Over the past nearly 200 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members have used and shared hundreds of millions of physical copies of the Book of Mormon.
And now, a decade after the initial release of the Book of Mormon app, the use and sharing of the Church’s sacred volume of scriptures are being enhanced with new digital features and content.
When the app was first launched in 2012, the initial version merely replicated the text and offered basic search and scripture-marking capabilities.
With the app available in more than 100 languages, the Book of Mormon app improvements include the addition of “Discover,” “Watch” and “Share” tabs.
The “Discover” tab is the gateway to additional content, the “Watch” tab opens to the full library of available Book of Mormon Videos segments, and the “Share” tab provides a quick-response or QR code to share with smartphones in the 100-plus supported languages.
The update was announced Friday, July 29, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“From the time of its first printing over 192 years ago, the commission from the Lord has been to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon,” said Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, a General Authority Seventy who chairs the Scriptures Committee in the Church’s Priesthood and Family Department.
“In the digital age, the Book of Mormon app helps us fulfill this divine mandate. The app is miraculous. It allows us to be better instruments in sharing God’s word with His people, wherever they are, in whatever language they speak.”
Here’s a close look at the three new tabs.
‘Discover’
The tab has been designed with both Latter-day Saints and friends of other faiths in mind. One feature provides quick links to significant sections of the Book of Mormon — for example, Christ’s visit to the Americas or Moroni’s invitation to pray about and promises of the book’s divinity.
Another feature provides answers to frequently asked questions, such as “Who wrote the Book of Mormon” and “How do the Bible and the Book of Mormon work together?”
The “Discover” tab also allows users to chat and study with missionaries, to find a nearby meetinghouse, to watch videos of others’ testimonies of the Book of Mormon and to connect to Book of Mormon social media accounts.
‘Watch’
This section contains the full library of Book of Mormon Videos, which are available in 15 languages — Cantonese, Cebuano, English, French, Germany, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Samoan, Spanish, Tagalog and Tongan.
Later this year, the app will include a series of videos portraying the Savior’s visit to the Americas, as contained in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon.
The videos have become a popular way to enhance understanding of the Book of Mormon, with missionary use of videos expected to increase with the release of the new videos.
“Jesus Christ’s visit to the Americas after His Resurrection is a favorite part of the Book of Mormon for many,” said Sister Michelle D. Craig, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency. “The beautiful visual representation of these events will give us another way to share our witness that Jesus Christ lives and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of His divinity.”
‘Share’
The “Share” tab offers a QR code that goes to the Book of Mormon app in the language of the user’s phone. And with an additional tap of the code, users can share the link to download the app via text, email or social media.
President Russell M. Nelson has said: “The Book of Mormon provides the fullest and most authoritative understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ to be found anywhere. [Jesus Christ] was the promised Messiah, the mortal Messiah and will be the millennial Messiah. I testify with my whole soul that in a most miraculous and singular way, the Book of Mormon teaches us of Jesus Christ and His gospel.”
