Ancient Instructions for the Past and Future

The eighth article of faith says:

8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

I remember watching the History Channel recently and I became fascinated by a story that aired about the history of the Bible. Scholars and historians alike have pointed out that over the centuries, books, pages and scripts have been lost, translations have been lost and the Bible known to the world today is very different from the original scripts centuries ago as it was in it’s purest from at that time. Also, they have noted over the centuries that the books within the Bible (scrolls) fell out of order and it is unclear to this day which order the books were intended be in.

Robert J. Matthews has stated “..error has occurred not only in the translation from one language to another, but also in the transcription of the text from manuscript to manuscript, even in the same language. The Bible has apparently suffered mostly from omissions…many important items are missing, and this in turn leaves some parts unclear.”

The prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon straight from its pure ancient characters into the English language. This book truly was written for our day and preserved for our day. We read from a translated form of the King James Version Bible and we believe this to be true as far as it has been translated correctly. Through revelation from God, the prophet Joseph was given proper translation corrections for specific sections in the King James Bible that had been lost or translated incorrectly from language to language over the years.

I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to read and study both the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They have blessed my life immensely and I have been guided through my life by the words from those ancient prophets. Did they know that their words would have such an impact on person such as me? Did they know that their sacrifices would bless nations?

I hope you take the time to read these books and feel the power that they will have in your life if you read them with your whole heart and mind. The blind will see them as “boring” and pass up great blessings. Those who see with their “spiritual eyes” will have a life changing experience and witness the powers of heaven working strongly in their life each day. These sacred books are full of answers that the Lord gave to ancient prophets centuries ago for our day. These words were intended for us. Just the very act of reading the scriptures will naturally bring you closer to the Lord. You will feel His love for you and He will reveal answers and instruction to you, that will help you immensely in your life. I Say this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.