2 Nephi 29:3-5

After prophesying about the Book of Mormon going forth into the world, we are told the word of the Lord “shall hiss [to utter or whisper angrily or threateningly and with a hiss[1]] forth” (2 Nephi 29:3).  How will the Gentiles respond?  The Lord tells us, “A Bible!  A Bible!  We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3). 

Hugh Nibley explains:

But does the world really need more than the Bible to do these things? Nephi predicted what the reaction of the world would be to the claims of the Book of Mormon: "Many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3). The moment the book was presented for sale this prophecy began to be fulfilled, when the most eminent newspaper of the region, The Rochester Daily Advertiser of Rochester, New York, published the following opinion:

BLASPHEMY
Book of Mormon, Alias the Golden Bible
The Book of Mormon has been placed in our hands. A viler imposition was never practiced. It is an evidence of fraud, blasphemy, and credulity, shocking to both Christians and moralists⁶.[2]

This has been a cry against the Book of Mormon since its publication.  Many Christians accept that the Bible is all the scripture the Lord has given us and will give us no more. 

John Welch writes about developments in Biblical studies.

[O]ne can now see that there were significant losses of text, and even of whole books, from the Bible.² A significant stir of criticism is now afoot in Christian theology, asking why certain books were excluded from the Bible and wondering what makes a text scriptural. Thomas Hoffman writes of the theoretical possibility "that a lost epistle of an apostle could still be accepted into the canon." He remarks that the reasons why "such books as the Shepherd of Hermas, the First Epistle of Clement, or the Epistle of Barnabas . . . were eventually dropped from the canon are not that clear."³ Robert Detweiler sees it as "entirely conceivable" that if the Latter-day Saints become more influential, people will "come to view the Book of Mormon with something of the same regard [as Christians now] give to the Pentateuch."⁴ The old cry, "A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3), is giving way in some circles like scarcely before.[3]

I find it surprising so many Christians reject additional records from the Lord.  Just looking through the New Testament, there are many things about which we know little.  A few examples demonstrate this.

·         Christ’s ministry lasted only three years.  Of that three-year ministry, we have only a fraction of His words.  It makes me wonder what teachings we don’t have.  For example, I don’t believe that the only parables Christ told are those we have in the Bible.  I would love to have a more complete record of His ministry.

·         On the Mount of Transfiguration, Christ commanded Peter, James, and John not to write or discuss those events until after His death.  We still don’t have a full account of what occurred.

·         After His resurrection, Christ taught his apostles for forty days.  We have no record of what was taught during that time.  Those teachings had to have been important for Christ to teach the apostles for such a long period.

·         We don’t have copies of letters that were sent to Paul.  We only have his responses.  It would be interesting to read the letter(s) to which he responded.

These are but a few examples of why the Lord might give us additional records and scriptures to go hand-in-hand with the Biblical record. 

The Lord calls these people fools.  The Bible comes to us from the Jews.  The angel guiding Nephi during his great vision told him:

And he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew. And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles.

And the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.

Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.

1 Nephi 13:23-25

In a revelation Joseph Smith received regarding the lost 116 manuscript pages, the Lord made it clear to Joseph, “Nevertheless, my work shall go forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge of a Savior has come unto the world, through the testimony of the Jews, even so shall the knowledge of a Savior come unto my people—“ (D&C 3:16).

When the world rejects the Book of Mormon because we have a Bible, the Lord asks a number of questions.  Do they thank the Jews for the Bible?  Do they remember, “the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles” (2 Nephi 29:4). 

The truth is that they have cursed and hated the Jews.  They “have not sought to recover them” (2 Nephi 29:5).  The Lord has not forgotten His chosen people.  “I will return all these things upon [their] own heads” (2 Nephi 29:5).

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[1] Miriam-Webster on-line dictionary, accessed December 17, 2013.

[2] Introduction to an Unknown Book, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 17, 2013.

[3] The Plain and Precious Parts, John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed December 17, 2013.