The Law of Common Consent and the Translation of the King James Bible

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that "all things shall be done by common consent... by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith..." (Doctrine and Covenants 26:2) In the context of modern decisions, we apply this counsel in the sustaining of leaders, the acceptance of new scripture, and other matters of major importance.

Evidence that the King James Version of the Bible is inspired is affirmed in that the translators followed the divinely inspired principle of common consent in the translation thereof. In the law of common consent there are checks within the church to ensure that all is done according to the will of the Lord. King James' edict on the translation of the Bible stipulates that: "Every particular man of each company to take the same chapter or chapters, and having translated or amended them severally by himself where he think good, all to meet together, confer what they have done, and agree for their parts what shall stand."

Most importantly, the translators of the Bible recognized that true understanding of the word of God would come from the Spirit. Wrote Miles Smith, " It remaineth, that we commend thee to God, and to the Spirit of his grace, which is able to build further than we can ask or think. He removeth the scales from our eyes, the veil from our hearts." Thus the purest translation of the Bible is that which distills upon our hearts from the Spirit of God.