20 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they
did prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was carried forth among
them.
21 And the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning
of the book?
22 And I said unto him: I know not.
23 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.
24 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.
25 Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in
purity unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in God.
26 And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation
of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other
churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many
parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord
have they taken away.
27 And all this have they done that they might pervert
the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the
hearts of the children of men.
Having seen the gentiles prosper in the land, Nephi saw “a
book, and it was carried forth among them” (1 Nephi 13:20). Nephi did not know
anything about the book. The angel told him “it proceedeth out of the mouth of
a Jew” (1 Nephi 13:23). This book is a record of the Jews. Lehi, speaking to
Joseph, said, “Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of
the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of
thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of
Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying
down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and
bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to
the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord”“ (2 Nephi 3:12).
This book contains covenants the Lord made with Israel; it
contains prophecies made by the holy prophets; it is a record similar to the
brass plates, “save there are not so many” (1 Nephi 13:23). The book contains
the covenants the Lord made with Israel, so this is valuable to the gentiles.
Hugh Nibley explains:
“This is our Old Testament, but such a book was quite
strange to Nephi, and the angel explains that ‘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... unto the house
of Israel; wherefore, they are of great worth unto the Gentiles’ (1 Nephi 13:23).
The only scriptures Nephi knew were a collection of writings, more extensive
indeed than what is contained in our Old Testament, but not conflicting with
it.”[1]
A common criticism of the Church by its opponents is we don’t
believe in the Bible.
“Of course, Latter-day Saints believe in the Bible, but it
is sometimes stated by some not of our faith that we do not. In fact, we love
the Bible and believe its teachings. It holds a special place in our religion
that cannot be filled by any other book. On the day the Church was organized,
the Lord affirmed the Bible’s truthfulness (D&C 20:11), and the Book of
Mormon itself bears testimony of the Bible and commits us to it (1 Nephi 13:2-23;
2 Nephi 29:2-13). With many other Christians we have faith that the Bible’s
ancient writers were inspired, and we reject the trends in modern society that
devalue it and its teachings. We can be grateful for the many good people who
have held fast to this book, and we join with them in expressing our thanks to
God for it.”[2]
When the book (the Old Testament) goes forth, it will
contain the fullness of the gospel. The twelve apostles will bear witness to
its truthfulness. When it goes forth, it will be a pure record of the gospel.
“And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles
shall say: A Bible! A Bible! “We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more
Bible.
“But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a
Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And
what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what
do the Gentiles mean? 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?
“O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient
covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have
not sought to recover them. But behold, “I will return all these things upon
your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
“Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible,
and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews” (2
Nephi 29:3-6).
The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, “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).
Eventually, many plain and precious things will be taken
away from the Old Testament. As was mentioned earlier, many critics erroneously
claim we don’t believe in the Bible. This shows a misunderstanding of the 8th
Article of Faith, “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.”
We do not accept the claim that our Bible today is not without flaws. Biblical
textual criticism shows this to be true. (See the writings of Bart Ehrman for
examples.)
John Welch looks at this issue.
“[A]s it was handed down, important parts were lost,
removed, or obscured. A more detailed and more informative picture than this,
however, can be gleaned from the words of 1 Nephi 13:24-32, given by an angel
to Nephi. Close reading shows that Nephi saw other, more fundamental factors
first at work.
“These words of the angel seem to
identify three stages in this process-not just one. First, the
Gentiles would take ‘away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts
which are plain and most precious’ (1 Nephi 13:26). This stage possibly could
have occurred more by altering the meaning or understanding of the things
taught by the Lord than by changing the words themselves. This changing of
understanding was a fundamental problem seen by Nephi. What would cause many to
stumble were those things ‘taken away out of the gospel’ (1 Nephi
13:29, 32).
“Second, the Gentiles would take away ‘many covenants of
the Lord’ (1 Nephi 13:26). This step, too, could be taken without deleting any
words from the Bible as such. The knowledge and benefit of the covenants of God
could become lost simply by neglecting the performance of ordinances, or
priesthood functions, or individual covenants as the Lord had taught.
“Third, Nephi beheld that there were ‘many plain and
precious things taken away from the book’ (1 Nephi 13:28). This step
was apparently a consequence of the first two, since 13:28 begins with the word
‘wherefore.’ Thus, the eventual physical loss of things from the Bible was
perhaps less a cause than a result of the fact that, first, the gospel, and
second, the covenants had been lost or taken away.”[3]
[2] Some LDS Perspectives on the Bible, Insights Volume
- 20, Issue – 3, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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