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The Community of Christ, recognizes three books of Scripture, and uses them as additional insight into
the mind and will of God for His people, both as individuals
and as a church:
- The Bible: A library of writings, documenting the
history and a record of God's interaction with people in the "old world", the
area around Jerusalem, covering the period from the creation story (as
recorded by the prophet Moses in the book of Genesis) through the Old and New
Testaments, ending with the Book of Revelation, outlining the future healing
of the world, according to God's plan, as revealed though
the Apostle John.
- The Book of Mormon: A God-centered abridgement of a library of
writings, recorded on metal plates by the commandment of God, which documents the history,
migrations, and a record of God's interaction with people in the "new world",
the Western hemisphere. These people are a remnant of the house of Israel,
who were led to this "promised land" by the power of God. The record of three
groups of people are included in today's Book of Mormon, covering the period from
the Tower of Babel to around 421 A.D.:
- The people of Jared (Jaredites), who were led away from the "great tower at the
time that the Lord confounded the language of the people and swore in his wrath that they
should be scattered upon all the face of the earth..." Ether 1:7
- The people of Mulek (Mulekites), the son of King Zedekiah, king of Judah.
- The people of Nephi (Nephites), who were led out of Jerusalem by the power of God,
speaking through the prophet Lehi (a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah), just before
the city fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Descendants of these people were
visited by the resurrected Jesus Christ after his crucifixion, and record their story of
his powerful ministry among them in the book of 3rd Nephi.
- The Book of Doctrine and Covenants: A history and
record of God's interaction with people in America and the rest of the world,
since the early 1800s, as He has worked among us to restore His church and
ministry to the earth in these latter days. This book is an open canon
of scripture, updated last on April
2004, which
continues to be updated as God speaks to His world.
All three books of scripture testify of the divinity of Jesus Christ, his unconditional
love for each of us -- his creation, and his desire for all persons to choose to follow
him, and to prepare themselves in THIS LIFE for living eternally WITH HIM, in the present
AND in the future! We invite you to explore these
scriptures with us, and find out how God can speak through them, to your life
situations today.
Here's
one testimony of the divinity of the scriptures that God has given to the world,
based on the presence of a language structure known as 'chiasms'. Two
formats are available:
Click on either link above, to download the appropriate
document.
The content of both is the same - only the formatting and layout differs. (Note: This is a large document, and so will take some time to
download - be patient. Also, for best results, plan to PRINT the booklet document, using the
2-sided option of your printer: FILE/PRINT, select PROPERTIES, select
Print on both sides, select "landscape", OK and OK.) |
