Mormonism and the Bible

FAIR Answers Wiki Table of Contents

Mormonism and the Holy Bible

Jump to Subtopic:

• Mormons revere the Holy Bible
• How Mormons view the reliability of the Holy Bible
• How Mormons interpret the Holy Bible
• The "Joseph Smith Translation" of the Bible
• Mormonism, science and the Bible
• The Mormon view of the creation of the earth
• Mormonism and Difficult Bible Questions

The Holy Bible literally contains within its pages the converting, healing Spirit of Christ, which has turned men’s hearts for centuries, leading them to pray, to choose right paths, and to search to find their Savior....The Holy Bible is well named. It is holy because it teaches truth, holy because it warms us with its spirit, holy because it teaches us to know God and understand His dealings with men, and holy because it testifies throughout its pages of the Lord Jesus Christ.

—"Bible: The Word of God," Gospel Topics on LDS.org.

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Mormons revere the Holy Bible

Jump to Subtopic:

• Mormonism and the Bible: An Overview

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Bible: An Overview

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Do Latter-day Saints consider the Holy Bible to be the Word of God?
• Question: Why do Latter-day Saints use the King James Version of the Bible?
• Question: Does the eighth Article of Faith statement about believing the Bible "as far as it is translated correctly" imply that Bible translators are trying to hide God's truth?
• Question: Do Latter-day Saints consider the Bible to be untrustworthy?

How Mormons view the reliability of the Holy Bible

Jump to Subtopic:

• Biblical accuracy
• Biblical completeness

Biblical accuracy

Jump to Subtopic:

• Gospel Topics: "As the Bible was compiled, organized, translated, and transcribed, many errors entered the text"
• Question: Is the Bible without error?
• Question: Does the Bible itself claim to be inerrant?
• Question: What evidence demonstrates that the Bible has been altered?
• Question: Are the Biblical textual variants theologically significant?
• Question: What did early Christians think about alterations to the scriptures?
• Question: Do Mormons believe that the Bible has less value because it contains errors?
• Question: Is any book of scripture perfect?
• Question: What can textual criticism tell us about the Bible?
• Question: Is textual criticism of Biblical texts superior to receiving revelation on that text through a prophet of God?
• Question: Do Mormons consider the Bible to be untrustworthy?

Biblical completeness

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Does the Bible alone contain all necessary or essential knowledge to assure salvation, thus making the Book of Mormon and modern prophets unnecessary?
• Question: What does the Book of Mormon mean when it says that "plain and precious" things have been taken out of the bible?
• Question: Does the fact that the Bible states that nothing should be "added to" or "taken away" from the book mean that the Book of Mormon is false?
• Question: Do Latter-day Saints consider the Bible "insufficient?"
• Question: Is Mormonism in error because Christianity requires a "closed canon" instead of the Church's "open canon"?

How Mormons interpret the Holy Bible

Jump to Subtopic:

• Biblical scripture interpretation
• Mormonism and the Bible: Old Testament practices

Biblical scripture interpretation

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How can a Latter-day Saint approach responding to criticism of the Church on biblical grounds?
• Question: When the Bible talks about being "born again," what does this mean?
• Question: Was the Gospel of Christ a mystery that was unknown until the advent of Christ?
• Question: How did the authors of the Bible view the earth and the universe?
• Question: Does the Bible condemn genealogical research?
• Question: Why did Joseph described the United Order in revelation as "everlasting" and "immutable and unchangeable" until Jesus comes?
• Question: Why do Mormons use the Aaronic Priesthood, since Hebrews 7 states that the Aaronic/Levitical Priesthood was "changed" to the unique priesthood "after the order of Melchizedek" held by Jesus Christ?
• Question: Is there a "Priesthood of All Believers" which eliminates the need for unbroken lines of priesthood authority?
• Question: Why do Mormon's believe that ongoing divine revelation is necessary?
• Question: Do the Latter-day Saint "Three Degrees of Glory" have a basis in the Bible?
• Question: Does the biblical story of Peleg describe the separation of the continents?
• Question: What’s the best way to understand the Tower of Babel scientifically?
• Question: What’s the best way to understand the ages of antediluvian patriarchs scientifically?
• Question: What’s the best way to understand the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot turning into a pillar of salt scientifically?
• Question: What is the best way to understand the story of Jonah and the Whale scientifically?
• Question: Is it appropriate to celebrate holidays as a Christian?
• Question: Was Moses a real person?
• Question: Does the practice of baptism for the dead have ancient roots?
• Question: What are the common objections to a belief in God's corporeality?
• Question: Does the doctrine that God has a physical body contradict the Bible?
• Question: Why do the Latter-day Saints believe God has a body?
• Question: What Biblical scriptures discuss the doctrine of the deification of man?
• Question: How is Isaiah 43:10 used as a proof-text by critics of the Mormon doctrines of the plurality of gods and the deification of man?
• Question: Does the fact that the Bible states that nothing should be "added to" or "taken away" from the book mean that the Book of Mormon is false?
• Question: How is Genesis 3:5 used by critics to attempt to show that the Mormon doctrine of deification is a teaching of Satan?
• Question: Was the temple obsolete after Christ?
• Question: Does Acts 17:24-25 teach that the idea of temple worship is foreign to Christianity?
• Question: Is original sin a biblical doctrine?
• Question: Is Mormon insistence on baptism as an essential ordinance of salvation "unChristian" or "unbiblical"?
• Question: Is the Mormon doctrine of a "premortal existence" pagan, unchristian, or unbiblical, and therefore false?
• Question: What biblical evidence is there for a pre-mortal existence?
• Question: Did Jesus and the apostles believe in pre-mortal life?
• Question: How do Mormons see the relationship between works and grace?
• Question: Do Mormons believe that salvation is based upon works?
• Question: What can the writings of early Christians tell us about how to receive salvation in Jesus Christ?
• Question: Does the Bible teach that individual works are unnecessary?
• Question: Do Mormons ignore the doctrine of grace at the expense of "works"?

