Why the New Translation of the Bible was Never Published
Although the New Translation work was completed 11 years before the prophet's death, it was never published in its entirety during his lifetime. During that time, Joseph continued to revise the manuscripts to prepare them for printing and excerpts from the New Translation were published in early church periodicals and various verses were also used in the Lectures on Faith. The failure to publish the New Translation was not due to any lack of effort on Joseph Smith’s part, but was rather due to the saints inability to provide the temporal support to Joseph so that he could complete the work. As early as 1831 through nearly the end of his life, the Lord instructed the saints to temporally support Joseph's translation of the Bible as well as it's publication. Regarding the way in which the New Translation should be published, Joseph Smith said the following: "It is not the will of the Lord to print any of the new Translation in the Star; but when it is published, it will all go to the world together, in a volume by itself; and the New Testament and the Book of Mormon will be printed together." (April 21, 1833, Letterbook 1, p. 35). As early as August 6, 1833, a month after the New Translation was completed, Joseph Smith stated the following: "You will see by these revelations that we have to print the new translation here at kirtland for which we will prepare as soon as possible" (Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams to Edward Partridge, August 6, 1833, Joseph Smith Collection, Church History 235 Library). This statement had reference to the printing press owned by the church that was destroyed in July of that same year just as the translation work had completed, and that a new printer would need to be sought for. Such an approach would require the enlistment of a printer to typeset the entire Bible, a very costly endeavor in those days. Thus, the primary reason for the New Translation not being published during the lifetime of the prophet Joseph Smith was a lack of available funds and temporal support of the prophet. The saints also faced many other challenges and difficulties during this period, which made the accumulation of sufficient funds difficult. However, several sources show that Joseph felt an urgent desire to publish the New Translation and regularly expressed disappointment that the Saints could not raise the money to get it printed:

