LDS Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible

PrincetonGuy said:

Christians uphold (Greek = ἵστημι; RSV, NRSV) the law; they do NOT submit to the law.



NOT TRUE! God gave commandments to man to serve as a disciplinarian (Do this, don’t do that—or else!).

Gal. 3:24. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith.
25. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian,
26. for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. (NRSV)

However, in Christ we have no need for a disciplinarian.

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed you from the law of sin and death. (NAB)

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Your Version of the Bible is wrong, The KJV is more correct, it states:

(New Testament | Galatians 3:24 - 29)

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The commandments were there to TEACH us to LOVE one another. the commandments are LOVE, but sadly some people only see them as punishment. God is LOVE and we can know God by keeping the commandments of LOVE. A person can NOT know God unless they keep the commandments:

(New Testament | 1 John 2:4 - 5)

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

As an example to us, Jesus Christ kept the commandments. We are to walk as He walked:

(New Testament | 1 John 2:6)

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.[/QUOTE]

PrincetonGuy said:

Jesus never said so much as one word to a Christian. In the gospels, He spoke, with only one exception (Matt. 15:21-28 ), exclusively to unregenerate Jews.

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The first Christians were Jews, so Christ was speaking to Christians:

"Antioch played an important role in the history of Christianity. Here for the first time, in the days of the Apostles, the members of the new faith were called "Christians" (Messianists). The first Christians were, of course, Jews, but already in the days of Paul, pagans also joined their ranks. Barnabas visited Antioch, where he dwelt together with Paul. When the apostle Peter came to Antioch he ate with the pagans, but when messengers arrived from James, the brother of Jesus, who was a Nazarene, Peter felt ashamed and withdrew from the pagan society, Barnabas following suit. According to a tradition of the church fathers, Peter headed the Christian church of Antioch for seven years.

Antioch became a center of Christian learning and the Antiochian school of theology, which flourished in the third and fourth centuries C.E., was particularly renowned. Unlike the school of Caesarea, which interpreted the Bible allegorically and in accordance with speculative philosophy, the Antiochian school expounded the Scriptures in conformity with their historical and literal meaning. The biblical commentaries composed by this school in the fourth and fifth centuries C.E. are of great importance. In Antioch, various means were used to counteract the great influence which the Jews had upon the local Christians. The synod of Antioch (341) forbade the Christians to celebrate Easter when the Jews were observing Passover, and John Chrysostom of Antioch, in his six sermons (c. 366–387), vituperatively denounced those Christians in Antioch who attended synagogues and resorted to the Jewish law courts.

When Christianity became the state religion, the position of the Jews of Antioch deteriorated. The Jews of Imnestar were accused of having crucified a Christian boy on the feast of Purim, and the Antiochian Christians destroyed the synagogue (423 C.E.). When the emperor Theodosius II restored it, he was rebuked by Simon Stylites and refrained from defending the Jews. In the brawls between the sport factions known as the "blues" and the "greens," many Jews were killed."

From: Antioch

PrincetonGuy said:

That is true. As I have written in a post above, the chapter headings in the original KJV were written by the translators of the KJV and included in that version as a part of that version. As I have also written in a post above, the LDS Church has fraudulently and maliciously changed the chapter headings.



Any schoolboy who is honest with himself and who desires in is heart to know the truth can easily see for himself that that the quality of writing in the JST is that of a man with a very limited education and deficient writing skills. Any Christian adult who is familiar the major pseudo-Christian cults knows who that man is, and that he was a fraud, a liar, and a deceiver, and that the spiritual powers behind him were and are the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers of this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). The goal of these spiritual forces of evil has been and currently is to replace the word of God with the words of a man—words that cannot save us from sin but rather further entrap us.

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The actual goal of the Book of Mormon is to teach people to believe in Jesus Christ and keep the commandments:

(Book of Mormon | Moroni 7:3 - 19)

3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.
4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable walk with the children of men.
5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their works ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also.
6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.
7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.
9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.
10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.
11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil.
12 Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to sin, and to do that which is evil continually.
13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.
14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.
15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.
16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.
17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.
18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged.
19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.

Tra Phull said:

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.

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Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of those who truly repent and are baptized. That being said we should NOT return to those sins:

(New Testament | Hebrews 10:26)

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
(New Testament | 2 Peter 2:21 - 22)

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

He is the way said:

Do you believe that the Apocrypha should have been included in the Bible? Joseph Smith petitioned the Lord concerning the Apocrypha and got this answer:

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 91:1 - 6)

1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;
2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.
3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated.
4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;
5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;
6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

The reason I mention this as part of the answer is because although the Bible was corrected by the JST and included in our scriptures in the footnotes and in the index, we do not see the KJV as substandard even though it has been corrected. Neither do we see the Holy Spirit as substandard. The scriptures were given to us through the Holy Spirit.

