Question to Mormons: If God was superintending the translation of the Book of Mormon, and he said it was correct, then why are there so many mistakes, changes, and deletions?
Why has the LDS church made almost 4000 changes to a book that Smith said God told him was perfect?
Joseph Smith said “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth…” This quote is from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg 194.
Joseph Smith said that as the Book of Mormon was translated from the golden tablets each letter and word was shown to him as he looked into a hat that contained a seer stone. These words would appear and remain until they had been correctly written down.
So again I ask why has there been close to 4000 changes made in the Book of Mormon since the 1830 version? Either Joseph Smith was mistaken when he said that it was perfect, or the Mormon leadership thinks he was in error because they have made so many changes to the original Book of Mormon.
Examples of changes.
1 Nephi 13:40 1830 version - “…the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world.”
Modern version – “…the Lamb of God is The Son of the eternal Father, and the savior of the world.”
1 Nephi 11:21 1830 version – “…behold the Lamb of God, ye, even the Eternal Father!”
Modern version – “…behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father.”
In both cases the LDS church changed these verses that refer to Jesus Christ as God so that now they refer to Him as only a son.
How could Smith have made such an error if the Book of Mormon as given to Joseph Smith was the most correct book ever written?
The reason that the original Book of Mormon recognized the Deity of Jesus Christ and the modern copies do not is that Smith was using a KJV Bible as a guide and was in the process of formulating Mormon doctrine and he did not foresee the conflict in his later teachings that Jesus was not God.
Faced with the truth of all of these changes there is only one conclusion. The book of Mormon is not what Joseph Smith said it was. The book of Mormon is not perfect.
However, The Bible is Pure and Perfect and God promised to preserve them.
Pro 30:5 Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Psa 119:140 Thy word [is] very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.
Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD [are] pure words: [as] silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
The Bible is Profitable.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Nothing is to be added to the Bible.
Deu 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.
Rev 22:18 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:
Rev 22:19 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.
God says that His Bible is perfect and that nothing is to added to it. That would include not adding a single word, and that would include not adding another book like the book of Mormon.
Why would you add a faulty book to the Bible when it is against the command of God?
Please do not get angry with the messenger. My prayer is that you will on your own start reading the New Testament with an open heart to know the truth. Just start comparing what your church teaches with what God says in His Bible and be willing to go where the truth will take you. If your religion is true, then it should be able to stand up to the Bible.