Gospel topic
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
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A portion of the Lord’s word that came through Joseph Smith and that has been partially ignored by many Latter-day Saints is found in the revisions he made by the spirit of revelation in the Bible itself. He prepared his New Translation for publication in his day, but the power of evil was so great, and the persecutions and drivings of the saints were so extensive and severe, that the work as then prepared did not come forth in that day. We have since published in the Pearl of Great Price the portions known as the Book of Moses and as the 24th chapter of Matthew. In 1979 the Church also published in the footnotes and appendix of their official Bible many of the major changes. There will, of course, be a future day when added revisions, made with prophetic power, will become part of the Stick of Judah.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
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It is generally understood that the Prophet Joseph Smith made a translation of the Bible, sometimes referred to as the "Inspired Version." The Church officially designated the Prophet's work as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST). The Church has never published a complete text of the Prophet's translation for several reasons: (1) The original manuscript is owned by the Community of Christ church (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or RLDS); (2) The Prophet's martyrdom prevented the work of translation from being completed; and (3) Church leaders were not able to ascertain the reliability of the transcription of the 1867, or any subsequent versions of the Inspired Version published by the RLDS Church. Therefore, the RLDS translation was generally regarded with skepticism by some Church authorities. This all changed when the historian of the RLDS Church gave Brother Matthews permission to examine the original text of manuscript. He was permitted to copy the original manuscript of the translation, and also the notes and markings made by Joseph Smith in a large pulpit-size edition of the King James Version of the Bible. His study changed the attitude of scholars, teachers and Church authorities about the reliability of the RLDS transcription of the original text. Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve gave public tribute to Brother Matthews as "the world authority on the Joseph Smith Translation" (Bruce R. McConkie, Symposium of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, Brigham Young University, Nov. 3, 1984). I was present in a meeting with the Quorum of Twelve Apostles when Elder Dallin H. Oaks presented to his associates some of the remarkable findings of Brother Matthews' study. He later addressed a symposium at BYU on the subject of "Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible" and testified that the JST "is a member of the royal family of scripture" that should not be neglected by members of the Church (Dallin H. Oaks, "Scripture Reading, Revelation and Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible," Symposium on Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible, Brigham Young University, January 14, 1995). ... Brother Matthews found that with very few exceptions, the transcription of the original manuscript that was published by the Herald Publishing House in 1944 as the "Holy Scriptures — Inspired Version" was an accurate and reliable transcription. The confidence in Brother Matthews' research and scholarship eventually enabled the Church to include hundreds of footnotes and extracts from the Inspired Version in the 1979 edition of the King James Version of the Bible, all done with the permission and cooperation of the RLDS Church.
Joseph Smith
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