Review
Title: Understanding Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible
Author: Kent P. Jackson
Publisher: RSC BYU / Deseret Book
Genre: Religious Non-Fiction
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 264
Binding: Hardcover, eBook
ISBN-13: 978-1-9503-0415-8
Price: $24.99
Reviewed by Richard Ji for the Association for Mormon Letters
Kent P. Jackson’s latest book, Understanding Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, may be a capstone publication on the body of work published on Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible. It incorporates resources not available at the time previous works were published and helps one gain a more accurate understanding of the history and nature of what is commonly referred to as Joseph Smith’s Translation (JST). Jackson’s preferred name for this work is the “New Translation,” which is how Joseph Smith and his contemporaries referred to this work. As one might expect from a publication from RSC BYU / Deseret Book, this work is both scholarly and devotional in nature. Jackson makes it clear that his point of view stems from that of a devout believer, but he deploys scholarly tools to help those in academia (or not) to appreciate and understand Joseph Smith’s contributions.
The book is comprised of 26 relatively short chapters plus an introduction and index. There are several footnotes that provide some additional commentary as well as references. It also has pictures of original documents and side-by-side comparisons of select verses throughout the book. While the chapters are short, I would consider many of them to be dense in the sense that they outline details that a recreational reader might find tedious such as minor grammatical changes. To me, this book seems to be a comprehensive work about all things relevant to the subject.
Jackson details the relevant manuscripts, scribes, the translation process, the meaning of translation, discusses the Visions of Moses, revolutionary and other changes in Genesis, the guiding instincts of Joseph Smith, the publication process, doctrinal contributions of the translation, and many other aspects related to the JST. There are several sections where the words of the JST are compared to the King James Version or other scriptures/documents where applicable. Due to the number of changes made in the JST, samples of changes were provided in the text of the book rather than a complete accounting for all changes of the changes made by Joseph Smith. In selecting which passages to include, Jackson chose ones that would illustrate what he calls Joseph Smith’s “instincts”(p. 101) or that exemplified points he sought to make.
Joseph Smith was not consistent in the execution of the types of changes he made to the Bible. Because of this, Jackson would refer to the themes of changes as “instincts.” These would be his tendencies because one would not find a universally executed, systematic approach to changes per se. For example, in some places, Smith modernized language but did not make similar changes in other passages. It seemed to me from reading Jackson’s work that the Lord through Joseph Smith wanted to focus more heavily on those truths that truly matter as opposed to the technical aspects of the writing. Some things matter not to the Lord. Other things, such as the plan of salvation and the Savior’s role in that plan, matter greatly. What would have been helpful for me in an appendix would be a table showing the total number of changes falling under each instinct versus those highlighted in the book. It was hard for me to understand how prevalent each instinct was from the limited number of samples presented.
Jackson does a good job of breaking down how the JST contributes to Church doctrine and also examines the themes of the types of changes made. Before reading this book, I had the impression that most of the changes that Joseph Smith made were meant to restore the Bible to its original state. But now, I understand there is much more than that to the JST. The JST restores lost doctrine, introduces new text such as the Vision of Moses that may or may not have been recorded in the Bible, helps to modernize the language, helps to clarify understanding, and seems to have served as a springboard for other revelations that are now found in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Understanding Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible gave me an appreciation for the translation process. It was a manual process where punctuation and seemingly small changes in word choices may significantly alter the meaning and understanding of a verse. From translation through the publication of portions in multiple publications, one can see how errors can be created. Because this work was preserved and protected by Emma Smith, it ultimately became the custodial concern of what is now known as the Community of Christ. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that a cooperative effort between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Community of Christ began to preserve and understand the JST. The resulting work has helped to correct inaccuracies and has helped to bring our collective understanding to its current state – one that is well documented in this book. Understanding the history and process helps one to better appreciate the changes made in the Pearl of Great Price throughout its history.
While the book outlines mundane details such as seemingly trivial word changes, it, more importantly, casts light on key doctrinal contributions of the JST to our theology. It outlines how focused the work was on key aspects of the plan of salvation and of the Savior’s mission in that plan. Although there are numerous changes to help clarify and restore an understanding of the Bible as originally written, Jackson seems to focus more on the contributions of the work to the Savior’s mission. There has been some debate about Joseph Smith’s usage of contemporary commentaries, such as Adam Clarke’s commentary. Jackson’s view on this is clear but relegated to a mere footnote or two (pointing the reader to his article on the subject). While I would have appreciated having his views on this matter outlined in more detail in the book, Jackson’s focus on the JST as it relates to the Savior’s mission (as opposed to a historical/contextual understanding of the Bible and its times) helps one to understand why such discussion was not included.
For me, this book is an essential reference work that Latter-Day Saints should be familiar with should questions about the JST arise. The closing chapters really bring focus to the JST in terms of its objective. That being the role of the Savior and key salvific truths. These chapters helped me to reconcile the inconsistency of execution of Joseph Smith’s instincts.
I had one question while reading the book that the book did not directly answer. If the translation work was commanded by the Lord and remained a high concern as evident throughout multiple references in the Doctrine and Covenants; and was then commanded to be published by the Lord, why does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints use King James Version instead of the JST as THE version of the Bible we use? Jackson outlines that the history of the manuscript and the mistrust of the Utah saints of the translation coming from the Community of Christ (formerly Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) may have contributed to decreased inclusion. But now that relations, especially on a scholarly level, are sound, why not make the entire translation part of the direct cannon versus portions, footnotes, and study help in the Gospel Library App?
Kent P. Jackson’s latest book, Understanding Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible, is an important contribution to the scholarly canon on this subject. I would consider it to be the go-to resource for the latest scholarship. Despite the tedious nature of the study (comparing multiple manuscripts word by word, translations, etc.), Jackson’s synthesis is excellent. I am grateful for his devotion and thorough study of this subject to help us all to have an accurate understanding of the Joseph Smith Translation.