US, and they stick together like glue, because they teach condemnation for their own members who dissent. the only way for anyone to go to hell according to the LDS is to be a mormon and then leave them.
but the doctrine and teaching of the LDS church is false. their prophets are false. those with knowledge are deceivers and those who are ignorant are deceived. they use the same words as we do, but they mean very different things. they are specifically trained as missionaries to try to appeal to Christians by deceiving them this way.

i'm sorry you didn't get the answers you hoped for in this thread, but we're being honest with you. i love the mormon people i've met, too, like i said. but that doesn't mean that mormonism isn't a false religion. it's an insidious counterfeit.

 

[Ugly]

I have looked into it myself, and I agree there is no power from the book of Mormon especially not the power to save an if there entire religion was based off the book of Mormon I'd agree they weren't christians but its not. They read the same bible we do they believe the same things that we do. They worriship like we do they preach from the bible like we do an yes they have another book and some different beliefs but no two christian denominations believe all the same things, but we don't call baptist or methodist a cult they may have some different ideas on things but they got the basics the same. The same basics Mormons go by...... As far as teaching lies the majority of what they teach at lest in my experience with them is the bible.

Really? My bible says Jesus is God's only son. Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers.
So are they really teaching the same Jesus? Is this just a different denomination, or does conflicting directly with the bible on who the person of Jesus is change things drastically enough that their 'Jesus' is not the same Jesus?
If the book of mormon conflicts with the bible is it just adding a different book?
Is stating that a book came from God, and following that book the same way you do the bible, following a lie, since it is not supported by the bible?

A cult is a group that deviates away from the mainstream teachings of Christianity. Changing the nature of God and Jesus is a deviation from the bible. Baptists and other accepted denominations all agree that Jesus is the one and only son of God and that through that one son, salvation is given. They may disagree on another 1000 points, but that foundation they all agree on. Mormonism changes the nature of Christ and who Christ is. Therefore, by changing who Christ is, places them as a cult.

 

[Angela53510]

I think you really need to research this. It is NOT about the people who are Mormons. It is about what they believe. Read the Bible, read the Book of Mormon and compare. They are not the same. There are contradictions. I am not even sure how a Mormon can believe, when they say both books are authorative, and the books disagree.

Here is a really good apologetics site that can tell you just about everything that has been referenced on the Mormon faith.

https://carm.org/mormonism

My prayer is that you will sincerely look at the conflicting theologies between the book of Mormon and the Bible. Jesus is both God and man, and he came to save us. We are not saved by our human efforts, anywhere in the Bible. Then remember that all these Mormons who are trying so legalistically to please God by not drinking coffee, wearing strange signs on their underwear, having to go be missionary for a year or two, etc, etc. Then think about the truth of the gospel, and how you can be a missionary to them.

Again, I urge you to pm me and we can talk about what it means to be saved as a Christian. Your words indicate you do not really understand this basic truth.

 

[Chuckt]

Introduction to 3,913 Changes

3,913 Changes in the Book of Mormon​

In this study we will show that there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the Book of Mormon from the time it was first published in 1830.
In making this study we obtained photocopies of an original 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon from the University of Utah Library. This copy was donated to the library by the Mormon Apostle John A. Widtsoe.

 

[Chuckt]

If the Book of Mormon was first penned from 600BC and AD 421, how did it end up with quotations from the 1611 King James Bible?

Joseph Smith said the translation of the Book of Mormon is correct but there are plagiarisms and 3,913 changes.

If asked to pray about the book of Mormon, one must wonder which edition or which of the 4,000 changes we should pray about.

If asked to study about the book of mormon before criticizing it, we must wonder which of the 4,000 changes we should study first.

 

[Chuckt]

Really? My bible says Jesus is God's only son. Book of Mormon teaches that Jesus and Lucifer were brothers.
So are they really teaching the same Jesus? Is this just a different denomination, or does conflicting directly with the bible on who the person of Jesus is change things drastically enough that their 'Jesus' is not the same Jesus?
If the book of mormon conflicts with the bible is it just adding a different book?
Is stating that a book came from God, and following that book the same way you do the bible, following a lie, since it is not supported by the bible?

