FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Bible
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Contents
- 1 The Bible as part of Latter-day Saint canon
- 1.1 Overview
- 1.2 Completeness
- 1.3 Archaeology
- 1.4 Interpretation
- 1.4.1 Being "born again"—what does the Bible mean?
- 1.4.2 Christianity is a mystery
- 1.4.3 Cosmology of the Bible
- 1.4.4 "Eternal" biblical commands altered by later prophets
- 1.4.5 Flood, global or local
- 1.4.6 Genealogy, condemnation of
- 1.4.7 Hebrews 7 and the Aaronic Priesthood
- 1.4.8 Inerrancy and the Bible
- 1.5 Joseph Smith Translation
- 1.6 Accuracy
The Bible as part of Latter-day Saint canon
Overview
Basics
Summary: Latter-day Saints consider the Bible to be holy scripture.Completeness
Completeness and sufficiency
Summary: Critics claim the Bible contains all necessary or essential knowledge to assure salvation. Therefore, things like modern prophets or additional scripture (such as the Book of Mormon) are unnecessary or even blasphemous."Adding to" or "taking away" from the Bible
Summary: Critics claim that the Book of Mormon cannot be true because nothing should be "added to" or "taken away from" the Holy Bible.Insufficient?
Summary: Critics interpret a statement by Orson Pratt to mean that Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible is "insufficient."Lost scripture
Open canon vs. closed canon
Archaeology
Archaeology and the Bible
Summary: Sectarian critics who accept the Bible, but not the Book of Mormon, sometimes claim that the Bible has been "proven" or "confirmed" by archaeology, and insist that the same cannot be said for the Book of Mormon.Interpretation
Being "born again"—what does the Bible mean?
Summary: When the Bible talks about being "born again," what does this mean? How did the first Christians understand this concept?Christianity is a mystery
Summary: Members of the Church believe that the gospel of Christ has been known since the days of Adam. Critics claim that the New Testament teaches that the Gospel of Christ was a mystery unknown until the advent of Christ. (In defense of this claim, they often cite such scriptures as Rom. 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7, 1 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 3:1-10; Col. 1:25-27).Cosmology of the Bible
Summary: What do we know about how Bible authors viewed the earth and the universe?
"Eternal" biblical commands altered by later prophets
Summary: Critics claim that Joseph gave a false prophecy when he described the United Order in revelation as "everlasting," "immutable and unchangeable," "until I [Jesus] come."Flood, global or local
Summary: Modern scientific knowledge regarding the diversity of species, language and evidence of continuous human habitation does not support the Biblical story that a global flood wiped out most life as recently as 4,400 years agoGenealogy, condemnation of
Summary: Critics charge that the Bible condemns genealogy, and therefore the Latter-day Saint practice of compiling family histories is anti-Biblical, often citing 1 Timothy 1:4 or Titus 3:9.Hebrews 7 and the Aaronic Priesthood
Summary: Hebrews 7 states that the Aaronic/Levitical Priesthood was "changed" to the unique priesthood "after the order of Melchizedek" held by Jesus Christ. Why then do Latter-day Saints still use the Aaronic Priesthood?Inerrancy and the Bible
Summary: Critics claim the Bible texts, at least in their pristine form, were inerrant. Therefore, it is incorrect for Joseph Smith to teach that the Bible contains errors, mistakes, or omissions.Joseph Smith Translation
Joseph Smith Translation