When studying Mormonism, one comes across all sorts of problems, many of which I have reported on in previous articles. This article will demonstrate some examples of how the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants contradict the Bible. (Bible passages will be cited from the English Standard Version.)
BOM, 1 Nephi 19:10, speaking prophetically of what was to come, said that when Christ was crucified there would be three days of darkness. This prophecy is repeated in Helaman 14:27. However, Matthew 27:45, and parallel passages, say that there were only three hours.
BOM, Alma 7:10, prophetically speaking, says that Jesus would be born “at Jerusalem.” However, Micah 5:2 prophetically speaks of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, and the Gospels confirm this.
BOM, Ether 1:35-37, states that there were those who did not have their languages confounded at the tower of Babel; that there were some who cried out to God for mercy. However, Genesis 11:9 says that “the LORD confused the language of all the earth.”
D&C 1:30 says that the Mormon church is the only true church, which was brought “forth out of obscurity and out of darkness.” In order for the true church to go into darkness, evil would have had to prevail. However, Matthew 16:18 states that the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
D&C 2 has the angel Moroni stating this: “Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” Compare this plagiarization to what Malachi says in 4:5-6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Where is any “Priesthood” mentioned?
D&C 35:12 God tells Joseph Smith, “And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth unto this generation.” However, Psalm 14:1-3 and its parallel passage Psalm 53:1-3, and cited by Paul in Romans 3:11-12, give NO exceptions.
D&C 49:8: “I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of.” However, Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
D&C 67:11 says, “For no man hath seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God.” In Luke 24:39 Jesus said, “For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” In John 4:24 Jesus also said, “God is spirit...” So God the Father is not flesh. John 1:18 says that “No one has ever seen God.” 1 Timothy 6:16 says, “no one has ever seen or can see” God. 1 John 4:12 states, “No one has ever seen God.” Finally, God says at Exodus 33:20 that “man shall not see me and live.” NO exceptions.
D&C 90:9 states that the Gospel is to be taken first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews. However, Romans 1:16 says that the Gospel is for the Jews first!
D&C 93:12-14 has supposed citations of the Apostle John speaking about Christ, as follows: “And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace; and he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness; and thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at first.” However, in Colossians we read: “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell...” (1:19) and “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily...” (2:9).
D&C 93:29 says that “Man was also in the beginning with God.” However, Genesis states that man was created by God on the sixth day of creation.
D&C 98:8 says that “the law also maketh you free,” yet Romans 7:5, et al, says that the law brings death and bondage.
D&C 98:44 has God saying that one is to forgive trespasses only three times, but the fourth time one should not forgive. However, in Matthew 18:22 Jesus tells us that forgiveness is to be unlimited.
D&C 107:49 states that Enoch lived to be 430 years old, yet Genesis 5:23 states that “all the days of Enoch were 365 years.”
D&C 124 gives the instructions about baptisms for the dead so that those who died without the LDS gospel may be saved. However, Hebrews 9:27 says that judgment follows death - there is no second chance.
D&C 130:3 states that “the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false.” Romans 8:9: “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”
D&C 130: 22 claims: “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s…”
However, In Luke 24:39 Jesus said, “For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” In John 4:24 Jesus also said, “God is spirit...” Isaiah 31:3 says God is spirit; in Hosea 11:9 God says he is not a man; 1 Samuel 15:29 says God is not a man; Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man; Colossians 1:15 says God is invisible; 1 Corinthians 15:50 says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
D&C 132:34 says that God commanded Abraham to take Hagar as his wife. However, Genesis 16:2 says that Sarai told Abram to take Hagar to have a child with her.
D&C 138:30ff again claims the dead have a second chance at salvation, again contradicting Hebrews 9:27.
Since we KNOW that the Bible is the Word of God, it must be the standard against which all other teachings must be judged. The Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants contradict the Bible in many areas, and have therefore been proven to be concoctions of a man.
