What Happened to the New Translation of the Bible Following the Death of Joseph Smith?
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Emma Smith retained the manuscripts and documents pertaining to the New Translation and was not willing to turn them over to the Quorum of the Twelve. In 1845, John Bernhisel asked Emma permission to use the manuscript to copy notes into his own KJV Bible. The LDS Church has Bernhisel's Bible in its archives, but it contains less than half of the corrections. For many years the "Bernhisel Bible" was the only New Translation source for LDS Church members living in the Salt Lake Valley. In 1866, Emma Smith gave the manuscript into the custody of the RLDS Church, of which she was a member and her son Joseph Smith III was the prophet-president. In 1867, the RLDS Church published the 1st edition of the New Translation and obtained a copyright for it (which has now expired). The publication committee added chapter and verse divisions patterned after those in traditional Bibles (rather than following those on the manuscripts), and they standardized spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The RLDS Church (Community of Christ), still retains the original manuscripts and publishes the Inspired Version through its publishing arm, Herald House Publishing.
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