Mormonism and the Bible: Old Testament practices

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Did Joseph Smith teach animal sacrifice as part of the "restoration of all things"?
• Question: Is there a contradiction between the Old Testament concept of "cursing" enemies and Latter-day Saint scriptures stating that we should "bless" our enemies?
• Question: Were curses pronounced upon the enemies of Mormonism in the Kirtland Temple?
• Question: Did George A. Smith pray that the Lord would kill the mobbers that were attacking the Saints?
• Question: Did Heber C. Kimball curse the president of the United States?

The "Joseph Smith Translation" of the Bible

Summary: Video published by BYU Religious Education.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Joseph Smith's corrections to the Bible do not match known Biblical manuscripts
• Use of the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible
• Relationship of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible to the Book of Mormon
• Relationship of the Joseph Smith Translation to the Book of Abraham
• Accusations of Plagiarism Leveled Against the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible

Mormonism, science and the Bible

Jump to Subtopic:

• Biblical archaeology compared to the Book of Mormon
• Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings
• The Mormon view of the creation of the earth

Biblical archaeology compared to the Book of Mormon

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: What criticisms are raised with regard to Book of Mormon archaeology compared to that of the Bible?
• Question: What archaeological evidence might be considered the minimal irrefutable proof needed to convince a non-believing world of the authenticity of the Nephite scripture?
• Question: How would an archaeologist distinguish a Christian's pot from that of a non-Christian?
• Question: What do we find when we turn to the records of the ancient (i.e. before A.D. 400) Americas?
• Question: How would Book of Mormon archaeology compare to that of the Bible?
• Question: What do we find in Mesoamerican archaeology with respect to place names, such as city names?
• Question: How does archaeology in the Old World compare to the first chapters in the Book of Mormon?
• Question: How does archaeology in the New World fit with the Book of Mormon?
• Question: Did Dee F. Green say that there is no such thing as Book of Mormon archaeology?

Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How do Latter-day Saints reconcile scriptural accounts of the Flood of Noah with scientific evidence of continuous human habitation on the earth?
• John A. Widtsoe (1943): "The Old Testament records a flood that was just over fifteen cubits (sometimes assumed to be about twenty-six feet) deep and covered the entire landscape"
• Question: Why does the Church teach that the flood was a global event?
• Question: Are Church members required to believe in a global flood?
• Question: How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri if the Flood was local?
• Question: Doesn't the Bible say that the continents were divided immediately after the Flood?
• Question: How did ancient people of the Old and New Worlds view the "the world"?
• Question: How can one properly view events in Ether scientifically?

The Mormon view of the creation of the earth

Jump to Subtopic:

• Doctrine & Covenants 77:6 refers to "this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance"
• Death before the Fall
• Belief in a literal Adam and Eve
• Fall of Adam and Eve
• Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings
• The Mormon view of "Creatio ex nihilo"
• Mormonism and the theory of evolution

Doctrine & Covenants 77:6 refers to "this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance"

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How do we reconcile the actual age of the earth to the "seven thousand years of its continuance" mentioned in D&C 77:6?
• Brigham Young (1871): "whether the Lord...made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject"
• John S. Lewis: "Considering that Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 refers to “…this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence,” what led Phelps to speak of Earth as 2,555 million years old?"
• Improvement Era 1909 regards an ancient earth as consistent with scripture
• John A. Widtsoe in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
• Charles W. Penrose in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
• James E. Talmage, a geologist, spoke of the earth forming from other bodies
• Question: Was Brigham Young a "young earth creationist"?
• Question: How do dinosaurs fit into God's plan?

