Article of Faith 8 -
We believe the aBible to be the bword of God as far as it is translated ccorrectly; we also believe the dBook of Mormon to be the word of God.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints believe that the Bible in its entirety, Old Testament and New Testament, is the word of God as far as it's translated correctly. What does that mean? It mean that we know that the Bible is inspired and that prophets in actuality communicated with our Father in Heaven and wrote down what they've received as well as taught the people of their time about God's Will. Because the Bible had been translated from many different languages, the original meanings of the words had been lost. Some of the scriptures also have been lost as well. The prophet Joseph Smith saw this and inquired the Lord about it. In response, the Lord told the prophet about what happened, and so the Church's King James Version have something that's called Joseph Smith's Translation, which helps clarify what some of the scriptures passages really meant.
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, just like the Bible. In the introduction page of the Book of Mormon, it say: The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel.
As the introduction said, the Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible, instead, they supplement each other. If you will read the Book of Mormon, you will come to see that it's the Word of God, just like the Bible is. As Moroni said in Moroni 10: 3-5, if you will ask God in faith with real intent, nothing wavering, you will receive an answer by the power of the Holy Ghost. You will come to know of Turth.
According to Ezekiel 37: 15-17, it say that there are two sticks. The stick of Judah, and the stick of Joseph. That they will become one in our hands. What is the stick of Judah? It's the Bible, a record of the Jews. What is the stick of Joseph? It's the Book of Mormon, another record of the House of Israel. Why sticks? A brief history here, during the time of the prophet Ezekiel, the people used a wooden stick to wrap a fabric around so that they can unroll and read them. Just like scrolls.
The Bible is not just one big book. It's a collection of many different books. They didn't all come into existence at once. They came into existence whenever a prophet spoke when moved upon by the Holy Ghost to utter unto the people. What they say when moved upon is scriptures. Hence, the Bible is combined of many different books.
I will give another analogy. I'm currently writing stories. I will not be naming the title for fear that somebody might write stories with similar titles. So I will just be giving a summary. The stories are about nations that rose and fell. The entire stories are based upon what happened previously. Put all together, they form a collection of books that can be described similarly to Chronicles of Narnia. So, they cannot be added to nor taken away because they are history, and they hold valuable information for us that we can profit from. The Bible is similar to that. The difference is that God have revealed the Truth to the prophets and apostles. We cannot change what was said. According to the Revelations 22: 18-20, we cannot add nor take away from the Book of Revelation. Notice, it was talking about the book that John wrote, not the Bible. There had been a misconception that John was talking about all of the Bible. Which isn't what he's talking about. If one will take a look at Deuteronomy 4: 2, we will see the exact same thing that Revelations was saying. Now, if the Revelations was saying that we can't add to the Bible, Deuteronomy would've also forbidden the writing of the Revelations because Deuteronomy was written at least a thousand year before the Revelations was written. So the conclusion is that they are referring to the books that they are in.
The Book of Mormon did not add nor take away from the Bible. Instead, they supplemented each other. What the Bible did not say, the Book of Mormon said it. What wasn't covered in both, we received by modern revelations. God didn't cease to be God, He's the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. He still reveal his secrets to the prophets, Amos 3: 7.
If you will search the scriptures, I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ, that you will know that these things are true. If it weren't so, you will know for yourselves. Remember to be open-minded, and open your heart to the prompting of the Holy Ghost and you will not be led astray. I testify that these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
