The Force of Printing

Just thought this was amazing!

Oh, the amazing things you can do with type! Sadly, I did not travel on a spaceship for my field trip; nor did I go to the Crandall museum, after learning that they were not opened on Saturdays unless you had a large group. But last Tuesday, I made my journey down to the great display at the bottom of the library- the King James Bible exhibit.
As Andrew and Sam mentioned, Saint Jerome first translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. With the Latin Bible, those who could not read would memorize whole passages of Psalms. Nearly 1,000 years later, Wycliffe, who believed the Bible included truths that should guide both the political and religious governments, translated the New Testament into English. However, though this New Testament was written shortly before the invention of the printing press, it was not printed until 1850! This was because English bibles were seen as a symbol of heresy. So, Wycliffe's New Testament existed in manuscript form for quite some time.

The Wycliffe Bible

Now, if the translation alone of the Bible into English was an act of heresy, the Geneva Bible had heresy written all over it. When Mary I was the ruler of England, Protestant scholars journeyed to Switzerland where they produced the Geneva Bible, complete with marginal commentary and annotations. And check this out: in Exodus 1:19, where the Egyptian midwives go against what Pharaoh commanded and spare the baby boys, the marginal note was that it was lawful to disobey the king! This translation of the Bible was highly popular, especially among Calvinists, Puritans, and average readers.

The Geneva Bible

The monarchy sure did not like this! So, the Bishops Bible was produced to compete with the Geneva Bible. However, it did not gain near as much popularity. Then, when King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, he jumped at the suggestion of a new Bible to stop the Bible war. The Puritans hoped for a revision of the Bishop's Bible, but instead received a whole new Bible translation, published in 1611. The Geneva Bible came to be known as the Bible of the Puritans, while the King James Bible was known as the Bible of the Royalists.

King James Bible

 

The Book of Mormon also was greatly affected by the invention of the printing press. I spent Thanksgiving break with my grandmother in Idaho Falls and, on Saturday, she took my cousin and I to the temple's visitors center where I unexpectedly learned a little bit more about the printing press by listening to the recording of President Monson posted below.

Did you know that people could purchase Joseph Smith's revised version of the King James Bible at the same time that the Book of Mormon was being printed? I thought that was pretty amazing.

Printing has had such a great influence on people throughout the world, shown here through the Bible and Book of Mormon, that there may indeed be some mysterious "force" of typography! Carpe Diem, and may the force be with you!