Watch the video above and talk about it with a friend or mentor.

Our ultimate authority is God. But how can we know what God is like and what he wants? Let’s take a look at what Mormonism teaches about scripture and revelation so we can compare it to traditional Christian beliefs.

Our ultimate authority is God. But how can we know what God is like and what he wants? Let’s take a look at what Mormonism teaches about scripture and revelation so we can compare it to traditional Christian beliefs.

Mormons believe the Bible is not sufficient

Mormons revere the Bible, but they believe the Bible alone is not enough. The LDS Church recognizes four standard scriptures: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price (which includes the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham). For traditional Christians, the Bible stands alone. Christians recognize that Jesus – as revealed in the Bible – is God’s final revelation of himself to humanity.

Mormons believe the Bible is corrupted

According to Mormon teaching, the Bible cannot ultimately be trusted and must only be understood in light of LDS scriptures and modern prophets. Christians, by contrast, believe that the Bible has been divinely preserved and can be trusted above any other book. Even the work of archeology has affirmed the reliability of the Bible.

Mormons believe we need continuing revelation

Mormons also believe that their church is led by modern day prophets who continue to receive direct revelation from God. But the Bible itself makes it clear that any claims of new revelation must be tested against what God has previously revealed.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them.”

If we want to know God’s character and will, the Bible is perfectly reliable. The additional scriptures and revelations of Mormonism lead in a very different direction.

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Key Points:

  • Mormons Believe the Bible Is Not Sufficient
  • Mormons Believe the Bible Is Corrupted
  • Mormons Believe We Need Continuing Revelation

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Talk About It
  1. Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
  2. What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
  3. Read Hebrews 1:1-2. What does it mean that God has spoken to us through his Son? (See How the Son reveals the Father).
  4. How does the Bible relate to that? (See Is the Bible God’s final revelation?)
  5. How do the Dead Sea Scrolls establish the reliability of our contemporary Bible translations? (See: Has the Bible been changed?)
  6. If someone claimed to have a new revelation or new scripture, how would you test the validity of that claim?
  7. How would it change the way you use the Bible if you knew it was incomplete or untrustworthy?
  8. Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

This is part of the What Mormons Believe series.