''Bible Dictionary'' is an official publication of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Since 1979, ''Bible Dictionary'' has been published as an appendix to most copies of the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

(KJV) of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

printed by the LDS Church. The dictionary contains 1285 entries on 196 pages. The publication states that it was "designed to provide teachers and students with a concise collection of definitions and explanations of items that are mentioned in or are otherwise associated with the Bible." The LDS ''Bible Dictionary'' was created in the 1970s by the Scriptures Publications Committee of the LDS Church.. This committee was chaired by

Thomas S. Monson Thomas Spencer Monson (August 21, 1927 – January 2, 2018) was an American religious leader, author, and the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). As president, he was considered by adherents of the rel ...

, then a member of the

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to '' Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...

. The committee delegated the responsibility of creating an LDS bible dictionary to Robert J. Matthews, a

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

Professor of Ancient Scripture.. Matthews gained permission from

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

to use their bible dictionary as the template for the LDS version. Matthews adjusted many of the entries to reflect LDS modifications of traditional Christian beliefs and also added a number of entries to address doctrines taught exclusively by the LDS Church. However, the majority of the content of the ''Bible Dictionary'' is identical to the Cambridge publication. The secretary of the committee was

William James Mortimer William James Mortimer (died May 20, 2010), sometimes known as Jim Mortimer, was the publisher, president and editor of the ''Deseret News'' from 1985 to 1996 and publisher of the newspaper from 1996 to 2000. Biography Mortimer graduated from Lo ...

. The LDS ''Bible Dictionary'' is published in all English-language versions of the Bible printed by the church except for of the barebones KJV Bible distributed free of charge by Mormon missionaries. In other LDS-printed Bibles, it is found on pages 599 to 793 of the appendix materials, immediately following the Topical Guide and immediately preceding excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. The LDS Church provides the complete contents of th
Bible Dictionary online
Despite being packaged with the LDS publication of the Bible, the ''Bible Dictionary'' is not part of the LDS Church's open canon of scripture. Its preface states, "It is not intended as an official or revealed endorsement by the Church of the doctrinal, historical, cultural, and other matters set forth."

Notes

References

*{{citation , first= Philip L. , last= Barlow , authorlink= Philip Barlow , year= 1997 , title= Mormons and the Bible: The Place of the Latter-day Saints in American Religion , location= New York , publisher=

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, pages= 208–212 , isbn= 0195062337 , oclc= 21520650

External links

Bible Dictionary
from churchofjesuschrist.org — complete text of every entry, available online, with links to entries organized alphabetically *
That Promised Day: The Coming Forth of the LDS Scriptures
— BYUtv documentary describing the production of the LDS Church's 1979 English edition of the KJV, including information on the Bible Dictionary. 1979 non-fiction books 1979 in Christianity Bible dictionaries Online English dictionaries The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints texts Mormonism and the Bible

See also

Notes

References

External links