On May 9, 1833, Joseph Smith received a revelation (Section 91) pertaining to the Apocrypha.
The books of the Apocrypha generally refer to numerous sacred books of the Jewish people that were not included in the Hebrew Bible. According to the dictionary in the 1983 LDS edition of the King James Bible, the books of the Apocrypha "are valuable as forming a link, connecting the Old and New Testaments, and are regarded in the Church as useful reading, although not all the books are of equal value."In Section 91, the Lord made it known that the contents of the Apocrypha are mostly translated correctly, but with many interpolations by man. The books of the Apocrypha were introduced into the English version of the Bible in 1535, and were included in the first edition of the King James version of the Bible, but few editions of the English Bible today contain the Apocrypha. The Lord instructed Joseph Smith that it was not necessary to revise or translate the Apocrypha. (D&C 91:3.)
In the revelation, the Lord states that whoever may read the Apocrypha ". . . let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; and whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom; and whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefitted." (D&C 91:5-6.)
