Mormon biblical scholars on the Bible and Book of Mormon

Peggy Fletcher Stack interviews Mormon biblical scholars Philip Barlow, Patrick Mason, Julie Smith, Eric Huntsman, about how “And it came to pass, one day the Book of Mormon overtook the Bible — in LDS eyes” specifically the role President Ezra Taft Benson played.

“‘Mormons have developed a kind of amnesia towards the Bible since 1980,’ says Philip Barlow, a Utah State University historian. ‘It really has changed the consciousness of Mormons. They don’t bear testimony of the truthfulness of the Bible much these days, but really specify the Book of Mormon.’

And when Latter-day Saints talk about their scriptural heroes, he says, they are not talking about Noah, Gideon or David, but rather Nephi, Alma, and Moroni— figures from the faith’s unique text.”

And Julie Smith weighed in:

“The Book of Mormon gives just one record of Jesus’ sojourn in the Americas, unlike the four New Testament Gospels, says Julie M. Smith, an LDS New Testament scholar in Austin, Texas. ‘Christ doesn’t interact with individuals to the same extent or with women. There are no exorcisms. It’s generally a really different portrait than in the Bible.'”