Mormon perspectives on the concept of death on the entire earth before the Fall of Adam

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: What does the Church teach on the subject of death before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?
• Question: What was the state of things on the Earth prior to the placement of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
• Question: What changes have been made to the Gospel Principles manual regarding the question of death on the earth before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: Is the concept of no death before the fall on the entire earth Church doctrine?
• Question: Did procreation exist before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?
• First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"

Belief in a literal Adam and Eve

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Can Latter-day Saints have a non-literal view of the creation story, or have a somewhat more mythic view of the first five books of Moses given the Church's teaching of a historical Adam?
• Question: What is the Church's position on Adam and Eve?
• First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"
• Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?

Fall of Adam and Eve

Summary: If it was God's plan for Eve to eat the fruit, then why did God forbid it? Why did God not simply create Adam and Eve as mortals?

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: If God intended the Fall of Adam and Eve, why did he forbid the fruit? Why did he not simply create them as mortals?
• Question: If "the wages of sin is death" as described in Romans 6:23, and the fall of Adam and Eve was a transgression rather than a sin, then why did it introduce death into the world?
• Question: How did the transgression of Adam and Eve introduce sin into the world?
• Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve was actually a blessing for them, then why did they feel guilty and afraid when God approached them in the Garden of Eden after they committed their transgression?
• Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve resulted in physical and spiritual death, then why are we only subject to spiritual death for eternity if we do not repent?

Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How do Latter-day Saints reconcile scriptural accounts of the Flood of Noah with scientific evidence of continuous human habitation on the earth?
• John A. Widtsoe (1943): "The Old Testament records a flood that was just over fifteen cubits (sometimes assumed to be about twenty-six feet) deep and covered the entire landscape"
• Question: Why does the Church teach that the flood was a global event?
• Question: Are Church members required to believe in a global flood?
• Question: How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri if the Flood was local?
• Question: Doesn't the Bible say that the continents were divided immediately after the Flood?
• Question: How did ancient people of the Old and New Worlds view the "the world"?
• Question: How can one properly view events in Ether scientifically?

The Mormon view of "Creatio ex nihilo"

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How did the mainstream Christian view that God created the universe out of nothing originate?
• Question: What were the early Christian beliefs about the creation?
• Question: How was the doctrine of creation altered to "creatio ex nihilo"?
• Question: Does Colossians 1:16 teach that Jesus created all things out of nothing?
• Question: Does what Joseph Smith taught about the creation of spirits contradict the scriptures?
• LDS doctrine rejects Neo-Plantonic accretions, but this does not make them automatically false
• Mormons and creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing)
• "Smith would have held his own in debating with" Neo-Platonists, Gnostics, and early Christian theologians
• Augustine's views about matter are perhaps less coherent than Joseph Smith's
• Non-LDS Christian Stephen H. Webb: Creedal Christians can learn from LDS views about Jesus Christ and creation
• Joseph Smith's theology is not pagan—his theology is vast as the multiverse, and eliminates Neo-Platonism and Augustine

Mormonism and the theory of evolution

Jump to Subtopic:

• Statements from Church leaders on the subject of evolution
• Unofficial primary sources on evolution

The Mormon view of the creation of the earth

Jump to Subtopic:

• Doctrine & Covenants 77:6 refers to "this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance"
• Death before the Fall
• Belief in a literal Adam and Eve
• Fall of Adam and Eve
• Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings
• The Mormon view of "Creatio ex nihilo"
• Mormonism and the theory of evolution

Doctrine & Covenants 77:6 refers to "this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance"

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How do we reconcile the actual age of the earth to the "seven thousand years of its continuance" mentioned in D&C 77:6?
• Brigham Young (1871): "whether the Lord...made it in six days or in as many millions of years, is and will remain a matter of speculation in the minds of men unless he give revelation on the subject"
• John S. Lewis: "Considering that Doctrine and Covenants 77:6 refers to “…this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence,” what led Phelps to speak of Earth as 2,555 million years old?"
• Improvement Era 1909 regards an ancient earth as consistent with scripture
• John A. Widtsoe in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
• Charles W. Penrose in Improvement Era 1909 on the age of the earth
• James E. Talmage, a geologist, spoke of the earth forming from other bodies
• Question: Was Brigham Young a "young earth creationist"?
• Question: How do dinosaurs fit into God's plan?

Mormon perspectives on the concept of death on the entire earth before the Fall of Adam

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: What does the Church teach on the subject of death before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: Was there no death on the entire earth before the Fall?
• Question: What was the state of things on the Earth prior to the placement of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
• Question: What changes have been made to the Gospel Principles manual regarding the question of death on the earth before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: Is the concept of no death before the fall on the entire earth Church doctrine?
• Question: Did procreation exist before the Fall of Adam?
• Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?
• First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"

Belief in a literal Adam and Eve

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: Can Latter-day Saints have a non-literal view of the creation story, or have a somewhat more mythic view of the first five books of Moses given the Church's teaching of a historical Adam?
• Question: What is the Church's position on Adam and Eve?
• First Presidency statement (1931): "Leave geology, biology, archaeology and anthropology, no one of which has to do with the salvation of the souls of mankind, to scientific research"
• Question: How does the Church explain the existence of human-like beings on the earth prior to Adam?

