The Teachings of The Gospel As Verified in the Bible and Book of Mormon

By Apostle Don McIndoo | Published by the Board of Publications | Download PDF

Critics of the Book of Mormon often like to use this reference from Galatians 1:9: “As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

Nevertheless, the members of the Church of Christ are able to respond with confidence, “The Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon Teach the Same Gospel.” (The scripture references below are from the King James Version of the Bible and the Independence Edition of the Book of Mormon.)

A. The Same Gospel of Salvation

Teaching Bible Book of Mormon
1. One must believe in Christ. John 3:16 3 Nephi 5:34
2. One must repent. Acts 2:38 3 Nephi 5:40
3. One must become as a little child. Matthew 18:2-5 3 Nephi 5:39-40
4. One must be baptized. Mark 16:16 3 Nephi 5:34
5. One must be obedient. Matthew 28:20 3 Nephi 5:68
6. One must endure to the end. Matthew 24:13 3 Nephi 7:10

B. The Same Gospel Ordinances.

Teaching Bible Book of Mormon
1. The laying on of hands for the following:
   a. Blessing of little children.
   b. Healing of the sick.
   c. Reception of the Holy Ghost.
   d. Ordination of the ministry.
Mark 10:13-16
James 5:14
Acts 8:14-17
Acts 13:1-3
3 Nephi 8:23-26
4 Nephi 1:6
Moroni 2:1, 2
Moroni 3:1-3
2. Baptism by immersion. Romans 6:3, 4 3 Nephi 5:24-26
3. The Lord’s Supper. 1 Cor. 11:23-26 3 Nephi 8:30-39

C. The Same Church Organization.

Teaching Bible Book of Mormon
1. Founded on Christ, the Rock. Ephesians 2:19-22 Helaman 2:74-75
2. Named after Christ. Romans 16:16 3 Nephi 12:13
3. Based on an unchangeable God. Malachi 3:6 Mormon 4:68
4. Christ called Twelve to be her head on earth. Luke 6:12-16 1 Ne. 3:78, 88, 165
5. Maintained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:4-11 Moroni 10:8-12

D. The Same Principles Concerning Man’s Future.

Teaching Bible Book of Mormon
1. This is the day of our probation. 2 Corinthians 6:1,2 Alma 9:40, 41
2. Christ’s triumphant return. Revelation 1:7 3 Nephi 11:29, 30
3. The millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Revelation 20:1-6 1 Nephi 7:55-62
4. The resurrection of the dead. John 5:28-29 Alma 8:98, 100
5. Men to be judged according to their works and the Scriptures. Revelation 20:12 2 Nephi 12:66
6. The restoration of Israel. Isaiah 11:11-16 3 Nephi 10:5-8

E. Identical teachings in many other areas.

Teaching Bible Book of Mormon
1. Good works are essential. Titus 3:8 Mosiah 3:21
2. Jesus is the Only Begotten Son. John 3:16-18 Alma 3:83
3. Only in Him is there salvation. Acts 4:12 Alma 18:11
4. Ministry are to workfor their own support. Acts 20:33-35 Mosiah 9:57-59
5. A man shall have but one wife. 1 Timothy 3:2 Jacob 2:33-37
6. The ethical teachings of Jesus. Matthew 5, 6 & 7 3 Nephi 5, 6 & 7

There are no differences in the teachings of the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon. Yet we are able to see many differences between the teachings of Christ and the doctrines, practices and organizational structure of the many denominations that exist in the world today. The true Church of Christ shall always be founded upon the teachings of our Master, Jesus Christ.

Verily, verily I say unto you, This is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do, that shall ye also do; For that which ye have seen me do, even that shall ye do; therefore if ye do these things, blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day. - 3 Nephi 12:34, 35

Why do we need the Book of Mormon?

Critics of the Book of Mormon are then left with this pertinent question: If the Bible and the Book of Mormon both contain identical teachings, why do we need the Book of Mormon?

There are several important answers to this good question.

  1. The first reason is found in the book of Acts as we read, “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:” (Acts 10:34-35). Indeed, God is no respecter of persons, nations or tongues. He did not send the saving message of the Gospel in the person of His Son only to those of the Old World. In the New World were many isolated peoples who were also to hear of His saving grace.

    Nevertheless, the Scriptures tell us that the personal ministry of Christ was directed toward a distinct people. Jesus told His disciples, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). When Christ walked in Palestine, only the tribes of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, and a portion of Joseph lived in there. The other peoples of Israel were scattered among the Gentile nations and upon the islands of the sea. For this reason we read the following words of Jesus in John 10:16: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

    This passage does not refer to a personal ministry of Christ to the Gentiles, as many suppose. His personal ministry, and that of His twelve disciples was specifically defined: “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5, 6). That ministry would not begin until after His resurrection when He sent Peter to the home of Cornelius (Acts 10) and Paul was called and made apostle to the Gentiles: “And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21).

    By these words we can understand that after His resurrection Christ visited others of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Book of Mormon is a witness of the love of God for the house of Joseph that had been led by Him to America. While in America Jesus told His followers, “And verily, verily, I say unto you, that I have other sheep, which are not of this land; neither of the land of Jerusalem; neither in any parts of that land round about, whither I have been to minister. For they of which I speak, are they which have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the Father, that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered amon g my sheep, that there may be one fold, and one shepherd; therefore I go to shew myself unto them.” (3 Nephi 7:24-26).

