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4 ——————
RLDS
Scriptures An
Introduction
The Christian's
Relationship to the Bible
True Christians believe the Bible. They always have. In addition to His
Son Jesus Christ, it is God's special revelation of Himself to mankind. In the
Bible God announces His goodwill toward us and explains how we can come back
into relationship with Him again through faith in His Son Jesus Christ,
manifested in loving obedience to Him. As the Apostle Paul says to the younger
Timothy, “...continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of,
because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have
known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:14–15).
Jesus believed the Bible. He quoted it authoritatively to Satan when
tempted by him in the wilderness. He quoted it liberally on a variety of other
occasions. His own ministry was not to take anything away from the Law or the
Prophets, but to be a fulfillment of them. Certain of the absolute accuracy of
this written word, He promised that not the slightest detail would ever
disappear from it until all of it was completely fulfilled. “Do not think that
I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not
the slightest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear
from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matt. 5:17–18). Mankind
could not ask for a better testimony for the accuracy and reliability of
scripture. God gave us His own Word on it.
The writers of the New Testament also believed the Bible, and encouraged
others to believe it as well. They, too, quoted authoritatively from it on
numerous occasions. This “high view” of scripture is well expressed by the
Apostle Paul as he continues speaking to Timothy, “All scripture is
God–breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good
work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
The same Spirit of God who gave birth to the scriptures has continued to
speak through them in living power to all generations who would seek the Way of
Salvation. The Bible has been the only minister needed for countless thousands
who have been brought to the throne of Grace by simply responding to God's offer
of forgiveness found in its pages. Just ask any Gideon. In Communist and Muslim
countries today—where Christian witness is still severely restricted, or even
outlawed—the Bible often remains as God's only missionary to His lost sheep
there. And with amazing results. Christian workers in those countries recount an
endless stream of converts whose only contact with Christianity was—the
Bible.
Open Doors with Brother Andrew is a Christian organization which
ministers to the needs of the Suffering Church living under such conditions.
Knowing that the Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus,” one Chinese house church leader recently made a simple
request of an Open Doors worker, “Just bring us the Bibles.”[1]
The underground Church in China knows full well the power of the Bible to do its
own work.
Joseph Smith's
Relationship to the Bible
If Joseph Smith had ever had a genuine relationship with the Lord, he too
would have believed the Bible. Instead, he encouraged a “low view” of the
Bible, by maintaining that it was an inferior document and very unreliable. This
low view of the Bible is reflected in an article entitled “Errors of the
Bible” which appeared in the church's official newspaper, the Evening and
Morning Star. Here is an excerpt from this article.
“As to the errors in the bible, any man possessed of common
understanding, knows, that both the old and new testaments are filled with
errors, obscurities, italics and contradictions, which must be the work of
men ... the church of Christ [Latter Day Saints] will soon have the scriptures,
in their original purity [Joseph Smith's Inspired Version]...
“It must be admitted by all who have any knowledge of the general state
of society, at the present time, that it is very corrupt; and those who have a
knowledge of things as they really are, and as they really will be, knows that
it does and will grow worse from year to year, and yet the bible, instead of
the hearts of men, must be purified
(capitalized as in the original)!
“Now just at the close of this world, or more properly at the close of
this wicked generation, the bible, after a period of hundreds of years, is
found to be faulty and indecent. It has been translated and sent to almost
all nations, and now, the whole work is full of errors and indecent
expressions!” (italics added)[2]
While convincing his followers that the Bible itself was corrupt and
unreliable, Joseph came up with a variety of competing scriptures of his own,
which seriously contradict the Bible and establish his own doctrine and
theology. Joseph Smith, therefore, would not be judged by the
Bible. Quite the contrary, he himself would stand in judgement upon
the Bible.
And so it is today with the followers of Joseph Smith. Whether knowingly
or ignorantly, they have discarded the Bible as an inferior document in favor of
Joseph Smith's own “revelations” which they feel are far superior. In the
words of Joseph Smith, “The conference prized the revelations to be worth to
the church the riches of the whole earth, speaking temporally. The great
benefits to the world, which result from the Book of Mormon and the revelations,
which the Lord has seen fit, in his infinite wisdom to grant unto us for our
salvation, and for the salvation of all that will believe, were duly
appreciated” (emphasis added).[3] According to Joseph Smith, one's salvation
hinges on accepting the scriptures he generated.[4] But the gaping disparity between the message
of the Bible and Joseph Smith's scriptures is a subject which very few Latter
Day Saints are willing to fathom. Joseph Smith generated four books of scripture which are accepted by his followers: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Inspired Version of the Bible and the Pearl of Great Price. RLDS accept all of these as scripture except a portion of the Pearl of Great Price. Utah Mormons accept all but Joseph's Inspired Version of the Bible, choosing to remain with the King James Version instead. RLDS therefore have what they refer to as “three standard books” of scripture, whereas the Utah Mormon church has four. Many, many volumes have been written over the years which evaluate these books by Biblical standards. The next six chapters will introduce the reader to each of these books, and will survey some of the ways in which they seriously conflict with the Biblical record.
[1].
“China: Midnight
Raiders Leave Empty–Handed,” Open Doors Newsbrief, vol. 11, no.
1, (Santa Ana, CA: January 1996), p. 5.
[2].
“Errors of the
Bible,” Evening and Morning Star, vol. 2, no. 14., (Independence,
Missouri, July 1833), p. 106. |