The Summer 2012 issue of Dialogue contains an article by Grant Hardy titled "The King James Bible and the Future of Missionary Work." The main point Hardy stresses in the article is that the King James Version (KJV) has become so outdated that it now creates problems for LDS missionaries using the KJV in their teaching. Recounting a missionary encounter of his own with a young woman who was reading selected scriptures in her New International Version (NIV) Bible along with the visiting LDS missionaries, Hardy comments, "The meanings did not match up. ... The elders were flustered .... In this case, our exclusive reliance on the King James Version ... had become a barrier to sharing the message of the gospel" (p. 1). Given how few denominations still rely on the KJV and the popularity of newer and better translations like the NIV and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), I am certain similar episodes occur hundreds of times each month.
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