(New Testament | John 14:26)

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

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You claim that the Bible was corrupted, or you accept Joseph Smith's claim that the Bible was corrupted. This goes beyond saying that Biblical authors were limited by their time, the claim is that what they wrote has not accurately come down to us.

Let's take the New Testament. When do you say that the NT was corrupted? By who? What was the agenda of whoever changed it? If JS says the NT was edited and revised by someone along the way, he ought to have something to say about when and where this was done, and by who.

Early in the history of Islam, after the death of Mohammed, a man named Uthman was the Caliph, Mohammed's successor as leader of the faith. The Koran had been issued and numerous copies had been taken to various places. Uthman decided that the Koran should be revised. He recalled all copies of the first Koran, had it revised and destroyed all copies of the original Koran. No copy of the original Koran survives. A new, improved Koran was sent out. It must be interesting to have that kind of power over the sacred scriptures of your religion.

In Christian history, there is no Uthman. The early Christians had no central authority capable of revising the New Testament scriptures. Christians were scattered across the Roman Empire, often meeting in secret. Christians endured enormous persecution but the scriptures were treasured. Copies have been found over the whole of the Roman Empire and they match up very well.

The evidence is that the New Testament scriptures that came down to us are sound. I remember Josh McDowell making this point.

He is the way said:

Do you believe that the Apocrypha should have been included in the Bible? Joseph Smith petitioned the Lord concerning the Apocrypha and got this answer:

(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 91:1 - 6)

1 VERILY, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;
2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.
3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated.
4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;
5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;
6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

The reason I mention this as part of the answer is because although the Bible was corrected by the JST and included in our scriptures in the footnotes and in the index, we do not see the KJV as substandard even though it has been corrected. Neither do we see the Holy Spirit as substandard. The scriptures were given to us through the Holy Spirit.

(New Testament | John 14:26)

26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

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You ask if the apocrypha should be included in the Bible. I have read a number of the apocryphal books and have seen no reason that they should be. I don't see how any of them are any closer to Mormon belief than the accepted books of the Bible.

For the New Testament, apocryphal gospels, epistles and apocalypses were generally excluded for two reasons. Either they were written too late or they show Gnostic influence, or both. These are good reasons for keeping these works out of the canon. Books that were written too late are not written by witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ and its aftermath. The Gnostics have an agenda that isn't consistent with Christianity. It isn't consistent with Mormonism, either.

Dale said:

You claim that the Bible was corrupted, or you accept Joseph Smith's claim that the Bible was corrupted. This goes beyond saying that Biblical authors were limited by their time, the claim is that what they wrote has not accurately come down to us.

Let's take the New Testament. When do you say that the NT was corrupted? By who? What was the agenda of whoever changed it? If JS says the NT was edited and revised by someone along the way, he ought to have something to say about when and where this was done, and by who.

Early in the history of Islam, after the death of Mohammed, a man named Uthman was the Caliph, Mohammed's successor as leader of the faith. The Koran had been issued and numerous copies had been taken to various places. Uthman decided that the Koran should be revised. He recalled all copies of the first Koran, had it revised and destroyed all copies of the original Koran. No copy of the original Koran survives. A new, improved Koran was sent out. It must be interesting to have that kind of power over the sacred scriptures of your religion.

In Christian history, there is no Uthman. The early Christians had no central authority capable of revising the New Testament scriptures. Christians were scattered across the Roman Empire, often meeting in secret. Christians endured enormous persecution but the scriptures were treasured. Copies have been found over the whole of the Roman Empire and they match up very well.

The evidence is that the New Testament scriptures that came down to us are sound. I remember Josh McDowell making this point.

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It was not Joseph Smith's claim that the Bible was corrupted, it was the angel of the Lord and it was given to Nephi. It can be found in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 13: 21-29. Joseph Smith considered the work of translating the Bible as a part of his calling as prophet.

It seems to me, if it really was God having JS correct the Bible. God would have JS do that first.

Daniel Marsh said:

It seems to me, if it really was God having JS correct the Bible. God would have JS do that first.

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I think it was more important to do the Book of Mormon first. But then that is just my opinion.

same here, but if one wanted to correct what was lost....