Question: Are there obvious contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible?
It is easily demonstrated that none of these paired scriptures contradict each other
Sandra Tanner provides a list of eight items which she claims are contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible.
As we have seen, none of these paired scriptures contradict each other. This list either misunderstands and misrepresents LDS doctrine, or misinterprets the biblical data upon which the supposed "contradiction" rests.
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Scriptures
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Tanner's Claim(s)
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Response and Comments
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1
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- Tanner claims that there was no revelation of Christ prior to His death and resurrection, while the Nephites had this knowledge.
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- The Bible audience did not learn about Christ and his gospel before Jesus' ministry, his death, resurrection, and subsequent preaching by the apostles.
- Book of Mormon peoples were not in the Old World; they had to learn about Christ through their own witnesses and prophets.
- Since God planned from the beginning of the world to send his son (1 Peter 1:20; see also John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4), why can God not reveal Christ's mission to faithful people before Jesus' birth?
- It is ironic that a Christian "ministry" like UTLM objects to people being taught about Christ sooner.
- This criticism is meaningless unless one is convinced that the Bible contains a complete record of everything taught about Jesus at any time, in any place. Yet, even the Bible denies that this is so, repeatedly. (See John 21:25: "there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.")
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2
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- "During Jesus' ministry He spoke of His church as something in the future."
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- The first scripture tells Peter that Jesus "will" build his Church upon the rock.
- The second scripture discusses people joining the Church after Pentecost.
- Even prior to these scriptures, Jesus was encouraging baptism, conferring authority, and teaching the gospel, announcing that the kingdom of God "is come unto you" (Matthew 12:28).
- Once again, this criticism rests on believing that God would not teach anyone outside of the narrow confines of the Near East about Christ's universal atoning sacrifice.
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3
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- "The Bible says believers were first called Christians after Paul's ministry in Antioch," but the Book of Mormon believers are also called Christians.
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- Luke can hardly be expected to know what was going on on another continent. Luke is clearly speaking about the old world region he knows. It is a huge stretch to insist that he must mean that no one anywhere else on the planet could ever have been given the titles of "followers of the Messiah" or "followers of Christ."
- This particularly poor complaint shows how feeble such attacks are, and how much the author seeks to find fault.
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4
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- "The Holy Ghost was bestowed on the Christians at the time of Pentecost," but the Book of Mormon believers were touched by the Holy Ghost before Pentecost.
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- Even the Bible has the Holy Ghost operative prior to Pentecost. Two of Jesus disciples felt his Spirit when they first met him after his resurrection, before Pentecost (Luke 24:32). Note that this occurs in the same book of scripture, just a few verses before Tanner's citation to Luke.
- Luke also has people such as Elizabeth (Luke 1꞉41), Zacharias (1 67), and Simeon (Luke 2꞉26-27 receive manifestations and instructions from the Holy Ghost.
- Again, are we to believe that no person on earth ever received the influence of the Holy Ghost prior to Pentecost? Does God not care for all his children, no matter when they are born? Why should we believe Tanner's claim when the very gospel she cites disagrees with her reading?
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5
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- Only Levites could be Old Testament priests.
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- Tanner has misunderstood the biblical data and the Book of Mormon situation.
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6
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- "The Old Testament teaches that the first born of the flocks were to be given automatically to the Lord. Sacrifices were to be made from their remaining animals....However, the Nephites broke the law of Moses by using the first of the flocks for burnt offerings."
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- Again, Tanner has misunderstood the biblical data and the Book of Mormon text.
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7
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SCRIPTURES
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TANNER CLAIMS
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8
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SCRIPTURES
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TANNER CLAIMS
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Notes
