Scripture Bibliography

This new scripture bibliography database, compiled by Brigham Young University Religion and Ancient Studies librarian Ryan Combs, allows users to access bibliographic entries for over seven thousand books, book reviews, pamphlets, tracts, speeches, talks, journal articles, and other media. These publications span 1830–1996, and the database is not yet complete; materials leading up to the present are still being added and eventually will give users ready access to an even greater library of resources.

Users can make good use of the scripture bibliography database in many ways. Researchers can search a specific publication for materials related to a given topic, thus accessing the relevant contents in each of these resources. Included titles are the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, the Book of Mormon Onomasticon, BYU Studies, FARMS Review, and the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, among others.

In addition, a useful feature of this database is its reverse scripture index, which allows users to search the standard works by book, chapter, or verse. Results will show what specifically has been said about a certain scripture or where citations to verses appear in the different materials. Users can also search by author, title, keyword, and range of years.

Other reverse scripture indexes are available, though they differ in scope and format. Perhaps the best known of these is the LDS Scripture Citation Index. That database, created by two BYU professors, draws solely from the Journal of Discourses, general conference talks, and Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. That citation index also has a mobile app for iOS and Android.

Though not yet designed for mobile devices, the Scripture Bibliography compiled by Ryan Combs is more expansive and much of its material is academic in nature. This database is available to all and will be especially helpful to researchers, seminary and institute teachers, Gospel Doctrine teachers, and anyone wanting to engage in a serious study of scholarly research on topics found in the LDS scriptures.