Note: The late Luke P. Wilson, the first executive director of IRR, wrote the original version of this article in 1999. Robert M. Bowman Jr., the current president of IRR, has revised the article into its current form and written supplemental articles that discuss each issue in detail.

There are many serious objections to the claim made by Joseph Smith and the LDS Church that the Book of Mormon is divinely inspired scripture supplemental to the Bible.¹ One of the most significant objections is that the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible. This article discusses several notable examples.

1. The Fall of Adam and Eve: The Book of Mormon teaches that the disobedience of Adam and Eve in eating the forbidden fruit was necessary so that they could have children and bring joy to mankind (2 Nephi 2:22–25). This teaching implies that Adam and Eve, though they “transgressed” God’s command, did not sin but actually did something quite noble. The Book of Mormon thus contradicts the Bible in two respects. (1) The Bible in fact states explicitly that Adam sinned by his action that brought mortality on humanity (Romans 5:12–16). (2) Adam and Eve could have had children without becoming mortal, since God had made them and the rest of the creation “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The curse resulting from the fall increased Eve’s pain in childbearing, which means she might have borne children before the fall (Genesis 3:16).

See further: The Fall in the Book of Mormon: Two Contradictions with the Bible.

2. Dark skin as the mark of a curse: The Book of Mormon consistently describes righteous people as “white” as well as “fair” or “beautiful” (1 Nephi 11:13, 15; 13:15; 2 Nephi 5:21; 30:6; Jacob 3:8; 3 Nephi 2:15–16; 3 Nephi 19:25, 30; Mormon 9:6; cf. 4 Nephi 1:10). Wicked people are cursed by God with “a skin of blackness” (2 Nephi 5:21), their “skins” becoming “dark,” and the people also “loathsome” and “filthy” (1 Nephi 12:20; Jacob 3:9; Alma 3:6; Mormon 5:15). Mormons have proposed various theories to explain these texts as referring to something other than literal dark skin versus fair or white skin, but these theories do not adequately explain the texts. These passages therefore contradict the Bible’s color-blind teaching that people of all nations, regardless of race, ethnicity, or skin color (which is essentially never even mentioned), are under the same curse of sin.

See further: Dark Skin: Sign of God’s Curse or Something of No Significance?

3. Saved by grace after all we can do: The Book of Mormon states, “we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all that we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). The traditional LDS interpretation of this statement is that we must first do “all that we can do” and then God’s grace will make up the difference. By contrast, Ephesians 2:8, of which 2 Nephi 25:23 is clearly a modern revision, states in context that we are saved not by our works but in order to become people who then do good works (Ephesians 2:8–10).

See further: Saved by Grace after Works or by Grace before Works?

4. Parts removed from the Bible: The Book of Mormon contains a lengthy account of an angel telling Nephi about the Bible having had “many parts” deliberately removed, because of which the Lord was inspiring a new scripture that would contain the full gospel (1 Nephi 13:20–42). Mormons understand this passage to teach that textual material was changed and even whole texts removed from the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. On the other hand, Jesus Christ clearly taught that not one letter or stroke of a letter would pass away from the Law, meaning the Old Testament, until heaven and earth passed away, until it was completely fulfilled (Matthew 5:17–18).

See further: The Bible: Parts Removed or Wholly Preserved?

5. Nephite priests and the Law of Moses: Although the Book of Mormon claims that the Nephites observed the Law of Moses in all things (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:24; etc.), neither the Nephites nor the Lamanites had men descended from the tribe of Levi, who were the only men authorized under the Law of Moses to serve as priests (Numbers 1:47–53; 3:9–12; 8:6–26; etc.; cf. Hebrews 7:5–13). The Book of Mormon simply ignores this problem, and LDS attempts to explain it away have not been successful.

See further: Did the Nephites Have Priests Serving under the Law of Moses, or Didn’t They?

6. Nephites and the Mosaic Law before Christ’s coming: The Book of Mormon narrative does not show the Nephites actually engaged in most of the elements of the Law of Moses during the period before Christ’s coming. It makes no reference to the distinctive elements of the tabernacle or of the temple in Old Testament religion, the various feasts required by the Law, the priests (who are mentioned many times) actually performing sacrifices as part of their duties, the Nephites practicing circumcision (or being chastised for failing to do so) or observing the laws concerning clean and unclean things, and so on. The evidence shows a clear lack of interest in the Nephites’ practice of the Law of Moses in the nearly six hundred years before the coming of Christ.

See further: Did the Nephites Before Christ’s Coming Follow the Mosaic Law, or Didn’t They?

7. Multiple temples: The Bible consistently acknowledges only one temple for Israelite worship (Deuteronomy 12:2–14; 16:2–7), specifically the one located in Jerusalem (e.g., 1 Kings 8:44, 48; 11:32, 36; 2 Chronicles 7:12, 16). By contrast, the Book of Mormon tells of multiple temples in various locations (see especially Alma 16:13; 23:2; 26:29; Helaman 3:9, 14).

See further: One Temple or Many Temples?

8. Jesus as the Father and the Son: The Book of Mormon identifies Jesus in three places as both “the Father and the Son” (Mosiah 15:1–5; Mormon 9:12; Ether 3:14), and in many other places identifies Jesus as the Father. The Bible, on the other hand, clearly and consistently teaches that Jesus Christ is “the Son of the Father” (2 John 3) and never refers to Jesus as “the Father.”

See further: Is Jesus the Father and the Son, or the Son Only?

9. Jesus going down to the earth after his ascension: The Book of Mormon narrates Jesus Christ descending to the Nephites shortly after his resurrection to start a church there paralleling the one that he started in Israel (the main subject of 3 Nephi). However, Peter stated about Jesus, “whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago” (Acts 3:20–21 ESV; the KJV has “the restitution”). That is, Christ was going to remain in heaven and would only be sent back to the earth at the time for the restoration of all things. Since that restoration was to be long into the future (even according to LDS doctrine), the Book of Mormon narratives about Jesus physically descending to the earth more than once to visit the Nephites contradicts Acts 3:21.

See further: Did Jesus Stay in Heaven or Return to Earth? Acts 3 versus 3 Nephi.

Conclusion

The contradictions between the Book of Mormon and the Bible constitute a most serious obstacle to accepting the Book of Mormon as “latter-day” scripture supplemental to the Bible. The Bible came first, not the Book of Mormon. Christians, who have regarded the Bible as the word of God and the standard for Christian doctrine throughout church history, have a responsibility to test new teachings and religious claims by comparing them with what we already know is Scripture (see Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). For this reason, we ought to make the Bible the standard for judging the Book of Mormon, and not the other way around. When we do so, we find numerous, significant problems with the Book of Mormon’s claim to be inspired scripture.