Shew

The word shew is maintained in the Book of Mormon because we were directed by the Lord not to update archaic language in that work.

Shew is an archaic form of the word show and both are pronounced "shoh".

Scriptures update given at the conference in Sandy, UT

• All of the work on the texts has been completed.
• PDFs for all 3 volumes are available for download from scriptures.info.
• The online scriptures have been updated with the final texts.
• Paperback versions of our scriptures are in the process of being produced and should begin to be available within the next 1-2 weeks. They will be formatted exactly the same as the leather-bound scriptures. They will be broken down into 6 parts as follows:
• The Old Covenants: Genesis - 1 Chronicles
• The Old Covenants: 2 Chronicles - Malachi
• The New Testament
• The Book of Mormon
• Teachings and Commandments
• A Glossary of Gospel Terms
• No paperback will be more than 700 pages, in the hopes that the bindings will last longer than the previous paperbacks have.
• The paperback versions will be available in 3 sizes:
• A5, which is only slightly smaller than 6 x 9 - this is the same size as the leather scriptures.
• A4, which is only slightly larger than 8.5 x 11 - this will be the large print version.
• 5 x 7 - this will be the compact version.
• The A5s will come first, then the large print A4s, then the compact 5 x 7s.
• The paperback versions will be sold individually rather than by the set.
• Once the paperback versions are available, hardback versions will also be produced in:
• A5
• 8.5 x 11 (A4 not available in hardback)
• 5 x 8 (5x7 not available in hardback)
• All of the paperback and hardback books will be Print-On-Demand. There will be many shopping websites worldwide where you can purchase them, including:
• scriptures.shop
• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Foyles
• Waterstones
• Booktopia
• BookDepository
• Espresso Book Machines
• There are many more, and a complete list will be made available soon on scriptures.shop.
• The Android app will be updated with the final text and some new features in about a month. New features will include:
• The ability to add, remove, and navigate to bookmarks.
• The app will open to the last chapter & paragraph the user was reading previously.
• Improved formatting of the text (showing the same styles as on scriptures.info).
• Full-color maps
• Text-to-Speech for listening to the current chapter, with settings for adjusting the voice locale (US/UK), gender, and reading speed.
• Double tap to hide or show the top/bottom bars while reading
• Swipe left or right to go to the next or previous chapter
• There is no updated information on the iPhone at this time.
• Ebook formats are being created from the final texts, and once completed, they can be downloaded from scriptures.info for free. The first round of basic ebook files will hopefully be ready in the next few weeks. Down the road, an updated version of each have greater indexing and linking capabilities. The ebook formats will include:
• ePub
• Mobi
• Kindle
• Pre-ordering of the leather scriptures will hopefully start within the next month - but please do not hold us to the timing given here. We've been reminded continually by the unfolding of this project that there is always more to do than we anticipated. Pre-orders will need to be placed as quickly as possible so that by the time the printer has the paper ordered and in hand, we will be able to provide them with the types and amounts of the different cover choices. We won't have pricing for the leather scriptures until we have seen final samples from the printers competing for our order. We hope to make the final decision within the next few weeks. Once we decide on the printer, we will know what the pricing will be and pre-orders can begin. We will keep you informed.
• Enough interest and research has gone into developing an audio version of the new scriptures that such a project merits consideration. Audio playback is already available on scriptures.info and in the coming update of the Android app, but those are computer generated voices. Those involved in the scriptures project aren't intending to take this on - it's a project unto itself. There is important information already gathered that needs to be shared with anyone interested in taking on the project. If you are interested in undertaking or assisting with a project to produce audio scriptures, send an email to REaudioscriptures@gmail.com. As soon as there is a small group ready to consider it, those people will be connected and can determine for themselves how to move forward. 
• Additional information about the leather scriptures will come in the next couple of weeks, as soon as a few important decisions are made. Though the process for obtaining the leather scriptures has seemed to take far longer than one would suppose, there are a surprising number of steps and not all of them are tightly controllable. We're grateful for all those who have helped out with the research process and expect that when we finally have the scriptures in hand, they will not disappoint. These will be high quality, generational books that are expected to last, if well cared for, more than a lifetime.

We mean it this time.

