The Bible

Hi, everybody.  My name is Massimo.  I am Italian and I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The purpose of my web site is to give my testimony on the divinity of Book of Mormon through the divinity of the Bible.  I know it will be a great task, but if the Book of Mormon is true, like I know by the prayer, the Lord Himself will be on my own side, and surely the Bible too. Maybe you are wondering in what way I can do this, well I am going to explain my idea.   In the Old Testament there are  lots of clues about the Savior, where He was born, in what way He would die and so on.  All the prophesies were related to His life, but no mention was made of His sacred name(Jesus).  Surely that would have been too easy. So, I thought that with the Book of Mormon it could be the same.  Maybe I couldn't find its name, but knowing its story, its environment and so on, maybe the Bible could be useful for my purpose, and I found it is.

I have some clues here (especially for the people that have never read the Book of Mormon).

1) the people were Hebrews, they pertained to the tribe of Joseph

2) they were sent away by the Lord to the American hemisphere  about 600 B. C.

3) they kept the law of Moses and they were worshipping the Lord at the same time and way, like the other Hebrews in Palestine.

4) After the flood another migration to this hemisphere (the Jaredites).

So my front page will be dedicated to this topic.  In other places I will try to support the first vision of our prophet, always by the Bible and other things related to the Church of Jesus Christ of L.D.S. Anyway, everything I am writing is my opinion and my personal belief and this is not a place authorized from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

The Official LDS Home Page

A large and growing site with basic information and some official doctrine. You can also learn how to receive a free Book of Mormon (hint: call  1-888-537-7111).

THE BIBLE AND THE BOOK OF MORMON

by Massimo

There are those who say, "A Bible! A Bible! We have got a bible and there cannot be any more Bible" (2 Nephi 29:3). Thus when they hear of the Book of Mormon being another testament of Jesus Christ, they say it cannot be the word of God because the Bible contains all of God's words.
As everyone will agree, the Bible is a record of God's words, primarily to the Jews in Palestine. The Book of Mormon claims to be a record of God's words to people who lived on the American continent. Although the Jews in Palestine would have no way of knowing about the people in American, yet if the Book of Mormon is truly God's words, then it would seem reasonable that the Bible would give at least some circumstantial evidence that God has talked to other people.
Before to start it is important to read Genesis 10:25
"And unto Eber were born 2 sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided."
You could read also I Chronicles 1:19
and soon after the division of the continents it started  the epic of the Jaredites.
By the way, some people maintain that this division was a division in countries or something between people not a division of earth. They should take a look in Genesis 1:9
"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven BE GATHERED UNTO ONE PLACE, AND LET THE DRY LAND APPEAR, AND IT WAS SO." Further it is enough to take a look at the map of the entire earth, it is very easy to see that the continents could fit each other if they could be gathered again.

THE JAREDITES

The Book of Mormon claims that a group of people left the old world at the time of the tower of Babel and made their way here to America. It further claims that these people had prophets who taught them the words of God, similar to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and other Old Testament prophets. We need to ask ourselves: Is this consistent with what the Bible teaches?
In the 11th chapter of Genesis we read about the building of the tower at Babel, and then in verse 8 it says, "So the Lord scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city" (emphasis added). If they were scattered over all the earth, would that not also include America? Or put another way, why wouldn't that also include America?
Most scholars agree that these people were scattered to Europe, who then migrated to Asia, where they crossed the Bearing Straits and immigrated to America. So it is not inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible, or the opinion of scholars, to say that people came from the Palestine area to this continent. But how did they get here? Did they walk, as the scholars say, or could they have sailed here by boat? Of course this story in Genesis doesn't say how they were scattered, so if they did come by ship, it still wouldn't contradict the Biblical account, only the scholars opinions.
Could there have been Jaredites on the American continent at the time of Isaiah? There is nothing in the Bible that contradicts the account in the Book of Mormon, and there is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that it could very well be true.
However, there is an interesting comment by Isaiah that helps shed some light on this. Isaiah not only wrote to the wayward people of Israel, but the Lord also commanded him to send words of warning to other cities and other nations. In chapter 13 we read of a warning to Babylon. In chapter 15 he warns Moab. In chapter 17 he warns Damascus. In chapter 19 he warns Egypt. But in chapter 18 he writes, "Wo to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters" (verses 1-2).
Notice that in all other warnings, Isaiah specifically mentions the name of the city or nation, but in chapter 18 there is no name given. Why? Instead of a name, he only gives a description of the land -- "the land shadowing with wings". He then gives its location as only being "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia". How far beyond is it? Isaiah doesn't say, but he does state that they send "ambassadors by the sea in vessels upon the waters." That's an obvious reference to ships. But what does he mean by "ambassadors"? If they truly did send ambassadors to Israel, then why doesn't Isaiah know the name of this country?After all, he worked in the court of the king.
The Lord often shows things to his servants in visions. Isaiah saw in a vision a land that looked like a shadowing of wings that was beyond the sea, west of Ethiopia (Africa). Since he only saw it in a vision, he had no idea what its name was, so he could only describe what it looked like. The way he describes this country means that the prophet had to have had a large aerial view of the earth to know this. For example, if you arrive on the shores of Italy by boat, there's no way to tell that this country is in the shape of a boot. If we look at a map of the world and look from Palestine beyond Africa, we see that the two Americas (north and south) have the shape of open wings. Furthermore, the way to get between there and Palestine is by sea. The only way Isaiah could have known all of this was to have seen it from high above the ground. Therefore, the reason Isaiah didn't know the name of this land is because it was literally unknown to him. Opinions on Isaiah 18:1
Used by permission and kindness of Chris Tolworthy.
Could there have been Jaredites on the American continent at the time of Isaiah? There is nothing in the Bible that contradicts the account in the Book of Mormon, and there is strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that it could very well be true.

