"And because my words shall hiss forth - many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." (2 Nephi 29:3)
Most missionaries who have served in a Christian country have heard this argument from someone. It is the main argument against the Book of Mormon.
"The argument is, as the Lord suggests, most foolish. It is our modern counterpart to those of Jesus' day who rejected him in the pretense of being loyal to the Law of Moses, the irony being that loyalty to the Law of Moses demanded acceptance of Jesus as the Christ. The purpose of the Law of Moses as to teach and testify of Christ. Such is also the purpose of the Book of Mormon, it being the most Christ-centered book ever written. Yet it is rejected in the name of loyalty to the Bible. The logical extension of such reasoning would be to reject the Gospel of Mark in the name of loyalty to Matthew or to reject the wintess of Peter in the pretense of loyalty to Paul and his teachings." (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 347)
Most people who cry, we have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible, have no idea why they believe that. Some will quote the passage in Revelation 22:18-19:
"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."
They argue that John was declaring that nothing could be added to the Bible or taken away from the Bible. This is their proof that the heavens closed after the Bible was written.
This argument implies that John was writing the book of Revelation as the last chapter of the New Testament. It is in this context only that the passage above can be construed to refer to the entire Bible. This thought process is false for the following reasons-first the books that we know as the New Testament were not compiled at the time of John's writing. They were scattered epistles gathered together sometime later. Second, John is thought to have written the epistles of John after writing the book of Revelation-demonstrating that the passage does not mean that there can be no more revelation. Third, the context of the passage itself demonstrates that John was talking about the book of Revelation not the entire Bible. When John says, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book he is referring to the plagues discussed in Revelation 15 & 16 not the plagues written in the New Testament. The New Testament is not a book of plagues, the book of Revelation is. Fourth, a very similar passage is found in Deuteronomy 4:2:
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you."
If such a passage is meant to imply that there cannot be any more scriptures, then everything in the Bible after Deuteronomy must be false.
The real meaning of the scriptures is that the commandments of God should not be altered. Nevertheless, they were altered for we know that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book (1 Nephi 13:28). When Joseph Smith altered passages of the book of Revelation in the Joseph Smith Translation, it was to restore those plain and precious things that were lost.
Those who declare that the Bible is the only revelation that God ever intended for his children also claim that the Bible is perfect. They contend that all man never needs to know regarding God and salvation is contained in it's pages. McConkie and Millet comment on this view:
"The fundamental error of Bible cultists is the doctrine of Bible infallibility. This tenet holds that the Bible must be 'completely authoritative and trustworthy in all that it asserts as factual, whether in matters of theology, history, or science.' The Bible, it is held, 'does not contain error of any kind.'
"It has to be significant that the Bible makes no such claim for itself: There is not a single passage of scripture that can properly be used to sustain such a view. For is there any agreement among those maintaining such a position as to what version of the Bible should be used or what the Bible is saying on a host of matters.
"...To claim for the Bible what it does not claim for itself is to misuse the Bible. The Bible does not claim to be the constitution of the church, it does not claim to be infallible, nor does it claim to be the answer in all things. What the Bible does claim is that whenever God had a people that he ackowledged as his own he spoke to them through living prophets who when added those words to the canon of scripture. The purpose and spirit of the Bible is to open the heavens, not seal them." (McConkie and Millet, Sustaining and Defending the Faith, pp. 40, 50)
I bring forth my word unto...all nations of the earth
The doctrine that the Lord speaks to all nations is repeated three times in this chapter. In verse 11 it reads, 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, and from verse 12, I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. We should not be surprised to find out one day that many of the writings the ancient Orient, Near East, and Africa have divine origins. The Lord has said he would bring forth his word unto all the nations of the earth. Why should we disbelieve him?
the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God
The Lord operates by the system of witnesses. He will not destroy a people for wickedness until they have been adequately warned. He will not hold us responsible for rejecting his law unless we have been sufficiently taught his law. Therefore, in order to justify his punishment of the wicked, his word must also be established by more than one witness. Paul recited the ancient Hebrew law as follows, in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established (2 Cor 13:1). The word of God is no exception. In this verse we see that the Lord is declaring to the world that the Book of Mormon is the second witness, and is in fact, another testament of Jesus Christ. It was written with the intent to show the world that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations. Elder Maxwell explains what the third witness is.
"The splendid Book of Mormon advises that a third scriptural witness is yet to come from the lost tribes (2 Nephi 29:12-14)...We do not know when and how this will occur, but we are safe in assuming that the third book will have the same fundamental focus as the Book of Mormon-'that...their seed [too]...may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer' (3 Nephi 16:4). If there is a title page in that third set of sacred records, it is not likely to differ in purpose from the tiltle page in the Book of Mormon, except for its focus on still other peoples who likewise received a personal visit from the resurrected Jesus (3 Nephi 15:20-24; 16:1-4)." (First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, BYU Religious Studies Center, p. 15 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 163)
my work is not yet finished
The doctrine that the Bible is all of God's word falsely implies that God can no longer speak to man, that He no longer has the ability or the intent to communicate with his children, that his work is finished. The current state of wickedness in the world clearly demonstrates that the Lord is not yet finished with his work. He hasn't given up on his children and he never will.
This doctrine concludes that God is a changeable being, that although he spoke with prophets and revealed new truths throughout time, his pattern of behavior has changed. Yet the Lord told Malachi, I am the Lord, I change not (Mal. 3:6). And from Hebrews, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever (Heb 13:8).
Therefore if the words and works of God have cease among the children of men it must be a reflection on the people not on the Lord. Moroni explains:
"...has the day of miracles ceased?
"Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
"Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." (Moroni 7:35-37)
I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel
and they shall write it
The lost ten tribes will produce the third witness that Jesus is the Christ. Their record will contain the story of Christ's visit to them after his ascension and visit to the Nephites, But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them (3 Nephi 17:4).
This branch of Israel is by far the largest, at least by the number of involved tribes. They were led north after the Assyrian captivity and have since been referred to as the Lost Ten Tribes. It is apparent from the scriptures that many of these lost Israelites were scattered all over the earth. It is equally apparent that a main body retained its identity and heritage. Proof of this is seen in the fact that they were a cohesive body that the Lord could visit in the meridian of time (3 Nephi 17:4), that they had their own prophets who would record this visit and other prophecies (v. 12), and that they will return as a cohesive unit from the north to receive their temple blessings at the hands of Ephraimites (D&C 133:26-32). Their brethren who have been scattered are meanwhile being gathered by the great missionary effort of the latter days.
Developed by Ryan Constantine
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