Latter-day Saint views on the Bible’s disputed passages
Every disputed passage in this collection, and how Latter-day Saint readers understand it — in their own terms, beside the full article with every other tradition’s reading.
Peter and the rock
Is Peter the rock on which the church is built, and does the papacy rest on this?
The rock is continuing revelation, and the keys are priesthood authority.
Latter-day Saints understand the rock as the principle of continuing divine revelation: a true witness of Christ comes only through the Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith taught that the Church is built upon the rock of revelation. The keys of the kingdom are literal priesthood authority to govern the Church and administer ordinances, given to Peter, James, and John, and restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the latter days.
Read the full article: Peter and the rock →Faith and works
Is a person justified by faith alone, or by works as well?
Salvation by grace after all we can do, through covenant obedience.
Latter-day Saints read James 2 as definitive biblical evidence against justification by faith alone; verse 24 is central, and the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies that true faith cannot coexist with respect of persons. Paul's phrase 'the deeds of the law' (Romans 3:20,28) is understood as a specific reference to the Law of Moses, not to all good works, commandments, or gospel ordinances; Romans 3:23 is contextualized by the rejection of original sin and total depravity. Ephesians 2:8-10 is synthesized with 2 Nephi 25:23 ('by grace we are saved, after all we can do')—grace is not merely unmerited favor but enabling power, and good works are the necessary response of a covenant-keeping disciple. Exaltation requires active obedience and covenant keeping, made possible by Christ's atonement.
Read the full article: Faith and works →This is my body
In what sense are the bread and wine Christ's body and blood?
The sacrament bread and water are memorial emblems of Christ's body and blood.
Latter-day Saints believe the sacrament is a memorial ordinance, not a literal transformation. The Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 26 adds 'in remembrance of' to 'my body' and 'my blood,' making the symbolic intent explicit. The atonement is understood to have occurred in Gethsemane and on the cross, and the sacrament renews baptismal covenants. John 6 is read as a spiritual metaphor for accepting Christ's atonement and internalizing his attributes. The sacrament is administered weekly with bread and water, emphasizing ongoing discipleship.
Read the full article: This is my body →Baptism
Is baptism necessary for salvation, and should infants be baptized?
Baptism by immersion is necessary; infants not baptized (age 8).
LDS teach John 3:5 requires water baptism and Spirit (confirmation) for entrance into celestial kingdom. Acts 2:38-39 outlines first principles: faith, repentance, baptism, gift of Holy Ghost. Infants are not baptized because they are alive in Christ until age of accountability. Baptism must be by proper authority.
Read the full article: Baptism →Predestination
Does God choose who will be saved, and on what basis?
Foreordination based on premortal valiance; moral agency preserved.
Rejects deterministic readings. Jacob and Esau election is foreordination to earthly callings based on premortal character, not causation. Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Joseph Smith Translation revises Exodus). Potter and clay reflect God's prerogative to assign roles, not arbitrary damnation. Members must exercise agency; lineage does not guarantee exaltation.
Read the full article: Predestination →Can salvation be lost?
Can a true believer fall away and be lost?
The warning describes sons of perdition, who deny after sure witness.
The Joseph Smith Translation changes verse 1 to 'not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ,' aligning with the LDS view that foundational principles are never abandoned but continuously built upon. Verses 1-2 are a major biblical parallel to the Fourth Article of Faith, which lists faith, repentance, baptism, and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The severe warning in verses 4-6 is interpreted through Doctrine and Covenants 76 as describing the 'sons of perdition': individuals who receive the Holy Ghost, taste the heavenly gift, and then completely deny it, committing the unpardonable sin. This requires a sure, personal witness and is not ordinary backsliding. The passage is invoked to emphasize the solemn gravity of temple covenants, but pastoral teaching reassures most members that they are not in this category.
Read the full article: Can salvation be lost? →Purgatory and prayer for the dead
Is there a purification after death, and do these texts teach it?
Not canonical for LDS, but it shows ancient vicarious rites.
Latter-day Saints do not include 1 or 2 Maccabees in their scriptural canon; Doctrine and Covenants 91 says the Apocrypha contains truth mixed with human interpolation and should be read with the Spirit. LDS theology has no purgatory but teaches a post-mortal spirit world where the gospel is preached and proxy ordinances can be performed. 2 Maccabees 12:43–46 is valued as historical evidence that ancient covenant people performed rites for the dead, which LDS see as a restoration of an ancient practice, not a scriptural mandate. 1 Corinthians 3 is read for its teaching on the temple of the body and progressive revelation.