THE BLESSINGS OF JOSEPH

The Book of Mormon also tells of another migration to America, this time after the time of Isaiah. Does the Bible give any indication that such an event would take place? Circumstantially, yes Deutheronomy 28:64 "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other." So also in the American continent!
. Lehi was an Israelite from the tribe of Joseph, "yea, even that Joseph who was the son of Jacob, who was sold into Egypt" (1 Nephi 5:14).
Jacob had twelve sons, and as this great patriarch was about to die, he, "called unto his sons and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days" (Genesis 49:1). Then he proceeded to give a blessing upon each of his sons. To Joseph he said, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall" (verse 22). And the verse 26 "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors (they were Abraham, Isaac) unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." The blessing of Abraham was the holy land, Joseph should receive more than that, his land should have like characteristic everlasting hills. In Genesis 48:17-19 we learnt that Efraim received the blessing like firstborn from Israel. Deuteronomy 33:13-17 says the same identical things but adds more clues, it explains that the promised land of Joseph should be the best in the world, it seems to see the Garden of Eden in this description(and it was).Also repeat that this land will have everlasting Hills, but what it could means this? If you take a map of this continent you can easily see  that from the beginning in Alaska, to the end in Argentina, Rocky Mountains and the Ande are really everywhere they are everlasting.
Let's go to analyze in detail the blessings which Moses gave to the tribes before to dye. We can easily say that in these blessings it is described the future of each tribe
Deuteronomy 33:13
13 And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD [be] his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

Deuteronomy 33:14
14 And for the precious fruits [brought forth] by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
Here it is clearly described the richest land on earth
Deuteronomy 33:15
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
Again the everlasting hills and in Israel there are not ancient mountains
Deuteronomy 33:16
16 And for the precious things of the earth and fullness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let [the blessing] come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him [that was] separated from his brethren.

spiritual leadership again.

Deuteronomy 33:17
17 His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.
It is to be remembered that Joseph received his blessing while in Egypt. The "utmost hills" were west of that nation beyond the ocean wall. The fact   that Joseph posterity would receive revelation is found in the Lord's words Hosea 8:12 "I have written to him (Ephraim) the great thing of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.". The Lord promised that they would be blessed "with blessings of heaven above". The critics of the Book of Mormon don't have answers for these promises
All the people know that Ruben was the firstborn of Israel, why the Bible is saying the Joseph is the firstborn? You should read Genesis 46:9 Genesis 35:21-22 Genesis 49:3-4 and finally
I Chronicles 5:1-2

Let's go back to the promise Land of Joseph that it should have the best requirements and let's analyze the reaction of the tribe of Joseph when they received the land in Palestine.
What is this "well" and the "wall" which Jacob prophecies about concerning the seed of Joseph? The Bible doesn't give an explanation. However, we get some indication of the meaning of this in the book of Joshua. Joshua took over the position of leading Israel after the death of Moses. It was he who lead his people into the promised land. Once there, he divided the land among the twelve tribes. However, "the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me thitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizsites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee" (Joshua 17:14-15).
The tribe of Joseph was a large tribe. It needed more room to accommodate its people. So it needed to spread out more than the other tribes. The prophecy of Jacob said that the seed of Joseph would be fruitful and be by a well. A well has water in it, and the ocean can be considered a gigantic well. However, all of Palestine is near the sea, but the prophecy of Jacob also said that the "branches" of Joseph would "run over the wall." What does this mean? The sea is certainly a wall. Just as a wall separates things, so the sea separates countries and continents.
From the beginning we see that the tribe of Joseph needed to spread out; it needed more land. As a descendant of Joseph, Lehi and his family were "branches" of Joseph. The Book of Mormon tells how Lehi and his family crossed over the wall of water (the sea) and came here to the American continent to find more room to live where they would be safe from the danger that awaited them in Jerusalem. Although some may not agree with this, it cannot be denied that such an account is completely consistent with the prophecies of the Bible.
But the Lord also made other promises to the tribe of Joseph. Through the prophet Zachariah the Lord declared: "I will save the house of Joseph... for I have mercy upon them" (Zachariah10:6). In the 77th Psalm, David sings of the Lord's redeeming work, and specifically mentions the tribe of Joseph (verse15). The Bible only gives us an account of the tribe of Judah, but where is the evidence of this promised salvation for Joseph? There is no record of it in the Bible.