Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are finding that using different translations of the Bible is helping their understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A December update to the General Handbook allows for more flexibility in Bible usage at home and at church.
“Generally, members should use a preferred or Church-published edition of the Bible in Church classes and meetings,” the handbook states. “This helps maintain clarity in discussions and consistent understanding of doctrine. Other Bible translations may also be used.”
It continues: “Some individuals may benefit from translations that are doctrinally clear and also easier to understand. Examples of such translations can be found in the Church’s Holy Bible list.”
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson said: “This isn’t a departure from Church-preferred translations. We are simply acknowledging that some members will benefit from alternate translations.”
Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, said: “Our hope is that everyone will feel welcome and respected, no matter the translation they connect with and choose to use. What matters most is how the scriptures speak to our spirits and draw us closer to God as we read every day.”
Tracy Keeney, from Huntsville, Arkansas, said having access to several different translations or versions can help increase understanding.
Growing up in several southern U.S. states meant she was often one of only a few members of the Church at her school. Other students and friends of different faiths used other editions of the Bible than the King James Version, so she checked out those editions from the library.
“Consulting with other versions of the Bible often helped me to understand why my friends and I understood scripture differently,” she said. “More and more I was seeing that how the scriptures were translated made such a difference in how they’re interpreted.”
Since then, Keeney has heard BYU religion professors and other Latter-day Saint scholars refer to other translations as well.
She said she has always kept the Church’s publications of the Old and New Testaments as her main biblical source — calling the footnotes, the cross-referencing with the Book of Mormon, the Bible Dictionary and the Joseph Smith Translation “absolutely irreplaceable for thorough study.”
But being able to consult other translations of the Bible “really helps to give a deeper and richer understanding of what the author was saying and can help clarify why people who use different versions of the Bible understand things differently than we do.”
Terry Broadbent from Salt Lake City said he was grateful for the acknowledgement of the value of newer Bible translations, which he has been using for a few years.
He uses an app that allows access to several English translations. It also allows for reading two translations side-by-side, and he does this to read the Bible in Spanish next to a newer English version. He also has a published edition of the Bible that features the Joseph Smith Translation side-by-side with the King James Version.
“I plan to use all of these resources as we study the Old Testament in 2026,” Broadbent said.
Anthony Piña, from Normal, Illinois, is grateful for this invitation from the Church. Over the years, he has found that comparing multiple versions and translations of the Old and New Testaments provides insights to increase his understanding and appreciation of the scriptures.
“As a teacher, referring to modern language translations has helped many students to avoid misunderstandings due to archaic words in the King James Version whose meanings have changed over the centuries,” Piña said.
Other individuals and families have found that some translations are easier to understand for people depending on reading level or comprehension skills.
In her 2011 article titled “Modern English Bible Translations,” BYU religion professor Gaye Strathearn wrote:
“While the King James Bible has an important legacy and remains the preferred choice of English-speaking Latter-day Saints, there are also many ways that modern translations can further our understanding of the Bible.”
She acknowledged that the work of translation from one language to another always has difficulties and is a complex process.
“We love and honor and study the King James Version of the Bible, but it is not the only source of our doctrine,” Strathearn said.
The General Handbook says that if members find doctrinal discrepancies between Bible translations, they should refer to the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and teachings of Latter-day prophets.
Sergio Aramburu, from Santiago, Chile, said with care, classes and meetings on Sundays can become a good place to discuss the Bible.
“If something is unclear, we should immediately consult other canonical books or ask a teacher or Church leader in class,” he said. “We used these classic or preferred versions so that we could all connect in the same way and understand the same things.”
He quoted the eighth article of faith, which says, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”
Aramburu concluded, “Our belief and faith are not based exclusively on the Bible, for we have four canonical books and we have and believe in the current prophets of God on earth, and that is paramount for us.”
Preferred translations
Under the Holy Bible in the Gospel Library is a list of the translations published or preferred for use by the Church. This includes:
- 3 Church editions
- 6 licensed translations
- 5 translations in progress
- 118 other preferred translations
The preferred or Church-published editions of the Bible include King James Version (English), the Reina-Valera 2009 (Spanish) and the Almeida 2015 (Portuguese).
Examples of translations that the Church found to achieve both readability and doctrinal clarity include:
- English Standard Version (ESV)
- New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
- New International Version (NIV)
- New Living Translation (NLT)
- New King James Version (NKJV)
- New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Resources for studying the Old Testament in 2026
As members of the Church prepare to begin a gospel study of the Bible again for “Come, Follow Me,” beginning with the Old Testament in 2026, the Church News recently compiled a list of resources that can help.
This includes the “Come, Follow Me” manual, Old Testament “scripture helps” in the Gospel Library, ”Old Testament Stories" for children and “Insights from the Apostle” videos.
See also the “Come, Follow Me” section of the Church News.
