Spanish LDS Scriptures Available Online By Kate McNeil, Church Magazines More than 3.9 million Spanish-speaking members of the Church can now study the LDS scriptures on the Internet in their native tongue. The Spanish version of the LDS Scriptures Internet Edition was released by the Church on Monday, September 25, 2006, more than 175 years after the first printing of the Book of Mormon in Palmyra, New York. Ronald Schwendiman, Manager of Internet Coordination, says the Spanish version has all the same features the English Internet Edition offers, including footnotes, study helps, maps, photographs, and the ability to mark scriptures. “The ability to access scriptures online helps in preparing for lessons and in personal scripture study,” Brother Schwendiman said. The Church Curriculum Department plans to release Internet editions in German, Italian, French, and Portuguese before the end of the year. Brother Schwendiman said one of the benefits of the Internet Edition is the Guide to the Scriptures, which combines the Bible Dictionary and Topical Guide for a complete study companion. Since the release of the English LDS Scriptures Internet Edition in 2001, millions of members have benefited from its accessibility and convenience. Brother Schwendiman said the Internet scriptures receive more than 4.5 million visits in a month from about 350,000 visitors. The English Internet Edition saw increased traffic during the end of 2005, after President Gordon B. Hinckley's challenge to members to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. Kai Andersen, product manager, said the implementation of these languages required “mature technologies.” He said the 18-month project involved preparing a faster interface to withstand new languages and new Web site visitors. Extensive proofreading also insured the purity of the scriptures. Brother Schwendiman said the Internet Edition of the Spanish LDS Scriptures is just one step in providing all members with a positive Web site experience. “Our focus was getting the Spanish scriptures up, while preparing other Web site content, such as the Gospel Library, for translation,” he said. “We want more content for international members. We want them to have the entire Web site experience that English-speaking members have.” Both Brother Andersen and Brother Schwendiman expect many more languages to have Internet Editions by the end of 2007, including Russian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Spanish-speaking members can now access the full text of the LDS scriptures online.