Since its founding, the LDS Church has used the King James Version of the Bible. Is it time to dump KJV? Many people find the old English tough to read & understand. Is it time to upgrade to a more modern version? Will that cause ripple effects with the Book of Mormon? Dr Joseph Spencer weighs in on the issue. We'll also discuss his other books and upcoming projects. Check out our conversation...

https://youtu.be/R15AGtUer90

Don’t miss our other conversations with Joseph: https://gospeltangents.com/people/joseph-spencer/

 

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Time to Update Bible/Dump KJV?

GT  00:32  Well, I mean, I like this. Because, can I say that I hate reading Isaiah?

Joseph  00:40  A lot of people say it.

GT  00:43  And so, that was one of the good things, I was like, okay. Een though I hate Isaiah, I hear Nephi, we need to study Isaiah. But it doesn't make any sense to me.

Joseph  00:55  Yeah.

GT  00:56 That was one of the things that I really liked about your book was to dive into there.  I've talked to Thomas Wayment. He's got his own New Testament, which is fantastic. You really need to get it. But one of the things that Latter-day Saints struggle with, and a lot of other churches have gone to other versions of the Bible. I've heard that Revelation and Isaiah and other books, which are hard to read, aren't so hard when you update the English.

Joseph  01:34  Absolutely.

GT  01:35  Why does our Church stick [with it?] Even the Book of Mormon to a lot of degree is King James English.

Joseph  01:45  Archaic, yeah.

GT  01:47  So first question, would you support if the Church updated and got rid of King James and got something that was easier to read so that we can read Isaiah and understand what he's talking about?

Joseph  02:01  Yeah, I mean, would I support it? Yeah, of course. But I also...

GT  02:06  You're not going to advocate.

Joseph  02:08  Well, advocacy is not how we work in the Church.

GT  02:14  You have to advocate very quietly.

Joseph  02:15  Very quietly, very gently. But no, I mean, I think for one, it's official church policy that people can and should use other translations in their personal study. Right?

GT  02:26  It is?

Joseph  02:27  That's right in the Handbook of Instructions. It's right in the Handbook of Instructions.

GT  02:31  Everybody get's mad when I've [used other editions.] I've taught Gospel Doctrine and I've pulled out other versions and people are like, “That's not King James Bible.”

Joseph  02:39  Yeah. Pull out the handbook. Show them. Yeah, the handbook is very explicit about this. When I make recommendations to my students, or in my writings, and so on, I'll say this. Read Isaiah in the King James. Read it in the Book of Mormon as it stands. But also get out a good translation and read it side by side. The NRSV, I think, is probably the handiest, good one. But also, there are lots, just so many good translations. Just pull those out and read it. And yeah, Isaiah comes down to earth a whole lot. But I think there are other things that are in the way, as well. It's not just a translation issue, though, that is a huge issue. There's plenty of Isaiah that's understandable in the King James Version without a better translation or more modern translation.

Joseph  03:27  The other issue is that we don't know what we're looking for. Latter-ay Saints tend to read scripture looking for two kinds of things. One, just insight into doctrine; tell me what the doctrines are. Or we tend to look for just straight, personal application. Neither of those is what Isaiah is going to give you. So, we're just looking for the wrong thing, if that's what we're looking for in Isaiah. He's not a doctrinal exponent. That's just not what he does. He's not trying to think about everyday application. He's thinking about big picture,