Why do so many Mormons misinterpret the Bible?

Question

DISCLAIMER: Before getting bent out of shape (as some inevitably do, despite their bravest intentions to the contrary), please read this as a thought-provoking question on relativity, not as an accusative question aimed at one particular religion. The inspiration for this question is cited below, where the alternative viewpoint is very well represented and documented.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhnAQRSP3nvhhH6_6ZmeFhnsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071017060008AAgneZ0&show=7#profile-info-ifvHIpZ8aa

My goal is to contemplate the psychological principles of proximity and projection as they relate to conflicting religious interpretations of scripture.

For example, many LDS think that Ezekiel 37 (stick of Judah/Ephraim) refers to the Book of Mormon but entirely forget the context of the verse. The entire chapter is talking about the separation of the two kingdoms (Judah, headed by the Judaic tribe, and Israel, headed by the Ephraimic tribe), who were constantly at war. The prophecy was stating that the kingdoms would one day be rejoined. Israelite and Judaic kings often carried staffs or rods, which is the significance of the "sticks" of Judah (two staffs in one hand; i.e., both kingdoms governed by one King, being the Messiah). There are very few references in Jewish history to a "stick" referring to a scroll or book, but such references to kingdoms and kings are commonplace, especially in 650-700 BC, which was Ezekiel's time.

Another LDS misinterpretation is Isaiah 29:13-14, which LDS people also say refers to the BoM. Again, within the context of the chapter, it can easily be understood as referring to the Book of Life, which is protected by the Seventh Seal, to be opened only upon the return of the Messiah.

Anyway, as stated, it is not my intent to single out or fault-find the Mormons. After all, I am myself a Mormon by affiliation (although I'm a nondenominationalist by belief).

The real question is this:

Can the tendency to believe that "the other guys" are the misinterpreters be reduced to the psychological principles of projection and proximity, or is there something more to it?

Thank you for your honest answer, Gumby. It was very "unshitty"! ;)

Thank you as well Bowman, for your edit. I think you hit the nail right on the head. I might add a few motivations to the polygamy enigma, but I think your analysis is quite poignant.

Sherpa and Fotomama: Thank you. That is exactly my point. I have misinterpreted the Bible as well. None of us are above it. This is why context is important. This is why the question is referring to the psychology of the phenomenon, and not the phenomenon itself.

Answer 1

Well we're in good company. The Jehovah's Witnesses are notorious for misinterpreting the Bible. The Born-Agains do it. The Catholics do it. I'm sure that you have done it too. The problem is that the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek and it's easy to misinterpret. Heck, it's easy enough to misinterpret English!

While your additional points are, for the most part accurate, our views are valid as well.

Answer 2

I actually do not think any person, no matter what religion, can interpret the bible 100% perfectly because no one is perfect. There may even be some things the prophet cannot interpret 100% (unless he needed to I guess) because he is also not perfect...but, I do believe the prophet is the closest to perfect so I will trust and have faith that what he teaches and what his counselors teach is true.
Also, if I have a question or something that cannot be answered by the church leaders, I will go to the Lord in prayer and ask. Sometimes there are things we don't really need to know anyways, so there isn't really an "answer"...
Of course, I feel that "our" interpretation is correct or I wouldn't be a member of this church. And of course, others feel as though they are correct. That is fine. We all have our agency and we all learn in different ways and at different times.
I did see that other question and didn't answer it because I thought, well, it could be said the same of us. Obviously we all interpret things differently, even members of the LDS church differ on things, but I think it basically comes down to what we believe individually and if that works for that person, that is what works. No one can "make" another person believe the way they do... the only one who can truly convert is the Holy Ghost. I don't expect others to trust me or what I say - I rely on the Lord for my own personal answers and since I believe that what his prophets say is the same as if he said it himself, that makes it a lot easier to know what is right and wrong.
Hopefully that makes some sense.

Answer 3

Isaiah is one of the most difficulty books to understand for he mostly spoke metaphorically. Ezekiel did the same thing. Remember, sticks that is talked about in Ezekiel 37 is about the scrolls that many holy men and priest of the temple wrote on for their records. When Ezekiel was alive, the northern kingdom had already been destroyed and scattered. Also, why is there still not any records of the northern kingdom in existence today from their destruction by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. (C.E.)? We can go on forever in this debate about who interprets the Bible correctly and who doesn't, but will that get us any closer to understanding each other or the scriptures. I believe we need to do some hard studying and pray for a better understanding of the words inspired by God.

