The Book of Mormon is one of four books accepted and promoted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) - the Mormon church - as scripture. "It is also accepted as Scripture by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and dozens of other LDS splinter sects" (Note 1) (The other books considered to be scripture by the LDS Church are: Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and - to a certain extend - the King James Version of the Bible.)

[Note: This entry deals specifically with the Book of Mormon. For other issues related to the Mormon Church, see our entry on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]

The Book of Mormon is subtitled and presented as "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." The LDS church claims that it is a "companion volume of scripture to the Holy Bible and contains the account of the Savior's appearance in ancient America following His Resurrection." (Note 2)

Christian apologist Robert Bowman, in an article about the Book of Mormon's internal problems, describes the storyline as follows:

Mormons state that they "believe the Bible to be the word of God, insofar as it is translated correctly." (Note 3) The cop-out is used whenever the doctrines of the LDS church contradict the teachings of the Bible.

There also is a Joseph Smith Translation of the King James Version of the Bible (JST), which the LDS church claims was produced "to restore truths to the Bible text that had become lost or changed since the original words were written" (Note 4) (See this article regarding the problems with Smith's 'translation.'

An official LDS church press release states:

Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon Church, claimed that the Book of Mormon was "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book"

But even Mormons who take a closer look at those claims are not conviced:

Christians reject the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price - in the first place because they consider the Bible to be the only legitimate written, revealed Word of God.

In addition, the Mormon scriptures have significant problems. Not only do they contradict the Bible, but they also include errors, have frequently been edited and updated, and contain plagiarized material.

Take a look at some of the many problems facing the Book of Mormon.

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