Scott H. Faulring, Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds., Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible: Original Manuscripts (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004) 17-25.

The New Translation and Latter-day Saint Doctrine

According to the Book of Mormon, the Bible originally contained the fullness of the gospel in doctrinal plainness. But after the days of the Old Testament prophets, and again after the New Testament era, changes were made in it to such an extent that it no longer contains the revealed word in completeness and clarity (see 1 Ne. 13:24-29). The problem today lies not in our inability to translate ancient languages but in the absences of original or other adequate manuscripts. The heavy loss of gospel truth that resulted from the removal of “plain and precious things” from the Bible (1 Ne. 13:28) has coincided with a worldwide apostasy, so that for centuries the world has seen neither an adequate Bible nor a church that teaches the fullness of the gospel. As an early and fundamental part of the restoration of the Lord’s Church to the earth, the Prophet Joseph Smith was commanded to make a revelatory translation of the Bible, which restored lost text and lost teachings and contributed to the doctrinal base of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible has not received the attention it deserves and has not been recognized for the important contributions it has made to Latter-day Saint scripture and doctrine. It has been neglected and even ignored by some LDS scripture scholars and historians. Perhaps there are two reasons for this: (1) Because the JST is a Bible, Church historians have not sensed its connection with latter-day revelation, scripture, or events in church history. On the other hand, (2) because the JST is not a translation of the Bible in the usual sense, some LDS students of the Bible have not regarded it as a translation at all, nor even as a serious biblical document. As a consequence, the JST has to some degree been relegated to the incorrect status of a second-class citizen in the house of LDS scholarship. For example, a 1994 examination of every book listed under the heading of Doctrine and Covenants in the catalogue of the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University revealed that even though there are many publications that discuss the origin, history, and content of the Doctrine and Covenants, few contain any mention of the JST, and only one author clearly discussed the role of the JST as a contributing factor to the content of the Doctrine and Covenants and thus to the doctrine of the Church. This was surprising because the translation of the Bible is referred to several times in the text of the Doctrine and Covenants and at least thirty-six times in the History of the Church.¹

The Bible, in spite of its deficiencies, is still a marvelous record of God’s dealings with humankind, and it is the only scripture that preserves for us the accounts of Jesus’ mortal ministry. Yet the Prophet Joseph Smith, even as a boy, discovered that the Bible was sufficiently vague in some very important doctrinal matters that it actually created confusion instead of offering clear answers. His experience was that “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible” (JS—H 1:12). This condition led him to pray for information, which resulted in the First Vision, thus giving him information by new revelation. Joseph Smith also noticed that the angel Moroni quoted various passages “with a little variation” from how they read in the Bible (JS—H 1:36; see 1:37-40). Such experiences must have given him, even at an early age, an awareness that the nineteenth-century bible without additional revelation was an insufficient guide.

A Primary Source for Doctrine

Much can be said about how important original documents could be in the study of the bible. The original sources of the Joseph Smith Translation are no less important. Without an examination of the original manuscripts prepared by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his scribes, one can overlook the fact that the real purpose of the JST is to be a primary source of doctrine and to strengthen the Bible as a witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel. When reading printed passages of the New Translation—including the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith-Matthew in the Peal of Great Price—one often notices how similar the JST is in doctrine and language to the Doctrine and Covenants. From the published sources alone, it would generally be impossible to discover which of the two came first. It is sometimes heard that Joseph Smith “Mormonized the Bible,” that is, that he “corrected” it on the basis of what he already knew about the gospel to make it conform to LDS teachings. One prominent Church writer, William E. Berrett, promoted this concept in a textbook that was used in the Church school system for many years. In discussing the JST, he said that “the work was limited to those parts of the Bible upon which divine revelation had been received.”² Dr. Berrett was one of the few in those days who mentioned the JST in his writings, but unfortunately he did not have the benefit of access to the original manuscripts.