The texts for all of our scriptures are now locked down.

The PDFs of all 3 volumes have been updated on scriptures.info. You can download the PDFs freely. They are the PDFs we intend to send to the printer for the leather scriptures. The online scriptures for volumes 1&2 (OC & NC) are already updated and the T&C will hopefully be completed by Monday night or Tuesday.

There will be more progress announced at the conference in Sandy, UT this coming Sunday.

We do understand.

A PLEA TO THE SCRIPTURES COMMITTEE (submitted to us on the 16th)

Dear Friends in Christ,

Sometimes I wonder what happens at night in the spiritual realm, because I really woke up this morning with a “bee in my bonnet” about getting the new set of scriptures. Before sharing a few thoughts I feel constrained to relate, please know if you read this note and go, “Who does he think he is? This isn’t his stewardship!” I would totally agree with you.

I only offer this plea in a spirit of gratitude - for all that you have done for each of us, and in a spirit of hunger for the Word of the Lord.

You see, there are many like me who desperately want to grab that red pencil and jump into an onion-skinned or better yet, “lamb-skinned” set, and start learning the scriptures with the words reclaimed in final “mental position.” (Sure we can read online and in rough draft form - but as far as preparing for a real ministry among the people, holding and using the physical set cannot be replaced.)  

Many in the movement have waited months and months to begin the real scripture transition - even as you folks diligently sacrificed for us and for the Lord!

At this time, please let me suggest the repentance we as a people so desperately need, (which will be heightened with having scriptures in physical form) is SO MUCH GREATER than saving a few dollars on a more affordable set. 

Please let me witness that the TIME we have to prepare and repent is dwindling quickly, and that the TIME we need to change is far more precious than any other factor. But our common enemy uses money (and real reasons) to manipulate, limit, control and delay.  

Whether the new scriptures are 25 cents, $79 or $300. How much is the word of the Lord worth? Could anything be more important? And if it is, then that is the core of the problem, not the final cost of the scriptures. This final printing is a values issue, and for those who truly cannot afford the scriptures, it becomes a fellowship-tithing-sacrifice issue to acquire them for them. I am not a wealthy man, but I will sell or acquire whatever is needed to obtain the Word of the Lord. The time lost in saving a few bucks is the real tragedy.

I am not alone when I say I desperately need these scriptures. Please let the Word come out now. Please help folks like me get into the most correct version on the entire Earth! Please don’t let money and fear of people being upset or ungrateful delay what is so deeply need at this key time.

I know you have been falsely accused and unappreciated about many things. I write this as your friend in Christ, not by way of complaint. Please forgive me for “butting in.” For truly, I am truly a flawed and impatient man of great sorrow. I wish I was so much more for the Lord-and I know only in His Word can He make me more.

No matter what happens in the years ahead, thank you for your unseen sacrifice. Thank you for helping people like me change.

HOW WE SEE THINGS

We're as anxious as everyone else to have scriptures to work with. The production of a working set of scriptures has weighed us down and practically worn us out. It's hard to go days and weeks without any visible signs of progress. But I can assure you that a day doesn't pass without work and progress. The rounds of review and correction only ended last night for the Old Covenants and New Covenants. The Teachings and Commandments should be locked down in the next couple of days. Getting things just right isn't a quick thing. So many cats need herding that it takes........................

"25 cents, $79 or $300" is important to many. If it weren't a concern, we would be further along in getting the leather scriptures. We got a lot of feedback from people that $300 scriptures would be elitist, putting the leather scriptures out of reach of many, including large families. And as soon as you move to thinking about the people outside of North America, and further, to Third World countries, price becomes an even greater segregating obstacle. Yes, we should all be willing to sacrifice to obtain the word of God, but when your life leaves nothing to sacrifice, how fair is it to set a price that is high to Americans as the price for everyone around the world? That's why, when we found a printer that appeared to be able to rival the finest Bible printer at only half the price, we determined we needed to take the time to consider what they could offer. We received samples from that printer, but the original specs we gave him were regrettably below what we wanted, so we've had to refine the requirements and are waiting for a final sample in a couple of weeks. If that printer measures up, we will have GENERATIONAL books that are expected to last hundreds of years, at a cost that the finest bible printer can't even consider. And the pricing will be far more reasonable (below $100 for an entire set, whereas the bible alone from the finest bible printer sells for $200) and less discriminatory price. Also, some commented that everyone has scriptures available online, even if printed scriptures aren't readily available. If that argument presented a suitable solution to the problem, you wouldn't have sent me your plea.

