The Epistle to the Hebrews and the Book of Mormon

I noticed as I read the book of Hebrews recently that there are a lot of parallels between the language of the epistle and that of the Book of Mormon.  There are many phrases in Hebrews which use very similar words as Book of Mormon passages.  Here are a few that I found:

·         In Hebrews we read that God is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).  In the Book of Mormon, Ammon taught King Lamoni that God “knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Alma 18:32).  King Benjamin also used the same phrase but with the reverse meaning: a man cannot know the Lord if He “is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart” (Mosiah 5:13).  It’s also interesting that in D&C 33:1 this verse from Hebrews is quoted almost in its entirety. 

·         Paul wrote a couple of times about the need to “hold fast” to our faith.  He encouraged the Hebrews to “hold fast our profession” and to “hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering” (Hebrews 4:14, 10:23).  Nephi also used the phrase in connection with the dream of Lehi.  The people were “holding fast to the rod of iron”, and Nephi subsequently encouraged his brothers to “hearken unto the word of God” and “hold fast unto it” (1 Nephi 8:30, 15:24).

·         Paul wrote about the Priesthood and spoke about how Christ was “a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 5:6).  Similarly Alma spoke of mortals who had “become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years” (Alma 13:9).  The last phrase of that passage seems to echo Paul’s words in Hebrews 7 that the priesthood would be “without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life” (Hebrews 7:3).

·         Paul encouraged the Saints in his epistle with this language: “Lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” (Hebrews 6:18-19).  The language clearly reminds us of the words of Moroni as he wrote about Ether and the Jaredites: “Whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast” (Ether 12:4).  I love how the key words of Paul’s encouragement are woven into the Book of Mormon text to give us not a quotation but a powerful parallel between the two texts.

·         Paul gave us a little history when he wrote about Abraham and Melchizedek: “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem” (Hebrews 7:1-2).  Alma similarly taught that “it was this same Melchizedek to whom Abraham paid tithes; yea, even our father Abraham paid tithes of one-tenth part of all he possessed…. Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem” (Alma 13:15, 17).

·         Paul spoke of those who “sin wilfully” with this language: “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:27).  Likewise Alma taught his son Corianton after he had committed grievous sins: “Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them” (Alma 40:14).

·         Paul gave us this testimony of the Savior: “Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).  In similar language Jacob spoke of righteous mortals “who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 9:18).

Critics of course would suggest that Joseph Smith just plopped in some New Testament phrases as he wrote the Book of Mormon.  But to me these similar passages are far from simple plagiarism but rather complex parallels that bear witness that the same Spirit inspired both scriptural texts.  One of the Book of Mormon purposes is to “establish the truth of the [Bible]” and these parallel passages from Hebrews—and there are many more from the rest of the Old and New Testament—are just one more way that the Book of Mormon fulfills this mission (1 Nephi 13:40, see here for a much more in depth discussion on this topic).