When in 1968 the opportunity arose for Robert J. Matthews to examine the original JST manuscripts in the archives of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now the Community of Christ), it was with the encouragement and support of Dr. Berrett that he was able to go to Independence, Missouri, and make the study. At that time, the sole purpose in his mind was to compare the published editions of the RLDS Inspired Version with the original sources to determine if the published editions were accurate. This was a fruitful exercise requiring weeks of diligent effort. And he was happy to learn that in the main, the printing by the RLDS Church correctly reflects the text of the manuscripts, except for some adjustments yet to be made. To examine the originals over many months was inspiring. The task was significant because the RLDs Church had not previously made the manuscripts available for research, and no Latter-day Saint had seen or handled them in well over a century.

The story could well have ended when the comparison between the documents and the printed Inspired Version was completed. But the manuscripts contain some dates of their composition and show frequent changes in handwriting denoting changes of scribes. Because of the dates, it became possible to determine when some portions of the JST were made in relation to various revelations printed in the Doctrine and Covenants, something that could not have been ascertained without a study of the original manuscripts. The documents show that in many instances doctrinal revelations occurred in the JST earlier than in the Doctrine and Covenants. This remarkable fact opens the way for a chronological study of the JST and allows us to see that it was often the source, and not simply the beneficiary, of LDS doctrine. Once this perspective is put in place, an entirely new vista lies before the willing researcher, who then sees a steady and progressive unfolding of doctrine in the early days of the church. The Book of Mormon brought unparalleled light concerning many gospel subjects, but it has limited detail on some topics, such as premortal existence, degrees of glory, celestial marriage, Zion, the law of consecration, and the organization of priesthood quorums. Many of these were first made known to the Prophet as he translated the Bible. That the JST was to be a learning experience for Joseph Smith is seen in the Lord’s directive that he begin a translation of the New Testament: “And now, behold, I say unto you, it shall not be given unto you to know any further concerning this chapter, until the New Testament be translated, and in it all these things shall be made known; wherefore I give unto you that ye may now translate it, that ye may be prepared for the things to come” (D&C 45:60-61).

We do not have difficulty seeing the doctrinal contribution of the JST if we look at the revelations of Joseph Smith chronologically. The first copies of the book of Mormon were available during the week of 26 March 1830. In a few more days, on 6 April, the Church was organized. A few weeks later, in June 1830, we have the earliest revelation associated with the JST. We are familiar with it as Moses 1 of the Pearl of Great Price. Comparing the chronology of the new Translation with that of the Doctrine and Covenants were first presented to the mind of the Prophet during this translation of the Bible and were actually first recorded therein. Later some of these subjects were enlarged upon by subsequent revelations that appear in sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. We could gain a clearer, richer, and more comprehensive understanding of the way our doctrine was unfolded if we were to take the revealed passages of the New Translation and place them in their proper chronological order between the section of the Doctrine and Covenants. For example, Moses 1, from the JST, would be just before section 25; Moses 2-5 would be just before section 29; Moses 6 would be just before section 35; and Moses 7 would be just before section 37. Before we had access to the original JST manuscripts, this arrangement was impossible, because we did not know the dates that are written on the documents. Seeing the originals changes our perspective.

The greatest credential of the Prophet Joseph Smith to translate the Bible was that he was called by the Lord to do it. His situation seems similar to that of Nephi, who was commanded to build a ship. Nephi felt confident that “if God had commanded [him] to do all things [he] could do them” (1 Ne. 17:50). By 1830, when Joseph Smith began the translation of the Bible, he was already an experienced translator because of his work with the Book of Mormon. He said that he and Oliver Cowdery had specific help from the Holy Ghost so that the scriptures were “laid open to [their] understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto [them] in a manner which [they] never could attain to previously, nor even before had thought of” (JS—H 1:74). Such aid would surpass even the greatest of linguistic translation skill.

The Restoration of Doctrinal Truth

In the Restoration, the Joseph Smith Translation belongs with the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Abraham. It was one of the told that the Lord sued to reveal the fulness of the gospel for the last days. Many of the doctrine that set our religion apart from the rest of modern Christianity derive from it, yet few Latter-day Saints appreciate what it has contributed to our faith. Following are some of the topics in which the JST reveal significant new truths—truths that in many cases are revealed nowhere else and are unknown in the doctrines of Christian tradition. Collectively, they are a flood of doctrinal light and one of the great blessings of, and testimonies to, the Restoration.