The excitement about finally having scriptures that are acceptable to the Lord is palpable. I hear about it almost daily - PLEASE give us SOMETHING! Well, we do have the scriptures online and in an app. We have "nearly there" scriptures in print, though no longer for sale, but those books are falling apart fast. But repentance isn't dependent on physical scriptures. There are underground Christian churches in China that only have one page of the Bible to work with and it doesn't slow them down. There are testimonies online of Muslims in prison who have never read the Bible, but who have had the Lord appear to them and they converted to Christianity. The father of king Lamoni only needed a conversation with a believer to return to his Lord. We suggest that we look to the light, not the book, and be patient. The books will come.

Regarding the poor quality of books so far, that, too, is something that has weighed on us. The cost of the leather scriptures project is over $100,000, so we aren't going to jump into it without making sure we've dotted all the Is and crossed all the Ts. The cost of soft and hard cover sets is less, but what we've seen from Amazon is disappointing and the promise of better hasn't been found thus far. The challenge is that no one will do print-on-demand (POD) books in paper that is much thinner than what Amazon does (55# / 55 pound). But the only bindings offered are the same, so we risk having bindings break. The only way to get paper that is much thinner is to order books in batches, which is expensive compared to POD. If anyone has an alternative that we haven't seen or that knows a printer that can do POD with paper below 45#/68gsm (Amazon is 55#/81gsm), let us know ASAP.

We'd also like to ask everyone to continue praying for the Lord's help that all mistakes are discovered in time and that final stumbling blocks and challenges are quickly overcome so that the time it takes to get all the versions of the scriptures available is kept to a minimum.

A final note on printed versions of the scriptures. Here are the anticipated versions through the various printers we are talking with:

• Leather scripture sets
• Soft and hard cover sets, maybe through POD
• Large Print soft cover sets
• Compact soft and hard cover sets
• Stand-alone soft cover Glossary and Book of Mormon

Section 101 Resolution

The original Section 101 "On Marriage" was determined to be left out of the T&C. Going into the recent conference held at Grand Junction, a group of individuals expressed concern about the possibility of polygamy rearing its head again. They believed that adding Section 101 to the T&C by a vote would give the strong statement they felt was needed against polygamy. Because the possibility was raised in the week running up to the conference, there was not enough time for people to prepare for such a vote; there was also the concern that the scriptures project would be done soon after and no opportunity would be available to vote on the matter.

After discussions with the group, the most acceptable solution for all concerned was to add the section as a historical document to the Appendix in Volume 3. However...

There has been an unexpected amount of push-back over the inclusion of the section in the appendix. Numerous emails have laid out  some very good reasons why the section is not necessary in order to address the issue of polygamy:

• The Answer to Prayer for Covenant & Jacob 2 are overtly more anti-polygamy than Section 101.
• The Answer to Prayer for Covenant includes this: “ I commanded that there shall not any man have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none.”; whereas Section 101 is less straightforward, capable of being circumvented by careful wordsmithing. “Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again." Polygamy per se is not condemned in Section 101. God’s will is not stated, only what “we believe”, whereas the Answer to Prayer for Covenant & Jacob 2 give God’s will on multiple wives.
• Adding Section 101 to the T&C adds little doctrinally & includes some requirements for marriage that apparently don’t come from God:
• To allow for all possible roles to act as the authority to marry, we would have to institute the office of Bishop within fellowships.
• Private marriages would no longer be allowed; public ceremonies only.
• Every fellowship would have to select a clerk for recording marriages.
• Anyone marrying outside the movement would be considered "weak in the faith."
• All children would be bound by law to obey their parents.

• In T&C 157 the Lord tells us, "And now I will accept what you have produced and you need not labor further to recover my words, but to complete your labors as you have agreed." In T&C 177 He says, "The work that has been done is acceptable and sufficient for the
  labor now underway." Removing D&C 132 and giving us a replacement in the Answer to Prayer for Covenant are more than enough to turn aside a true seeker from continuing polygamy.

