From its beginning, the Church has not viewed the Bible as inerrant. Joseph Smith explained that “from sundry revelations which had been received, it was apparent that many important points, touching the Salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled.”1 One of these revelations came in 1828, while he was translating the Book of Mormon. Concerning the Bible, the Book of Mormon stated that this sacred work, when it was initially produced, “contained the fulness of the gospel of the Lord, of whom the twelve apostles bear record; and they bear record according to the truth which is in the Lamb of God.” But certain individuals abused the text and “have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men.” As a result, “an exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them” (1 Ne. 13:23–29).
The Prophet explained his personal position on the Bible, stating that he believed it “as it read when it came from the pen of the original writers; ignorant translators, careless transcribers, or designing and corrupt priests have committed many errors.”2 Nonetheless, the work is inspired and still stands as an indispensable leg of the four standard works on which Church doctrine sits. But, as Articles of Faith 1:8 makes very clear, “we believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.”
Joseph Smith’s understanding of the flawed nature of the Bible opened the way for, as he called it, “a new translation.” He did not confine his use of the word “translation” to the usual definition of rendering a text from one language to that of another. For the Prophet, the word comprised the “copying, editing, adding to, taking from, rephrasing, and interpreting” as well as the transmitting of a text.3 More specifically, the word pointed to his own work on the King James Version (KJV) that he designed to correct misunderstood or false ideas and teachings. But his work also included the restoration of missing background material and the addition of items that were never a part of the Bible’s sacred record.
The impetus to make a plainer translation did not, however, come from Joseph Smith’s understanding of the Bible’s errancy but from the Lord’s. No record of a revelation commissioning the Prophet to do the work is known, but it can be surmised based on other scriptures (see D&C 35:20; 45:60–61; 76:15). He began the work in June 1830 and, over the next three years, engaged at least five different clerks to assist him.4 With their help, he continued his efforts off and on until July 1833, when he declared the work finished.
There are differences between Joseph Smith’s translation and the KJV in 3,410 verses. These “range from minor details to fully reconstructed chapters.”5 Some of his changes resulted from his consultation of contemporary biblical scholarship, primarily the work of Adam Clarke (1760–1832), whose eight-volume commentary covered every book of the Bible.6 Most changes, however, were Smith’s own inspired work. Inadvertently, he translated two passages twice. These were Matthew 26 and 2 Peter 3:4–6. His changes to these texts were not exactly the same. In most cases, however, where “substantive content was added to the text, similar information was added in both of the new translations” but not with the same words and sometimes not in the same location.7 Even so, the same textual problems were noted and similarly addressed. These changes provide us with insight into how the translation process worked. As one scholar noted,
Joseph Smith taught that the Holy Ghost gives us “pure intelligence,” which serves in “expanding the mind [and] enlightening the understanding.” Under “the Spirit of Revelation,” “you feel pure Intelligence flowing unto you” that can “give you sudden strokes of ideas.” Perhaps it would be reasonable to propose that as Joseph Smith worked his way through Matthew 26, dictating the text to his scribe Sidney Rigdon in spring 1831 and again to his scribe John Whitmer the next fall, impressions came to his mind in the form of pure intelligence, enlightened understanding, and sudden strokes of ideas—but not necessarily in exact words. Responding to those impressions, the Prophet himself supplied the words that corrected the problem or emphasized the point or otherwise caused the verse to express the ideas that the Lord wanted it to communicate. This suggestion may explain why the duplicate translations are verbally different.8
The Prophet’s changes not only reinforced or clarified doctrinal points but also expanded or added new material. The manuscripts show that Joseph Smith struggled to get the wording exactly right in a number of places, perhaps because he knew the importance of the project to the Lord.9 By the time his rendition of the Bible was completed, he apparently felt confident that he had corrected the manifold problems of the King James text. In doing so, he produced a work of great value for the Restoration in clarifying a large number of biblical passages. However, its value does not stop there. One of its byproducts was additional revelations, many of which are now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.10
The manuscripts reveal five kinds of changes that the Prophet made to the text. These are as follows: (1) “restoration[s] of the original text,” (2) “restoration[s] of what was once said or done but which was never in the Bible,” (3) “editing to make the Bible more understandable for modern readers,” (4) “editing to bring biblical wording into harmony with truth found in other revelations or elsewhere in the Bible,” and (5) “changes to provide modern readers teachings that were not written by the original authors.”11
It is of note that virtually all changes the Prophet made were not directed at restoring the original texts but were doctrinal expansions and additions. “Joseph Smith’s labor on the Bible was to make it not a museum piece for antiquity but a living revelation for the Saints of the latter days. He was appointed to the work by God (see D&C 76:15), and God endorsed it in strong language: ‘And the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect’ (D&C 35:20).”12
Joseph Smith’s statement in July 1833 that he had finished the work did not mean, however, that the revision was ready for the press. Indeed, the various preserved manuscripts show that there was yet some inconsistency between passages, particularly those that had been translated twice, and they were most likely due to scribal error and inadvertence.13 These needed to be cleared up. In addition, “work still needed to be done to refine the verse divisions and to provide consistent spelling and punctuation. And some of the individual changes had resulted in unevenness in wording that had not yet been smoothed out. In short, although the inspired work of translating had been completed by Joseph Smith as far as was intended, the text was still in need of some editing when he died.”14 Possibly due to the press of Church business, the lack of financial means, and continued persecutions, a press-ready copy was never completed, and therefore the work remained unpublished during the Prophet’s lifetime.
Fortunately, the manuscripts of Joseph Smith’s Bible translation were preserved by members of his family until the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ) came into possession of the documents and, in 1867, published their first edition of the work. They entitled it “The Holy Scriptures.” In 1936, they printed a teacher’s edition containing study helps. To this edition, they appended the subtitle “Inspired Version,” which they have kept in all subsequent editions. In 1944, they issued a corrected edition that stands to this day and has proven to be very true to the manuscripts.
Through the gracious auspices of the Community of Christ, Latter-day Saint scholars and leaders beginning in the 1960s have been able to access the original material. This access has assuaged the concerns of those who held the “Inspired Version” suspect and has thereby heightened the desire of many Latter-day Saints to have access to this material. This desire was the impetus for a number of publications that showcased Joseph Smith’s changes.15 Among Latter-day Saints, the Prophet’s work is known as the “Joseph Smith Translation,” often noted as the JST. As a result of its importance and the growing interest by members and because of its status as scripture, the Church has incorporated many of the JST changes in the footnotes or appendix of the 1979 Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible.
The Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary series provides its readers with an in-depth analysis of each of the changes Joseph Smith made to the various texts comprising the New Testament. As a result, readers will gain a greater understanding of the significance of these changes and the contribution they make to many New Testament passages and the teachings of the Church.16
