tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7894828339833547908.post28966321407721955..comments2012-12-12T13:03:58.596-08:00Comments on Gospel Doctrine Underground: Why Do We Need the Book of Mormon?The Teacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134204886730230261noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7894828339833547908.post-81165258899871875152009-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:002009-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00Anonymous: I can understand your questions and co...Anonymous: I can understand your questions and confusion. Trying to learn the truth on our own is a very difficult process. For every troubling fact you learn about Joseph Smith or LDS Church History, there is another fact that suggests that Joseph really was a prophet of God. I respect your efforts to study, learn figure things out.<BR/><BR/>If you sincerely want to know about Joseph Smith, reading the Book of Mormon (as opposed to surfing the web) is pretty important. It is such a fundamental part of what he did that you can’t really make a decision about his accomplishments without reading it. "By their fruits ye shall know them," and all that. Ultimately, you will have to ask God if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith was a prophet to really know.<BR/><BR/>Your question about adding to the Bible is a common one with those learning about Mormonism. Without going into a lot of detail, I will just say biblical scholars basically agree that "The Bible," as we know it, was compiled long after its individual books were written by their original authors. The scripture to which you refer about "adding to this book" (Revelations 22:18) is talking about adding to or taking away from the book of Revelations, not today's Bible as a whole. It is only because the compilers of the modern Bible decided to make Revelations the last book that this verse appears toward the very end of the Bible that you study.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by; you are welcome any time. I would love to hear more about your search and where it leads you.The Teacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02134204886730230261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7894828339833547908.post-83478312040684500922009-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:002009-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:00Some of my friends were urging me to become mormon...Some of my friends were urging me to become mormon, so I thought I'd give it some thought so I started looking at some of the origins of the Mormons and Joseph Smith, and the results are'nt to encouraging. Their's to many contradictions and strange stories and claims that just have no evidence. I can'nt understand why J. Smith claims he's a prophet when it says in the Bible thou shall not take away or add to this book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com