1. The nature of God. The Joseph Smith Translation is an additional witness to the corporeal nature of God: God has a body. While the Bible teaches the same things (see Gen. 1:26–27; Ex. 33:11; Deut. 4:28; Acts 7:56), Christian tradition has obscured this knowledge to the point that many Christians do not believe it today. But the revelation o the truth about God, in clear and unmistakable term in the JST, established it beyond question. God created Adam “in the image of his own body” (Moses 6:90. God has a face, which can be seen (Ex. 33:20).³ Enoch saw the Lord, “and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face” (Moses 7:4; cf. John 1:18⁴; 1 Tim. 6:15–16; 1 Jn. 4:12).

2. The scope of the Father’s work. In the Joseph Smith Translation, we are given a faint glimpse into the extent of the Father’s creative work, to which there is not end. We learn that He has created “worlds without number” (Moses 1:33)—inhabited worlds like ours that have run, or are running, the course of their existence. God’s creations are innumerable to us but are known individually to Him. Yet in His wisdom He has chosen to reveal to us only the things that pertain to our own earth (Moses 1:35–36). In all of His work, spanning as it does both time and space, there is one overriding purpose and motive. As God told Moses, recorded in the JST, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39; see also 1:33—39). These truths were revealed in June 1830, early in the Restoration and before later revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants expounded on similar themes.

3. The mission of Jesus Christ. From the New Translation we learn much about Christ that is not taught in such clarity in the Bible. We learn that He had a premortal existence in which He was chosen to carry out the Father’s plan. Already in that sphere He was called the Only Begotten of the Father. He had great power there and was able to cast Satan out for his rebellion (Moses 4:2–3). We learn that He was the Creator—not only of this world but of all the Father’s “worlds without number” (Moses 1:33). And throughout the New Testament, the JST adds that bring greater light and meaning to Jesus’ mortal ministry, greater clarity to His words, and greater purpose to His mission (e.g., I.V. Luke 3:5).⁵

4. The plan of salvation. The Lord’s plan of happiness is revealed in the JST in plain and clear terms, even in the Old Testament portions. We read of the necessity of faith, repentance, baptism, and the reception of the Holy Ghost. We learn that Jesus Christ is “the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men” (Moses 6:52). We learn of the nature of Christ’s Atonement and how it responds both to Adam’s transgression and to our own individual sins. And we are reminded that this redemption is “unto all men, through the blood of [the] Only Begotten” (Moses 6:62).

5. The character and motive of Satan. In passages that have no biblical counterpart, the JST gives us a clear picture of the circumstances that brought Satan to his fallen condition. In it we read that he refused to accept the Father’s plan for our happiness but stepped forward with his own self-motivated propositions: he would be God’s son, he would “redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost,” and the Father would give him His honor. From the New Translation we learn that this “plan” was a lie—a campaign promise that he could not keep. He rebelled against God and was “cast down” to the earth, drawing many after him. He then made it his purpose “to device and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto [God’s] voice” (Moses 4:1–4). In the JST we see the scriptures’ clearest exposé of Satan’s character. After trying unsuccessfully to tempt Moses, he “Rent upon the earth and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.”⁶ When this also proved unsuccessful, Satan trembled, shaking the earth, and “cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth” (Moses 1:12. 19–22). Moses recorded an account of those things about Satan and his motives, but none of it is found in the Bible. Without the Joseph Smith Translation, our knowledge of Satan and his works would be severely limited.

6. The Fall of Adam. The New Translation reveals some of the most important information we have concerning the Fall of Adam and Eve. Adam said, “Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.” Eve added, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient” (Moses 5:10–11). The tone of these important words in foreign to the Bible that we have received through the centuries and to the beliefs of those who established the Christian doctrine that has been passed down to our time. Coupled with the Book of Mormon, the JST gives us an understanding of the Fall that is not possible from the Bible alone.

