Tomorrow in Sunday school I will be giving a talk. This is my first talk in years and the first talk I have written. The strange thing I am not nervous. Maybe everyone is right and I have gotten over my shyness after losing weight. They say the new me is outgoing and has a great personality. I wish I could see it for myself. Here is the talk I will be giving tomorrow:
My talk today is about the 8th Article of Faith, which reads: "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."
With so many versions and translations of Bibles available around the world today, it leaves a large margin for mistakes to be made. An English teacher once told me, "All it takes is one small word out of context and it can change the whole meaning of what you are trying to say."
In 1st Nephi 13:26 it reads: "And after they go forth of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of the great and abominable church, which is the most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord they have taken away."
The Bible was written in three languages. No translation is perfect.
The Bible has been translated numerous times for over two thousand years. The books which compose the Bible were written in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. Obviously, this poses a problem for most people who would like to read the Bible.
I would like to share with you briefly a personal story.
While growing up I really had no knowledge that other editions of the Bible even existed. I always just had the one I used for church. That all changed for me eleven years ago when my doctor admitted into a nursing home for my weight.
When the staff saw on the forms that I was a Mormon, they didn't like it. They considered the Mormon church to be an occult. They brought in a therapist who was trained to 'save' people from occults. At times it was frustrating for me because I would say something and the woman would say, "That's a Mormon thing" and she acted as if it were something bad.
During that time they were bringing in different people from a lot of different religions to talk to me, which only made me more confused. What stood out the most about these different religions was that they all seemed to have their own version of the Bible which supported their beliefs which they tried to impose on me.
Having been through this experience, I can understand more how a lot of the people I have come in contact with on the Internet feel. These are people who were not raised any religion, but are now trying to find their own spiritual path in life and were not raised knowing the truth as I have been.
Many people are confused and with all the religions and versions of the Bible that are out there, it is easy to see why they would be. The only advise I have for these individuals so as to not add to their confusion is to tell them to pray to God for guidance and he will help lead them to the right path.
Through the study of the scriptures and through prayer, God will reveal the truths to us which are contained in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Book of Mormon is written for our day. It is the voice of warning, reminding us of all the dangers of ignoring God and rejecting His Prophets. It contains the basics of what Mormons believe about Jesus Christ and teaches clearly about faith, repentance, and obedience to God.
In History of the Church 4:461, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, "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."
To know if the Book of Mormon is really the word of God, you must read it, ponder it, and pray to God to tell you if it is true. You must compare its teachings to those of the Bible. Only by the power of the Holy Ghost can a person truly know if the Book of Mormon comes from God.
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