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Beliefs > Question & Answer > Modern Day Revelation
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I came to the conclusion that your acceptance of the Book of Mormon as a "later" revelation of Jesus, seems a parallel situation to that of Jews and Christians. My thought, is that Mormons would probably consider themselves in a similar situation to the early Christian church, as the ones who have received a "new" testament (that is, via Joseph Smith), and that we "other Christians" are like the Jews who have failed to accept this newer revelation, but nevertheless, are respected for the strong belief we DO have in God, but regretfully, to your mind, not accepting of the fuller guidance that is on offer since the Book of Mormon was discovered. I feel that our humanity causes us all to fail and no doubt each of us has allowed some error to creep into our beliefs - but if we seek God's guidance, the "Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth".
You have mentioned your belief that the Bible has errors in translation, and contradicts itself, but I have studied many books clarifying the
supposed contradictions, and believe there are none.
I have read "it is claimed that Smith translated the Book of Mormon from the original record, written on golden plates, attended by the Angel Moroni, and guided by divine power - therefore it is an infallible translation". As the Book of Mormon was written by a human, is it not also possible that it could contain translation errors? I understand that no one else ever saw the golden plates found at Cumorah, as Joseph Smith translated from behind a curtain to his secretary, Martin Harris, and later Oliver Cowdery; that their eyes were forbidden to look upon the sacred plates on pain of immediate death. It is recorded that after Joseph had finished translating the plates, Moroni took them away - no one but Joseph ever saw them.
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The first part of your e-mail dealt with an observation you gathered from reading about our beliefs. In it, you said that a parallel could be drawn between the Jews of old and current Christians. The Jews of old don’t accept the Savior or His teachings, or the teachings of His apostles, and chose instead to stay with the teachings of the prophets of old before Jesus’ time. Many Christians today will not accept the teachings of Jesus which came through the prophet Joseph Smith, including the Book of Mormon. That is a very astute observation. Well said.
You went on to say that no matter what we believe, whether Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, or Pentecostal, each of us stumble (fail) and you said that no doubt each of us has allowed some error to creep into our beliefs. But, if we seek God’s guidance, the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth.
Over the centuries, men have relied upon their own wisdom, and have chosen to change some of the doctrine and some of the ordinances of Christ’s church which He established while He was on the earth. Down through the ages, there has been such disagreement over those "failures" that today we have countless Christian religions, all claiming to believe in Christ, but each having their own particular set of doctrines, beliefs, and ordinances. Since God is not a God of confusion but rather is a God of order, it seems a little difficult to believe that we could all get to the same destination if traveling on different roads. This was the situation Joseph Smith found himself in as a 14-year-old
boy in 1820, wanting to know the specific truth of all things. Then he read in James 1:5-6. 5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
From that great scripture, he was prompted by the Holy Spirit to literally pray and ask God himself. As a result, he had a marvelous manifestation where he literally saw God our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ His Son. He was directed by them to join none of the other churches, and was told that he would be an instrument in their hands to restore Christ’s true church to the earth again, with all of its teachings and ordinances in proper order.
You mentioned about our belief that the Bible has some errors in its many translations of the original prophetic writings. It is true that’s what we believe. It is the reason the Book of Mormon is such an important and powerful "second witness" for Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible to be true in its overall context, as the word of God, but there are some specifics that are missing or unclear. The great blessing and benefit of the Book of Mormon is that it contains the "fullness" of Christ’s everlasting gospel, and it clarifies the questions and fills in the gaps that were created by improper translation of the Bible along the way.
I recognize that your own belief is different than that, and you questioned, was it not possible that since the Book of Mormon was written by a human, could it not also contain translation errors? To that, I would say the great blessing for us is that the Book of Mormon has been translated exactly as inspired of God through those prophets of old who wrote it. The truthfulness of it will be manifest to the hearts of those who will read it in all sincerity, with real intent, having faith in Christ. If it would be helpful to you, I would be glad to have a couple of representatives from our church call on you and bring you your own personal copy of the book so you can take time to read it on your own. After you’ve done that, I would appreciate very much knowing what you think.
One final point. Someone has told you that Martin Harris and Oliver Cowdery were forbidden to look upon the sacred plates on pain of immediate death. That is not true, and in fact, before the angel Moroni took the plates from Joseph after the book had been completed, there were eight men, including Martin and Oliver, who were shown the plates. They were able to see and examine them, and their testimony of that fact is found in the introductory pages of the Book of Mormon, under the title "The Testimony of Three Witnesses."
THE TESTIMONY OF THREE WITNESSES
BE IT KNOWN unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, unto whom this work shall come: That we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record, which is a record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites, their brethren, and also of the people of Jared, who came from the tower of which hath been spoken. And we also know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us; wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also testify that we have seen the engravings which are upon the plates; and they have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes, that we beheld and saw the plates, and the engravings thereon; and we know that it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we beheld and bear record that these things are true. And it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless, the voice of the Lord commanded us that we should bear record of it; wherefore, to be obedient unto the commandments of God, we bear testimony of these things. And we know that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ, and shall dwell with him eternally in the heavens. And the honor be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God. Amen.
OLIVER COWDERY
DAVID WHITMER
MARTIN HARRIS
I hope this is helpful to you.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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