Praying About the Book of Mormon - Is it Biblical?

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I’m afraid not, but thank you for your thoughts. I feel the book of Mormon added as authority is, principally, the same as creeds added to authority of Catholicism. Thoughts? Again, no 7 paragraph answers, please. Unless necessary.

Also, do you believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy?
 
I’m afraid not, but thank you for your thoughts. I feel the book of Mormon added as authority is, principally, the same as creeds added to authority of Catholicism. Thoughts? Again, no 7 paragraph answers, please. Unless necessary.
No, because the creeds are just concise re-statements of biblical doctrine.
Also, do you believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy?
Which Sabbath? Jewish or Christian?

Paul (a former Mormon, now happily Catholic)
 
Indeed, and describe the difference between Christian and Jewish Sabbath, please.
 
I am!

I am just drawn to it. Even despite not agreeing with some teachings, and finding some of the history to be very bad. I’m drawn to it nonetheless…
some of the history is bad because the Church has a human element…

when I first started coming to the Church, I felt “drawn” too but the only teaching I agreed with was the Eucharist. Now I agree with all the teachings… keep on researching and praying 🙂
 
These threads always seem to go off topic, could an experienced Catholic tell me the difference between the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths?

Thanks.
 
**These threads always seem to go off topic, **could an experienced Catholic tell me the difference between the Jewish and Christian Sabbaths?

Thanks.
Y’know, I was actually trying to HELP you. Yet I have a feeling from your reply above that you didn’t even bother to check all of the links provided. Because some of them are articles that answer your question quite nicely, and since they are articles, they are not threads that go off topic. But since you seem unaware of that, it looks like you didn’t bother to read them.

I would also point out that your question is totally off topic for this thread. So your request seems a little ironic–you don’t like threads that answer your question because they go off topic, but you are willing to ask a question on a this thread that is totally off topic.

I really think that your question has already been answered on CAF–you only need to use the Google tool and you will find MANY articles (And threads, which may indeed take work for you to read) that directly answer your question.
 
I appreciate you trying to help me, really. The first link I clicked was a thread, that got off topic, so I assumed the rest were the same case, sorry. Instead of google, let’s use the Bible to answer the please. What are the differences between Sabbaths?
 
Meh, after clicking 4 links I found the article. I approve.
I am glad that one of the articles was helpful. Usually these kinds of questions, I have found, are answered pretty well in the Ask the Apologist section of CAF.

As for Google–just wanted to clarify that I wasn’t suggesting that you Google the web internet–rather, I meant that there is a Google feature on CAF where you can specifically just search the CAF forums. It’s a very handy feature if you want to read about a particular topic! In fact, that is how I found the articles/threads that I linked a few posts up-thread.

In any case, I am glad your question is answered!
 
People will say that the Holy Spirit led them out of [insert any church], or told them that [insert any church] was not the one true church, and yet, the Holy Spirit apparently told other people that [insert any church] was the place to be, and is the one true church.

So I think that the “bait” questions from MRM aren’t that great, since the same sort of statements/questioning is used within the Protestant-Catholic framework.
Notice that the quote in the original post in this thread is saying that there can only be one positive pro-Mormon outcome, because a negative outcome would prove the Book of Mormon false.
(Color added to highlight the original text)
Moroni 10:3
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down unto the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

Moroni 10:4
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.

And look at the next verse, Moroni 10:5, it says that you may know the truth of all things.

Does the Mormon Church know the truth of all things?

Did Joseph Smith know the truth of all things?
(Color added to highlight the original text)
Moroni 10:5
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
 
People will say that the Holy Spirit led them out of [insert any church], or told them that [insert any church] was not the one true church, and yet, the Holy Spirit apparently told other people that [insert any church] was the place to be, and is the one true church.

So I think that the “bait” questions from MRM aren’t that great, since the same sort of statements/questioning is used within the Protestant-Catholic framework.
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Answersplease:
So you say that the same sort of questions are used in the Protestant-Catholic framework as well.

And to further develop your point, since the same sort of questions are used in other “frameworks”, then one cannot specifically criticize Mormonism for it.

What you fail (or refuse) to grasp is that the Book of Mormon spcifically INITIATES the TEST of Moroni 10:4.

Moroni 10:3-4 is specifically talking about reading the Book of Mormon and then praying about its truthfulness.

When Catholics and Protestants pray about which church is true, they usually do so of their own accord.

