book of mormon

[Iti oj]

How does it differ from the bible. Does it have some of thr same books. Same stories? It has and old testement and a new?

[Katzpur]

While we LDS definitely do accept the Holy Bible as the word of God, we do not believe that the Bible is the sole word of God. We believe that God has said much more than has been assembled in that single volume and that He is still not through speaking to us. The Bible, of course, contains both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the New Testament being a witness to the divine mission of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is yet another testament of Jesus Christ. It is the history, both religious and secular of several groups of people whom we believe we led by God to the American continent in ancient times. By far the largest portion of the book describes two civilizations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, who were both descendants of the House of Israel, and who lived on this continent between about 600 B.C. and 400 A.D.

When Jesus Christ spoke to his followers in the Holy Land, He is recorded in the Gospel of John as having said, “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” He also said that His own personal mission was only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So who were the “other sheep” of whom He spoke, people who were evidently not living in the Holy Land but who were, at the same time, of the house of Israel? We believe they were the people whose story is told in the Book of Mormon. After Christ’s resurrection, he stayed among his Apostles and others for a time. But, according to the Book of Mormon, before He returned to heaven where He now awaits the time of His Second Coming, He visited the people of ancient America. He established His Church here, teaching exactly the same gospel of love, forgiveness and mercy He had taught in the Holy Land.

The Book of Mormon is an account of a 1000-year history of some of the people of ancient America, and includes a number of chapters which describe in some detail Jesus Christ’s ministry among those people. It does not contradict or supplant anything in the Bible. Rather it complements and clarifies many of the doctrines to which the Bible alludes but is not entirely clear. Its purpose is literally to prove the Bible to be true, and, as stated on the title page of the book is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.”

[Iti oj]

so how is the bom set up? does it go ot nt bom? or is bom like a supplement to the bible? do ou own a bible and a book of Mormon, do you have a book that has both?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Iti oj

so how is the bom set up? does it go ot nt bom? or is bom like a supplement to the bible? do ou own a bible and a book of Mormon, do you have a book that has both?

The Book of Mormon is a separate book. Since the main storyline begins in about 600 B.C., the original writers were contemporaries of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. The final writers, however, did so in about 400 A.D. As I said before, it is the history of a completely different group of people than the ones whose story is told in the Bible. Mormons use the King James Version of the Bible. It's possible to buy two separate volumes or a combined one. Since there are actually two other books of LDS scripture, (The Doctrine & Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price), when you buy everything together, bound in a single cover, it's commonly known as "a quad."

[Iti oj]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

The Book of Mormon is a separate book. Since the main storyline begins in about 600 B.C., the original writers were contemporaries of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. The final writers, however, did so in about 400 A.D. As I said before, it is the history of a completely different group of people than the ones whose story is told in the Bible. Mormons use the King James Version of the Bible. It's possible to buy two separate volumes or a combined one. Since there are actually two other books of LDS scripture, (The Doctrine & Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price), when you buy everything together, bound in a single cover, it's commonly known as "a quad."

ahh. can some one be Mormon with out taking the qaud literally?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Iti oj

ahh. can some one be Mormon with out taking the qaud literally?

Absolutely. Very few Mormons today interpret the Bible literally. There is no reason to accept anything as literal that is clearly intended to be symbolic or figurative. I'd say that, on the whole, more Mormons take the Book of Mormon literally than take the Bible literally, though. The Doctrine and Covenants, on the other hand, isn't an ancient record at all, but a series of revelations given directly to Joseph Smith and others about the organization of the Church, various doctrines that are not found in any detail in either the Book of Mormon or the Bible. It contains information like the revelation known as "The Word of Wisdom," which is the LDS health code (prohibiting alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee). This was a directive given to Joseph Smith back in 1838, and was never believed to have an ancient origin. For that reason, accepting it as literal or figurative is really not an issue. You either believe that God revealed it (to Joseph or later prophets) or you don't. It's kind of a cross between a historical record of early Mormonism and a series of revelations describing the doctrines of the Church in some detail.)

[Iti oj]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

Absolutely. Very few Mormons today interpret the Bible literally. There is no reason to accept anything as literal that is clearly intended to be symbolic or figurative. I'd say that, on the whole, more Mormons take the Book of Mormon literally than take the Bible literally, though. The Doctrine and Covenants, on the other hand, isn't an ancient record at all, but a series of revelations given directly to Joseph Smith and others about the organization of the Church, various doctrines that are not found in any detail in either the Book of Mormon or the Bible. It contains information like the revelation known as "The Word of Wisdom," which is the LDS health code (prohibiting alcohol, tobacco, tea and coffee). This was a directive given to Joseph Smith back in 1838, and was never believed to have an ancient origin. For that reason, accepting it as literal or figurative is really not an issue. You either believe that God revealed it (to Joseph or later prophets) or you don't. It's kind of a cross between a historical record of early Mormonism and a series of revelations describing the doctrines of the Church in some detail.)

ohh my that was a bit more then i expected.
Hmm creationism or evolution?

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Iti oj

Hmm creationism or evolution?

Well, we definitely believe that God created our universe, but very few educated Mormons today believe in a young earth or that the earth was created in either six 24-hour days or even in six thousand years (the Bible says something to the effect that to God, one of our days is like a thousand years). The Church hasn't actually taken a firm position on the age of the earth or anything like that, and evolution is openly taught at Brigham Young University. Still, we would never go so far as to say that our universe simply came to exist through a random series of events without any sort of divine direction. We believe in God, but we definitely aren't "anti-science." I suppose there's probably a pretty wide range of opinions on the subject.

[Iti oj]

What are some of the social stances?

What's are some of the theoligcal concepts

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by Iti oj

What are some of the social stances?

What's are some of the theoligcal concepts

Wow... that's kind of a huge, general topic, Iti! Is there something in particular you're curious about, or something you've heard about the religion I could maybe shed some light on?