"Oh, that I suppose is the Mormon Bible?"
"No, sir; the 'Mormon' Bible is the same as that which is received throughout Christendom, commonly known as the King James translation. We use no other Bible. The Book of Mormon is a record of the history and revelations of God to the people who formerly inhabited the Western Hemisphere, while the Bible records the history and revelations given upon the Eastern continent. They both run together and harmonize, being inspired with the same spirit, but they are separate and distinct, and the Book of Mormon is not called the Bible by the Latter Day Saints."
"Well, is not the Book of Mormon an addition to the Bible, and is it not in violation of the last chapter in the Bible, which says, 'If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book?'" (Rev. xxii: 18.)
"It is an addition to the Bible in one sense of the term, but not in the sense of the prohibition which you have cited. Man is forbidden to add to the words of the book which John the Beloved wrote by divine command, and is called the Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation. Compilers place that book last in the canon of scripture, but scholars state that the epistles of John were written later than the Revelation. Be that as it may, John himself must proclaim further revelation after writing the book, for he was told while in the vision, 'Thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings.' (Rev. x: 11.) There is no contradiction in this, because God, through His servants, or in any way He pleases, may reveal His will, give commandments and manifest light and truth. It is preposterous to think that God sealed up His own lips when He merely forbade man to add to what He reveals. That is a standing commandment, as it was embodied in the Mosaic law. 'Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it.' (Deut. iv: 2.) The common rendering of the words in the Book of Revelation when applied to the law given thousands of years before, would make all the prophets and apostles and Jesus Christ Himself transgressors of the commandment. It simply means that when God reveals anything, man shall not add to or take from that which He communicates."
"But, seeing that we have the word of God, the Bible, and Christian churches teaching what is in the Bible, what need is there of another church and another revelation?"
"The very fact that there are so many conflicting churches, all professing to establish their opposing creeds upon the Bible, is evidence of itself that something more is needed, to set mankind right on the doctrine of Christ and make the word of God plain to the common understanding. No two churches or religious organizations understand the Scriptures alike. Even preachers of the same denomination disagree as to the meaning of certain passages, and Christendom, so-called, is therefore a very Babel of confusion. 'God is not the author of confusion.'" (I. Cor. xiv: 33.)
"But, do you mean to say that the Book of Mormon will set these matters right and clear up all that is obscure in the Bible?"
"No, we do not make any such claim as that. The Book of Mormon merely discloses what was taught on this land centuries ago by divine commandment and revelation, as the Bible relates what was taught ages ago in Palestine, except that the Book of Mormon is very much plainer and couched in much simpler language. But it is valuable as casting light on the Jewish scriptures and in being the record of God's dealings with a large portion of the human family, who could not be reached by the prophets and apostles who ministered on the Eastern Hemisphere. It gives an account of a visit made by Jesus Christ after His resurrection, to the people on this land, and the establishment among them of His church, organized on the same pattern as the church in Palestine, with the same doctrines, ordinances, gifts and blessings. All this being made much more definite than it is in the Jewish scriptures, the Book of Mormon is therefore a great aid to the understanding of Christian truth. But we do not depend upon any book for the gospel which we preach or the order of the church to which we belong."
"Do you not, then, take your doctrines, authority and church discipline from either the Book of Mormon, or the Bible or both?"
"No, sir. Everything in our church organization, its principles, ordinances, authority and administrations, has been revealed directly from Heaven in the nineteenth century. We refer to the Bible and the Book of Mormon to show that our church and all pertaining to it are exactly similar to what Christ set up and organized when He was on earth in both hemispheres and that He is 'the same yesterday, today and forever.'"