4 Things You Did NOT Know About The Joseph Smith Translation (JST)

“JST” you might know that it stands for the Joseph Smith Translation, but for most members, their knowledge of the history around the JST dries up after that. I want to go over some AMAZING things about the JST that you might not know! Like how it was lost for 100 years, or how we currently have only 25% of the JST in our Bible! So, here are 4 things you did NOT know about the Joseph Smith Translation or JST.

1st. Joseph Smith Translation is not like other translations of the Bible.

Prior to the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, all other translations were based on the Septuagint, oral traditions, or other texts/manuscripts. But Joseph did not claim to have an old copy of the biblical text that he was translating from. Rather Joseph had a call from God to produce a unique edition of the Bible for the Latter-day Saints. This work is commonly referred to as the “Joseph Smith Translation” but it is also known as the Inspired Version (IV) I personally like the name Inspired Version better as it better reflects the nature of the work.

Joseph Smith had three things that no other translator of the bible had.
1st. Joseph had a prophetic call from God to create a “New Translation” of the Bible (see D&C 124:89, D&C 45:60–61, D&C 94:10, etc).
2nd. Joseph had PERSONALLY talked with many of these ancient prophets and apostles through visions and angelic ministrations.
3rd, Joseph, as the prophet, could go to the source and ask God directly about what something should say/means.

Because of these three unique facts about Joseph, his translation is unlike any other! It has many different styles to it, for example: at some points, it is almost like commentary from a prophet; other points it is clearly correcting errors that had crept in during prior translations; and at other points, he restored lost material that is not found anywhere else.

2nd. The Joseph Smith Translation was finished(ish).

A lot of members of the Church have an erroneous idea that the JST was never finished. That is NOT true. Joseph went all the way through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations. On 2 July 1833, it was recorded “We this day finished the translating of the Scriptures, for which we returned gratitude to our Heavenly Father.” (HC, 1:368.)

Now it is important to understand that while preparing the manuscript for printing Joseph continued to make edits and revisions to it. Thus the “ish” in the statement that it was finished. But if you understand Joseph, this was a common practice to him. Many of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants were ‘finished’ but he continued to revise them. We want them to be solid, but to the early saints, they were much more fluid. (For more on Joseph’s habit of continually expounding on revelations see this Ensign article “How the Revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants Were Received and Compiled“)

3rd. The Joseph Smith Translation was lost for over 100 years.

I know what you are thinking, if the JST was finished then what happened to it? Simply put, the prophet tried to publish it but the Church did not provide the means for him to do so before his death. (For more on this topic see this Ensign article “Joseph Smith’s Efforts to Publish His Bible ‘Translation’”) Whereas the JST was completed and manuscripts were almost finished being prepared for printing, after the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, Emma refused to give the JST manuscripts to Brigham Young. She kept it. Later she gave it to her son Joseph Smith III and the RLDS Church copyrighted and published it as the Inspired Version of the Bible.

RLDS Missionaries carrying copies of the IV came to the Rockies to reclaim that Latter-day Saints in Utah. They met with little success but they did leave behind copies of the IV. General Authorities realizing that the IV was the JST and that it added so much insight to the Bible started to use the text from the IV in General Conference talks.

Robert J. Matthews a young seminary teacher in Idaho one day while following along at conference ran into a quote that did not match the KJV. He wrote the speaker explaining the error he had made and received the reply that he was quoting the IV and not the KJV. Super a long story short, Brother Matthews ends up going to Indiependence Missouri befriending the RLDS Church to the point where they allowed him to examine the JST manuscripts to the IV they had printed and he found it was accurate.

In the 1970s the Church was working on printing the first Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible; complete with a Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, and cross-referencing index between the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The scripture committee was headed by Thomas S. Monson, and it had membership including Bruce R. McConkie, Boyd K. Packer, and Robert J. Matthews was brought on due to his relationship with the RLDS Church. Due to his efforts, they agreed to allow the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible to include excerpts from the JST! (Short changes were put in the footnotes and long ones in the appendix).

After over 100 years of being lost, the Joseph Smith Translation was once again available to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979 when the first Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible was finally published! Now, before you get upset with Emma and blame her for us losing the JST for over 100 years, it is VITAL to remember that when the Saints were driven out of Missouri in the middle of winter, and under threat of mob and extermination order, it was Emma who WHILE carrying her FOUR children walked across the frozen Mississippi River carrying the ONLY copy of the JST manuscript. If it was not for Emma we would’ve lost the JST potentially forever.

For the amazing story of the scripture committee see: “The Most Far Felt Legacy Of President Thomas S. Monson” and for a really cool resource on the role of Robert J. Matthews see: “Robert J. Matthews and His Work with the Joseph Smith Translation“

4th. We only have 25% of the Joseph Smith Translation in our Bible.

A common belief regarding the JST is that in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible we have all the JST. We do not. Joseph Smith made over 3,400 changes. In 1979, when the first Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible was published, it only contained 600 of the 3400 JST changes. So those are all the important ones right? No, they were the MOST important ones, but in 2013, when they revised the English edition of the Bible they got permission from the Community of Christ Church (formerly known as the RLDS Church) to include an additional 56 JST’s. There were 14 new or revised entries in the appendix, and 42 new or revised JST in the footnotes.

Conclusion.

The Lord never intended for the only unique volume of scriptures for the Latter-day Saints to be the Triple Combination (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price). It was intended that the Latter-day Saints have a unique “New Translation” of the Bible too (see D&C 124:89 ). Understanding this when one reads the 8th Article of Faith you realize what Joseph was declaring: “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly” Translated correctly is referring to the Inspired Verison he was preparing to print.

I want to testify that the Joseph Smith Translation is the work of the Lord. I add my testimony to that of Bruce R. McConkie who declared: “It can scarcely be stated with too great an emphasis. The Joseph Smith Translation, or Inspired Version, is a thousand times over the best Bible now existing on earth. It contains all that the King James Version does, plus pages of additions and corrections and an occasional deletion. It was made by the spirit of revelation, and the changes and additions are the equivalent of the revealed word in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.” (The Bible, a Sealed Book by Elder Bruce R. McConkie)

PS: Where can I find the Inspired Version today?

I personally bought a copy of the Inspired Version that has a side-by-side comparison of the KJV text to the Inspired Version (Joseph Smith Translation) showing the edits. This is the one my institute teacher recommended, and that I recommend to people. You can buy it on Amazon (click here for an affiliate link to it)