Response to a comment from an LDS reader

Dear Readers,

I am always encouraged when you leave comments, and even more encouraged when LDS readers leave a comment. Thanks friends for taking time to leave your comments here. I also appreciate that the tone is courteous. :) Thanks!

I wanted to take a moment and respond to a comment left here in response to my post on the Bible.

" You don't have to believe the Bible is inerrant to believe the Bible. "

--- Seth

First of all, I wish to thank Seth for taking time to stop by my blog and sharing his thoughts about the Bible. I have visited enough blogs and sites that are similar to mine to know that the comments left are not always shall I say "kind". :) Thanks Seth for your courteous sharing.

I just wanted to take a moment and respond to Seth's comment, about "not having to believe the Bible is inerrant -- that is without error-- to believe in the Bible and it's message. "

Seth also mentioned that in the Book of Mormon it mentions various times that the Book of Mormon is not without error. Seth is correct. The Book of Mormon does not claim to be a inerrant book. That is, it openly declares it contains errors.

I want to point out to Seth and other LDS readers who may actually read the Bible , is that no where in the Bible does it state by any of it's writers that it contains errors. Not one place that I know of. On the contrary the Bible declares that God's word shall accomplish what is sets out to do ( to share the message of salvation thru Christ) and that it shall prosper in the thing that God sends it out to do.

" So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

God's Word, is found in the Bible. It shall accomplish that which He desires and shall prosper. God reveals Himself to men by His Word, which shall not return to Him in vain. ( void) The Word of God therefore, accomplishes His purposes by announcing salvation to all mankind. Thus the great need and importance the world has, to read the Bible.

I also love the passage in Isaiah 46:9-11

" Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do my pleasure.... yea, I have spoken it I will also bring it to pass, I purposed it, I will also do it."

He speaks thru His Word and what He declares and has declared shall come to pass. We see that over and over again thru the Biblical prophesy. Prophesies about our Lord's birth, life, and eventual sacrifice was prophesied years prior. What God has declared in His Word, has come to pass. There is yet things to come to pass as well. His eventual return for His Bride, The Church is something we look forward to as believers. What God has spoken is found in the Bible. It shall truly come to pass , if it has not already been fulfilled.

The concern I have with the LDS view that the Bible is not inerrant, and does have errors, is that "if" that is the point of view the reader has about God's word -- then how can the reader of the Bible truly come to trust God? How can one "trust" something that it believes contains error? To say The Bible contains errors is to declare God is a God of errors. As I mentioned earlier, The Bible does not declare itself to be a book that contains errors. The writers of the Bible, were inspired by God.

" ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, or correction for instruction in righteousness. " 2 Timothy 3:16

This refers to the supernatural guidance of the writers of Scripture by the Holy Spirit, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts. The word "inspiration" itself pictures God "breathing" out His Word to men. Since the scriptures are given to help Christians grow in their walk with the Lord, they should rely upon them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in how to live correctly.

" Knowing this first that no prophesy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of men, but holy men of God sake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1:20-21

The scriptures were written by holy ( holy in Greek and Hebrew means "set apart") men, or men "set apart" by God to write His Word. While in no way denying the individual personalities of the writers, or rejecting the distinctiveness of their particular styles, the Holy Spirit controlled the process of bringing things to the writer's memories. ( John 16:13) and ensuring what they recorded was the very Word of God. For example, Jeremiah once became so frustrated with the work God called him to do, he wanted to quit. But God's Spirit compelled him to go on. ( Jer. 20:9) Jonah also at first refused God's call to preach in Nineveh, but later obeyed. ( Jonah 3:1) As Christians we can read the Bible and be confident that this is the very Word of God.


When I was LDS, I regarded for many years the Bible with suspicion. I had been taught that the Catholic Church had thru the years ( middle ages and early Church years) meddled with it and had taken out plain and precious truths. I was led to believe that it was not reliable, and had errors, at times significant errors. ( case in point the passage in John 3 that states God is a Spirit, that is not a man. The LDS declare that to be an "error" or mistranslated.) When I began to read the bible in earnest, I read with sincerity, wishing to read it in it's entirety. I began my study with a sincere desire to read and understand. An amazing thing happened in the process. My eyes were opened, and I came to know and understand WHO Jesus was and is, and Who God is and Who is the Holy Spirit. My eyes and heart were further opened to realize, that NO where in the Bible is there any such command to join a particular church or that one has to have membership in some religious organization to gain eternal life. No, after reading the Bible, it was so clearly laid out to me that JESUS IS THE WAY. Jesus preached Himself, He did not preach a religious denomination. It was so very simply laid out.

My concern for Seth and other LDS readers is that they have been taught that the Bible contains errors. First of all, as I stated earlier no where does the Bible state that as it does in the Book of Mormon, and secondly we have texts today, ancient manuscripts that point out to us that there isn't errors as the LDS teach. The Bible can be trusted. It is not in error. Another book I highly recommend is the book : Evidence that demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. This man , was an atheist when he began to study the Bible. He began it's study with the intent to prove it's falseness. In the process of studying God's Word, He was proved of it's truth! A wonderful and very intense book for those Bible critics out there.