A cult is a group that deviates away from the mainstream teachings of Christianity. Changing the nature of God and Jesus is a deviation from the bible. Baptists and other accepted denominations all agree that Jesus is the one and only son of God and that through that one son, salvation is given. They may disagree on another 1000 points, but that foundation they all agree on. Mormonism changes the nature of Christ and who Christ is. Therefore, by changing who Christ is, places them as a cult.

I suggest people read "The Maze of Mormonism" or "The Kingdom of the Cults" By Dr. Walter Martin. He has some of the only material that works.

The Book of Mormon contradicts Mormon Doctrine:

"Instead of teaching that there are many gods, the book of Mormon teaches that there is only one god (Mosiah 15:1-5; Alma 11:28,29; 2 Nephi 31:21.).

Instead of teaching that people evolve to godhood, the Book of Mormon teaches that God is unchanging (Mormon 9:9,19; Moroni 8:18; Alma 41:8;3 Nephi 24:6).

Instead of teaching that God is a physical, exalted man, the Book of Mormon teaches that God is a spirit (Alma 18:24-28; 22:9-11).

 

[Chuckt]

In June 1828 Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of Mormonism, joined the Methodist Church [probationary class] in Harmony, Pennsylvania. This was a strange thing for this prophet of a new religion to do, and seriously challenges the story he put out ten years later about the origin of his work.
That later story claims that in 1820 Joseph Smith had seen two glorious personages, identified as the Father and the Son, and was informed that the creeds of all the "sects," or various denominations, "were an abomination" and he was twice forbidden to join any of them.

The Mormon Prophet Attempts to Join the Methodists by Wesley P. Walters

Does anyone know why Joseph Smith tried to join the Methodist church if Mormonism is the only true Church?

 

[Elijah19]

Hmm. If you wish to know whether Mormons are (or are not) unchristian, it would stand to reason that their beliefs should be examined and cross-referenced with literal scripture, no? Honestly, you are very right in saying that all Christians are sinners (and all humans are sinners, for that matter). But what is their sin? If their sin is false doctrine, and that doctrine contradicts the Bible, then by definition their beliefs are unchristian. If they do not contradict the Bible, then they are Christian.

But as already demonstrated, the Bible makes it clear all other gospels are to be taken as unchristian. Please understand, I am not trying to attack decent Mormons by that statement. I have known a fair number of nice ones in my day (many of my close High School friends were Mormons). But your query doesn't depend on that. This is simply a matter of logic and Bible knowledge. You can have a nice Buddhist, Muslim, Atheist, or Hindu, can't you? Yes, but that doesn't make their belief systems correct, and it certainly doesn't put them on the same level as a Christian. At least a sinful Christian can still be saved. A nice unbeliever cannot be, even if they somewhat reverence Jesus. For example, a Muslim man may say that he respects Jesus as a prophet, loves God, and be an upstanding person in society, but that makes him no closer to the kingdom of God than a member of Isis. This isn't a matter of whether Mormons are sinners or not. It's a matter of whether or not they are right with God and Saved.

 

[laoshanlung]

Elijah19, unbelievers CAN be saved, but only while they're on Earth. I get what you meant when you said what you did. An unbeliever in death is damned, that's true. But one in life can still be saved. Heheh... you probably already knew that, and chances are that I'm writing this post for no real reason. But just making sure that we don't become condemning of our to-be brothers and sisters. God bless you.

 

[allaboutlove]

And I agree I have friends who are Muslims just as I do ones who are Mormon and the Muslims ones are good people but there obvisoly not christians. The difference with mormons is there not unbelievers and I think its just as easy for a Mormon to be right with God an be saved as it is for any other denomination. I don't think all Mormons are saved just because there Mormon but nether are all of any denomination... So despite what else they may believe if they believe that God is the one true God and that his son Jesus Christ came to die for us that what makes them any less eligible for salvation than us.

 

[allaboutlove]

In the end its not what we do or don't read that saves us. We're not saved by scripture or doctrine we're not saved by the laws we follow or damned by the ones we break. As important as scripture an laws may be in the end it all comes down to one thing we are saved by one thing and that's love. The love Jesus has for all of us and the love that we chose whether or not to return.