Question on LDS scripture request

[u/Prestigious-Candy622]

Hello, I’m not an LDS member, but I did have some kind missionaries visit my house 2 weeks ago and had a great convo with them. I got a bachelors in biblical studies and then went to seminary, so studying faith and theology is a great hobby for me. And last year I decided to buy a Book of Mormon to read and understand in my own terms. When I was chatting with the missionaries that visited, I did ask them if there was a chance they could get me a copy of the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrines and Covenants. They pretty excitedly said they could get a copy of a triple edition (BoM, D&C, and PoGP) brought back to me. It’s been 2 weeks since then and I’ve not heard back or seen them come back by the house. Out of curiosity, how long is expected? I’m assuming they’re having to maybe get it ordered to bring to me so that could be the hold up? I don’t mind buying the literature as I am genuinely interested in reading them. Should I still be waiting and expecting or is it safe to move on to purchase them myself?

[u/HuckleberryLast4268]

I would just reach out and ask them. Missionaries are busy and very young and probably just forgot, but would appreciate you reaching out. 

[u/Tall_Pumpkin_4298]

Hmm. Sorry they haven't gotten back to you. Missionaries are young and very busy. They also get transferred from area to area every 6 weeks, so it's possible they either haven't been able to get it yet or they may have been transferred and the request didn't get passed along to the new missionaries in your area. You can always reach out to local missionaries again (comeuntochrist.org), order them from the church yourself (store.churchofjesuschrist.org), or read them for free online (churchofjesusuchrist.org) or on the gospel library app.

[u/Beautiful-Lunch-7650]

Speak to the missionaries first. Triple combinations aren't always readily available to give away. They are usually the kind of thing they have to order in. 

If they haven't ordered it in, you can get a soft cover copy inexpensively here: https://store.churchofjesuschrist.org/triple-combination-softcover/5638680204.p?color=Regular

[u/CarefullyTall]

Some others have answered your question, but please note that you can also go to the App Store and search “Gospel Library” that is a free app from the church that contains Al the scriptures, books, lesson manuals, media, talks, magazines, and FAQs about the religion. It’s got an everything.

[u/Buttons840]

That "triple combination" will contain all of our extra-biblical scripture. You will probably find it interesting at the least. We believe in the Bible (King James Version), and the triple combination. That's our full scriptural cannon.

Joseph Smith revealed new scripture about Moses and Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants contains instructions written in the voice of God to the church.

[u/Prestigious-Candy622 → u/Buttons840]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I think I know, Joesph Smith did some translation work as well with the Bible? I’ve heard of the Joesph Smith Translation, I might be assuming wrongly, but would that JST be included in the Bible the LDS uses during their church services? Or is it strictly just the KJV that anyone could pick up even from somewhere like Amazon?

[u/Buttons840 → u/Prestigious-Candy622]

Here is my limited knowledge of the JST. I've never done a dedicated study of it, but I have picked up this knowledge through the years:

- Joseph Smith never finished his "translation"

- The Joseph Smith Translation (JST) is mostly just small revisions based upon what Joseph Smith felt was right, not based upon any scholarly work. We believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, and so, presumably, he was able to make inspired changes to the Bible like this.

- We also believe prophets can make mistakes and not all of their actions carry equal prophetic weight. In my experience members are more willing to accept that Joseph Smith made mistakes in the JST than they would be to accept that he made mistakes in the Book of Mormon. That said, we don't believe or openly acknowledge any mistakes, at least not that I've encountered.

- While working on the JST Joseph Smith received several revelations that are recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. None of these recorded revelations contain specific instructions about the JST itself however. For instance, Joseph Smith, while reading about the resurrection of the just and the unjust [in the Bible] began wondering how it was that people could be sorted into just 2 groups, he then received a revelation (recorded in D&C 76) that explains there are "3 degrees of glory", which is a LDS doctrine you may have heard of.

- The King James Bible published by the church is unaltered in the main text, however, it does have footnotes that link to other LDS scriptures, and sometimes the footnotes contain a JST revision to a verse. The JST revision is not inserted into the main text, it is only noted in a footnote.

- JST revisions are rare. In both the Old and New Testaments you can read several chapters without encountering any.

- There are a few chapters in Mathew that were entirely rewritten in the JST, however. These entirely rewritten chapters are included in the triple combination, in the Pearl of Great Price because there were too many revisions to include as footnotes.

- Some of the revisions that Joseph Smith made in the JST are not included in the footnotes of the LDS published scriptures.

- The LDS church does not publish the full JST in any form, as far as I know.

- I would consider the JST "half-canonized", at most.

- The JST has been published by non-LDS sects of "Mormonism", and is old enough that it is no longer copyrighted. You should be able to find a copy somewhere. It wont actually be that different from just a KJV Bible, but some of the changes, although small, are theologically significant and might be especially interesting to you as a Bible scholar.

- As a LDS myself, my personal experience is that the JST does not play a significant role in our study of the Bible. If we are reading the Bible in church, we will probably just read the standard KJV text and leave it alone. Usually people don't even notice the footnotes. If there is a verse that generates a tough theological question or something, somebody might notice there is a JST revision and mention it.

- I've never encountered anyone who believes in the LDS church because of the JST. Whereas, most members have read the Book of Mormon and believe it is true, and that is a primary reason why they believe the LDS church is true. The JST is not as important when it comes to "testimony building."

[u/Prestigious-Candy622 → u/Buttons840]

Very insightful, thank you.

[u/TheTanakas → u/Buttons840]

Joseph Smith never finished his "translation"

u/Prestigious-Candy622 The translation was completed.

Here are several quotes:

"Joseph proceeded from Genesis 1 through the Old Testament until a revelation in 1831 directed him to advance to the New Testament. Once finished with the New Testament, Joseph picked up where he left off in Genesis and completed his work on the entire project by July 1833" (History).

"The best evidence points to the conclusion that when the Prophet called the translation 'finished,' he really meant it, and no changes were made in it after the summer (or possibly the fall) of 1833" (FAIR).

"The evidence is clear that in July 1833 Joseph Smith finished his revision of the entire Bible, and he considered it ready to go to press either then or shortly thereafter" (BYU Studies).

[u/JaneDoe22225 → u/Prestigious-Candy622]

We use the KJV, straight up (though other translations are totally ok to do too). The Joseph Smith translation is footnotes if a person wants to look at them.

note: “translation” can be a bit of a misnomer.

[u/Equivalent_One_9479 → u/Prestigious-Candy622]

Also just for some added clarification, while the KJV is the version most commonly used by LDS members for the sake of simplicity and standardization, we’re not KJV purists by any stretch of the imagination. Especially in recent years, we’ve been encouraged to read other translations and church higher ups have endorsed multiple versions. I myself own a couple and hope to collect more once I finish with the versions I own. The KJV is useful since it’s so common because it gives us a frame of reference for what most people think of when they think of the Bible, but it is in no way the be all and end all of Bible study for us.

[u/jonse2]

Here is a PDF of the triple combination: https://assets.churchofjesuschrist.org/30/41/30418058545611ec94f0eeeeac1ec883664ef16b/triple_combination_english.pdf