  • The following revelation was received in February 1831, “And if ye desire the glories of the kingdom, appoint ye my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and uphold him before me by the prayer of faith. And again, I say unto you, that if ye desire the mysteries of the kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth to accomplish the work wherewith I have commanded him.” (LDS D&C 43:12–13.) The "mysteries of the kingdom", as a direct result of the knowledge revealed in the translation, were promised as the saints sacrificed to support the work that Joseph was asked to do. 
  • Later that year on October 25, 1831, also during the process of translation, at a conference of the church in Hiram, Ohio, Joseph Smith petitioned the saints for temporal aid to enable him to do his work, specifically mentioning the translation of the scriptures: “Brother Joseph Smith, Jr. said … that the promise of God was that the greatest blessings which God had to bestow should be given to those who contributed to the support of his family while he was translating the fulness of the Scriptures...that God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church...and except the Church receive the fulness of the Scriptures that they would yet fail.” (Far West Report, p. 16, quoted in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, p. 9). 
  • The journal entry of Reynolds Cahoon of November 9, 1831 indicates he was sent on a mission to gather funds for the translation work: “Started for hiram to fulfill my mission to the churches which was given to Br. David and myself to obtain mony or property for Brs Joseph and others to finish the translation.” (Journal of Reynolds Cahoon, Historical Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). 
  • On 25 June 1833, the Prophet wrote to Brother W.W. Phelps in Missouri: “In regard to the printing of the New Translation: It cannot be done until we can attend to it ourselves, and this we will do as soon as the Lord permits.” (History of the Church, 1:365). 
  • Again on April 23, 1834, the Lord asked the saints to publish the New Translation: “And for this purpose I have commanded you to organize yourselves, even to print my words, the fulness of my scriptures, the revelations which I have given unto you.” (LDS D&C 104:58.) 
  • Again on June 18, 1840, the plea went out to support the work of Joseph in the spiritual affairs of the church, including the publication of the Bible: "[for] the time has now come, when he should devote himself exclusively to those things which relate to the spiritualities of the Church, and commence the work of translating the Egyptian records, [and] the Bible.” 
  • And again in July of that same year, two elders were called to collect money for the publication of various books, including the New Translation: “To all whom it may concern:—This is to certify that Elders Samuel Bent and George W. Harris are authorized agents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being appointed by the First Presidency and High Council of said Church to visit the branches of the Church … to obtain donations and subscriptions for the purpose of printing the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, hymn-books, the new translation of the scriptures. … We do hope the Saints will do all in their power to effect the object proposed. [signed] Joseph Smith, Jun., President.” (History of the Church, 4:164). 
  • And again, on September 1, 1840 an “Epistle of the First Presidency to the Saints Scattered Abroad” included a call to the members of the church to provide financial contributions to the building up of the kingdom and specifically “the printing and circulation of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, hymn-book, and the new translation of the Scriptures.” (History of the Church, 4:187; also Times and Seasons, vol. 1, no. 12, Oct. 1840, p. 179).
  • On January 19, 1841, in a revelation to William Law, the Lord spoke about publishing the New Translation: “If he will do my will let him from henceforth hearken to the counsel of my servant Joseph, … and publish the new translation of my holy word unto the inhabitants of the earth.” (LDS D&C 124:89.)
  • On January 15, 1842, the Times & Seasons contained a notice that the “Trustee [Joseph Smith] needed time to arrange the scriptures, including the New Translation of the Bible … for the press.” (Vol. 3, no. 6, p. 667).
  • In February of 1842, the Council of the Twelve published a notice in the Times & Seasons, requesting assistance from the saints, especially in the building of a temple and supporting the prophet so that he could work on projects “such as the new translation of the bible, and the record of Father Abraham [can be] published to the world.” (Vol. 3, no. 9, March 1842, p. 715.
  • On October 15, 1842, another announcement was made in the Times & Seasons “the new translation of the bible, and the book of Doctrine and Covenants are entirely dependent on the liberality of the well-disposed for the cause of our Redeemer.” (Vol. 3, no. 24, 15 October 1842, p. 958.) 
  • On March 1, 1843, the Council of the Twelve issued another epistle requesting financial and material aid for the prophet to enable him to bring forth the spiritual things of the church, specifically mentioning the “revelations, translation, and history”:
    • “BELOVED BRETHREN:—As our beloved President Joseph Smith is now relieved from his bondage and his business, temporarily, and his property, too, he has but one thing to hinder his devoting his time to the spiritual interests of the Church, to the bringing forth of the revelations, translation, and history. And what is that? He has not provision for himself and family, and is obliged to spend his time in providing therefor. His family is large and his company great, and it requires much to furnish his table. And now, brethren, we call on you for immediate relief in this matter; and we invite you to bring our President as many loads of wheat, corn, beef, pork, lard, tallow, eggs, poultry, venison, and everything eatable at your command, (not excepting unfrozen potatoes and vegetables, as soon as the weather will admit,) flour, etc., and thus give him the privilege of attending to your spiritual interest.

A little over a year later, Joseph Smith was murdered and the New Translation remained unpublished. Despite all the attempts and reminders to gather funds to support the work of publishing the translation, it was never completed. It can be concluded that the major reason for failure to publish the New Translation of the Bible is the inadequate response from the saints in providing temporal assistance to the prophet Joseph Smith. It would appear that the work of translation was largely acceptable to the Lord very early on, and although the manuscript itself and other details were not completely ready for the press at that time, it was the lack of effort and acceptable sacrifice on the part of the saints to provide the means for the publication of the New Translation to become a reality.

It is not the point of this article to castigate the early saints for their failure to follow the counsel received from the Lord to support the work of translation. Only by learning from our past mistakes will we be less likely to repeat them. The early saints were prophetically warned: "except the Church receive the fulness of the Scriptures that they would yet fail". Thus, the inability of the saints to muster the will to publish the New Translation was likely a key contributor to the interruption in the restoration following the death of Joseph Smith.