The Book of Mormon specifically asks the readers to pray about the truthfulness of what they read. Therefore it is very reasonable to turn the test around and ask why a pro-Mormon outcome is VALID and a negative outcome is INVALID.
(Color added to highlight the original text)
Moroni 10:3
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down unto the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

Moroni 10:4
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.
Look at the following excerpt taken from the verse, it guarantees that only a pro-Mormon outcome is VALID:
"if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you"

If you “ask with a sincere heart etc.”, then “he will manifest the truth of it unto you”.

If you “ask with a sincere heart etc.”, then He will NOT manifest the falseness of it unto you.

The verse only guarantees a positive outcome, a negative outcome (The Holy Spirit telling you that the Book of Mormon is FALSE) would prove Mormonism as a FALSE religion.
A negative outcome means that you were not sincere or had some other defect that prevented you from getting a pro-Mormon outcome.

And look at the next verse, Moroni 10:5, it says that you may know the truth of all things.

Does the Mormon Church know the truth of all things?

Did Joseph Smith know the truth of all things?

Did Brigham Young know the truth of all things?
(Color added to highlight the original text)
Moroni 10:5
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
 
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Answersplease:
The test of Moroni 10:4 is used by Mormon missionaries to help win converts.

Only a positive outcome is valid, so the test is a “no win situation” for skeptics.
 
Why would Catholics want to ‘pray’ over an invalid scripture?
I don’t suppose anybody wants to ‘pray’ over anything, since putting ‘pray’ in quotes indicates a large degree of doubt that prayer is what is meant when “pray” is used. However, I do believe that Catholics–and everybody else, for that matter, would pray (no quotes) whenever they want to know anything pertaining to religious truth. NOT praying is something the bible is rather against.

You know…Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Now how in the world are you 'acknowledging him" if you refuse to TALK to Him about this stuff?
 
The Bible commands us to pray for one another. It does not command us to pray to see if what God has already said in the Old Testament and the New Testament is true. To pray to see whether the Book of Mormon is also God’s word (when we know that it was concocted in 1830) is an insult to God as we already know God’s word.
 
I don’t suppose anybody wants to ‘pray’ over anything, since putting ‘pray’ in quotes indicates a large degree of doubt that prayer is what is meant when “pray” is used. However, I do believe that Catholics–and everybody else, for that matter, would pray (no quotes) whenever they want to know anything pertaining to religious truth. NOT praying is something the bible is rather against.

You know…Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Now how in the world are you 'acknowledging him" if you refuse to TALK to Him about this stuff?
By your definition, a Christian can pray over the Koran and conclude that it is the Truth. A Christian can pray over the Upanishads and conclude that they are the Truth.

The truth is, a Christian need not pray over the Book of Mormon, or the Koran, or the Upanishads, or even the Bhagavad Gita to know if they are true or not because they aren’t. And people can be deceived into actually believing that God will direct their paths against Christianity.
 
The Bible commands us to pray for one another. It does not command us to pray to see if what God has already said in the Old Testament and the New Testament is true. To pray to see whether the Book of Mormon is also God’s word (when we know that it was concocted in 1830) is an insult to God as we already know God’s word.
Uhmn…not quite.

First, tell me: how do you know that the bible is true? This is a very serious question; I’m not being at all flippant.

How DO you know?

There are a great many people who think that the bible is mostly fiction and folktales…how do YOU know that it is more than that?
 
By your definition, a Christian can pray over the Koran and conclude that it is the Truth. A Christian can pray over the Upanishads and conclude that they are the Truth.
By my definition, anybody can pray about anything that purports to be scripture, and God will guide him or her to know the truth of it. If, that is, there is any truth in it. What, don’t you trust God to tell you if something is true or not?

That’s not 'leaning unto thy own understanding." That’s worse. That’s active distrust of God.
The point is, do YOU have faith that God would tell you the truth about something? or is it that you are afraid He MIGHT tell you that the Book of Mormon is true?

The point is, you have to ask with some faith; that is, faith that God won’t steer you wrong. Don’t you have that?
The truth is, a Christian need not pray over the Book of Mormon, or the Koran, or the Upanishads, or even the Bhagavad Gita to know if they are true or not because they aren’t. And people can be deceived into actually believing that God will direct their paths against Christianity.
A Christian should be constantly praying about everything. Always. We are to pray for our daily bread…to forgive us our sins…to deliver us from evil…doesn’t that cover everything? Are you afraid that He might tell you to do something you don’t want to do, or to listen to something you don’t want to hear, so you don’t ASK?

