The Holy Bible

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes the Bible to be the word of God. In fact, the Holy Bible is first in our canon of scripture, which includes, the Bible, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. These four books are the canon of scripture recognized by the Church as the word of God. However, we do not believe God's revelations stop there. We believe God continues to reveal His word unto His prophets and apostles--just as He did in ancient times. As the Lord instructed the prophet Amos in the Old Testament, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7).

Some of our fellow Christians, because of their genuine love of the Bible, have criticized the Church for accepting other books of scripture outside of the Holy Bible. One of the arguments used in their defense is that scripture passages in Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19 forbid adding or detracting from the Bible. There are a couple of problems with this argument.

First, there is overwhelming evidence among all biblical scholars that the warning in Revelation applies only to the Book of Revelation, and not the entire Bible. There are two reasons for this: (1) Scholars acknowledge a large number of New Testament books were written after John's revelation on the Isle of Patmos was received. These books include the books of Jude, the three Epistles of John, and probably the entire Gospel of John itself. The New Testament was not compiled in chronological order. For example, the letters from Paul are compiled by length, not by date. (2) There is even a more simple reason why the warning in the Book of Revelation does not apply to the whole Bible. That is because the Bible as we know it was not compiled until centuries later. For centuries after John wrote the Book of Revelation, the Bible as a compilation of a collection of texts bound in a single voulme did not exist. Instead, individual books of the New Testament were in circulation alone or sometimes grouped with a few other books, but almost never as a complete collection. The New Testament as we know it today was not compiled until 1000 A.D.

Second, Deuteronomy 4:2 commands that "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it." Does that mean that every book of scripture written after Deuteronomy is "adding" to the word of God? If so, then every book in the Bible following Deuteronomy is violating this commandment. Certainly, we know the Bible is the word of God and that the prophets writing after Moses were inspired of God. Therefore, this warning in Deuteronomy most certainly did not apply to the Bible as a whole. The fact of the matter is that virtually every prophet of the Old and New Testaments has added scripture to that received by his predecessors.

Third, the Bible mentions many books of scripture as authentic and the word of God and yet they are not compiled in the Bible. These "lost scriptures" include the book of Samuel the seer (1 Chr. 29:29), the book of Gad the seer (1 Chr. 29:29), the book of Nathan the prophet (2 Chr. 9:29), the prophecy of Ahijah (2 Chr. 9:29), the book of Jehu (2 Chr. 20:34), and many, many others. If they were ever to be found, I would hope that they would not be rejected for the mere fact that they are not compiled in our traditional Bible.

The Bible is the word of God. The Latter-day Saints study the Bible and seek to adhere to its teachings. The Book of Mormon is not a replacement of the Bible. Instead, it is an additional witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I would think that all of us as Christians would rejoice to receive additional witnesses of God and of His plan for His children. Why would any of us despise more of God's word, instead of embracing it? Continuing revelation does not discredit previous revelations. After all, the Old Testament does not lose value because of the New Testament. Likewise, the Bible does not lose value because of the Book of Mormon; in fact, it is enhanced by additional testimonies and witnesses of its veracity.

Much of the content for this post was taken directly from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's address at the April 2008 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints entitled "My Words . . . Never Cease."