Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/As the Church's official Bible

From FAIRMormon

FAIR: Defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1997 This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.

Question

"I am wondering why we don't use the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible as 'our' Bible. We use, of course, the Authorized ('King James') Version. We are not bashful about proclaiming Joseph Smith as the translator of the golden plates into The Book of Mormon, but it seems that we are less forward about his translation of the Bible."

See also: Source(s) of the criticism

Answer

Main article: Leaders "embarrassed" by JST?

The answer to this question is a complex one. There is no single reason why we don't use the JST as "our" Bible. Here are a few reasons, however:

1. The primary reason is that there is no revelation that has directed the Church to replace the KJV with the JST. Such a change would certainly require such a revelation to be submitted at General Conference and sustained by the members of the Church.
2. The original manuscripts for the JST were retained by Emma Smith when the Saints went west. She later gave them to her son, Joseph III, and he had the first JST Bible printed under the auspices of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At this time there was a great deal of animosity between the LDS and RLDS churches; Brigham Young believed that the RLDS church had tampered with the JST text and that it didn't accurately reflect Joseph Smith's original translation. This mistrust — along with the fact that the LDS Church did not own the copyright to the work — kept the Utah Saints from embracing the JST. It was only through Bruce R. McConkie's interest in and use of the JST, along with Robert Matthews' research on the JST manuscripts in the early 1970s, that these attitudes were reversed.
3. From a practical sense, adoption of the JST would be a stumbling block for converts. Not only are we asking them to accept Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, etc., but we'd also be requiring them to abandon their traditional Bible. We already do that to some extent — readers of the NIV have to learn to adopt the KJV — but we'd be asking them to go a step further and accept Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible, which no other church uses. In this sense, the KJV serves as a connection between the LDS Church and the remainder of the Christian world.
4. Portions of the JST have been canonized: Our Book of Moses and Joseph Smith—Matthew are excerpts from the JST.

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Joseph Smith Translation wiki articles

• And the Book of Mormon
• As a restoration of the original Bible text
• As the Church's official Bible
  • JST an embarrassment to leaders?
• Discrepancies Between Translations: Book of Mormon, King James Version, Joseph Smith Translation

FAIR web site

FAIR website on JST

• FAIR Topical Guide: Joseph Smith Translation of Bible FAIR link
  

External links

JST Off-site links

• Kevin L. Barney, "The Joseph Smith Translation and Ancient Texts of the Bible," Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 19 no. 3 (Fall 1986), 85–102. off-site
• Garold N. Davis, "Review of The Legacy of the Brass Plates of Laban: A Comparison of Biblical and Book of Mormon Isaiah Texts by H. Clay Gorton," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 123–129. off-site PDF link
• Cynthia L. Hallen, "Redeeming the Desolate Woman: The Message of Isaiah 54 and 3 Nephi 22," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7/1 (1998): 40–47. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
• Mark J. Johnson, "Review of The Legacy of the Brass Plates of Laban: A Comparison of Biblical and Book of Mormon Isaiah Texts by H. Clay Gorton," FARMS Review of Books 7/1 (1995): 130–138. off-site PDF link
• Dana M. Pike and David R. Seely, "'Upon All the Ships of the Sea, and Upon All the Ships of Tarshish': Revisiting 2 Nephi 12:16 and Isaiah 2:16," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14/2 (2005): 12–25. off-site PDF link wiki
• Stephen D. Ricks, "Review of The Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Mormon by Wesley P. Walters," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 235–250. off-site PDF link
• A. Don Sorensen, "The Problem of the Sermon on the Mount and 3 Nephi (Review of: “A Further Inquiry into the Historicity of the Book of Mormon,” Sunstone September–October 1982, 20–27)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 117–148. off-site PDF link
• Sidney B. Sperry, "The Book of Mormon and the Problem of the Pentateuch," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): 119–128. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
• Sidney B. Sperry, "The Book of Mormon and the Problem of the Sermon on the Mount," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): 153–165. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
• Sidney B. Sperry, "The Isaiah Quotation: 2 Nephi 12–24," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): 192–208. off-site PDF link wiki
• Sidney B. Sperry, "The "Isaiah Problem" in the Book of Mormon," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): 129–152. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
• Sidney B. Sperry, "Literary Problems in the Book of Mormon involving 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and Other New Testament Books," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 4/1 (1995): 166–174. off-site [No PDF link] wiki
• John A. Tvedtnes, "Isaiah in the Bible and the Book of Mormon (Review of: “Isaiah in the Book of Mormon: Or Joseph Smith in Isaiah.” In American Apocrypha: Essays on the Book of Mormon, 157–234.)," FARMS Review 16/2 (2004): 161–172. off-site PDF link
• W. John Welsh, "Why Didn't Joseph Correct KJV Errors When Translating the JST?", lightplanet.com off-site

Printed material

JST Printed Works

• Matthew B. Brown, "The Restoration of Biblical Texts," in All Things Restored, 2d ed. (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 2006),159–181. AISN B000R4LXSM. ISBN 1577347129.
• Robert J. Matthews, "A Plainer Translation": Joseph Smith's Translation of the Bible: A History and Commentary (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1985).

The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR) is a non-profit organization formed in late 1997 for the purpose of defending the Church. FAIR is staffed completely by volunteers, all of whom are dedicated to defending the Church. FAIR is not owned, controlled by, or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of FAIR and should not be interpreted as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief, or practice.