Translated correctly???

      Can the Bible be trusted today?  Has it been corrupted through thousands of years of translations, corrupt scribes and wicked churches?
      In Psalm 119:127, the psalmist greatly valued God's word.  "Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold."  Psalm 119:72 says, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."  David also spoke of God's teachings in psalm 19:10, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."  But what about today?  Was God able to preserve his word through the centuries?  Is that within his great power?  Mosiah 3:5 calls God Omnipotent.  This is attributing to God infinite power.  If God has unlimited power, then he would be able to preserve His word in spite of the corruption of finite men.  2 Nephi 9:20 and Moroni 7:22 state that God knows "all things".  If God knows all things, then He would know how to preserve his word.  God clearly has the power and know-how to preserve his word, but did He say He would preserve it?  In Matthew 24:25, Jesus gave this promise, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."  The apostle Peter compared people to God's word in 1 Peter 24-25, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.  The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever...."  These are big promises!!  God word will endure longer than heaven and earth and longer than man and his glory.  That is a long time!
      Because of the fine work of modern archeologists, we have thousands of manuscripts to study.  There are around 2,000 Old Testament, Hebrew and Chaldean manuscripts or manuscript fragments.  These date back to the 7th century BC.  There are between 5,000 and 6,000 New Testament Greek Manuscripts from a variety of countries.  Because of persecution, the early church was spread out over a number of countries.  If there were doctrinal changes, we would be able to track them over the thousand years of writing and from different countries.  There are small writing errors, but the doctrine of the Bible has remained consistent throughout time.  That is an amazing feat.  We have an amazing God!
      (An exception may be the Alexandrian text.  It is said to be weaker on the deity of Christ.)
   

Should the LDS name be on the Holy Bible?

       Should the name “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints” be printed on the binder of the King James Bible?  Should the Bible be considered Mormon scripture?  Is it worthy enough? 

The story of the woman at the well, in John 4:4-42, is a very gracious story.  Since Jesus was a Jew, it was strange that he would walk through Samaria.  The Jews did not associate with Samaritans.  Jesus started a conversation with the woman at the well.  She does not sound like she was worthy to be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said that she had had 5 husbands and the man she was currently with was not her husband.  I think we can assume that she was not “temple worthy”.  She probably didn’t have a temple recommend.  I doubt that she had been paying her tithing.  She does not sound like a religious person at all.  She probably had plenty of bad works and a bad reputation.  Suddenly she was in the presence of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus was talking to this UNWORTHY woman, he told that her if she had known the “gift of God”, she would have asked him for living water.  In John 4:14 he said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  When Jesus mentioned her 5 husbands and current man, she changed the subject by talking about worship.  She said in John 4:20, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”  Jesus answered her question.  In John 4:21, 23, 24 we read, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…But the hour cometh,…when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  If this was not enough, he went on to tell her that he was Christ, the Messiah.  As you continue reading the story, you find that she went on a little mission trip and brought many Samaritans to Jesus.  The Mormon Church seems to have a focus on worthiness.  However, this is a story of an unworthy person and Jesus.  Should this story be considered scripture? 

            There is a temple story in Luke 18:9-14.  “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a Publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”  This story focuses on two men.  One was not only unworthy but called himself a sinner.

      Luke 5:30-32 is another passage that compares worthy and unworthy people.  “But the scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  The focus here is on the unworthy also.

      The temple in the Old testament must have drawn a lot of unworthy people.  If you sinned against God, you went to the temple with your goat or other animal and the priest sacrificed the animal for your sin.  They did this at least once a year.  The temple was a place for unworthy sinners to come. 

      Moroni 10:32 has more of a Mormon flavor with attention given to worthiness.  “…if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you,…”  The next verse says, “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ,…”  You probably know 1 Nephi 3:7, “…the Lord giveth no commandements unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  According to this verse, it should be possible to keep every commandment.  So we are without excuse.  2 Nephi 25:23 says, “..;for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 

      So here is the question:  If you were in President Monson’s shoes, would you say that the King James Bible is “worthy” enough to be considered scripture or is it too focused on the “unworthy”?  Should the name, “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints” be associated with it?