7. The antiquity of the gospel. The JST teaches, through passages not contained in the Bible, that the gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed in the beginning of human history. Adam was a Christian and was baptized (Moses 6:51–62, 64–66). He and Eve taught the gospel of Christ to their children (Moses 5:9–12). Their descendants, such as Enoch and Noah, believed in Christ, worshiped the Father in His name, and preached faith in His Atonement, repentance, baptism in similitude of His death and Resurrection, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost (Moses 7:10–11; 8:23–240. Abraham was also a Christian, knew the plan of salvation, and, as the Savior Himself said, rejoiced to see the distant coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh (John 8:56; I.V. Gen. 15:12). Moses knew Christ, understood the gospel, and knew of Christ’s role as Creator and Redeemer (Moses 1:6, 32–33; 4:1–3). All the prophets testified of Jesus (Matt. 4:18-19; Luke 16:16-17). That the ancient patriarchs were Christians is an astounding revelations, a truth totally absent from the Bible. Yet it makes sense to those who know that salvation is only in Christ and that God is no respecter of persons.

8. Enoch and the establishment of Zion. In December 1830 Joseph Smith received an extensive revelation about Enoch and his people while he and Sidney Rigdon were translation from Genesis 5. Chronologically, this came after section 35 of the Doctrine and Covenants and before section 37. This revelation, called in early LDS literature the “Prophecy of Enoch,” deals with Enoch’s ministry, his faith in Jesus Christ, his preaching of the gospel, his city which was called Zion, the righteousness of his people, the fact that there were no poor among them, the taking of the people into heaven, and a declaration that they would return to the earth in the last days and be joined with the New Jerusalem which would be built on the earth (Moses 6-7). This information about Enoch contains many items of history and doctrine of particular interest to Latter-day Saints, because it deals with the work of the Lord in which we are engaged in our day – the establishment of latter-day Zion.

Consider the situation of the Church in December 1830. What did anyone know about Enoch, or the New Jerusalem, or the city of Zion? The Bible does not tell us that Enoch had a city, that his people were called “Zion,” or that they were translated. The entire offering in the Bible about Enoch consists of only nine verses (Gen. 5:18-19, 21-24; Heb. 11:5; Jude 1:14-15). The Book of Mormon does not help on this subject, for it does not mention or allude to Enoch. The Church in 1830 was entirely dependent on new revelation in order to know anything substantial about Enoch and his people. The introduction was in November and December 1830 while the Prophet was translation from genesis. In the next few months, after the initial installments about Enoch were revealed, came the revelations in Doctrine and Covenants sections 42-43, 45-51, and 57-59 (February-August 1831). The prophecy of Enoch in the Joseph Smith Translation was a marvelous prelude in laying the foundation for those later revelations. If we want a correct historical perspective of how the Lord educated Joseph Smith about Zion, we must first read the revelations that were received while he was translating the Bible, because that is the order in which his knowledge was received.

9. The doctrine of translation. In conjunction with the principles of the establishment of Zion, the JST reveals the doctrine of translation—the removal of sanctified persons from the earth. Genesis simply states, without explanation or context, that Enoch “walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Gen. 5:24). The New Translation shows that this was the culmination, for an entire society, of living the principles of Zion over many years: “And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and from thence went forth saying, ZION IS FLED” (Moses 7:69; see also 7:21, 27). In a generation long after Enoch, as we learn only from the JST, another great leader established Zion and prepared his people to enter the presence of God. With faithfulness and the power of the priesthood, Melchizedek and his people “wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth” (I.V. Gen. 14:34; see also I.V. Gen. 14:26-36).

10. Melchizedek and his priesthood. The JST teaches us things about the priesthood that cannot be learned from the Bible or from any other source prior to the Restoration. Adam held what we today call the Melchizedek Priesthood (Moses 6:67), which is “the order of the Son of God, which order was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. And all those who are ordained unto this priesthood are made like unto the Son of God” (Heb. 7:3). The Bible contains very little about the ancient great high priest Melchizedek. He is mentioned briefly in Genesis 14 and again in Hebrews 7. The Psalms speak of the Messiah as a priest after the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4), but few details about Melchizedek and his ministry are available today from the bible. The Book of Mormon at Alma 13:14-19 gives a brief survey of Melchizedek’s success as a teacher of righteousness, which information presumably was recorded on the plates of brass. By way of contrast, the JST at Genesis 14 gives an extensive account of the ministry of Melchizedek, more so than in any other available source, and presents an unparalleled description of the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood. In that passage we learn that those who have the priesthood of Melchizedek shall “have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, . . . to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command; . . . and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world” (I.V. Gen. 14:30-31). The JST gives us information about the history of the priesthood that is entirely unknown in the Bible. We read that when Israel rebelled in the days of Moses, the Lord decreed: “I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them” (Ex. 34:1).

