Guest post

One would think the title would need little explanation but it does. The 8th article of (LDS) faith states,

“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.”

By belief I mean, and I think others mean, positive affirmation that the book is accurate and authoritative. My questions for my LDS neighbors are:

Do you believe the King James Version of the Bible is translated correctly?

If your answer is “no” to that question then my follow up questions are:

What parts are translated incorrectly? Is the Joseph Smith translation, or any other translation, translated correctly? Why, why not?

If you believe no translation currently exists that does the Bible justice then why has your church with a living seer, cadre of scholars, and loads of money not given a reliable Bible translation to the world? Do you believe that the Bible has been incorrectly transmitted so that an accurate rendering of God’s word would not be possible from the existing manuscripts?

If you answered “yes” that at least one translation of the Bible is to be fully believed then my follow up question would be:

Is the Bible on par with the other standard works? Why or why not?

And lastly, for those Mormons who believe an accurate Bible translation(s) exists is:

Do you view the New Testament as reliable in the same way that Christians view the Old Testament as reliable?

My final question for everyone:

Is the Book of Mormon translated correctly?

I understand that Mormons view the Bible as incomplete in some way or else the other standard works would not be necessary. I am not asking if the other books add something not found in the Bible. I am asking if the Bible(s) we have can be trusted in the same way traditional Christians trust the Old Testament even though they do not view it as the final and only words of God. Please provide as much detail to your answers as you can and try to avoid simple “yes” and “no” answers if you can. The “why’s” and “why not’s” would be much appreciated too. And “yes”, these are loaded questions but only slightly so.