  2. A second reason for the necessity of the Book of Mormon pertains to one of the great purposes of Jesus Christ in the latter day. The Gospel of Jesus Christ went first to the house of Israel, then to the Gentiles. In the latter day it is to go from the Gentiles back to the house of Israel. The Apostle Paul clarified this when he wrote, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: ” (Romans 11:25, 26). Our Pilgrim fathers were well aware of this latter-day work and prayed unceasingly for its fulfillment.

    The children of Israel have always required more than one witness before accepting a thing as valid. In John 8:13 we read, “The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.” This is the very reason that the apostle wrote, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (II Corinthians 13:1). The Book of Mormon is another witness to the divinity of Christ and His mission to Israel.

  3. The need for another witness to the divinity of Jesus is accentuated in Christian nations today. There are powerful coalitions of professors, teachers and ministers of religion that are studying the Bible and ancient manuscripts in order to understand just “Who Was Jesus?”. After years of study and discussion one such group, The Jesus Seminar, has published the results of their findings and thoughts. These leaders of religious thought have come to the following conclusions:

    1. Only 20% of the words found in the four Gospels are the true words of Jesus.

    2. The Lord’s Prayer was not given by the Master.

    3. Jesus never taught that He would return again to the world.

    4. Jesus did not do the majority of the miracles described in the Bible.

    5. Jesus was not a celibate person.

    6. Jesus was not resurrected from the dead.

    7. The New Testament, like the Old Testament, is full of myths.

    Today the beliefs and teachings of many are changing, and new revisions of the Bible appear each year. In such an atmosphere we need another faithful witness to the divinity of Christ, His resurrection and doctrine. In short, we need another witness to the veracity of the Holy Bible. The Book of Mormon is such a witness.

  4. Whereas the Book of Mormon came forth and was translated by the power of God, the Bible has passed through the hands of a great, human institution, identified within the Bible as “…a woman (sitting) upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads an d ten horns… And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:3, 5). In the prophetic language of the New Testament, the term “woman” is synonymous with a church. In the Book of Mormon that institution is spoken of as the “…great and abominable church…” (I Nephi 3:219).

    Over the centuries as the biblical manuscripts were copied and recopied by innumerable scribes, many changes were accidentally made while others were deliberately made to the text. Many plain and precious teachings of great clarity were removed or altered. Since many would find it difficult to believe that the precious lines of the Bible could have been altered, let us turn to several biblical authorities.

    1. Professor I. M. Price wrote in his text, The Ancestry of Our English Bible, “Still we fail to understand our Bible of today if we do not take full account of the many passages where, in spite of all the care of the scribes - rather, should we say, occasionally because of such care? - changes did find their way into the text. For the astonishing fact is that in some cases deliberately and with full knowledge they altered the text they had received” - p. 21.

    2. Philip Comfort, writing about the New Testament in his book, The Origin of the Bible, wrote the following: “In the late first and early second century, the oral traditions and the written word existed side by side with equal status - especially with respect to the material of the Gospels. Often, the text was changed by scribes attempting to conform the written message to the oral tradition .... Other scribes, however, felt free to make ‘improvements’in the text - either in the interest of doctrine and harmonization or due to the influence of a competitive oral tradition” - pp. 184,185.

    In the Book of Mormon we have a history of the house of Joseph, one of the tribes of Israel. This book contains the word of God as revealed through His prophets and the doctrine of Jesus Christ, taught by a resurrected Savior. This book did not pass through the hands of an “abominable church” nor through those of thousands of scribes as did the Bible. It was translated by the power of God and is a faithful witness of His Holy Word, of the divinity of Christ and the veracity of the Holy Bible as originally given.

  5. Perhaps the most important reason for accepting the Book of Mormon is the simple fact that it contains the Word of God; however, most people have been taught that the canon of scripture is full and there can be no more Word of God. They use as evidence of this the writing of John as he closed his book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. John wrote, “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:” (Revelation 22:18). The assumption is made that he referred to the Holy Bible, but this is erroneous, for the apostle was speaking only of his book now called Revelation. At that point in time there was no Bible in existence. Dr. Phillip Comfort, in his book, The Origin of the Bible, writes, “The earliest extant copy of an entire New Testament is the one preserved in Codex Sinaticus (written about A. D. 350). Prior to the fourth century, the New Testament was circulated in its various parts: as a single book or a group of books (such as the four Gospels or the Pauline Epistles)” (pp. 183, 184).

  6. Certainly another important reason for accepting the Book of Mormon as the Word of God is the fact that the Prophet Ezekiel spoke of it by way of promise: “Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand” (Ezekiel 37:16, 17, 19).

    In the same way that Jesus, as Messiah, became a measuring instrument to the people of Judah, so has the acceptance of the Book of Mormon become a test of faith in the hands of God for the Gentile people. Jesus prophesied to the Gentile people of this great land, “And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you, At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; And if they shall do all these things, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them; And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them;” (III Nephi 7:34-36).

    Just as unbelieving Israel was brought unto destruction, so has unbelieving America fallen into a moral decline of pride, iniquity and hypocrisy. God’s institution of marriage has been converted by our nation into approved systems of fornication, adultery, homosexuality and divorce. Deception and lying in high places are so common as to be taken for granted. Violence in the streets, in our homes and in medical clinics where abortions are performed is beyond the imagination of our parents.

    Has the fullness of the gospel been taken from our midst? Just to read the reports coming from The Jesus Seminar is ample proof that the wisdom of our wise men has perished. Jesus told us, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have” (Luke 8:18). The doctrines and practices of most of today’s denominations would scarcely be recognizable by their founding fathers.

Many are the reasons to believe in the Book of Mormon, a book written to the peoples of this great land, filled with the inspiring word of God and containing marvelous prophecies concerning the future of America.

David Vogel