The Bible/Joseph Smith Translation/Was the translation complete

1. REDIRECTTemplate:Test3

Was the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible ever completed?

Questions

It is not known for certain whether or not Joseph Smith completed his revisions to the Bible.

• One critical website poses the question: "Why didn’t the next prophet, or any subsequent prophet, finish the inspired version of the Bible that the church thought was so important that they altered our version of the King James Bible to include the portions that Joseph did retranslate? Does it make any sense that the inspired version of the Bible should not be finished merely with the death of the first prophet of the restoration? If we really did have a succession of prophets since Joseph Smith, this important work would have been finished and published as God commanded Joseph to do."

Answer

The JST (or "Inspired Version") is probably better seen as a type of inspired commentary on the Bible text by Joseph. Its value consists not in making it the new "official" scripture, but in the insights Joseph provides readers and what Joseph himself learned during the process.

• The fact that Joseph was collecting funds to publish what we call the JST suggests that he believed it was sufficiently advanced to be published.
• Joseph did not view his revisions to the Bible as a "once and for all" or "finally completed translation" goal. The translation could be acceptable for purposes, but still subject to later clarification or elaboration.
• There was no attempt to canonize the JST then, or now.

Most important to note, the JST or other scriptures are not the ultimate source of LDS doctrine—having a living prophet is what is most vital. Joseph improved his prophetic capacity through the production of the JST.

Notes