Let’s do direct comparison of the Bible, scripture that we know was written by ancient Jews and the Book of Mormon, and see what we can discover.
1. The Bible prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2
-The Book of Mormon said he would be born at Jerusalem.
"And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalemwhich is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin..." Alma 7: 10
2. The Bible says that Jesus is “the Son of God”
“Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” Matt 14:33
-The Book of Mormon says that Jesus is “a son” of God
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus aracked with torment, while I was bharrowed up by the cmemory of my many sins, behold, I dremembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.” Alma 36:17
Alma 36:17 makes Jesus “a son of God” in contrast to “the son” of God. The indefinite article “a” leaves open that more than one existing son of God who is equal to Jesus. The definite article “the son,” which in always used of Jesus in the Bible, closes the door on other sons of equal status existing. Jesus is never called “a son” of God in the Bible, but He is always “the son of God.”
3. The Bible says that at the Crucifixion there was 3 hours of darkness
“And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.” Luke 23:44
-The Book of Mormon claims that at the Crucifixion there was 3 days of darkness
20 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another asign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his blight unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of cthree days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead.” Helaman 14:20
27 “And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that adarkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days. “ Helaman 14:27
4. The Bible says that Salvation is by Faith
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”Ephesians 2:8-10
-The Book of Mormon claims that Salvation is by Works
2 Nephi 25:23 contradicts the Bible with these words, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” Nowhere does the Bible present merited grace or merited love from God! More importantly this diminishes the Atonement of Christ.
5. The Bibles states that God confused all the languages
“Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:9
-The Book of Mormon says that the Jaredites were spared
“he did not confound the language of Jared . . . their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.” Ether 1:34-37
6. The Book of Mormon has geographical contradictions with the Bible,such as 1 Nephi 2:5-8, which states that a river empties into the Red Sea from the north. Historical and archaeological evidence disproves this. Dr. Gleason Archer has listed this and other geographical and historical problems with the Book of Mormon in his book, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), which is valuable reading for further information.
7. The Bible says that the believers were called “Christians” first at Antioch
“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Acts 11:26
-The Book of Mormon claims that the believers were called “Christians” in 73 BC
“And those who did belong to the church were afaithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ btook upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or cChristians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.” Alma 46:15
The Book of Mormon calls Christ’s followers Christians in 73 BC, as found in Alma 46:13-15. This is not some meaningless point, the New Testament specifically said that this title was “first” used of Christians in Antioch. Either the Bible is true or false on this point. First means first.
8. The Book of Mormon rejects the Bible as God’s only measure of truth.
The Book of Mormon claims that many other religious books from around the world are equal in their inspiration from God. At the same time, the Book of Mormon rejects the Bible as God’s only measure of truth. In 2 Nephi 29:10-12,
“Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. For I command all men both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.”
Two problems surface in these verses. First, the Bible makes Israel’s relationship to God unique, that is, they are the only covenant people on the earth. Amos 3:1-2 says,
“Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel,against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth . . ..”
In contradiction to the Book of Mormon, God said through Amos that “only” Israel was known of all families of the earth. (As a side note, the Book of Mormon claims the Western Hemisphere was already inhabited by an earlier migration from Genesis 11, at the tower of Babel. It weaves an entire story of God’s relationship to these people in direct contradiction to Amos 3). The Book of Mormon portrays books from the north, south, east, west, and islands that are from the God. What books are these? This indicates that the Book of Mormon gave a false prophecy. Where and what are these books?
The second problem is that the above quoted passage from the Book of Mormon conflicts with the Bible, in that it says, “for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world.” Nowhere in the Bible do we find that “books” from other nations will be used by God in judgment. Contrary to this, when one reads about the New Testament missions of Paul and other Apostles, they always judged the foreign nations, the Gentiles, from the Old Testament, rather than from their own books (Acts 17:31).
9.The Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible concerning the children of Joseph
According to the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith was prophesied by Joseph of Egypt to be of his lineage. 2 Nephi 3:11 states,
“But a seer I will raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of they loins …”
Is Joseph Smith of the lineage of Joseph the Patriarch, from the book of Genesis? No. Joseph, the Patriarch, was Semitic, whereas Joseph Smith was of European Caucasian stock.
10. The Bible says that Israel is the Promised Land
“And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.” Deuteronomy 27:3
“And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.” Ex 12:25
That land is Israel.
