I scrolled through Formspring to find a simple question I could answer in 5 minutes or less:
Do LDS read the deuterocanonical books? (AKA the Apocrypha) Why or why not?
Some of you may not know that during his time as prophet Joseph Smith actually worked on translating the Old Testament to restore some of the truth we believe was lost over the thousands of years that the books were written out by hand and passed from one person to another. The verses he was able to finish before he was killed are known as the Joseph Smith Translation.
During this process he asked the Lord about the Apocrypha and received this revelation in return:
Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning theaApocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;
2There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are ainterpolations by the hands of men.
3Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be atranslated.
4Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him aunderstand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;
5And whoso is enlightened by the aSpirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;
6And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.
So we don’t study it churchwide, it’s not part of our lesson manuals, and a lot of members probably have never looked at it. I haven’t yet, as I would like to reach a point in my personal understanding of the Gospel where I feel like I could communicate with the Spirit and effectively understand God’s intended message.
For more information on the LDS view of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha see here.
July 31st, 2011 on 9:42 am
I haven’t read the Apocrypha yet, but I’ve read other apocryphal texts, like the Gnostic gospels. Such beautiful writings.
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August 1st, 2011 on 12:28 am
I think I asked this question actually!
The Catholic Church uses the deuterocanonical books because they were originally recognized as scripture by Judaic scholars in the time of Christ. For instance, the festival of Hanukkah is from the book of Maccabees. However, these 7 books were written in Greek, not Hebrew like other books, because they were written in the time where Greeks occupied Israel. There was no official Jewish canon until 70 CE when Jewish leaders, in an effort to distinguish themselves from the growing Christian religion, whose works were all in Greek, decided not to recognize these writings. They were recognized by all Christians until the 16th century when Martin Luther decided to remove them from the canon, so now most Protestant denominations do not use them.
I have a few more questions on the text you use. How come LDS use the KJV? I know it’s not considered to be a very accurate translation, but LDS believe that the Bible is useful in as much as it is accurately translated. Wouldn’t it make more sense to use the most accurate translation? (Like the New Revised Standard Version?)
Also, what was Joseph Smith translating from for his version? Did he have original texts, or was it from Greek/Latin bibles, or from the KJV?
Thanks for answering my question!
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