JST – LDS Thought

The King James Bible and the Joseph Smith Translation

The King James Version of the Bible is likely the most honored English Bible ever published. It is also official Bible for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When the church was organized in 1830 the KJV was the de facto Bible for the English speaking world, and continued to be so until the 20th century. During the twentieth century many new English Bibles were published, several of which became popular: such as the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the New International Version (NIV), and the New King James Version (NKJV). By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century a number of other notable versions were published: the English Standard Version (ESV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), the Net Bible (NET), the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), and the New Living Translation (NLT).

After 1948 the rate at which English Bible translations were being published increased dramatically. From 1800 to 1900 the number of English Bibles increased at a rate of 0.31 per year. Continue reading “Mormons and the Bible: King James Version and the Joseph Smith Translation”

The traditional Protestant Bible consists of 66 books: 39 in the Old Testament (OT) and 27 in the New Testament (NT). The Greek word for testament is “diatheke…[which] in classical Greek [means] an arrangement, and therefore sometimes a will or testament, as in an arrangement for disposal of a person’s property after his death.” (“Bible”, LDS Bible dictionary). Diatheke corresponds to an OT word meaning covenant.

The LDS’ attitude toward the Bible is stated in our Articles of Faith: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” (Articles of Faith 1:8). The LDS cannon is referred to as the Standard Works which consists of the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

[color-box]FYI: when these books are bound into a single volume it is referred to as a quad.[/color-box] Continue reading “Mormons and the Bible: Missing Scripture and Inerrancy”