Re-visioning the Bible

Abstract

Joseph Smith considered his “re-translation” of the Bible (actually a revision) to be one of the most important “branches of his calling.” The most important product of this effort was a Mosaic narrative, utterly absent from Genesis, that described such new doctrines as the Christian gospel being taught to Adam and Eve, as well as their baptism—effectively collapsing and redefining Christian covenant theology. Smith also introduced a narrative of the prophet Enoch, who encounters a God weeping over humankind’s misery. His other edits to the Bible made significant changes to the presentation of original sin, predestination, and the nature of sin and salvation. Of equal importance, his work on the Bible prompted an outpouring of canonized revelations on a host of topics.