-The BOM claims that America is the Promised Land
Nephites
“And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days we did arrive at the promised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised land.” 1 Nephi 18:23
Jaredites
“And the friends of Jared and his brother were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many.” Ether 6:16
11. The BOM claims that God commanded his servant to use the powers of darkness.
“And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.” Alma 37:23
-The Bible says that God calls divination an abominationand commands His children not to do it.
“. . . thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shalt not be found among you any one that . . . useth divination, or is an observer of times (astrology), or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits [demons], or a wizard, or a necromancer [one who communicates with the dead]. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD.” Deuteronomy 18:9-12
12. The BOM Claims that God told Nephi to kill Laban.
10 And it came to pass that I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.
11 And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had taken away our property.
12 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;
13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.” 1 Nephi 4:10-13
What Spirit was Nephi hearing? The spirit that directed him to kill Laban basically quotes the High Priest Caiaphas when he is convincing the Jews to crucify Christ!
“NowCaiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.” John 18:14
-The Bible commands us to “turn the other cheek”
God commands us not to kill. Laban may have stolen, and attacked Nephi but he was unconscious and defenseless when Nephi slaughtered him. That is not how God smites the wicked. Only a coward behaves this way. Little David went against the giant Goliath with just a sling and five smooth stones.
13. Synagogues in the Book of Mormon
Synagogues are mention twenty five times in the BOM but synagogues as we know them did not exist at Nephi’s time. Synagogues became a necessity after the destruction of the Temple, and being carried away into Babylon. Without the Temple there was no place to worship God. (Synagogue/synagōgē is a Greek word that means “gathering/meeting place”.
14. The Bible plainly states that the gospel, with its inclusion of Gentiles, was not fully revealed until after Christ's death.
Paul writes "by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: whereof I was made a minister ...... Eph. 3:3-7 (See also Col. 1:26; 1 Peter 1: 1-12; Romans 16:25-26)
-The Book of Mormon maintains that this knowledge was revealed in 545 B.C.
"For according to the words of the prophets, the Messiah cometh... his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ... (v.23) For we labor... to persuade... our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 2 Nephi 25:19
"And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus in the very Christ,it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God;" 2 Nephi 26:12
"For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off," 2 Nephi 30:2
"For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and the Holy Ghost." 2 Nephi 31:17
15. During Jesus' ministry He spoke of His church as something in the future
"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18
AfterChrist's resurrection and the day of Pentecost we read
"And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."Acts 2:47
-The Book of Mormon claims the Christian church was established as early as 147 B.C.
"And they were called the church of God, or the church of Christ, from that time forward.” Mosiah 18:17
16. The Holy Ghost was bestowed on the Christians at the time of Pentecost
"And, behold, I send the promise of my Father unto you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49
"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place...And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,” Acts 2:1-4
-The Book of Mormon claims that people received the gift of the Holy Ghost as early as 545 B.C
"...the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me... Wherefore, my beloved brethren,... by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost;..." 2 Nephi 31:12-13
Jesus wasn’t born yet he certainly hadn’t been baptized when Nephi wrote this “scripture”.
17. In the Old Testament, the only people who could be priests were the descendants of Aaron, who was of the tribe of Levi
"And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron and to his sons: they are wholly given unto him out of the children of Israel. And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office: and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death" Numbers 3:9-10 (See also Numbers 8:6-26).
-The Book of Mormon story claims that descendants of the tribe of Manasseh were made priests
And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of aManasseh, who was the son of bJoseph who was csold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.” Alma 10:3
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did consecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be priests and teachers over the land of my people." 2 Nephi 5:26
Behavior like Nephi’s is called “the sin of Jeraboam”. It’s why the Lost Ten Tribes are lost.
18. 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
"That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's" Exodus 13:12 (See also Ex. 13:2; 22:29-30; Numbers 3:13; 18:15-18; 2 Sam. 24:24).
"And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks." Deuteronomy 12:6
-The Book of Mormon claims that the Nephites were keeping the Law of Moses
However, the Nephites broke the Law of Moses by using the first of the flocks for burnt offerings. These should have already been given to the Lord as tithing.
"And they also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses."Mosiah 2:3
19. The Bible states that all of King Zedekiah's sons were killed
"Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes." Jeremiah 39:6
-The Book of Mormon claims that one son of King Zedekiah escaped destruction and came to the Americas
"the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north" Heleman 6:10 (See also Heleman 8:21).
These are just a few samples of places where The Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible. What follows is the hard physical evidence that the Bible is true. You need to decide who you trust, Jesus or Joseph.
