A Couple of Questions

Thanks to my first commenter ever on this site! I wish I had a screen name at least wherewith to identify you, but alas the anonymity must remain with the author of the comment. I must admit, though, that for a first comment it sure was, um, long. But if you've read some of my posts you know that I have no problem with "long." In fact, I welcome long, I encourage long, I plead for long! Or short too. I just like comments, to be honest.



Ah! There's the buzz-word: Honest. Have I been honest in my posting thus far on the site? That seems to be an unwritten question on the mind of my anonymous friend who so kindly broke the monotony of the one-sided-ness of this blog. To answer this question, Yes. I have been very honest in each of the posts and the two videos thus far. Inasmuch as the comment came on the videos allow me to say that it is true, in discussing the idea of Mormons having their own Bible, that most members of the Church indeed own their own copy of the Bible, and the Church does indeed print the KJV.



But there were other questions; granted, some were not phrased as questions, but I presume that at the heart of the comments there were questions unanswered. Therefore, allow me to thrill you know with my question-answering skill! I will, for your convenience, reference some scriptural passages in my answers; some from the Bible, others from the Book of Mormon.



Anonymous Commenter Question 1: Do you love the Holy Bible or the Book of Mormon more?

Answer: I don't think I want to choose. They are both the Word of God, both have inspired me to believe in Christ and come unto Him and seek His goodness and the Spirit in my life. I love them the same.



ACQ 2: Do you esteem Jesus Christ or Joseph Smith more?

Answer: Jesus Christ. Why? Because He is God (John 1:1; Mosiah 15:1), and Joseph Smith is not. Because it is only through Jesus Christ that I can be saved (Helaman 5:9), Joseph Smith did not suffer for my sins, die on the cross, and rise the third day as Jesus did. Because Jesus Christ lived a sinless life (Hebrews 5:8-9), and Joseph Smith did not. Because Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God (Matthew 17:5; 3 Nephi 11:7), and Joseph Smith is not. Because Jesus Christ is the Creator and the Lord of the Universe (Mosiah 3:8), and Joseph Smith is not. Now, don't get me wrong, I esteem Joseph Smith as a prophet, seer, and revelator. But he is not the Anointed of God. That is Jesus Christ.



ACQ3: Do you believe the Bible is the completely inerrant Word of God?

Answer: No. I belive the Bible is the Word of God, but it is not free of mistakes or errors. A short look at the textual criticism done on the Bible is enough to convince me of that. I don't believe that a book must be inerrant in order to be the Word of God. I'm thinking the only way to get a book that is completely perfect without any error would be to get it from the pen of God Himself. And nowhere does the Bible claim that of itself (save maybe in the case of the Ten Commandments, but they take up a part of one chapter, that's it).



ACQ4: Do I need the Book of Mormon because of errors in the Bible?

Answer: No. I need the Book of Mormon because of the times that I have been brought unto the Savior from reading it.



ACQ5: By extension of these last two questions, I'm going to ask another that is just begging to be asked: Is the Book of Mormon free of errors? Is it "completely inerrant"?

Answer: No. From the title page of the Book of Mormon, written by the last contributor to the book, Moroni, I quote, "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." That is something that ought to be said of the Bible too (and I think Moroni would not complain one bit to have it so).



ACQ6: What are the earliest traceable manuscripts of the Bible?

Answer: I don't know exactly for each book. But I do know that the scrolls found at Qumran constitute some of the oldest Old Testament manuscripts in addition to some old Septuigant texts. And concerning the New Testament, I think the oldest manuscript fragment is from the Gospel of John and is dated at AD 125-150.



ACQ7: Are there traceable manuscripts of the Book of Mormon?

Answer: Yes. They just don't date back as far as those of the Bible, and the earliest ones are in English. Professor Royal Skousen, of Brigham Young University's English Department, has done a wonderful job of comparing these different manuscripts (i.e. the original MS, the printer's MS, and the different printed editions of the Book of Mormon). If you want to trace the book even further though, a profitable (not monetarily, mind you) experiment is to compare the Biblical texts quoted in the Book of Mormon to various ancient versions of the same text. It opens up a brand new avenue of Biblical Textual Criticism.