Fall of Adam and Eve

Summary: If it was God's plan for Eve to eat the fruit, then why did God forbid it? Why did God not simply create Adam and Eve as mortals?

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: If God intended the Fall of Adam and Eve, why did he forbid the fruit? Why did he not simply create them as mortals?
• Question: If "the wages of sin is death" as described in Romans 6:23, and the fall of Adam and Eve was a transgression rather than a sin, then why did it introduce death into the world?
• Question: How did the transgression of Adam and Eve introduce sin into the world?
• Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve was actually a blessing for them, then why did they feel guilty and afraid when God approached them in the Garden of Eden after they committed their transgression?
• Question: If the transgression of Adam and Eve resulted in physical and spiritual death, then why are we only subject to spiritual death for eternity if we do not repent?

Mormonism and the reconciliation of the Flood of Noah with scripture and Church teachings

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How do Latter-day Saints reconcile scriptural accounts of the Flood of Noah with scientific evidence of continuous human habitation on the earth?
• John A. Widtsoe (1943): "The Old Testament records a flood that was just over fifteen cubits (sometimes assumed to be about twenty-six feet) deep and covered the entire landscape"
• Question: Why does the Church teach that the flood was a global event?
• Question: Are Church members required to believe in a global flood?
• Question: How could the Garden of Eden have been in Missouri if the Flood was local?
• Question: Doesn't the Bible say that the continents were divided immediately after the Flood?
• Question: How did ancient people of the Old and New Worlds view the "the world"?
• Question: How can one properly view events in Ether scientifically?

The Mormon view of "Creatio ex nihilo"

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How did the mainstream Christian view that God created the universe out of nothing originate?
• Question: What were the early Christian beliefs about the creation?
• Question: How was the doctrine of creation altered to "creatio ex nihilo"?
• Question: Does Colossians 1:16 teach that Jesus created all things out of nothing?
• Question: Does what Joseph Smith taught about the creation of spirits contradict the scriptures?
• LDS doctrine rejects Neo-Plantonic accretions, but this does not make them automatically false
• Mormons and creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing)
• "Smith would have held his own in debating with" Neo-Platonists, Gnostics, and early Christian theologians
• Augustine's views about matter are perhaps less coherent than Joseph Smith's
• Non-LDS Christian Stephen H. Webb: Creedal Christians can learn from LDS views about Jesus Christ and creation
• Joseph Smith's theology is not pagan—his theology is vast as the multiverse, and eliminates Neo-Platonism and Augustine

Mormonism and the theory of evolution

Jump to Subtopic:

• Statements from Church leaders on the subject of evolution
• Unofficial primary sources on evolution

Mormonism and Difficult Bible Questions

Summary: Several people have become concerned with how to understand ancient practices and stories of the Old and New Testament and their ethical implications. These questions have received a lot of attention from Christian apologists and other biblical scholars for hundreds of years. These articles help address these stories and practices in light of the Restored Gospel.

Jump to Subtopic:

• Question: How can one approach reconciling confusing, seemingly disturbing, or otherwise troubling texts from the scriptures?
• Question: How can one reconcile scriptures in the Bible that appear to endorse genocide, pillage, and/or plunder?
• Question: Why does God act so violently in scripture and especially the Old Testament?
• Question: What is the best way to understand servitude in the Old and New Testaments?
• Question: Did God endorse rape in the Old Testament?
• Question: Why would Elisha have two she-bears maul 42 children?
• Question: Why are Old Testament penalties for disobedience so harsh?
• JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy: "Filial insubordination is a grave offense because respect and obedience toward pa8ents is regarded as the cornerstone of all order and authority"
• Question: Why would a loving God would kill innocent children in the flood of Noah's day?
• Question: Why would a loving God kill the firstborn of Egypt?
• Elder Jeffery R. Holland: "it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much"
• Question: Why would God send poisonous serpents to kill the Children of Israel?
• Joseph Fielding Smith: "This was also in the similitude of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ"
• Question: Did Nephi commit "cold blooded murder" when he killed Laban?
• Question: Why didn't God simply preserve Nephi's life using divine power instead of requiring him to kill Laban?
• Jeffery R. Holland: "It is wrong to assume that Nephi in any way wished to take Laban’s life"
• Question: Are the scriptures misogynistic/sexist?
• Question: Do the scriptures promote racism?
• Question: Does the Bible endorse human sacrifice?
• Question: Do the scriptures endorse child abuse?
• Question: Do the scriptures endorse murder?