After more than six years of research and labor, the LDS edition of the Spanish Bible will soon be in the hands of Spanish-speaking members throughout the world. This is the first non-English Bible published by the Church. Elements of the LDS edition in Spanish include:

• Text based on the 1909 Reina-Valera Bible translation
• Chapter summaries
• Explanatory footnotes
• Cross-references to the other volumes of scripture
• Reference guide to key doctrines, people, places, and events of the Bible
• Selections from the Joseph Smith Translation
• Color Bible maps and photographs

Last Sunday, the following letter from the First Presidency was read in sacrament meetings of Spanish-speaking members:

We are pleased to announce that the LDS edition of the Holy Bible in Spanish will be available through local Church distribution centers beginning in September. This edition, carefully prepared by the Church over a number of years, is based on the Reina-Valera translation and is comparable in the dignity of its language and other features to the LDS edition of the Holy Bible in English. It contains new chapter headings, footnotes, cross-references to all of the standard works, and other study helps that will enhance your understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We inform you of this upcoming publication of the Holy Bible so that you may plan to acquire copies for yourselves and family members. This new LDS edition will replace previous editions of the Holy Bible in Spanish used by the Church.

Additional information will be available through Church distribution centers and Internet sites as the publication date approaches.

Church printing presses are running day and night at a remarkable pace to print more than 800,000 copies, which will be shipped to Spanish-speaking countries around the world. Printed copies will be available in September 2009. At that time, the text will also be made available at scriptures.lds.org/es for people to read or search.

In addition, a special team of voice talent has been assembled to painstakingly record every word of the LDS edition of the Holy Bible in Spanish, which will then be released on CD and on LDS.org where people can listen or download MP3 files. This audio version will be available online and on CD by September 2009.

A video documentary about the new Spanish Bible will be shown between sessions of general conference on Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5, 2009. To learn more about this project and when materials will be available, see SantaBiblia.lds.org. See also a news report at the Newsroom in English or in Spanish.

Please share this exciting news with any Spanish-speaking friends you may have.

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