Answer 4

Do Mormons use a Biblical passage to highlight their existing belief. OK I'm guilty. This does not mean that it is not a possible interpretation? One of several? If I back it up with quotes from Isaiah and Revelation about the Book of Mormon, does this make any difference?

My purpose in quoting the Bible is to open the eyes of those who use scripture negatively. Here, you will only accept what is in the Bible, then read this.

Answer 5

first, bonger guy...we do not wear crotchless underwear, nor do we believe that the underwear that we do wear is magic. Okay, now on to the real question... i think it's human nature, for everyone-i think everything in life is intrepreted based on our own beliefs, or own zealousness to prove something right. We can simply "overlook" the opposing points. When it comes to the bible, i think every religion is at fault for this. We only quote verses that fit into our nice neat box of what we can understand, and what we CHOOSE to believe. For example, denominations that believe we are saved on grace alone quote ephesians 2:8-9 like it's going out of style, but choose to ignore countless other verses that state that works is also necessary. It plainly states in that faith without works is dead in James 2. But because it doesn't fit with what they choose to believe, the claim all the other verses are misintrepreted or out of context. All religions fall under this for at least one concept or belief. That is why there are so many other versions of the bible, because people intrepret them to fit with their teachings. Religion is a box, if it doesn't fit in the box, it gets pushed to the side or molded unitl it fits. The fact of the matter is only God has all the answers, the rest of us are just trying to fill in the gaps. But as far as mormons go, of course things can be misintrepreted, but at least we use the KJV of the bible- instead of a bible that has essentially gone through a game of telephone. But even then there are hebrew words in the original bible that just do not have an english translation, and that is where a lot of confusion comes from. Words were used that were closest to the original form, but doens't mean the same thing. And unless you are a scholar of the time period written, there are so many cultural things that come into paly as well that for the average person are very difficult to discifer correctly. That is why we have a modern day prophet, and the book of mormon. To help us fill in those holes. But the bottom line is, like i said before, we are human, and we don't know everything- only God does. Until God himself confirms yes or no, we are ALL going on faith, belief and assumption. And when it comes to all three of those things, they can mean very different things to different people.

Answer 6

I think the great thing about scripture is that can be applied and understood in different ways. The sticks could very easily refer to both the kingdoms, and the scriptures. Like in Isaiah 14, it talks about the king of Babylon as Lucifer lifting himself above God. It talks about both persons, the king and Lucifer.

I guess my point is that just because we "know" that a verse or chapter means one thing. It doesn't mean that it can't mean something else as well.

Answer 7

While the messages do talk about Physical things, they can also have spiritual messages. That's why a prophet is needed. Man is flawed and can make mistakes. But when a Prophet of God is given a interpretation of the Scriptures by God. Then I have a tendancy to believe it quicker then someone who says they went to school to understand the scriptures.

Answer 8

To answer your question with a question, why does
EVERYONE misinterpret the bible?

But yes, you are quite correct. The misinterpretations are due to people wishing ot make their religion work for the people they are projecting to. Think about it: If you look completely neutrally at each religion and its practices, and link them to the times of their founding, you'll see that they have used the bibles message to their advantage. The Roman Catholics have practices very similar to the pagans with their prayers to the saints, I think they are kind of like a good plagiarism of them. And Mormons are not exempt, polygamy was a survival tool they used when they did the migration, and they used the bible to justify it.

I think nobody really, truly understands the bible and all its meanings, so we do the best with what we have.

All religions do it to a certain extent. But, I think that one day, God will sort it out and we'll all have graham crackers. ^_^

Answer 9

Yes, it is true that Mormons may sometimes misinterpret the Bible, but I am not quite sure about the examples that you refer to. We are only human though so we do not have a perfect understanding of things. You may be able to find more information on this subject at www.mormon.org
Thank you for asking this in a respectful way. Good luck.

Answer 10

I don't really question whether anyone else is misinterpreting the bible. (haha, I bet you think I'm going to say I know they're misinterpreting it). I only care about how I interpret the bible (and the B of M for that matter). And then I do my best to live by that.