The original concern was having a strong statement against polygamy. That is already found in our current scriptures. So there doesn't appear to be a need to include the original Section 101 in the Appendix or T&C. It was originally left out of the T&C because it was not a product of either Joseph or Hyrum. We will therefore leave it out.

What we're up to...

We received a genuine inquiry about why we would want to produce expensive leather-bound scriptures.

To be clear, our goal is to produce the finest books possible while at the same time making them available at as affordable a cost as possible. We want the quality of the volumes to be superior so they will endure. We want the cost to be as low as possible.

Here is the email and the responses we provided:

While pondering the logistical/financial details explained by Denver in Grand Junction, CO pertaining to the ordering of the leather bound scriptures, I had some impressions that left me feeling I needed to reach out.

In the "Response from the Lord on Acceptance of Scriptures" the 3rd paragraph down reads

"These scriptures are sent forth to be my warning to the world, my comfort to the faithful, my counsel to the meek, my reproof to the proud, my rebuke to the contentious, and my condemnation of the wicked. They are my invitation to all mankind to flee from corruption, repent and be baptized in my name and prepare for the coming judgment."

I trust the Lord and know with Him all things are possible. If these are truly His words and His response, He will surely provide a way. However, with the extremely limited printing situation, how long will it take us to spread them far enough to warn the world and to get them to whoever needs them for any of the following; to be comforted, counseled, reproved, rebuked, or condemned. 

I'm sure it's been considered how to print an affordable version that could be given out (or sold an affordable price, at any given moment they come across it and want to order) to those seeking something like this from the scriptures. I wouldn't want to just hand them out to anyone who will make eye contact, leading a lot to go in the trash, the way Books of Mormon are in LDS missions. But this achievement and blessing is very precious and valuable, having the scriptures restored and formatted like this is clearly an essential work to the Lord!

I do not want/need the edges of my scriptures to have gold edges. Why was that decision made, did it cost extra? Thin-skinned paper with durable cover is a great and wonderful blessing of God! I want to offer them to many people (technically everyone I know, including non-believers because how much the difference affects the readability), but with the one-time ordering of what could be $100 scriptures that of course isn't practical. The PDF being available isn't the same, because I know I am not the only one who doesn't want to always read from a screen. If it made no difference to read PDF or a book this wouldn't be so exciting for people in the movement and you wouldn't be ordering something around 1,400 volumes. (Sorry, I don't remember the number exactly)

I greatly appreciate all the work that has already been done, and in no way am I wanting to diminish that. And also, I hope the acknowledgement is clear that if the answers to my questions (which I am sure are not unique) were so simple of course you guys would have already thought of it and done it that way. It's clear to me there is a lot of information I don't have that would help explain why you are going about it this way. So, please don't take this as any accusation or anything, just seeking to understand and also hopefully aid in God's work in all things. 

I wonder, how low will their discount go per how many we have to buy? Is there a durable, eco-friendly, way that's cheaper than leather way to bind a book that still will hold the thin paper? Are there cheaper "onion skin" materials like hemp paper perhaps? Would it be worthwhile to invest in a printing press of our own to cut out profit margins? I'd much much rather have cheaper materials and have many people have access to this precious, delicious gift, than have my very own elite special never-printed-again-for-the-foreseeable-future gold edged first edition super scriptures.

I hope this comes off with the love I intend it! I get anxious easily, and don't want my writing to offend. Again, I acknowledge great work and sacrifice has gone into these efforts. Time from family, and I'm sure fielding a lot of emails with people like me trying to each put in their two cents. I am not intending this to be that way, nosing into a work I didn't help complete. Simply that the way I see it, is for these scriptures to be a "warning to the world" they need to reach much further than those who can afford them in this exact timing, while currently being aware of them, and while most likely involved and connected with the Remnant movement. I think these being available to faithful, deceived LDS members could make a huge difference in them finally actually having their eyes opened to the Word of the Lord without the mis-colorings of modern apostasy. 