Read the full article: Purgatory and prayer for the dead →The thousand years
What is the thousand-year reign, and will believers be caught up before the end?
The thousand years is a literal earthly millennium with Christ reigning.
Latter-day Saints receive Revelation 20 as a prophetic outline expanded by modern revelation. Satan is bound not merely by a chain but by the righteousness of the people (1 Nephi 22:26). The first resurrection includes the just; the rest wait until the end. They reject a pre-tribulation rapture; the gathering in 1 Thessalonians 4 occurs at the visible second coming to usher in the millennium. These texts motivate temple work and righteous living.
Read the full article: The thousand years →Women teaching in the church
May women teach and hold authority in the church?
Priesthood offices are male-only; women teach and lead auxiliaries.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, priesthood authority is conferred only on men, and 1 Timothy 2:11-12 is read in harmony with that practice. However, the Joseph Smith Translation of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 changes 'speak' to 'rule,' which Latter-day Saints understand to mean Paul forbade women from exercising priesthood presiding authority, not from speaking, teaching, or prophesying. Women in the Church regularly preach in sacrament meetings, teach in Sunday School and seminary, serve as missionaries, and lead the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary organizations. Thus, the passages restrict priesthood ruling authority, not all forms of speaking or teaching.
Read the full article: Women teaching in the church →Wives and husbands
What does submission between wives and husbands mean?
Husband presides in righteousness and sacrificial love; wives submit only to that.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that husbands are to preside in the family in love and righteousness, not through unrighteous dominion; Doctrine and Covenants 121 forbids compulsion and requires persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, and love unfeigned. Ephesians 5:25 is often cited to teach that a husband's headship is a mandate to give himself for his wife as Christ gave himself for the church. Wives are taught to submit to their husbands as to the Lord, but any abuse, domination, or neglect by the husband violates the divine order. The 'great mystery' in verse 32 is read as pointing to the eternal, exalting covenant of celestial marriage.
Read the full article: Wives and husbands →Same-sex relationships
What do these texts say about same-sex relations, and do they address orientation as understood today?
Reads these passages as part of the eternal Law of Chastity restricting sex to heterosexual marriage.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds that sexual intimacy is sacred and only lawful between a man and a woman married; Leviticus 18 preserves an ancient expression of that law. Romans 1:26-27 is read as condemning departure from 'natural use,' and 1 Corinthians 6 reinforces the body as temple, bought with a price. The Family: A Proclamation to the World formalizes this as revealed truth. Same-sex attraction is acknowledged but same-sex sexual behavior is considered a serious transgression; the church encourages compassion while maintaining its doctrinal standard.
Read the full article: Same-sex relationships →Male and female
What does "male and female he created them" say about sex and gender?
Gender is eternal; male and female are essential identities
Latter-day Saints teach that gender is an eternal characteristic, established before mortal birth, and that Genesis 1:27 reveals the creation of male and female as two essential, complementary identities. "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" (1995) states that gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose, and that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. Thus the text is used to affirm a binary understanding of sex and gender and to reject same-sex marriage and transgender identities. The tradition emphasizes that men and women have equal worth but different, complementary roles in the family and church. All are children of heavenly parents with divine potential.
Read the full article: Male and female →Psalm 137 and its curse
What is a curse on infants doing in the Psalms?
Historical grief; Zion vs Babylon; not behavioral model.
Latter-day Saint reception reads the exile through the Zion/Babylon dichotomy in the Doctrine and Covenants: Zion represents the pure in heart and gathered covenant community; Babylon represents spiritual captivity and wickedness. Verses 1–4 are an archetype of holding sacred covenants in a fallen world; the refusal to sing is understood as protecting the sacred from the profane. The imprecatory verses are generally read as ancient expressions of historical grief rather than behavioral models, though the destruction of Babylon typifies the apocalyptic end of the wicked at the Second Coming. The psalm encourages building 'stakes of Zion' while living as covenant-keepers in modern society.
Read the full article: Psalm 137 and its curse →Deuteronomy 22 and the violated woman
What did this law require, and how should its words be translated?
A Mosaic civil law fulfilled in Christ; its eternal principle is sexual accountability and protection of the innocent.
