Joseph Smith Translation: Restoring What Was Lost

Between 1830 and 1844, Joseph Smith undertook a systematic revision of the King James Bible. He did not work from Hebrew or Greek manuscripts. He worked from the English KJV text, guided by revelation, making changes that ranged from minor clarifications to the insertion of entirely new passages. The resulting work, known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), is not published as a standalone Bible by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but significant JST passages appear in the footnotes and appendix of the Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Bible. Two major JST extracts -- the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith--Matthew -- are canonized in the Pearl of Great Price. Understanding what the JST is, what it does, and how to use it is essential for any serious Latter-day Saint student of the Bible.

The JST operates on a premise that is unique to Restoration theology: the Bible, as transmitted through centuries of copying, translating, and editing, has lost "plain and precious things" (1 Nephi 13:28). Nephi's vision in 1 Nephi 13 describes a process by which the original writings of the apostles and prophets were altered -- not maliciously in every case, but through the accumulated errors and editorial decisions of scribes, translators, and ecclesiastical councils over nearly two millennia. The JST is Joseph Smith's prophetic effort to restore what was lost. Some changes correct apparent errors in the KJV. Others expand compressed narratives. Still others introduce entirely new material that has no parallel in any surviving manuscript. The claim is not that Joseph Smith was a better linguist than the KJV translators. The claim is that he had access to a source they did not: direct revelation from the original Author.

Several JST passages are so significant that they have shaped Latter-day Saint theology in fundamental ways. The Book of Moses, which is the JST revision of Genesis 1-6, introduces the premortal existence of spirits, the council in heaven, and Satan's rebellion -- doctrines that are absent from the Genesis text as it appears in any other Bible. Moses 1 records a face-to-face encounter between God and Moses that sets the stage for the entire creation narrative: "Behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands" (Moses 1:4). That single verse establishes a father-child relationship between God and Moses that reframes everything that follows in Genesis. Without it, Genesis begins with an impersonal "In the beginning God created." With it, the creation is a father showing his son what he has made.

Joseph Smith--Matthew, the JST revision of Matthew 24, is another landmark passage. The KJV version of the Olivet Discourse -- Jesus's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and His Second Coming -- is notoriously difficult to interpret because it seems to conflate two events separated by millennia. The JST separates them, making clear which verses refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 and which refer to the events preceding the Second Coming. It also adds material about the gathering of the elect and the parable of the fig tree that clarifies the timeline. For Latter-day Saints studying end-times prophecy, Joseph Smith--Matthew is indispensable precisely because it untangles what the KJV leaves knotted.

Other JST changes are smaller but doctrinally significant. In Exodus 33:20, the KJV reads, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live." The JST changes this to "Thou canst not see my face at this time, lest mine anger be kindled against thee also, and I destroy thee, and thy people; for there shall no man among them see me at this time, and live, for they are exceeding sinful. And no sinful man hath at any time, neither shall there be any sinful man at any time, that shall see my face and live." The JST revision does not contradict the KJV -- it contextualizes it. The prohibition is not absolute and permanent; it is conditional and specific to that moment. This aligns with other scriptures where prophets do see God face to face (Moses 1:2, Abraham 3:11) and resolves a contradiction that has puzzled biblical scholars for centuries.

Using the JST in personal study is straightforward. The footnotes in the Latter-day Saint edition of the KJV are marked with "JST" followed by the revised text. Longer JST passages appear in the Bible Appendix. The Scripture Explainer tool can surface JST changes alongside the KJV text so you can see both versions in parallel. The key principle is this: the JST is not a curiosity or a historical artifact. It is an active prophetic commentary on the Bible, and it reflects the Restoration's central claim that God has not stopped speaking. When you read the KJV with JST footnotes, you are reading the Bible the way Joseph Smith understood it -- as a living text still being revealed, still being clarified, still yielding its treasures to those who seek them with faith and diligence. As the Lord told Joseph, "The scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect" (Doctrine and Covenants 35:20).