The Book of Mormon is NOT the word of God. It's not even an accurate word of man. It's contradictory and often unbiblical. However, as many cults and false religions do, the author(s) of the Book of Mormon copied ideas and terminology from the Bible. Evil individuals creating a perversion of God's truth in order to mislead is nothing new (see 2 Corinthians 11:14-16; Galatians 1:8). Interestingly, the so-called Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) don’t actually believe many key doctrines in the Book of Mormon.
The introduction to
the Book of Mormon states, “The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture
comparable to the Bible…Concerning this record the Prophet Joseph Smith said:
‘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.’” Nevertheless, there are
many things in the Book of Mormon which the Mormons reject. The following are a
few examples:
Though there are many false gods, there is only one true God
The LDS church teaches that there are many Gods, and man has the
potential to become a god (Doctrine and Covenants 132:20, 37; Abraham 4). However, although they don't agree on who the true God is, the Book of Mormon and the Bible teach that there is only one true God.
Book of Mormon
- “And Amulek said: Yea, there
is a true and living God. Now Zeezrom said: Is there more than
one God? And he answered, No… Now Zeezrom said unto
the people: See that ye remember these things; for he said there
is but one God...” (Alma 11:27-29, 35) (Alma 11:44: “…Christ the Son,
and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal
God…”)
- “…from that time henceforth and
forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or
they should be swept off…” (Ether 2:8)
Bible
- “…before me there was no God
formed, neither shall there be after me.” (Isaiah 43:10)
- “…the LORD [Jehovah] is God
[Elohim]; there is no other besides him.” (Deuteronomy 4:35)
- “Thus saith
the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer
the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last;
and beside me there is no God…'” (Isaiah 44:6)
- See also Deuteronomy 32:39;
Isaiah 44:8; 45:5; 46:9; Psalm 86:10; Jeremiah 10:6; 2 Samuel 7:22; 1
Chronicles 17:20; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4
The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the one true God
The teaching that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are the one true
God is a fundamental and eternally important teaching of the Bible.
However, the LDS Church rejects this teaching and instead teaches
that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are
three different gods.
Book of Mormon
- …be arraigned before the bar
of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit,
which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to
their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.” (Alma 11:44)
- “…the Father, and unto the
Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state
of happiness which hath no end.” (Mormon 7:7)
- “And now, behold, this is
the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which
is one God, without end. Amen.” (2 Nephi 31:21 b)
- “…honor be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, which is one God.” Amen.
(The Testimony of Three Witnesses)
- See also 3 Nephi 11:27, 36;
28:10
For verses from the Bible on the
Triunity of God, see the post on the
Nature of God.
God is Spirit
The LDS Church teaches God the "...Father has a body of flesh and
bones as tangible as man’s…” (Doctrine & Covenants 130:22). However, the
Book of Mormon and the Bible teach that the Father is a spiritual being and the
Bible states that “…a spirit does not have flesh and bones…” (Luke
24:39).
Book of Mormon
- God is called the “Great Spirit”
(Alma 18:26-28; 22:9-11).
Bible
- “Jesus answered and said to
him, “’Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father
who is in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:17)
- “’God is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (John 4:24)
Note: Jesus said that "'...a spirit does not have flesh and bones...’” (Luke 24:39).
God dwelling in the hearts of the saints
The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that God
dwells in the saints. However, the LDS Church says, “…the
idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian
notion, and is false.” (Doctrine & Covenants 130:3)
Book
of Mormon
- “And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth not in unholy temples, but in the hearts of the righteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; but their garments should be made white through the blood of the Lamb.” (Alma 34:36)
Bible
- “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,” (Ephesians 3:17)
God has always been God
The Bible and the Book of Mormon both teach that God has always been God. However, the LDS Church teaches that God worked His way up to become a God (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pages 345-347, 354).
Book of Mormon
- “For behold, God knowing
all things, being from everlasting to everlasting…” (Moroni 7:22)
- “…the Lord Omnipotent who
reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all
eternity…” (Mosiah 3:5)
- “…the Eternal God…” (1 Nephi
12:18; 2 Nephi 9:8; 26:12; Alma 34:9; Ether 8:23)
- “…everlasting God…” (1 Nephi
11:32; 15:15; 2 Nephi 4:35; Helaman 12:8; Moroni 10:28)
- See also Moroni 8:18
Bible
- “Before the mountains were
brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even
from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” (Psalm
90:2)
- See also Isaiah 40:28; Deuteronomy 33:27
God is immutable (unchanging)
The LDS
church teaches that God is progressing and changing. Again, they believe that
He worked His way up to become a God (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, pages 345-347, 354). However, the Book of Mormon and the Bible
state that God is unchanging.
Book of Mormon
- “For I know that God is
not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he
is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.”
(Moroni 8:18)
- “For I am the Lord,
I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (3 Nephi
24:6)
- “For do we not read that God
is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there
is no variableness neither shadow of changing?
And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth
vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then
have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of
miracles. And if there were miracles wrought then, why has
God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable
Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if
so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a
God of miracles.” (Mormon 9:9-10, 19; See also 2 Nephi 2:4)
Bible
- “Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James
1:17)
- “Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
- “For I am the Lord, I
do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”
(Malachi 3:6)
The unbiblical teaching that Jesus is God the Father
The Bible
teaches that Jesus is God the Son, He is NOT the Father. See the
Nature of God post for more on this. The LDS church teaches that
Jesus is a different god than the Father. However, the Book of Mormon
teaches that Jesus is God the Father.
- [1] And now Abinadi said unto
them: I would that ye should understand that God himself shall
come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people.[2]
And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God,
and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being
the Father and the Son -- [3] The Father, because he was
conceived by the power of God; and the Son, because of the
flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son -- [4]
And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of
heaven and of earth. [5] And thus the flesh becoming subject
to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one
God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but
suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned
by his people. (Mosiah 15:1-5)
Note: Verse 3 refers to Jesus “becoming”
the Son “because of the flesh.” Verse 3 says he is the Father “because he
was conceived by the power of God.” Verse 4 says “they are one God.” The
word “they” is a plural pronoun.
- “…Behold, I am Jesus Christ.
I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have
life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they
shall become my sons and my daughters.” (Ether 3:14)
- “…Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that
in them are…he that will not believe my words will not believe
me—that I am; and he that will not believe me will not believe the
Father who sent me. For behold, I am the Father, I am
the light, and the life, and the truth of the world.”
(Ether 4:7, 12)
Note: The Book of Mormon Jesus speaks of God the Father,
then immediately says that he is the Father.
- “And he shall be called Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the
Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called
Mary.” (Mosiah 3:8)
- “Now Zeezrom saith again unto
him: Is the Son of God the very Eternal Father? And
Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven
and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning
and the end, the first and the last;” (Alma 11:38-39; see also Helaman
14:12; 16:18; Mosiah 16:15)
Additionally, the Book of Mormon refers to
Jesus as the Eternal Father multiple times (Alma 11:38-39; Mosiah 15:1-5;
16:15). However, the Eternal Father is said to be God the Father (Moroni
4:3; 5:2; 10:4). The first Article of Faith in the LDS church states, “We
believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in
the Holy Ghost.” Of course, the LDS Church knows that the Book of Mormon is at
odds with their beliefs, therefore, among the many other changes to the Book of
Mormon they have made over the years, they added the phrase “the son of” to 1
Nephi 11:21 and 1 Nephi 13:40 to change these verses so that they call Jesus
“the Son of the Eternal Father” rather than “the Eternal Father.”
