Scriptures in French, German, and Italian Now Available Online

An estimated 125,000 native French-, German-, and Italian-speaking members will now be able to study the scriptures in their native tongue by accessing the LDS scriptures online. On January 8, 2007, the official French, German, and Italian versions of the LDS scriptures were made available at http://scriptures.lds.org. Previously, the LDS scriptures have been available online only in English and Spanish.

The process to convert the traditional print edition of the scriptures into the Internet version takes about six months to complete, according to Ron Schwendiman, manager of the Internet Coordination Group for the Church Curriculum Department. It depends upon the checks, reviews, and revisions that must be made to eliminate errors that may have occurred during the conversion process.

Several languages are in line to begin the process to be put in Internet form. “Portuguese will be coming soon, and others will follow,” said Kai Anderson, director of scriptures coordination.

Brother Schwendiman is hoping that in the near future more members will be able to access the LDS scriptures online in their native tongue. “Right now we are reviewing with the scriptures committee the order of the next languages and are hoping to release as many as possible this year,” he said.

Just as with the Spanish Internet scriptures, the French, German, and Italian online scriptures include the triple combination (the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price), the Guide to the Scriptures (a listing of gospel topics with definitions and cross-references), and links to other study aids, such as selections from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, a chronology of Church history, and photographs and maps related to biblical events and Church history.

To access the scriptures in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish, go to http://scriptures.lds.org, and click on “English” in the top right corner. Then select the appropriate language from the menu.