2 Nephi 29:3-11


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3 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.

4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?

5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.

6 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?

7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.

10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.

11 For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

Quote for Discussion

“A Bible—A Bible”

At the end of the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, the author, John, issues a warning and a curse upon any man who adds to or takes away from the book….(Revelation 22:18-19).

These verses of scripture have been cited repeatedly by those attempting to discredit the Book of Mormon….They assert that the Book of Mormon is an attempt to add to the words of the Bible….

A careful reading of the words makes it clear that the warning against adding to or taking away does not refer to the whole Bible or even to the New Testament, but to use John’s words, only to the words of “the book of this prophecy.” That is, the prophecy contained in the book of Revelation. This is substantiated by the fact that some of the books of the New Testament had not yet been written when John wrote the book of Revelation, and even those that had been written and were in existence at that time had not yet been gathered into one compilation.

The collection of writings consisting of the sixty-six books we know as the Bible were brought together and compiled into one volume long after John wrote the prophetic book that has been placed at the end of the collection. It is clear, therefore, that the terrible judgments pronounced upon those who add to the book could not possibly apply to the whole of the Bible…but only to the book of Revelation….

It is also interesting to note that John himself added to scripture after writing the book of Revelation, which is generally conceded to have been written while he was on the Isle of Patmos. It was long after John left Patmos that he wrote his first epistle….

A study of the revelations of the Lord in holy writ confirms the fact that it is continuous revelation that guides prophets and the Church in any age.

Howard W. Hunter, Conference Report, Apr. 1981 [salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1981], 86-87

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  • 8 years later...

I know I'm late to this party, but I'll chime in on this passage anyway.

First, I'm  not LDS, so my perspective is not "orthodox," from a Mormon point of view. But I will share with you that this passage is one of the things that gets in the way of my accepting the Book of Mormon as actual God-breathed scripture, as I accept the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

As soon as I read this, I thought, "Well, of course, Joseph Smith knew that people would criticize the Book of Mormon, that they would contend that they already had a Bible, and didn't believe in any additions to that Bible. So he put this bit in to cut them off at the pass, so to speak."  Please understand, I mean no disrespect. I have had nothing but positive experiences with Latter-day Saints in my life, and I have great respect for their beliefs. I find the Book of Mormon fascinating as religious literature; I just don't believe it was written in ancient times.

I would love to hear the LDS perspective on this passage, though. 

Kindest regards,

Cory Howell

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5 hours ago, caspianrex said:

I would love to hear the LDS perspective on this passage, though. 

This passage is one that many non-LDS folks misunderstand, and I'm happy to help clarify.

LDS believe in a God whom still lives and still speaks-- there is no end to revelation.  Yes, the Bible is the word of God-- 100%.  But just because God spoke one word doesn't mean He can't speak another.  He lives- He speaks- and this is to be celebrated, not shirked from.   

 

 

PS.  @caspianrex, I know you're not new-new to the forums, but new to my experience so "Welcome!".  Very happy to have you here, I have enjoyed your posts.

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, caspianrex said:

I know I'm late to this party, but I'll chime in on this passage anyway.

First, I'm  not LDS, so my perspective is not "orthodox," from a Mormon point of view. But I will share with you that this passage is one of the things that gets in the way of my accepting the Book of Mormon as actual God-breathed scripture, as I accept the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

As soon as I read this, I thought, "Well, of course, Joseph Smith knew that people would criticize the Book of Mormon, that they would contend that they already had a Bible, and didn't believe in any additions to that Bible. So he put this bit in to cut them off at the pass, so to speak."  Please understand, I mean no disrespect. I have had nothing but positive experiences with Latter-day Saints in my life, and I have great respect for their beliefs. I find the Book of Mormon fascinating as religious literature; I just don't believe it was written in ancient times.

I would love to hear the LDS perspective on this passage, though. 

Kindest regards,

Cory Howell

This is a pretty natural question to have for anyone concerned with the authenticity of the Book of Mormon.

I literally ask myself that every time I read it x)

But I choose to believe the divine origin of it, that it was not placed there by Joseph Smith’s one design; but that it was written there by prophets in ancient America and only translated by Joseph Smith. Similarly why I choose to believe Jesus was the son of God and not just a religious reformer of the era

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6 hours ago, caspianrex said:

So he put this bit in to cut them off at the pass, so to speak

Hi Cory,

If you are sincerely looking for a LDS perspective on this matter, this is one of the best talks I have heard on this subject. Sure it is a whole 10 minutes long, but that separates individuals who would really/truly like to learn vs. the casual observer. After you have watched this, feel free to post any questions you may have.

In addition to the attached video, here is the written version: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/gods-compelling-witness-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

 

Edited by NeedleinA
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This web page describes a bit of the history of the formation of the Bible from various writings. The New Testament was put together over a period of 200 years. Methodist Source http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/our-christian-roots-the-bible 

Quote:The New Testament as we know it was formed and adopted by church councils between A.D. 200 and A.D. 4

Edited by Sunday21
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Thank you all for sharing your perspective. I recently finished reading the Book of Mormon all the way through for the first time. (It took me seven years of off again/on again reading, but I did read it all.) It is a complex, intriguing work, and I find it (and all of LDS History) quite fascinating. I've talked to missionaries a couple times in my life, and although we disagreed on some things, the amount of common ground we shared was more important. We "mainstream" Christians can learn a lot from the Saints about sharing our faith in a kind, respectful manner.

Peace be with you!

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