Mormon Scriptures Online
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the Mormon Church, has its entire canon of scriptures and study aids online at scriptures.lds.org.
After eight years of work, in early 2013, the Church of Jesus Christ released its updated digital scriptures. This 2013 version — the first significant revision in more than 30 years — includes improved study aids, new photos and maps, and changes to chapter and section headings as well as many other improvements. Changes to the scriptural text include spelling, minor typographical, and punctuation corrections. The intent was to make helpful adjustments such as updating some archaic spellings, correcting mistakes in the study helps, and incorporating recent historic findings into the section headings of the Doctrine and Covenants. Minor typographical errors in spelling and punctuation in the text have been corrected to ensure fidelity to the earliest manuscripts and editions. [1]
New chapter headings in parts of the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of modern revelations, lend more historical context than the heading they've replaced. [2] Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132 deals with the nature of eternal marriage. The new introduction reads as follows:
- Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831. See Official Declaration 1.
Official Declaration 1 in the Doctrine and Covenants deals with the cessation of "plural marriage." The new introduction reads as follows:
- The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that monogamy is God’s standard for marriage unless He declares otherwise (see 2 Samuel 12:7–8 and Jacob 2:27, 30). Following a revelation to Joseph Smith, the practice of plural marriage was instituted among Church members in the early 1840s (see section 132). From the 1860s to the 1880s, the United States government passed laws to make this religious practice illegal. These laws were eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. After receiving revelation, President Wilford Woodruff issued the following Manifesto, which was accepted by the Church as authoritative and binding on October 6, 1890. This led to the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church.
Declaration 2 in the Doctrine and Covenants deals with the 1978 revelation giving worthy men the Mormon priesthood regardless of race. The new introduction reads as follows:
- The Book of Mormon teaches that “all are alike unto God,” including “black and white, bond and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33). Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smith’s lifetime, a few black male members of the Church were ordained to the priesthood. Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. Church leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter this practice and prayerfully sought guidance. The revelation came to Church President Spencer W. Kimball and was affirmed to other Church leaders in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1, 1978. The revelation removed all restrictions with regard to race that once applied to the priesthood.
Android and Apple mobile versions are also available. A print edition will be available in August of 2013. [3] The new print edition will correspond with prior editions, so verses found on one page number will still correlate.
Annotations that readers have made in their Gospel Library accounts will automatically transfer to the new digital scriptures.
The last updates to LDS Church scriptures was in 1981, with full cross-referencing added, the Bible Dictionary, Topical Guide, and other study aids. Members shouldn't have to buy new scriptures (Mormons tend to get attached to their scriptures when they have performed years of highlighting and marginal notes), because they can access the new ones online.