It should not be surprising that he Joseph Smith Translation restores extensive information about Enoch and Melchizedek and places them again in positions of prominence in the scriptures. It is significant, indeed, with the beginning of the dispensation of the fulness of times and the restoration of all things, that much-needed lost material about Enoch and Melchizedek should be made available—the one identified with Zion, and the other with the powers of the higher priesthood. This knowledge, which ancient Saints had but which has not been preserved in the Bible, has not been provided for us in Joseph Smith’s New Translation.

11. The destiny of the house of Israel. The Joseph Smith Translation adds unique insights to our understanding of the family of Abraham. It restores Paul’s words that Christ’s mediation under the new covenant was “written in the law concerning the promises made to Abraham and his seed.” The promise which God made to Abraham as that Jesus was “the Mediator of life” (Gal. 3:20). The JST restores a prophecy, not contained in the Bible, in which ancient Jacob foretold the destiny of the descendants of his son Joseph. Describing their great latter-day work to take the gospel to the rest of Israel, Jacob foretold the following: “For thou shalt be a light unto my people, to deliver them in the days of their captivity, from bondage; and to bring salvation unto them, when they are altogether bowed down under sin” (I.V. Gen. 48:11). Joseph, seeing the distant future, foretold the ministry of “a choice seer” of his lineage who would “do a work” for his brethren of Israel: “And he shall bring them to the knowledge of the covenants” that God made with their fathers. He would both bring forth the Lord’s word and also convince Israel of the Lord’s word that they would already have. The records of Joseph and Judah would “grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establish peace, . . . and bringing them to a knowledge of their fathers in the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord” (I.V. Gen. 50:31; see also I.V. Gen. 50:26-31). The choice seer to the house of Israel in this prophecy, which is entirely unknown to the Bible, was Joseph Smith, through whom this knowledge was restored to the earth.

12. The purpose of animal sacrifice. The JST teaches us that the origin of animal sacrifice was in the first generation of history and that its intent was to point worshipers to Christ. An angel told Adam that it was “a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth” (Moses 5:7). This restored knowledge should make good sense to all Christians and enable them to better understand Paul’s teachings in the New Testament. But none of these words are found in the Bible.

13. The age of accountability. In Doctrine and Covenants 68:25-28, revealed in November 1831, the age of accountability is explained as beginning at eight years, at which time baptism should be administered. This is the only mention of that principle in the Doctrine and Covenants. However, baptism and the eight-year-old age of accountability are recorded in the JST in connection with Genesis 17:1-11. The dates on the JST manuscript show that this Genesis chapter was recorded sometime in February or March 1831 and was, therefore, eight or nine months earlier than the revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants. Indeed, a careful reading of Doctrine and Covenants 68:25-28 demonstrates that the declaration of the age of accountability at that instance does not sound like a first-time announcement but more like a reaffirmation or a reminder. Without these modern revelations, the age of accountability, unknown in the Bible, would not be understood at all.

14. The origin of the law of Moses. The New translation provides a unique revelation concerning the law of Moses. After the golden calf incident, the Lord withdrew from Israel His sacred law—“my holy order, and the ordinances thereof” (Ex. 34:1), “the everlasting covenant of the holy priesthood” (Deut. 10:2). In place of the higher law and the blessings that pertain to it, the law of Moses was instituted. It was “the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage” (Ex. 34:2). These historical events, crucial for understanding the meaning of the law of Moses, are not known in the Bible.

15. The Second coming of Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith-Matthew in the Pearl of Great Price, and excerpt from the JST, is one of the great revelations concerning the last days and the coming of Jesus. Under the inspiration, the Prophet reorganized the structure of Matthew 24 and added some new verses, thereby separating the prophecies about Jerusalem and the Early Church (JS—M 1:1-21) from those about the last days (JS—M 1:21-55). This inspired revision, received in the spring of 1831, makes sense of a very difficult biblical chapter that otherwise cannot be understood fully. And it adds significant information to other revelations already received concerning the last days (D&C 29, September 1830; D&C 45, March 1831).

