Article of Faith #8

#8 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.

So We believe in the Bible, and that it is the word of God.

"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. (1 Nephi 13:23)

This scripture is a description of the Bible.  That it came out of the mouth of the jews, and that it contains the covenants and promises that the Lord gave to the jews. 
How important are the words of God?  Nephi describes His feelings of the importance when he said: "Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.  (1 Nephi 15:25)

But with the various versions we have of the Bible today in our world, the importance to our Heavenly Father that it is translated correctly is crucial so that we can live God's way with exact obedience. The Bible did start out pure and complete, but through the years of multiple translations, it didn't remain pure.

"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.

 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."

  (1Nephi 13:26-27)

This confusion that comes from the Bible with people in the past taking and adding to the bible, states that we need something that can bring another witness to the table and clarify that which we need to do.  That the witness of two can bring the truth to light.  So God provided a Book of Mormon.

"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.  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?

 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; 

Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written."

 (2 Nephi 3, 6-10)

The Book of Mormon comes as a second witness to help God's people more fully understand the doctrine of Christ.  The way Christ's church is suppose to be.   

"Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall ^awrite;

and the fruit of the loins of ^bJudah shall ^cwrite;

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 ^dconfounding of ^efalse doctrines and laying down of contentions,

and establishing ^fpeace among the fruit of thy loins,

and ^gbringing them to the ^hknowledge of their fathers in the latter days,

and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord. (2 Nephi 3:12)

Article of Faith #7

#7  "We Believe in the gift of tongues, prophesy,

revelation,

visions,

healings,

interpretation of tongues

and so forth."

This Article of Faith is a lot to do with the miracles that are all around us.  But we believe in these miracles!

"...exhorting all men to come unto God,

the Holy One of Israel,

and believe in prophesying,

and in revelations,

and in the ministering of angels,

and in the gift of speaking with tongues,

and in the gift of interpreting languages,

and in all things which are good;"

Omni 1:25

We can also aquire the gift of revelation for our children and for ourselves.

"But this is not all;

they had given themselves to much prayer,

and fasting;

therefore they had the spirit of prophecy,

and the spirit of revelation,

and when they taught,

they taught with power and authority of God."

Alma 17:3

An example of a healing from the Book of Mormon:

And Alma said: If thou believest in the redemption of Christ thou canst be healed.

And he said: Yea, I believe according to thy words.

And then Alma cried unto the Lord, saying: O Lord our God, have mercy on this man, and heal him according to his faith which is in Christ.

And when Alma had said these words, Zeezrom leaped upon his feet, and began to walk; and this was done to the great astonishment of all the people; and the knowledge of this went forth throughout all the land of Sidom.

(Alma 15:8-11)

And the gift that is well known for missionaries of the church as well as to anyone that is trying to understand and interpret the spirit.

 "And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues."

(Moroni 10:16)



Article of Faith #6

#6 "We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth."

That is exactly what every missionary goes out and preaches to the world.  That we have the exact same organization in this church as did Christ when he organized the true gospel while he was on the earth. 


I am going to break down each word to make it more understandable.


Organization:

Mosiah 18:17, 20

"And they were called the church of God,

or the church of Christ,

from that time forward.

And it came to pass that whosoever

was baptized by the power

and authority of God was added to his church.

Yea, even he commanded them

that they should preach nothing

save it were repentance and faith on the Lord,

who had redeemed his people."

Premitive Church:

3 Nephi 27:3-7

"And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter.

 And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing?

 Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day;

 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

 Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake."

Apostles:

3 Nephi 12:1

"And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am."

Prophets:

"The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God’s messenger and make known God’s will.  He taught men about God’s character, showing the full meaning of his dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation’s history.  It was also the prophet’s duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment, and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the Divine requirement."
From the Bible Dictionary

Pastors:

This is the same things as a Bishop. 
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
have bishops to lead and guide the church locally.
 
Teachers:
Mosiah 23:17

" And it came to pass
 that none received authority
 to preach or to teach except
it were by him from God.
Therefore he consecrated
all their priests and all their teachers;
and none were consecrated
 except they were just men."

Evangelists:
"In popular usage throughout Christendom,
an evangelist is one who proclaims the gospel. 
However, in latter-day revelation
an evangelist is defined as a patriarch."
From the Bible dictionary