Ugh, if you’ve ever tried to tell a Mormon they don’t believe in the Bible, you know how frustrating it can be. The main problem, of course, is that they think they believe it! Getting past this can be a real challenge. You tell them they don’t believe it, they say they do, you tell them they don’t, they point out that they spend two out of every four years studying the Bible as part of their official curriculum, you say that doesn’t matter because they don’t teach the truth about the Bible, they point out everybody has their own interpretation of the Bible, you tell them that isn’t true, they say it is, and so on.
This ends up being yet another fruitless quest, because it’s so darned difficult to convince someone they don’t believe in something that they think they believe in. Mormons use the King James Version of the Bible, which is accepted by most Christians as being legitimate, so it’s not as though anti-Mormons can say they’re using a different version of the Bible than is commonly accepted.
One can point out that they don’t interpret scriptures the same way the rest of Christianity does, but this also poses problems, because there’s no way to prove what the correct interpretation is. You can amass evidence and build a case, but in most cases there’s no bulletproof proof, and of course Mormons aren’t going to accept what most Christian believe, because they claim to have modern-day prophets and other scriptures that tell them how to correctly interpret the Bible and they could care less what Christian scholars have said for the past 1,500 years. Actually, it’s not that Mormons care less, but they don’t give what has been commonly accepted much weight just because it’s been around for a long time.
So if you want to spend time trying to convince Mormons they don’t believe in the Bible you’re more than welcome to, but trust me, you’re just going to get frustrated in the end.
Having been a student of the Holy Bible for 61 years I have to agree that it does get tedious when some well-meaning fellow slams me for not believing the Bible to be the word of God. Let me say then, that I do believe the Bible to be the word of God. I also believe what most other Christians have come to accept, and that is that the text is corrupted in places. Yet, like our fellow Christians that are non-LDS, we find a whole world of understanding within its inspired pages, use its teachings to compound our faith in God, and strengthen our commitment to Jesus Christ as our Saviour, Lord, King, and Redeemer, etc.
Naturally, that does not mean that we run parallel to all other Christians as to how certain passages are to be understood. But then, very few Christians meet in their understanding of the Bible on all points, as the troubled story of historical Christian development, division, and so forth plainly shew forth.
If I may, I will close my affirmation of the Holy Bible as one of the Standard Works of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with an interesting comment by a man that was during his lifetime one of the most influential Christian preachers and teachers America has ever enjoyed.
Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-87, an American Congregational preacher, orator, and lecturer, born in Litchfield, Conn., the son of Lyman Beecher and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe . He graduated from Amherst in 1834 and attended Lane Theological Seminary, Cincinnati. After two pastorates in Indiana, he accepted a call in 1847 to the newly organized Plymouth Church (Congregational) in Brooklyn, N.Y. There Beecher became famous for his advocacy of an emotional “gospel of love” Christianity instead of the strict Calvinist doctrine that then characterized much of American Protestantism.
Every important issue of the day was discussed from his pulpit and in his lectures. He was a leader in the anti-slavery movement, a proponent of woman suffrage, and an advocate of the theory of evolution. Beecher became editor of the Independent in 1861 and of the Christian Union in 1870.
Concerning the then current rumours about Mormons and their beliefs about the Holy Bible, The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher said,
“” They say the Mormons do not believe in the Bible, but I know they do, and they believe in it like thunder!”
He also said:
“If a literal rendering of the Scriptures was to be accepted, then “Mormonism” is correct.”
Amen, Brother Beecher! Amen!
Praise the Lord for a Christian that knew the truth about Mormon and the Bible and whose faith was not a sham, but who would stand with courage and tell the truth!