Miles Coverdale wrote in his AD 1535 preface to the English Bible:

Go to now, (most dear reader) and sit thee down at the Lord’s feet and read his words, and . . . take them into thine heart, and let thy talking and communication be of them when thou sittest in thine house, or goest by the way, when thou liest down and when thou riseth up. . . . In whom [God] if thou put thy trust, and be an unfeigned reader or hearer of his word with thy heart, thou shalt find sweetness therein and spy [see] wondrous things, to thy understanding, to the anointing of all seditious sects, to the abhorring of thy old sinful life, and to the establishing of thy godly conversation.[1]

Over the centuries, countless lives have been comforted, guided, and sustained as they heeded Coverdale’s advice. Latter-day Saints, like so many others, rejoice in the truths found in the Bible. President Gordon B. Hinckley unequivocally stated the Church’s view on the Bible: “We are a biblical church. This wonderful testament of the Old World, this great and good Holy Bible is one of our standard works. We teach from it. We bear testimony of it. We read from it. It strengthens our testimony. And we add to that this great second witness, the Book of Mormon, the testament of the New World, for as the Bible says, ‘In the mouths of two or three witnesses shall all things be established.’”[2]

The Bible and Book of Mormon go hand in hand along with other revealed knowledge. Nephi saw in vision the Bible. He knew the impact it would have as it went forth from Jew to Gentile to the seed of his brethren. He also learned through vision of the need for Restoration scripture to establish the truth of the Bible as it made “known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them”—all this in order that “all kindreds, tongues, and people, [would know] that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world” (1 Nephi 13:38–40).

The New Testament Brought to Light examines such themes as the Atonement, grace, gifts of the Spirit, the condescension of God, and calling and election within the pages of the book of Acts through the Revelation of John. Using scriptures of the Restoration and teachings from the presiding authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it illuminates and clarifies these and other topics so that we might find sweetness therein and see wondrous things to our understanding and establish godly conduct.

Notes

[1] First Facsimile Edition of the Coverdale Bible 1535 (England: Balding & Mansell and Scolar Press, 1975), 40; spelling standardized. The original 1535 edition reads as follow: “Go to now (most deare reader) and syt the downe at the Lordes fete and reade his wordes, and . . . take them in to theyn herte, and let thy talkynge and communicacion be of them whan thou sytteth in thyne house, or goest by thy waye, whan thou lyest downe, and whan thou ryseth up. . . . In whom yf thou put thy trust, and be an unfayned reader or hearer of hys worde with the hert, thou shalt fiynde swetenesse theryn, and sppy woderous thynges, to thy understandynge, to the anoytynge of all sedicyous sects, to the abhorrynge of thy olde synfull lyfe, and to the stablyshynge of thy godly conversacyon.”

[2] Gordon B. Hinckley, Atlanta, Georgia, regional conference, May 17, 1998; in Church News, May 23, 1998, 2.