Now THAT is ‘leaning unto your own understanding,’ indeed.

James 1:5: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

I don’t know about you, but that seems clear enough.

There is also this: I haven’t read all of the books you mention here, but I have read the Koran, and as far as I remember there is no verse in it that challenges the reader to ask God if it is true or not. I don’t THINK that any of the other books you mention have that challenge, either. However, the Book of Mormon does. Frankly, I think that takes a lot of chutspah, asking the reader to go directly to the Source of all truth to get guidance about these things, and it also seems to me that those who are afraid to TAKE that challenge lack faith.

I don’t get it, personally. I don’t think that God would lie to you, or me, or anyone. I believe that those who are afraid to DO this, and give it an honest chance, are denying Him.

Do I believe that everybody who prays about the Book of Mormon gets a “Go Join the Mormons” answer? No. But I’ll tell you this: anybody who prays about the Book of Mormon and thinks he gets an answer that there is no truth in it is fooling himself, because the Book of Mormon, even if it were a complete piece of fiction, is more moral, less violent, and more Christ centered than any other book on the planet–right up there with the New Testament.

…and those who simply refuse to take that challenge and pray because 'Christians don’t need to do that…" has absolutely no idea what being a person of faith…a CHRISTIAN of faith…is. A Christian who is afraid to ask God to reveal truth to him is a Christian in name only: for he has no faith.
 
By my definition, anybody can pray about anything that purports to be scripture, and God will guide him or her to know the truth of it. If, that is, there is any truth in it. What, don’t you trust God to tell you if something is true or not?

Are you implying that Truth is relative? How do you explain it if one individual believes he or she is led by God to an understanding that the Book of Mormon is correct and that another individual is led by God to an understanding that it is false? How do you reconcile this?

That’s not 'leaning unto thy own understanding." That’s worse. That’s active distrust of God.
The point is, do YOU have faith that God would tell you the truth about something? or is it that you are afraid He MIGHT tell you that the Book of Mormon is true?

For ANY Christian, the Book of Mormon is a false scripture. And it is neither biblical nor does it come from any Church tradition. It was created through the process of “automatic writing”.

The point is, you have to ask with some faith; that is, faith that God won’t steer you wrong. Don’t you have that?

Re-read my answer above.

A Christian should be constantly praying about everything. Always. We are to pray for our daily bread…to forgive us our sins…to deliver us from evil…doesn’t that cover everything? Are you afraid that He might tell you to do something you don’t want to do, or to listen to something you don’t want to hear, so you don’t ASK?

Now THAT is ‘leaning unto your own understanding,’ indeed.

I ask God about things all the time. If the answer I get is not in conformity with my Catholic Faith, then it is wrong.

There is also this: I haven’t read all of the books you mention here, but I have read the Koran, and as far as I remember there is no verse in it that challenges the reader to ask God if it is true or not. I don’t THINK that any of the other books you mention have that challenge, either. However, the Book of Mormon does. Frankly, I think that takes a lot of chutspah, asking the reader to go directly to the Source of all truth to get guidance about these things, and it also seems to me that those who are afraid to TAKE that challenge lack faith.

The ‘source’ of all Truth is Christ and what He revealed in the Bible, and His Church, as well as the Holy Spirit. There is no other ‘source’.

I don’t get it, personally. I don’t think that God would lie to you, or me, or anyone. I believe that those who are afraid to DO this, and give it an honest chance, are denying Him.

Example: it is very simple for me to understand that it is not the Holy Spirit that convinces a Catholic to leave the Church for another Christian denomination or nonChristian religion.

Do I believe that everybody who prays about the Book of Mormon gets a “Go Join the Mormons” answer? No. But I’ll tell you this: anybody who prays about the Book of Mormon and thinks he gets an answer that there is no truth in it is fooling himself, because the Book of Mormon, even if it were a complete piece of fiction, is more moral, less violent, and more Christ centered than any other book on the planet–right up there with the New Testament.

I don’t know what Book of Mormon you’ve read but it doesn’t sound like the one I read. then again, you are probably biased and read into it what you want to.

…and those who simply refuse to take that challenge and pray because 'Christians don’t need to do that…" has absolutely no idea what being a person of faith…a CHRISTIAN of faith…is. A Christian who is afraid to ask God to reveal truth to him is a Christian in name only: for he has no faith.

And again, a Catholic Christian has the full body of the Faith and does not need to “pray over” the Book of Mormon, or ask God if it is authentic. He already knows that it isn’t. 🙂
 
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