Read John 12:42-50, The Authority of the Bible (1)

In order to consider the authority of the Bible we are going to talk about it in the context of the claims of Mormonism with respect to the authority of the Book of Mormon.  “Authority” and “truth” are tightly connected, of course.  Countless times Scripture warns against following false or “lying” prophets.  God is truth and only the word that is “truth” can be said to speak with the authority of God. 

What does Mormonism claim with respect to the Book of Mormon?  Is it true?  This is the answer from Moroni 10:4f: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” 

Here is how the Bible tells us how we can know it is truth.  Jesus told the Jews, You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures that testify of Me  (John 5:39).  If, in fact, they studied the Scriptures they would learn the message God had for them, the message bound up in the person of Christ.  The Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians because they studied the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11).  They did what the Bible commands: Test everything (1 Thess. 5:21).

The initial difference between Mormonism and the Bible is that for Mormons the truth is not gained by serious study of the words of the Book of Mormon.  It is required for God to convince the reader; the words themselves are not convincing.  On the other hand, the Bible claims to be truth even when studied by unbelieving Jews as well as searching Bereans.  It does not depend on the heart of the reader.  As Jesus said, Thy word is truth (John 17:17).

A related question is this: Is there only one reliable authority for truth?  Christians claim that the Bible stands alone as truth the only reliable written record of God’s revelation to men.  The Book of Mormon says there is more than one.

2 Nephi 29:2-3: My words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel; and because my words shall hiss forth – many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible!  We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.  But thus saith the Lord God: O fools …

Mormons claim the Bible predicts another book of Scripture in Ezek. 37:15-20.  This passage speaks of two sticks, one in the hand of Judah and the other in the hand of Ephraim, the latter being the Book of Mormon while the former being the Bible.  There are few better illustrations of the fallacy of “allegorical” interpretation than this.  The passage suggests absolutely nothing to suggest this interpretation.  On such an important issue one would expect God to speak more clearly than that, especially if men are to be judged on the basis of these words.