- Bible Dictionary (LDS Church)
"Bible Dictionary" is an official publication of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Since 1979, "Bible Dictionary" has been published as an appendix to most copies of theKing James Version of theBible printed by the LDS Church. It 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."LDS Church, "Bible Dictionary", [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/contents Preface] .]The LDS "Bible Dictionary" was created in the 1970s by the Scriptures Publications Committee of the LDS Church. [William James Mortimer, [http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/basic/bible/lds_publication_eom.htm "LDS Publication of the Bible] " in
Daniel H. Ludlow (ed.) (1992), "Encyclopedia of Mormonism ",Macmillan Publishing .] This committee was chaired byThomas S. Monson , who at the time was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The committee delegated the responsibility of creating an LDS bible dictionary to Robert J. Matthews, aBrigham Young University Professor of Ancient Scripture.Lavina Fielding Anderson , [http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=872e615b01a6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 “Church Publishes First LDS Edition of the Bible”] , "Ensign", Oct. 1979, 9.] Matthews gained permission fromCambridge University Press 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 that are exclusively taught by the LDS Church. However, the majority of the content of the "Bible Dictionary" is identical to the Cambridge publication.The LDS "Bible Dictionary" is published in all versions of the Bible printed by the church, with the exception of the bare-bones 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 theJoseph Smith Translation of the Bible . The LDS Church provides the complete contents of the 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 that " [i] t is not intended as an official or revealed endorsement by the Church of the doctrinal, historical, cultural, and other matters set forth."
References
External links
* [http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bd/contents Bible Dictionary] : complete text; links to entries organized alphabetically
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