For Latter-day Saints, the Law of Moses was a strict law of performances and ordinances fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Consequently, the civic penalty of compulsory marriage is obsolete, while the underlying moral principles are eternal. The passage underscores the gravity of sexual transgression and the complete innocence of the victim of forced assault, a distinction echoed in Alma 39 and reaffirmed in modern Church teachings. It is read as evidence that God holds perpetrators accountable and requires them to make restitution, but the Church does not impose the ancient civil remedy. The focus is on prevention, justice, and pastoral care for those harmed.
Read the full article: Deuteronomy 22 and the violated woman →The binding of Isaac
Why does God command Abraham to sacrifice his son?
Abrahamic test; similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son.
Latter-day Saint tradition reads Genesis 22 through restoration scripture. The Joseph Smith Translation replaces "tempt" with "try" to clarify God tests but does not entice to evil. The Book of Mormon explicitly identifies Abraham's near-sacrifice as a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son (Jacob 4:5). Doctrine and Covenants invokes the chapter as the archetype for proving the Saints. The Book of Abraham's account of Abraham's own near-sacrifice in youth intensifies the reversal. The chapter grounds the "Abrahamic test" requiring total sacrifice of all things.
Read the full article: The binding of Isaac →Jephthah's daughter
Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter, and does the text approve?
Highly unlikely Jephthah performed human sacrifice; she was dedicated to tabernacle service.
The Church Educational System manual teaches that human sacrifice was forbidden and abhorrent, so a faithful judge would not contemplate it. The vow is understood as dedicating his daughter to lifelong service at the tabernacle, supported by her mourning her virginity rather than her life. The narrative serves as a cautionary lesson about rash or uninspired vows and attempting to bargain with the Lord. Jephthah's determination to follow through and the daughter's willing submission are noted as examples of grave seriousness about promises to God.
Read the full article: Jephthah's daughter →Not peace but a sword
What did Jesus mean by bringing a sword?
The gospel requires total loyalty to God, causing family division.
Latter-day Saints read vv. 34-37 as a blunt statement of the absolute priority of the gospel covenant: discipleship often divides families, but the covenant family of God takes precedence. The chapter is taught in missionary training to prepare missionaries for rejection and to understand that spiritual ties can surpass biological ones. This aligns with the LDS doctrine that the Church is the gathered Israel, and converts may need to forsake father and mother in a spiritual sense. The command to take up one's cross (v. 38) is applied as enduring persecution and sacrificing personal desires for the sake of the Kingdom.
Read the full article: Not peace but a sword →Your father the devil
Whom are these sayings addressed to, and how have they been misused?
Following Satan makes one his child; not about lineage; the devil is real.
Latter-day Saints read John 8:44 as teaching that Satan is a real spirit who rebelled against God and became a murderer and liar. Those who follow him become his spiritual children. This is about individual choice, not lineage. In 1 Thessalonians, LDS attention falls on Paul's apostolic authority and self-support, not on the polemic against "the Jews." The tradition teaches that all people are children of God by birth but can become children of the devil by rebellion. Thus the passage is not about ethnicity.
Read the full article: Your father the devil →No one comes to the Father except through me
Is salvation found only through Christ, and what does that mean for other faiths?
Christ is the only Savior, but all will have opportunity to accept him.
Latter-day Saints read John 14:6 as teaching that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ, whose atonement is essential for all people. They connect John 14:2, 'many mansions,' with Doctrine and Covenants 76 to teach varying degrees of heavenly glory, not the same reward for all. Latter-day Saint doctrine holds that those who did not receive the gospel in mortality will have the opportunity to accept Christ in the spirit world, so the exclusivity of Christ does not mean only present-day Christians can be saved. Thus the verse affirms Christ's unique role while extending hope beyond visible Christianity.
Read the full article: No one comes to the Father except through me →Virgin or young woman?
Does Isaiah's almah mean 'virgin' or 'young woman', and is the verse about Jesus?
Prophetic dualism: immediate sign and supreme messianic prophecy of Jesus
Latter-day Saint tradition, preserving Isaiah 7 in 2 Nephi 17, reads the Immanuel prophecy through prophetic dualism or multiple fulfillments. Leaders like Jeffrey R. Holland teach that the prophecy served an immediate historical purpose, a child born in Ahaz's time whose birth and maturation acted as a divine timer for the destruction of the coalition. Simultaneously and supremely, it is a messianic prophecy pointing to the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Ahaz's rejection represents a catastrophic failure of faith, trusting the arm of flesh rather than covenant promises. The chapter is cited in Christmas devotionals to celebrate Christ's miraculous birth.
Read the full article: Virgin or young woman? →The longer ending of Mark
Did Mark's Gospel end at 16:8, and what of the verses after it?
