Bridge of Reason

  I have a copy of the Berean Bible Teachers Manual, with the King James Bible, dated 1921. It gives, ‘Verse-by-verse comments on the entire Bible, condensed from The WatchTower, from Studies in the Scriptures, etc.’ It goes on to explain: ‘These brief comments by C J Woodworth are claimed to faithfully represent the fuller presentations of the six volumes of Studies in the Scriptures.’ The ‘etc.’ above includes comments from, ‘The Hell Pamphlet, Tabernacle Shadows, and the Spiritism Pamphlet, Zion’s Watch Tower, September 1879, a 1907 newspaper report of a sermon by Charles Russell, a 1905 Theology Quarterly, and discourses on the Chart of the Ages.’ It is incredibly well organised, its reference system clear. You may go from a Bible reference, as you would in any concordance, to a brief comment taken from one of the above publications, and if you have those publications, you may be sent to the right pages to read the context. Set alongside a set of Studies in the Scriptures, ...

Mormons and the Bible Just as in other churches, Mormons face the question of what to think of the different Bible translations available today. Most churches have a standard text, a pew Bible, but often encourage members to use and explore other translations. Christians have found this very helpful as each translation brings its own strengths and weaknesses. It is also the case that… read more →

In June 2009 the Mormon Church announced the building of a new church library to house historical records of the church. “From the earliest moments of the Church’s founding, Latter-day Saints have kept a record of their history. The principle behind this practice stems from a scriptural mandate: “There shall be a record kept among you” ( D&C 21:1 ), intended for the “good of the church” and “the rising generations” ( D&C 69:8 ). Maintaining a perspective on the past, while fixing an eye toward the future, is nothing new in religious history. Accounts of God’s intervention in the affairs of mankind have been promulgated by prophets and sages since the beginning of time. These records have provided a framework of meaning that continues to shape human conceptions of morality, identity and progress. Continued Consistent with this long tradition of sacred record keeping, the Church has devoted substantial resources to construct a new library. This building, which, in th...

The July 2009 issue of the official Mormon Ensign magazine carries an article by Elder Marlin K Jensen, Mormon Church Historian, writes about The Joseph Smith Papers , a collection of “all journals, diaries, correspondence, discourses, revelations, written histories, notices, and legal papers…generated or directed to be created [by Joseph Smith]” He writes: “The manuscript revelation books contain many of the earliest known copies of the revelations received by Joseph Smith and provide insights into the revelatory process” Hmmm! “The revelatory process?” What do you think that means? Jensen explains: “The editing and updating of revelation texts in the early years of the Church demonstrate the process of continuing revelation to Joseph Smith. The revelation manuscripts reveal how men grappled in trying to make certain that the ideas and doctrines Joseph received were transcribed and printed accurately—a process that for the publication of any work risks the introduction of erro...