16. Degrees of glory. While translating John 5 and pondering verse 29 concerning the resurrection of the just and of the unjust, Joseph Smith and his scribe received the vision of the degrees of glory. In the revelation itself we read this explanation: “For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was given unto us as follows—speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man: and shall come forth; they who have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they who have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was given unto us of the Spirit. And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about” (D&C 76:15-19). Revealing things only hinted at in the Bible (John 5:29; 1 Cor. 15:40-41), the ensuing revelation about our eternal possibilities was not recorded in, but was a direct consequence of, the Prophet’s New Translation of the scriptures.

17. Historical information. The Joseph Smith Translation adds historical details to the Bible that is some cases have doctrinal implication. New information on the following individuals is given: Adam, Eve, Enoch, and Melchizedek (cited above), Saul (1 Sam. 16:14–16), David (1 Kgs. 3:14; 11:14, 6, 33, 39), Solomon (1 Kgs. 3:1), Jesus (Matt. 2:23⁷; 4:1–9), the Twelve (Matt. 6:25–27; Mark 14:32⁸), and Judas (Mark 14:10⁹).

A Testament of Jesus Christ

Is the Joseph Smith Translation simply Joseph Smith’s commentary on the Bible, or is it a restoration of lost material? In view of the role of the JST as a primary source of Latter-day Saint doctrine, revealed by command of the Lord, it seems there are strong reasons for arguing that the JST is a restoration at least of meaning and doctrinal content. When Sidney Rigdon was called to be the scribe for Joseph Smith in the translation, the Lord told him, “ Thou shalt write for him; and the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom” (D&C 35:20) The implication is that the Bible in that day was not as it is in God’s “own bosom.” The Bible is Judah’s witness for God and for Jesus Christ. It was not sufficient for the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price to restore missing doctrinal truth. Justice to Bible prophets required that the Bible itself be restored to its original power as a witness for Jesus and His gospel. The Bible must be made right, and the Joseph Smith Translation contributes powerfully to the restoration of its truths.

With the impressive doctrinal contributions listed above, and others like them, the Joseph Smith Translation does indeed give us the scriptures “even as they are in [God’s] own bosom, to the salvation of [his] own elect” (D&C 35:20). But these are not the only blessings we receive through the New Translation. Through the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants that accompanied it, the JST became the springboard for much revealed knowledge beyond restored biblical truths. Further, the inspired effort that produced the Joseph Smith Translation was also the source of much of the doctrinal education of Joseph Smith himself. The Prophet’s impressive familiarity with the Bible, which is so evident in his sermons and writings, was in large part the product of his work on the JST.¹⁰ His efforts on the New Translation were an important aspect of his schooling in the doctrines of God’s kingdom. He learned the Bible well, but he learned even better the gift of prophecy that guided his labors to bring about this aspect of the doctrinal restoration. Truly the Joseph Smith Translation is one of the great evidences of the Prophet’s divinely appointed ministry. But even more, it is a testament of Jesus Christ—another witness that He lives and that His gospel is offered to all as the only means of salvation for the human family.

Notes

For many of these references, see Robert J. Matthews, “A Plainer Translation”: Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible—A History and commentary (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 21-54.
William E. Berrett, The Restored Church, 13th ed. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1965), 100.
Bible references are to the biblical passage at which the JST change is made. Unless otherwise noted, the references are the same for both the traditional Bible and the Inspired Version, published by the Community of Christ, Independence, Missouri. References preceded by I.V. are to the chapter and verse designations in the printed Inspired Version. Unless otherwise noted, quoted material follows the edited wording in the Book of Moses or in the Inspired Version.
I.V. John 1:19.
For the JST’s contribution to our understanding of the mortal ministry of Jesus, sees Matthews, “A Greater Portrayal of the Master,” Ensign, March 1983, 6–13.
OT2, page 2, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation standardized.
I.V. Matthew 3:24–25.
I.V. Mark 14:36.
I.V. Mark 14:31.
See the impressive list of scriptures used in Joseph Smith’s sermons in The Words of Joseph Smith The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, ed. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1980), 421-25. See also Joseph Smith’s Commentary on the Bible, comp. and ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1994).