Encore presentation Feb. 25 at LDS Conference Center
To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the translation and publication of the King James Version of the Bible, the Religious Studies Center at Brigham Young University will sponsor an academic symposium on the role of the King James translation in the Restoration of the Gospel Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 23 and 24, from 1 to 5 p.m. each day in the Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium.
There will also be an encore presentation at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City Friday, Feb. 25, from 7 to 9 p.m. All events are free, and no registration is necessary.
“[The King James Version of the Bible] was a critical part of the Reformation,” said Richard Bennett, associate dean of Religious Education at BYU. “The Bible was the springboard of the Restoration in the sense that it was James 1:5 that led Joseph Smith into the [Sacred] Grove.”
Speakers will examine the role of the Bible in America in the days of Joseph Smith and the specific contributions of the King James translation to the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the teachings of Joseph Smith.
Those presenting at the symposium include Dan L. Belnap, Lincoln H. Blumell, Eric D. Huntsman, Kent P. Jackson, Robert L. Millet, Gaye Strathearn, John S. Tanner, Grant Underwood, Thomas A. Wayment and Fred E. Woods.
“Why do we commemorate [The King James Version]? It’s because it correlates with the Restoration,” said Bennett. “Joseph Smith’s inspired translation is not an effort to show what’s wrong with the Bible, but to redeem the Bible so that it can take its place as an equal member of scripture. That’s why this conference means so much to us.”
For a full schedule of events, visit rsc.byu.edu. Contact Brent Nordgren at (801) 422-3293 or e-mail brent_nordgren@byu.edu for more information.
Writer: Mel Gardner
