Chapter 3 (BOMC)

Those who have researched the word “Bible” would know that this term was first used around 223 AD. This is when a collection of the Old and New Testament books came together. Since this time, Christians have trusted the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Mormons challenge Christians by rejecting the principle of Sola Scriptura, which emphasizes the authority of the current scriptures alone. They believe that the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants are also scripture. So they do not accept Sola Scriptura. Therefore, they call us foolish for thinking that all we need is the Bible. I’ve even had missionaries and other Mormons use different verses from their Book of Mormon to make their point. Here is one of those verses. It reads, “and because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” (2 Nephi 29:3) There is a big problem with this verse since the term “Bible” had not yet been coined yet.

Nobody had knowledge about the word “Bible” around 559 to 545 BC. This is the timeframe in 2 Nephi, chapter 29, which doesn’t make sense. The term, “word of God” was around, but not the Bible. It is written, “every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Proverbs 30:5) However, Joseph Smith didn’t seem to care and wrote this about trusting in only the Bible. It is written, “thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?” (2 Nephi 29:6) This is to make fun of Christians that rely on Sola Scriptura. Mormons would like to tell you that this is a prophecy about the Bible in the future. How people will say they don’t need anything else but the Bible. However, this is simply an evil tactic put in the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith. The more people that read these verses, the more people will think they need books outside the Bible.

When I was a Mormon, I would read these verses in 2 Nephi 29 and laugh at people who thought all they needed was the Bible. Thankfully, the Lord led me out in 2012.  Oh, how things are different now. Truly, these two verses have caused Mormons to become so hard-hearted. Thankfully, there are still some people who are ready to receive the gospel message in the Bible. Speaking of the text, it says, “add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6) The Book of Mormon teaches that we should not trust the Bible alone.  This can be seen in 2 Nephi 29.  Therefore, Let’s look at these verses in detail to find out why.  It is written, “and because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” (2 Nephi 29:3) “thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?” (2 Nephi 29:6)

The Bible was not around during this timeframe of the Book of Mormon, nor was this word known by people. It wasn’t until 360 A.D., that the Bible was canonized and the term was first documented. Sure, Mormons like to use verses in their Book of Mormon to say they need extra-Biblical books. This is to counteract the Christian beliefs of Sola Scriptura. What they don’t realize is that they have just proven their own precious book false in using them. Again, the term Bible was not used for centuries after these verses would have been written. What the Bible is, is a collection of books that were gathered during the canonization process.  As for those books, “every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” (Proverbs 30:5) Praise God! His Word has come together in the form of the Bible. In researching the term ‘Bible,’ I stumbled upon a website that provided the answers I needed when it comes to the Bible and how it came together. This is important to read and understand, for we learn that the Bible is a collection of Holy Spirit filled books.

The following is an excerpt about the canonization process. It reads, “the Council of Laodicea (360 A.D.), with the permission of the Pope in Rome, produced the first canon of the Bible. But it is only in the year of Pope Damasus (367 A.D.) a great effort was made to form a Bible. This Holy Pope compiled the books which he considered to be genuine and ordered St. Jerome to translate them into Latin, which was the official language of the Church. St. Jerome went to Jerusalem and lived 30 years in a cave to do the job. At 397 A.D., he finished his works and presented it to the Pope. This is known as ‘Latin Vulgate.’ Pope Siricius called it the ‘Bible,’ which means ‘collection of books.’” (Know The Catholic Truth) This information about the canon is very important, and we should trust it was compiled correctly. The truth is, Joseph Smith wanted people to trust in his book more so than the Bible. Talking to LDS people, they will even say that they trust the Bible as far as it is translated correctly. They would never say this about their Book of Mormon, although it has undergone many changes over the years. Amen.

Let us pray:
Oh Lord, help us make the right choices when the truth is presented to us. Our current lifestyle may feel quite comfortable. However, people are missing out on salvation when they disregard Your truths. It should not matter if people in our families stop talking to us because of our new faith in You, Jesus. You have said that some families have to be divided because of Your truth. I also feel like it is important to lead people out of their false beliefs. Some people think that if they were to leave their church, their spouse would leave them. So it is better to be married than to fight and get into a divorce. They say that You would never want to split up their family. Lord, why is it that people have made up a God to fit their own beliefs instead of getting Your truths from the Bible? Mormonism is one of these cults that have millions of people trapped in it. They cannot see it this way, but in reality, they are following man-made teachings that don’t lead to heaven. Lord, You have led me to speak to hundreds of LDS people over these years. Many of them are LDS missionaries. I do not know all the fruit of these labors, but You do. I pray that many of them have renounced their false beliefs and come to You, Jesus, for salvation. I love You, Lord. Amen.