Longer ending is doctrinally authentic; v.16 makes authorized baptism essential.
Latter-day Saints affirm the doctrinal authenticity of vv.9–20 on the basis that the resurrected Christ quotes vv.15–18 in the Book of Mormon (Mormon 9:22–24). Verse 16 is read literally: water baptism by proper priesthood authority is an essential ordinance for salvation, and the omission of baptism from the condemnation clause does not reduce its necessity. The signs in vv.17–18 are expected in the restored church as continuing promises. Verse 19 is read literally to distinguish the Father and the Son.
Read the full article: The longer ending of Mark →The Johannine Comma
Is the explicit Trinitarian line in 1 John 5 original?
Latter-day Saints retain the KJV text but interpret 'these three are one' as unity of purpose.
The standard Latter-day Saint Bible retains the King James Version, including the Comma, though the Joseph Smith Translation does not restore an original reading for this verse. LDS authorities such as James E. Talmage teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct personages united in purpose, mind, and witness, not one being of consubstantial essence as in Nicene orthodoxy. The passage is read alongside the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, which shape LDS understanding of the Godhead. Thus the line, whether original or not, is interpreted in harmony with their own modern revelation.
Read the full article: The Johannine Comma →Divorce and the exception clause
When, if ever, may a marriage be ended and another begun?
Temple sealing is eternal; civil divorce does not dissolve the covenant.
Latter-day Saints read verse 6 through the lens of the 'new and everlasting covenant of marriage' in Doctrine and Covenants 132. A marriage performed by priesthood authority in a temple is joined by God for eternity, and secular law cannot sever that bond. Civil divorce is recognized for legal purposes, but the sealing remains unless a cancellation of sealing is granted by proper authority. This shapes pastoral care and family teaching, encouraging members to seek temple sealings and to prioritize eternal family relationships.
Read the full article: Divorce and the exception clause →Tithing
Must Christians tithe, and does giving bring material blessing?
Tithing is required; obedience brings material and spiritual blessings.
In Latter-day Saint teaching, Malachi 3 is among the most important Old Testament chapters, quoted by the resurrected Christ in the Book of Mormon. The law of tithing requires ten percent of one's income, and faithful payment is a condition for temple entry. The promises of opened windows and rebuking the devourer are taken literally as blessings that follow obedience. The storehouse is the Church's welfare and administrative system, and tithing funds the Church's global mission.
Read the full article: Tithing →Obeying the government
Must Christians obey every government, and are there limits?
Two readings: civic obedience from KJV; ecclesiastical authority from JST.
The Joseph Smith Translation heavily revises Romans 13:1-7 to refer not to secular government but to authority within the Church: the 'powers' are in the church, and tribute becomes consecrations. However, Latter-day Saints also retain the King James Version reading as authoritative for civil government, harmonized with the twelfth Article of Faith and Doctrine and Covenants 134, which affirm the divine institution of civil government. Thus they teach obedience to secular law and honest payment of taxes, while also applying the JST to sustaining Church leaders and paying tithes. In practice, Latter-day Saints are active in civic life but believe government is limited by God and does not override religious duties. Obedience to civil authority is therefore important but not absolute.
Read the full article: Obeying the government →Judge not
What did Jesus forbid when he said "Judge not"?
Forbids unrighteous judgment, but requires righteous intermediate judgments.
The Joseph Smith Translation changes the wording to "Judge not unrighteously, that ye be not judged; but judge righteous judgment." Latter-day Saint teaching distinguishes between final judgments, which belong to God alone, and intermediate judgments, which people must make in daily life about safety, morality, and spiritual claims. This reading is used to support the exercise of discernment without condemning another person's eternal standing. Church members are encouraged to judge righteously by the standards of revealed truth and the Spirit.
Read the full article: Judge not →Creation and the age of the earth
Are the days of Genesis 1 literal, and what do these chapters teach about origins?
Days are creative periods; earth organized from eternal matter.
Latter-day Saints read Genesis 1 alongside the Book of Moses, Book of Abraham, and temple liturgy, which lead them to reject creation out of nothing. Joseph Smith taught that the Hebrew word for 'created' means to organize existing materials, so the earth was formed from unorganized chaos. The plural 'let us make man' is understood as a council of divine beings, including God the Father, Jesus Christ, and others. The days are typically understood as creative periods rather than necessarily literal 24-hour days, though some members may hold literal views.
Read the full article: Creation and the age of the earth →