OUR RESPONSE:

This is just an assumption, but from your approach, it sounds like you believe that we will only have leather scriptures available, other than PDFs and scriptures.info. Please rest assured that we are mindful of the many that either don't know about the scriptures or that are in places where leather scriptures will either be difficult or impossible to obtain, due to cost or distribution limitations. We are taking steps to make sure that the scriptures are available in many forms:

• Online at scriptures.info
• Downloadable PDFs
• ebooks
• Mobile phone apps
• Leather-bound volumes
• Paperback books
• Hard cover books

We're changing printers for the paperback and hard cover books so that we can use a distribution system that can reach worldwide. We also may be able to get the printing costs of paperbacks and hard cover books down to less than half of the current Amazon cost.

One other point. There is a very good reason for gilding page edges - it prevents insects that feed on paper, such as silverfish, from getting past the metallic edge. The point of making more expensive leather-bound copies of scriptures is so that they will last for generations. A time will come when printing isn't available any longer. We are doing everything in our power to have the finest books made so that some will endure.

I hope this addresses what you seem to be getting at - making the scriptures available to as many people as possible and why we would produce expensive copies of scripture.

--Chris

THEN:

Chris has touched on the value of gilding edges, but there are more reasons than one.  The determination to put metal on the edges of books was a discovery made in the Middle Ages that dramatically extended the life of a book.  Not only does it preserve the page from insects, but it also forms a barrier against rot, mold and water.  Gilding uses gold because it is so malleable, easy to apply, and wears well.  It is not a matter of just style, but a matter of book protection, defense and durability.

Most of the world no longer buys books.  They use electronic versions.  Throughout Latin America, for example, it is rare to have a book in a printed form, even for avid readers.  The world has migrated onto the hand-held electronic versions for price and convenience.  Therefore no matter what we do to reduce printing and make low-cost distribution available world-wide, the world's largest body of readers will use the electronic version.

As to costs for the printing, every cost lowering idea has been explored, including tracking cover materials back through the distribution chain to the first source of the material to make a direct, bulk purchase option for cost-lowering.  And printers worldwide have been consulted, not just American or European printers.  Work on the printing has consumed many days of labor to put a comprehensive specification list, and then have printers acknowledge and bid on the basis of that comprehensive specification list.  We have been fortunate to have an actual qualified maker of books, who restores valuable but damaged texts professionally as a consultant.  He has refurbished or repaired many of the original copies of the Book of Mormon printed in EB Grandin's shop.  He has worked with many of the materials we have reviewed, and made valuable contributions to the specifications, including lower-cost and more durable leather treatment.

2 Adjustments

In response to questions posed by observant folks, we have learned some things that affect our scriptures:

In his talk given at the 2016 Sunstone Symposium, titled Was There An Original?, Denver recounted Joseph Smith's last dream, had the night before he died. It was pointed out that Denver had removed the three references to "the church". In footnote 210 of the transcript Denver wrote: TPJS pp. 393-394, edited to remove insertions about the church that do not belong in the account.

When asked, And is this verifiable or simply something you happen to know?, he responded: It is something I know, but I've never seen in any historical document--because it was recounted and recorded postmortem.

Given his understanding of the matter, it has been determined that his more correct version should be used in the T&C, so the three references to "the church" will be removed.


During the development of the Timeline of the Fathers it was pointed out that while we have the age of each father noted as to when he was ordained to the Holy Order, there was no such age given for Melchizedek. The matter was brought up again yesterday and the question was posed to Denver whether he knew what that age was. He replied:

There is no age given for his ordination. He exhibited great faith "when a child" and qualified because of his great works to be ordained as a result. (His father having been ordained at the age of 10). The record states, immediately after defining this as "when a child" that Melchizedek "thus, having been approved of God, he was ordained a high priest after the Order of the covenant."  That does not necessarily mean he was ordained as a child, but that he was approved of God for ordination because of his great faith exhibited while he was still a child.

That having been said, there would be little reason to mention he had this great faith to qualify "when a child" unless the immediately following reference to ordination to the Holy Order were not likewise a childhood event.  In the absence of direct proof to the contrary, I would conclude he was ordained at the same age as his father, when 10 years of age. I would make that "perhaps 10" rather than a definitive "10".

The notation "~10" will be added to Melchizedek's timeline.