ACQ8: If the text of the Book of Mormon cannot be traced to the ancient world, does that not prove it false?

Answer: Only if you say that the book of Deuteronomy, a book that Jesus was very fond of quoting, is false as well. After all, it was hundreds of years after the book was supposed to have been written that King Josiah's aids discovered it in the temple and interpreted it for the people. The Book of Mormon has a very similar story.



ACQ9: There are other historical texts that support the Bible; are there for the Book of Mormon?

Answer: There are indeed other historical texts that verify events and people in the Bible (that is from the time, roughly, of King David on, though there is also a brief mention of the people Israel in the Merneptah Stele). There are not, outside of the Bible itself, texts that verify the existence of the people in the Book of Mormon, but that is partially because there is a lack of ancient texts from the geographic area of the Book of Mormon, whereas there is no lack of texts from the geographic area of the Bible.



ACQ10: What do DNA studies on American Idians indicate about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon?
Answer: My qualifications to answer this question are minimal. I will offer a few thoughts, though, for what they are worth. The Book of Mormon claims that the people written of in the book were Israelites from Jerusalem from a number of tribes (Manasseh and Judah specifically with a possibility of others). Authors of the book wrote that they hoped their words would someday be brought to the descendants of the Lamanites, presumably those who would still be living on the American Continent at the time of the European colonization. That's about it for the book itself, save to say that if we are to believe the geographic descriptions used in the book, particularly in Alma 22 for example, it is clear that the Nephites and Lamanites occupied a relatively small area of land somewhere on the American Continent. The possibility that there were other groups of people inhabiting those continents at the same time, even much larger groups spread over much larger areas, is absolutely possible and likely probable. So maybe I'm just being naive, but it does not bother me at all that DNA studies have shown other ancestors for the people indigenous to America than those spoken of in the Book of Mormon. Do I think there are descendants of the Lamanites out there? Absolutely, and they may have inter-mixed with those of other origins as well.

ACQ11: Am I, Abinadi's Pupil, a Christian?
Answer: Yes. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and have felt His redeeming power in my life. I know I have been forgiven of my sins because of Jesus Christ, and that only in and through His blood can I ever hope for salvation.

ACQ12: Are Mormons secretive about beliefs such as Satan and Jesus being brothers, becoming gods, seven levels of heaven, and baptism for the dead?
Answer: I don't know. Some are, maybe. But wait! Seven levels of heaven? I cannot think of a single place that I have ever read or heard about seven levels of heaven, except maybe in that TV show that may or may not have been cancelled, you know, the one about the family with a bunch of kids and the dad is a preacher and stuff. But I'll say that I'm not secretive about the doctrine of the Church. If it is true, I will say so. Satan and Jesus brothers? We all lived as spirit children of Heavenly Parents before coming to earth, including Jesus, the Firstborn in the Spirit. In that state we had agency, the ability to choose. It so happened that one individual rebelled against our Father and His plan for our happiness, and was cast out and not given the chance to progress as those who are born on earth are. This individual took with him a number of others who liked his ideas more than God's, and they are the evil spirits that roam the earth seeking out bodies to possess (you know, like in the New Testament when numbers of evil spirits would enter bodies until they were cast out by Jesus). We believe it is a part of our Father in Heaven's plan for us to become like him. He has provided every means possible for this through His Son Jesus Christ. And yes, Mormons do indeed practice what we call baptism for the dead. We believe that baptism is necessary for salvation "to fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Inasmuch as God is a perfectly just and merciful God, He has provided a way for us to perform baptism for those who died without the opportunity of receiving the ordinance in this life. Everyone, then, is given an opportunity for salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven. What a beautiful doctrine that is!