LDS Articles of Faith: 8

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

What does "word of God" mean? Its difficult to address how I feel about this Article of Faith without defining the parts of it. Does "word of God" mean literal truth? Does it mean elements of truth or inspiration? Does it mean God is literally the author and all aspects of these books are His words?

If the answer to that last question is "yes," then I don't believe this Article of Faith. If this Article of Faith is saying the Bible and Book of Mormon are inspired, then I do believe this Article of Faith.

I have not read the Old Testament completely, and I slept through that year of seminary. Its hard for me to come to any conclusions based off personal experiences. I can say that Genesis is a good read. I like the stories that are found in that book. Exodus is a pretty amazing story as well, and helps unify a group of people with a shared history dealing with hardship and persecution. (You see this same theme in early Mormon history as well.)
I don't view the Bible as a literal history of the entire earth. I see it more as a combination of stories and folklore for a group of people who were in the middle east. I don't believe the flood covered the entire planet. I see the Tower of Babel (and other Bible stories) as allegories more than true history.

I do feel that the New Testament is about the life and teachings of Christ, as well as the early Christian Church. I don't believe every single word is either from God, or mistranslated. I do believe Christ was a real person. I do believe leaders in the early Christian church wrote most of the New Testament, but I don't believe they wrote it all as inspiration. I believe personal views were slipped in and blended into doctrine. I haven't come to a conclusion yet about Christ being the Savior of the world however.

To me, the Bible is a lot like Watership Down. They both have wonderful, powerful and strong messages, but they aren't literal truths. I've felt the Spirit while reading Watership Down, and I do see Hazel (the protagonist) as a Christ-like character. I cried several times while reading the book, and I do remember feeling a "Truth" about it. Not a truth meaning that there were in group of sentient rabbits in England, fleeing from their home to a new home. But a "Truth" in the defining the meaning of life and treating others. There is the same type of "Truth" in the Bible.

I feel the same way about the Book of Mormon. I want the Book of Mormon to be true. I think that makes me different from a lot of the people in the DAMU, and one reason I can't consider myself a NOM. I see the Book of Mormon in part as a collection of journal entries written by a group of people who left Jerusalem and sailed to America. However, I don't believe the Nephites/Lamanites are the forefathers of the entire American continents. I believe they comprised a small subset of people, and they blended with other occupants of the Americas.

I started rereading the Book of Mormon (for the first time in at least 3 years). Its one of my on the side reading projects, but I am reading it to look for hints in the text regarding whether or not the Nephites/Lamanites are the sole forefathers of the continent. I've only gotten through 1 Nephi so far, however.

Both these topics are subjects for endless debate.