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by Anonymous on April 18th, 2005

Anonymous

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Do Mormons believe that God is capable of making mistakes (such as errors in writing the Bible which had to be later corrected by Joseph Smith)?

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Answers. 8 helpful answers below.

  • by Glenn Blaylock on April 18th, 2005

    Glenn Blaylock

    (Response to pacella23 and David Hedrick below.)

    As the scriptures were dictated by God they were perfect. However, after that they were handed down through imperfect mortals. Those original manuscripts (none of which have survived to the present, by the way) then had to be copied letter by letter by hand. Each time a copy was made the copyists made some errors. (None of us are perfect after all.) If the error was spotted, then it was corrected. If there was not room to make the correction in the text, then the correction was added to the margins. Additionally, the owner of the copy may have made marginal notes of his own to clarify points. When that document was later copied by someone else, it was difficult to impossible to tell the difference between the corrections and the commentary. So, both were copied.

    In the process of making copies it is also quite easy to loose ones place in the original document. This can result in some portions not getting copied at all. Thus causing them to become lost.

    So, those are some ways that things could unintentionally have been added to or taken away from the Bible. Some thing could just as easily have been deliberately changed. Revelations 22:18-19 warns of the consequences deliberately changing the scriptures without Gods direction. It is, however, not a promise that it would not happen. In reality, the fact that God had to warn against doing that can be seen as an admission that it would happen.

    The fact of the matter is that we do not have a single original biblical manuscript. Not one. All we have are multigenerational copies of the originals. None of the copies are in complete agreement with the others. By comparing them, scholars can get a pretty good idea of what the originals probably said, but we can never be sure without actually having the originals.

    Thus the corrections that God gave to Joseph Smith, corrections that came from the original source.

    *******************

    pacella23,

    First of all the fact that there are discrepancies in the manuscripts that we do have indicates that errors have crept into the scriptures. Just what those errors are and how severe they are we really can't be sure of without the original manuscripts. So, the extent of the errors really become a matter of faith, just as the debate over the very existence of God is a matter of faith.

    I would also point you back to Nick Reed's answer to this question (http://tinyurl.com/akaox). In his answer, he list all of the books that the ancients considered to be authoritative that we do not have. Books that are lost. This shows that whole books of scripture are missing. If whole books are missing, then why could passages not be missing from the ones we do have. Again, this comes down to a matter of faith. Without the original manuscripts, neither side can objectively prove their points of view.

    *******************

    David,

    How many churches have incorporated the books of the Dead Sea Scrolls in their canon of scripture? Personally, I don't know of any. How can we be sure of the accuracy of these scrolls? They are not original manuscripts either. Yes, God will provide a way for His word to be preserved. He will bring these other records to light in his own due time and through miraculous means if necessary. This was the case with the Book of Mormon. It was a record that was written by a group of people that lived on this continent and was hidden so that it would not be destroyed. When the time was right, God called Joseph Smith to translate a portion of the record. (2/3 of it has not been translated yet.) This record testifies that there are other records out there that are yet to be revealed. Maybe the Dead Sea Scrolls are authentic. I don't know. However, that in no way invalidates anything that Joseph Smith did.

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  • by Aaron Cloward on October 27th, 2005

    Aaron Cloward

    If one defines "God" as being one without sin, one who is omniscient, and perfect then --> No! God doesn't make mistakes. As previously discussed, biblical errors crept in through years and years of hand written copies and language to language translations. With information (through multiple translations) being lost, or extra "scholarly opinions" being added to the Bible, who wouldn't want God to show us, or better yet declare the truth as was stated in the Bible originally?

    Multiple testimonies of the same truth by prophets of God is the source of all Christian doctrine. The tenets taught by prophets in the Middle East leading up to and following the coming of Christ are contained in the Bible. The teachings of God's prophets in America from 600 B.C. to about 1000 A.D. proclaim the truths of the Gospel of Christ in The Book of Mormon. Through the comparing and measuring of scriptural teachings the original truths can be understood despite what has been lost because of biblical translations.

    The mistakes of men should not be construed to show that God is imperfect. Also, who is able to judge God as to whether He made a mistake or not?! Do we know everything that He does?

    Is the pit of an avacado too big? Who really knows (if it even matters whatsoever :O)

    God does not make mistakes. We don't always understand "the why" behind His actions (not to be confused with natural occurances like geological disasters, etc.) but everything God does is for the good of His children, Us.

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  • by Kim Siever on April 20th, 2005

    Kim Siever

    God didn't write the Bible (let alone translate or choose the books to be included in it), so any mistakes in the Bible are not from God.

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  • by mzlady on August 23rd, 2009

    mzlady

    I do not know what Mormons believe. God is perfect and He inspired certain men led by the Holy Spirit (HIS spirit)to write the scriptures that make up the Bible.

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  • by Mister IT is trying to Liahona outta here on October 10th, 2009

    Mister IT is trying to Liahona outta here

    No of course not!

    However apparently they do believe that Jesus was just joking when He said:

    "...I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
    -- Matthew 16:18

    Apparently the plain and simple truth that was lost during the Great Apostacy was that Jesus then winked at the the disciples, grinned mischievously and said. . .

    "Just kidding!"

    Maybe, this is in the "inspired" Joseph Smith Translation - I'll look later.

    So obviously the god of Mormonism is so weak and ineffective that he can't keep His Church from going apostate or safeguarding his written word from corruption.

    But mistakes? Never!

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  • by edndori on August 23rd, 2009

    edndori

    God does not make mistakes.
    It seems safe to assume that God does not allow mistakes of any real significance made by his servants to enter scripture uncorrected.
    .
    However, men (some well meaning and some with unrighteous agendas) have tampered with the texts of Bible documents since they were written.

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  • by John Cox will be back April 6th 2013 on October 10th, 2009

    John Cox will be back April 6th 2013

    Of course not, God is perfect and an imperfect man like Joseph Smith certainly couldn't correct Him.
    Though we do recognize the inherant weakness of His mortal servants.
    We believe that God has given us all agency and so when He asks us to do something it is us who are responsible for doing it, He will help ofcourse but He doesn't take over our bodies and do it for us.
    Mormons also believe that there was roughly a millenia and a half of Apostasy after the Bible was written, where no one had authority to act in the name of God. So even though there were those with good intentions there were also those with personal agendas who had a hand in selecting the biblical texts.

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  • by TenLostTribes on February 16th, 2010

    TenLostTribes

    Absolutely not! God is a perfect being who doesn't make mistakes. Have you heard of the telephone game? God spoke to prophets such as Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, and John the Beloved. After the events however, the Hebrew and Greek went through multiple translations and important truths were lost. God was not corrected by Joseph Smith Jr., rather God corrected errors in the King James Version by previous translators/translations through the prophet Joseph Smith Jr.

    Of the Bible, Joseph Smith Jr. “I believe the Bible as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers. Ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 327.)

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