As the T&C began to take shape, we realized that there would be challenges with how to reference some of the parts, specifically (1) the Joseph Smith History, (2) the Lectures on Faith, (3) the Book of Abraham, and then (4) the Testimony of St. John. Several discussions resulted in a workable system that needs to be explained as we get close to finalizing the T&C:
- The scriptures are WORKS (OT, NT, Book of Mormon, T&C)
- that are made up of BOOKS (Genesis, Psalms, Luke, Acts, Alma, 3 Nephi)
- which are divided into CHAPTERS and PARAGRAPHS.
- The T&C is a hybrid of both SECTIONS (as the D&C was traditionally was, rather than chapters) and also BOOKS (1-4 above).
- The SECTIONS don't have internal divisions other than paragraphs, but the BOOKS do.
- Also, in the JSH, there are no CHAPTERS, but there are PARTS, which act as chapters, and the LoF has LECTURES instead of CHAPTERS.
To work with several variations, yet maintain a standardized referencing system similar to what is used in most scriptures:
- SECTIONS use a regular # : # approach — T&C 89:4 is SECTION 89: PARAGRAPH 4.
- BOOKS (because there are only 4 to remember) don't reference their T&C Section number. Doing so would result in a # : # : # reference that is so uncommon as to be confusing. Instead, as with any other BOOK, simply use the book name and then the standard chapter : paragraph # : # approach:
- JSH 15:4 (Part 15:paragraph 4)
- LoF 2:2 (Lecture 2:paragraph 2)
- Abr. 6:1 (Chapter 6:paragraph 1)
- TSJ 11:7 (Chapter 11:paragraph 7)
The immediate first question might be: Where is the Book of Abraham or Lectures on Faith? There's a Table of Contents at the front of the work, and after only a few trips to them (there are only 4 to remember
— Sections 1, 110, 145, 171), it will be easy to find them all!
We don't reference Alma 12:10 by stating "Book of Mormon, Alma 12:10", so it will be unnecessary to state "T&C 110: Lecture 2:16", but instead "Lectures on Faith 2:16". Use of the scriptures will make us familiar with where to find the books that are in the T&C.
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We've been asked about having the Kindle version of the scriptures. We want that, but must make sure that everything is as good as it will get, because just like the print versions on Amazon, if we update the content within Kindle, existing copies will not be updated. Here is what Kindle says:
- We only send customers updates to serious quality issues.
Sending customers updated content may erase notes or highlights they
entered, so the improvements must outweigh the disadvantages. We won't
accept your request if you:
- Added, deleted, or changed words, sentences, pages, chapters, or images.
- Changed a character's name or your eBook's plot.
- Added, deleted, or changed links or marketing information
- Made significant changes that warrant a new edition.
That is why we've held off up to now and will wait until the content is ready for the leather-bound sets. In the meantime, once a WORK is completed, we also make a list of all changes that have been made since May 2018 available in a PDF for the work. It can be downloaded from scriptures.info. So far we only have such a PDF for the Book of Mormon and will have the entire NC doc ready shortly.
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The T&C is moving along rapidly and we expect to have it completed by the end of next week. That includes color maps (for scriptures.info and leather-bound versions) and a much larger Glossary of Terms. However, there will be minor updates to the T&C coming, due to punctuation updated in the OC. We need to make sure that quoted scriptures match our updated scriptures when relevant.
Hope this helps.
