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The LDS Church Flip-Flopped on the KJV

Recently, the LDS church announced updated guidance on the "approved" list of Bible translation for use in local congregations, spanning both English and international language versions. You can find the specifics of this guidance in the LDS General Handbook.

The Updated Narrative

On January 6, 2026, an interview was hosted by BYU to highlight the updated LDS Bible recommendations:

Josh Sears, Associate Professor of Ancient Scripture

[L]anguage just keeps evolving. That's a natural thing. And that's nothing to be afraid of. That's just how language works. And we see out throughout history that as language gets of the scriptures gets too far removed from what people are speaking, there's always a need to update and modernize...

So, when the announcement came about the handbook updates that were going to be more flexible and allow for a variety of translations to work alongside the King James, it didn't really surprise me because to me this was aligned with this trajectory that we've had since the roots of the Restoration to make sure people can understand the scriptures.

The Old Guard

But how does Sear's confidence in the "trajectory that we've had since the roots of the Restoration" square with statements from past LDS leaders? Consider the following quotations:

Mark E. Petersen, 1966, As Translated Correctly

Quotations from ancient Jewish prophets appearing in the Book of Mormon are the most correct Old Testament passages in existence today. They were copied onto the gold plates directly from the plates of brass, and translated by the gift and power of God as a part of the Book of Mormon. And yet—these passages resemble the King James translation more than any other Bible version. This gives reason to believe that indeed the Lord did have a hand in the translation of the King James version...Not one of the modern versions can match the language of the brass plates quotations as the King James version does.

First Presidency Statement, 20 June, 1992

The most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations.

While other Bible versions may be easier to read than the King James Version, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the King James Version in preference to other English translations. All of the Presidents of the Church, beginning with the Prophet Joseph Smith, have supported the King James Version by encouraging its continued use in the Church.

Dallin H. Oaks, April 3, 1993

When we address prayers to our Heavenly Father in English, our only available alternatives are the common words of speech like you and your or the dignified but uncommon words like thee, thou, and thy, which were used in the King James Version of the Bible almost five hundred years ago. Latter-day Saints, of course, prefer the latter. In our prayers we use language that is dignified and different, even archaic.

Pivot and a Caveat

The push to prioritize the KJV over other English translations was certainly not original to the Restoration, or it would not have been pushed so hard by conservative leaders of the 1950s and 60s. Unfortunately, the updated guidance seems to shoot the entire effort in the foot:

When members encounter 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.

This presents a major problem: by placing the modern Bible translations as subordinate in interpretive authority to the other LDS canonical scriptures, this policy ends up preserving the outdated King James interpretation of the Bible, as a great deal of KJV passages and meanings are paraphrased or even copied verbatim into the Book of Mormon, which was written with the assumption that the KJV was the intended English rendering of the original Hebrew, and seems unaware of any other language to consider the Bible. Thus, the KJV will still be seen, albeit now covertly, as the "correct" translation, because it was the basis for Joseph Smith's imitation of Jacobian English as a prooftext for his prophetic authority.

"Seek Ye Out of the Best Books"

If you're interested in learning more about topics related to the LDS church and Biblical translations, check out the following resources:

Professor Benjamin Parks, YouTube: "Why Mormons LOVE the King James Version of the Bible"

Dan McClellan, YouTube: "What's the best translation of the Bible?"

Bible Gateway: The New Revised Standard Version

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