If one truly believes The Bible is God inspired, not of " private interpretation" or "mistranslated" then one can come to understand and know that Jesus , The Messiah is the ONLY means by which man can inherit eternal life.

I challenge my LDS readers to perhaps consider picking up a non - LDS version of the Bible, that does not have the Joseph Smith translations and read for one self. There are many wonderful modern translations of the Bible, and yes they are reliable. The New KJV and NIV Bibles are reliable and wonderful translations. Pick one up and give it a try. I promise you that if you read with a sincere heart you will be changed. God's Word is just that powerful.

Seth, thanks again for sharing and for the opportunity to respond to your comment.

God bless,

gloria

In response to my "anonymous" comment

I am encouraged by the courteous comments readers are leaving here on my blog. Thanks to those of you who take time to leave a thoughtful reply or comment. I also want to write and let you know your comments get me thinkin' ........

I wanted to take a moment and respond to a comment left here by someone who wishes to remain "anonymous"..........

" For 10 yrs I felt so drawn to the LDS religion, but did not end up in it for various reasons. But I *have* learned the Bible well over the years, and recently when I began studying ( not with missionaries) the LDS faith, I see so much in it that is to me wrong and false. I am thankful God preserved me from joining, since I would have gone straight in full force because I would not have known any better. And then who knows if I would ever have had the courage or sense to extricate myself. "

First of all, I want to write and tell my 'anonymous' reader PRAISE GOD! Praise God that He preserved you from joining the LDS. Praise God that you began to read the Bible and that your eyes were opened to recognize that the teachings and doctrines of the LDS faith are not biblical and as you said many are "false". We serve a great God and He truly has preserved you! Praise Him for that!

I also was struck as I read this comment that , it is precisely because of the fact that you read the Bible and knew God's word that you were able to discern truth from fiction. Interestingly enough, when I served my LDS mission, I was never successful in teaching the LDS gospel to anyone who had a strong grip and knowledge of the Bible. NOT one. That isn't to say that I "tried" to share the LDS message -- it was just fact that those who knew their Bibles and read them , did not accept the message I was presenting to them! They were able to discern and know that the message I was sharing was certainly not biblical.

Recently my LDS husband, who remains active in his faith, made a comment that really has stuck with me......... he told me that people "like me, and other born again believers" would not make good Mormons....... I asked him "why"...... his response was .... " because Jesus is enough for you and you are not "open" to further knowledge and light"....... hmmm.... I took that in and then asked him "who" would make good converts to the LDS...... his response was " those that did not know their Bibles well"........... wow....... now that was telling.

This brings me to the point, that I believe is so important. Friends, if we wish to avoid being deceived we must know God's word! The Lord told us that we must "continue in His word" and to that I say AMEN!!

" Take heed that NO man deceive you" . Matt 24: 4

I joined the LDS as a 20 yr old young woman , who was completely Biblically illiterate. I knew nothing, absolutely nothing to compare what the Mormon Missionaries were teaching me. Nothing. I had no Bible until I purchased my first one as an LDS soon after I was baptized into the LDS.

I believe because I did not know God's word, I was easily converted to the Mormon gospel. That certainly was the case on my Mission. The people that joined the LDS church under my teaching, were all biblically illiterate. None of them had or owned a Bible and none knew God's word. Sure, they knew who "Jesus" was and who "God" was because most had been reared in the Catholic Church, but they had no clue about Biblical teachings.

For the most part, the LDS missionaries have greatest success with peoples who are biblically illiterate. I also want to point out , that the majority of LDS missionaries who are out there, are truly sincere and do not know that what they are sharing is a false message. They are sharing what they believe is the truth. I really don't think LDS missionaries even have a grip on the "meatier" teachings of the LDS church or know about it's contradictory teachings. They are simply being obedient to what they have been told their whole life to do. For my readers who are believers, please remember that when the Mormon Elders or Sisters come to your doorstep. I sure hope that if they do come, you will be able to share with them the good news of Jesus with them. They need to hear the message of salvation, and they have been taught to be courteous and polite so they will allow you to teach them, if you sieze the blessing of doing so!

I recently read of the experience of an LDS sister missionary who was serving in Idaho. She was invited into the home of a Christian family and they in love presented the good news of Jesus with her. This young woman returned home after her mission and gave her life to Christ. She ended up leaving the LDS and embracing the Lord! Praise God! So, please friends, when the LDS missionaries knock on your door please do share the message of salvation with them!

To my anonymous commentor:

I am so thankful that God opened your eyes to the truth and in time you were able to see the false teachings of the LDS. I am also grateful that God opened my eyes too! It was after a 2 yr in depth study of the Bible that I was clearly able to see truth from error and was able to embrace Jesus!

God's word is truly a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path! Psalm 119:105

I praise God that He protected you, and for the work He did on both of us thru His word!


gloria