Among Latter-day Saints, a common phrase is that the Book of Mormon is “the most correct book” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:461). Unfortunately, some hear this and assume it means the Bible is somehow “less than,” or that it has been hopelessly corrupted. This misunderstanding can lead to two extremes:

• Overvaluing the Book of Mormon to the point of undervaluing the Bible.
• Treating the Bible as insufficient or unreliable.

But the reality is far richer — the Restoration itself would be impossible without the Bible, and the Bible powerfully supports and validates many teachings that some assume are unique to the Latter-day Saint tradition.

Instead of seeing the Bible as a damaged relic missing chunks of text, we can understand Nephi’s prophecy of “plain and precious” truths being taken away (1 Nephi 13:26–29) in a broader, more historically grounded way:

• Some truths were removed from practice and teaching — still present in the text but ignored, misinterpreted, or explained away.
• Some traditions were added into Christianity over centuries — extra-biblical ideas assumed to be in scripture but never actually taught or understood by first-century apostles or disciples.

This view not only aligns with the historical record, but it preserves the Bible’s power as a partner in proclaiming the restored gospel.

What Was “Removed” Was Often Practice, Not the Text Itself

When Nephi speaks of truths being “taken away,” it’s tempting to imagine physical pages or verses being ripped out of manuscripts. But the historical evidence for wholesale textual removal on that scale is slim. What history does show is that, over centuries, certain biblical teachings were downplayed, abandoned, or replaced by alternative interpretations. The words stayed on the page — but their meaning and application faded from view.

Here are a few examples:

1. Baptism for the Dead

   • Biblical foundation: 1 Corinthians 15:29 explicitly references it.
   • Historical outcome: Early Christians practiced vicarious baptism (documented by early Christian writers like Tertullian), but the practice disappeared from mainstream Christianity within a few centuries. Today, many simply skip or gloss over the verse.

2. Degrees of Glory

   • Biblical foundation: 1 Corinthians 15:40–42 describes differing glories of resurrected bodies, compared to the sun, moon, and stars.
   • Historical outcome: The teaching is almost entirely absent from most Christian sermons, often replaced by the idea of a single, uniform heaven.

3. The Laying On of Hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost

   • Biblical foundation: Acts 8:17 and Hebrews 6:1–2 describe it as part of the foundation of Christian life.
   • Historical outcome: Some Christian traditions retain a form of confirmation, but often without connection to the specific New Testament pattern or spiritual expectation.

In these cases, the “loss” wasn’t the ink on the page — it was the willingness to practice what the page said.

What Was “Added” Was Tradition, Not Scripture

Alongside neglected truths, the centuries also saw the growth of customs and doctrines that came to be treated as biblical but have no direct scriptural basis. These became so ingrained that many believers assumed they were part of the original Christian message.

Examples include:

1. “Bible Only” (Sola Scriptura)

   • The Bible never claims it is the sole source of God’s word. In fact, it affirms the ongoing need for prophets and revelation (Ephesians 4:11–14; Amos 3:7). Yet by the time of the Reformation, the idea of “Bible only” became a rallying cry, often used to dismiss the possibility of continuing revelation and the papacy in Rome.
2. Infant Baptism
   • No scriptural examples exist of unrepentant infants being baptized. Baptism is consistently connected to faith and repentance (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16). Yet the practice became widespread by the 3rd century and remains central in many denominations.
3. Crusading for Salvation
   • Nowhere does Christ authorize war to convert others. His kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36). Yet for centuries, Christian leaders sanctioned violence in the name of reclaiming or spreading the faith.
4. Indulgences and Penance Systems
   • These emerged in the Middle Ages and were tied to church authority and economics, not to New Testament teaching.

In each case, the “addition” was cultural or institutional — and in some cases, it actively obscured the simpler, purer gospel message found in the Bible.

The Restoration’s Role

The Restoration did not rescue a hopelessly damaged Bible. Instead, it reopened the Bible’s pages with fresh eyes and restored the practice of its neglected teachings. It also stripped away many extra-biblical traditions that had crept in over centuries.

Joseph Smith himself respected and loved the Bible. He taught:

“He who reads it oftenest will like it best.” (History of the Church, 2:14)

The Book of Mormon’s own role is not to replace the Bible, but to act as a second witness — confirming biblical truths, clarifying misunderstood passages, and filling in historical and doctrinal context that had been lost to most of the Christian world.

How the Bible Backs LDS Teachings

Far from contradicting LDS beliefs, the Bible often affirms them — sometimes more directly than people realize:

• The Godhead as Three Distinct Beings — Jesus prays to the Father (John 17:3), is baptized while the Father’s voice speaks and the Spirit descends (Matthew 3:16–17).
• Pre-mortal Existence — God knew Jeremiah before he was born (Jeremiah 1:5); Jesus existed with the Father before the world (John 17:5).
• Baptism for the Dead — Directly mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:29.
• Apostasy and Restoration — Paul foretold a “falling away” (2 Thessalonians 2:3); Peter prophesied a future “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21).
• Degrees of Glory — 1 Corinthians 15:40–42 outlines differing heavenly glories.
• Continuing Revelation — Prophets and apostles were given “for the perfecting of the saints” until we all come to unity and maturity (Ephesians 4:11–14) — something not yet fully realized.

Why This Perspective Matters

Framing the Bible’s “defectiveness” in this way changes the Restoration’s relationship to it and points to the manmade traditions being the issue instead:

• The Bible is not defective — it is underutilized and often misread.
• The Restoration is not a replacement — it is a revival of biblical Christianity in both teaching and practice.
• Interfaith dialogue becomes easier — Christians from other traditions can see that Latter-day Saints honor the Bible and that our unique beliefs often grow directly out of it.

When Truth Becomes Fable: The Human Drift from God’s Word

Throughout scripture, we see a pattern: humanity struggles to hold fast to God’s truth. Plain, simple truths are often set aside in favor of teachings that suit our desires or cultural trends. Paul warns of this in 2 Timothy 4:3–4:

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

Similarly, in Titus 1:14, Paul urges believers to resist:

“Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

Even broader in scope, Romans 1:25 illustrates the consequences of exchanging divine truth for human invention:

“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator…”

These passages highlight a recurring spiritual challenge: truths are not always lost physically—they can be neglected, misunderstood, or supplanted by human traditions. This aligns with the Restoration perspective: the gospel of Jesus Christ is not replacing the Bible, but restoring its lost emphases and correcting the distortions that crept in over centuries.

A Closing Thought

Nephi’s prophecy of “plain and precious” truths being taken away does not need to mean that huge sections of the Bible were physically lost. Instead, it can mean that much of the Christian world stopped preaching and living certain biblical doctrines, while adding non-biblical traditions into their worship.

The Restoration, then, is not about finding missing parchment — it’s about restoring missing practice, missing perspective, and missing authority.

The Bible remains the foundation. The Book of Mormon and other Restoration scripture do not compete with it — they stand beside it, each testifying of Jesus Christ and His gospel.

As Joseph Smith taught, a person who loves the Bible will love it more, not less, after reading the Book of Mormon. And as the two books testify together, their united witness rings out:

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).