Written by John Carson
The LDS church, which Mormons call "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints", teaches that the Bible cannot be trusted. In what they consider to be Scripture, they teach:
Now I would definitely agree there are some bad “translations” out there (such as the JW’s New World Translation), but if English translators get it wrong, going back to reliable ancient manuscripts to find out what was originally written, is a solution to find out what the original authors had penned. However, that is not what the LDS church is talking about when they use the term “translate”.
Most people think of a translational process to mean.... “to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one's own.” That, however, is not what the LDS church is talking about in their eighth article of faith. Mormons mean something completely different than translating from one language to another.
So that there is no confusion, let’s allow the LDS church to define what they mean by “translate”. Mormons are taught “translate”....
This means to Mormons, “translate” refers to restoring lost texts missing from the King James Version. Did the translators for the King James Version use ancient manuscripts? Yes, but Mormons believe those ancient manuscripts are missing many precious things. In their Book of Mormon (BofM) it reads:
So Mormons see the Bible as tainted by ungodly men, whom they believe removed many precious things from even the ancient manuscripts. This would mean even the best translations will have those “many precious things” missing.
At this point I would warn that to view the Bible as corrupted by man, is to also view God as incapable of keeping His Word from becoming contaminated. If they were so precious, wouldn’t you think an Almighty God would have been able to preserve and protect anything from becoming missing from His holy writings?
The Mormon will not see this as a problem though, because they see it as something prophesied long ago that this “taking away” from God’s Word would happen. Any serious student of the Bible will see right away that the burden of proof lies with the one who claims ancient manuscripts had disappeared. Do Mormons have any “proof”? What solution did God come up with according to Joseph Smith Jr.? Well, Mormons say what was lost can be, and was, restored. God using someone to restore what was “missing” is the foundational reason for the very existence of the LDS church.
Here’s what Robert J. Matthews (12 September 1926 – 30 August 2009), a Brigham Young University’s (BYU) dean of Religious Instruction and president of the BYU Eighth Stake, taught:
[Robert J. Matthews was a Mormon religious educator and scholar who taught in the departments of Ancient Scripture and Religious Education at BYU in Provo, Utah. He served as Bishop, High Councilor, Stake President, Patriarch, Temple Sealer, Home Teacher, and as a Sunday School Gospel Doctrine Teacher. He served on many Church committees, including the Correlation Committee and the 'new' LDS so-called scriptures. He was especially noted for his efforts concerning Joseph Smith and his translation of the Bible.]
According to the LDS church, the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) is a....
Notice Joseph Smith Jr. did not use ancient manuscripts (he did not know the languages), but he did the “translation” (or rather, the supposed restoration of what was apparently missing) from the King Jame Version.
In their Pearl of Great Price there is a section called the Book of Moses (also written by Joseph Smith Jr.). There, a conversation transpires between God and Moses (which Mormons view to be the same Moses as in the Bible). In it, it says there is one whom God will raise up like Moses....
What did Moses write? The Pentateuch, which begins with Genesis. Mormons see this to mean that much of what Moses wrote would end up missing because of corrupt men. The timing is set at the time of Moses where God tells him that the taking away from the book will happen in the future. God then supposedly tells Moses He will raise up someone like him. Who is this being talked about? Is the Pearl of Great Price speaking of Jesus? No, to Mormons this is none other than Joseph Smith Jr. Yes, the very same person that penned those words.
Now since this conversation was supposedly between God and Moses, is there anything in the Bible that verifies this? No. Again, to Mormons this is one of those “many precious things” that was apparently missing. How are we to test these things by the ancient Scriptures if those very writings are no longer available? What Scriptural proof does the LDS church have for pointing to Joseph Smith Jr. as the one through whom these needed “restorations” take place? Mormons will point to Genesis 50:31-33.
BUT WAIT!!!
Before you read that, the book of Genesis ends in verse 26 of chapter 50. What you are about to read is what Joseph Smith Jr. ADDED!!! It is not found in ANY ancient manuscripts....
Mormons view Joseph Smith Jr. as the Seer. Also, Joseph Smith Jr’s father’s name was also Joseph Smith. So Joseph Smith Jr. actually added himself and his father into the pages of the holy Bible.
The LDS church taught Joseph Smith, Jr. descended from Joseph of Egypt. The BofM even records....
So not only did Joseph Smith Jr. write himself in the Holy Bible, and pointed to other writings HE WROTE to verify this, he even placed himself as INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING PEOPLE UNTO SALVATION. This places all control upon the LDS church which claimed:
No one but Jesus Christ has the keys of authority!
Acts 4:11-12 reads:
God is Almighty and His preserved Word can be trusted! Jesus Christ alone is the source of Salvation! He did not give His keys of authority to anyone. This means you don’t need any person or organization to pull you into relying on an "authority" they have absolutely no possession of for your salvation. You can have full and complete confidence in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Reliance upon anyone else is to turn your back on Him.
chillyD
30.06.2020 17:21
Let's add, the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) the key of David (Rev. 3:7) the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52) and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt.16:19) only given to Simon/Peter.
Latest comments
14.09 | 00:17
Is it your intent to share your faith with me? I'm a devout Latter-day Saint.
30.06 | 17:21
Let's add, the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) the key of David (Rev. 3:7) the key of knowledge (Luke 11:52) and the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt.16:19) only given to Simon/Peter.
24.05 | 06:04
Intuitive
10.02 | 23:31
Checked out the great video. 👍 Thumbs up!
The Mormon Religion was officially founded by Joseph Smith Jr. on April 6. 1830 after the Book of Mormon (BOM) was published in that same year.
Joseph Smith Jr. was born in Vermont on December 23, 1805. He claimed that when he was 14, he received a vision from God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove of trees near his home where he received instructions not to join any of the Christian churches because they were all wrong.
Three years later, Smith claimed that an angel named Moroni (a character found in the BOM) appeared to him in his bedroom whom he said revealed to him that he was selected to translate "Reformed Egyptian" (a language that does not exist) from gold plates into old English. These plates were supposedly hidden near Palmyra, New York and are said to be written around the 4th century. The BOM was named after Moroni’s father, Mormon. Mormons view the BOM as sacred. No one is able to study the original plates because Joseph Smith claimed the angel took them back on May 2, 1838 (History of the Church 1:60).
Smith had a scribe named Cowdery. Smith did not actually translate directly from any plates. Rather, in his writings, he said he placed a "seer stone" in a hat and covered any light from entering it as he placed his face in the hat. According to Martin Harris, “By aid of the seer stone, sentences would appear and were read by the Prophet . . . , and when finished he would say, ‘Written,’ and if correctly written, that sentence would disappear and another appear in its place, but if not written correctly it remained until corrected,” Smith said, “By the power of God I translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics".
Despite such methods of translation, there have been at least 3,913 changes made in the BOM from the time it was first published. Joseph Smith stated, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” Smith also claimed that John the Baptist appeared to him on May 15, 1829 while he was translating the BOM, and instructed him to restore the church by preaching the only true gospel.
Mormons regard the BOM as sacred writings, and view it in higher standing than that of the Holy Bible. Mormon Missionaries will ask you to pray that it is true. (See our page Pray to Know)