The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) are revelations that were given to Mormon prophets (mostly Joseph Smith) dealing with various doctrines and organizational structure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) that aren’t found in either the Bible or Book of Mormon in detail. Since this talk was given by Ezra Taft Benson in 1986, I feel that many Mormons have focused heavily on reading the Book of Mormon above any other scripture, which is what I witnessed in the Sunday School class. (see talk: The Book of Mormon: Keystone of our Religion) When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance. The scriptures are called “the words of life” ( D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find greater power to resist temptation. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. Many Mormon Apostles and Prophets have voiced of the importance of the Book of Mormon and even declare blessings that will come into ones’ life when studying the Book. I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book (Book of Mormon Introduction) In speaking about the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, Mormons’ founder and first prophet, declared Although he never was able to complete the version, Mormons have the Joseph Smith Translation included in many of their scriptures (they do not claim this to be the official Bible, but have it to offer “insight”.) Joseph Smith worked throughout his life on what he called the “inspired version” of the Bible, which includes additions to the King James Bible that he received through revelation. In fact, the Book of Mormon has scriptures that discuss the “ plain and precious truths” that were taken away from the Bible, thus making the Bible an incomplete book as to containing the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mormons believe that there was an apostasy after the original apostles died and over the years, parts of the Bible were removed, therefore the Bible is not the complete book that it once was. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly (see Articles of Faith 1:8) However, for most Mormons there is a little asterisk next to that yes because, according to Mormon belief: If you ask a Mormon if they believe in the Bible the answer will always be “yes”. When I asked questions about the importance of scripture, I noticed that most of the non-Mormons revered the Bible and most of the Mormons in the class acknowledged the Bible, but didn’t hold it as high as the Book of Mormon.įor those of you who are not as familiar with Mormons’ view of scriptures, I’ll briefly go over each scripture along with some quotes by LDS prophets on each. The conversation was interesting because there were some investigators (people considering joining the Mormon church) as well as some “seasoned” Mormons in attendance. A few weeks ago, in Gospel Principles Sunday School class, I taught about the importance of scripture.
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