Pope Francis, the current Pope of the Catholic Church, has proposed a change to the “Lord’s Prayer” that surprisingly correlates with Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible.
Pope Francis is suggesting that the phrase,
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . .”
should be corrected, based on the original Greek text, to read,
“do not let us fall into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Early pioneer Edward Stevenson, later a member of the First Council of Seventy, recorded the following recollection of one sermon by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Prophet gave rich instructions relative to preaching the gospel by the Spirit and power of the Holy Ghost. He also explained several passages of scripture. He taught that the Lord’s prayer should state, “Leave us not in temptation”—not, “Lead us not into temptation.” (Matthew 6:13.)1
When Joseph Smith completed his inspired translation of Matthew 6, he corrected verse 13 to read:
“And suffer us not to be led into temptation, but deliver us from evil:”
The “Lord’s Prayer” in Luke was restored to:
“And let us not be led unto temptation; but deliver us from evil . . .”
Over the years, Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible has proven to be an invaluable source of instruction and guidance. Elder Bruce R. McConkie expressed his appreciation for Joseph Smith’s revealed corrections to the Bible saying,
The Joseph Smith Translation, or Inspired Version, is a thousand times over the best Bible now existing on earth. . . . It was made by the spirit of revelation, and the changes and additions are the equivalent of the revealed word in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants.2
May I be pardoned if I say that negative attitudes and feelings about the Joseph Smith Translation are simply part of the Devil’s program to keep the word of truth from the children of men. Of course the revealed changes made by Joseph Smith are true, as much as anything in the Book of Mormon or Doctrine and Covenants! . . . Of course we should use the inspired translation, the Joseph Smith Translation, in our study and teaching!3
- They Knew the Prophet [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1974], 87 – 88.
- “The Bible, a Sealed Book,” Teaching Seminary: Preservice Readings (2004), 123–32
- Bruce R. McConkie, “The Doctrinal Restoration,” in The Joseph Smith Translation: The Restoration of Plain and Precious Truths, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1985).