#scriptures posts — Ben Crowder https://bencrowder.net/blog/tag/scriptures/ Feed for blog posts tagged with #scriptures. Sat, 04 Apr 2026 05:22:16 GMT en-US https://bencrowder.net/ Be ye therefore perfect https://bencrowder.net/blog/2026/be-ye-therefore-perfect/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2026/be-ye-therefore-perfect/ Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:00:00 GMT This morning I was reading Matthew 5 and had a little epiphany. Verses 43–48 (and this is from the NIV, never mind the post title being from the KJV):

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I’ve long interpreted that last sentence as a command to stop sinning, but today (and acknowledging that this is probably news to nobody else), seeing it as part of a paragraph and in the context of the immediately preceding verses, I believe I now actually understand it. (I was about to say that I finally understand it, but how final my interpretation is remains to be seen. And who knows — my reading may turn out to be balderdash.)

The epiphany: in these verses, Christ commands us to love our enemies, those who are hard to love, and by extension it’s a command to love everyone, inclusive, just as Heavenly Father loves everyone — a love encompassing, a love complete, and (in the sense of not missing anything or anyone) a love that is perfect. So “be perfect” here maybe doesn’t mean “don’t mess up in any way” (impossible in this life, and that impossibility is precisely why we need a Savior) but rather is a reiteration or summation of the preceding verses: a much more doable “love everyone.”

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]]> Italian Book of Mormon reader’s edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2024/italian-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2024/italian-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ Wed, 13 Nov 2024 12:00:00 GMT Just released an Italian reader’s edition of the Book of Mormon, available for download in EPUB.

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]]> Scripture prints https://bencrowder.net/blog/2023/scripture-prints/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2023/scripture-prints/ Thu, 12 Jan 2023 12:00:00 GMT Another new project. I wanted to do something with the words of the scriptures and came up with this style, where it’s intended to be more decorative/evocative (so legibility isn’t at the top of the priority list). It’s also a fun way to play with textures in ways that I don’t always get to with my other art.

1 Nephi 3

Art with several verses from 1 Nephi 3 laid out in it

Luke 2

Art with several verses from Luke 2 laid out in it

Mosiah 2

Art with several verses from Mosiah 2 laid out in it

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]]> Come, Follow Me reader's edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2020/come-follow-me-readers-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2020/come-follow-me-readers-edition/ Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:00:00 GMT Just released the Come, Follow Me reader’s edition. It’s an experimental supplemental edition of the Book of Mormon:

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As for what it actually is: it’s a set of web pages with the text of the Book of Mormon grouped into the Come, Follow Me sections, and it’s reparagraphed sans verse numbers like my normal reader’s edition.

I have no idea whether it’s actually useful or not, but it was quick enough to make that I figured I may as well just do it. Let me know what you think.

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]]> Portuguese Book of Mormon reader's edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/portuguese-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/portuguese-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ Wed, 18 Dec 2019 12:00:00 GMT Just released a Portuguese reader’s edition of the Book of Mormon, in EPUB, Kindle, and PDF.

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]]> Spanish Book of Mormon reader's edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/spanish-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/spanish-book-of-mormon-readers-edition/ Sat, 07 Dec 2019 12:00:00 GMT Today I’m releasing a Spanish version of the Book of Mormon reader’s edition, freely available in EPUB, Kindle, and PDF:

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]]> Latin New Testament study edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/latin-new-testament-study-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/latin-new-testament-study-edition/ Fri, 01 Nov 2019 12:00:00 GMT To go along with the Greek New Testament study edition, I’ve just posted a wide margin study edition of the Latin New Testament (the 1914 Clementine Vulgate). It’s available for free download as a PDF.

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]]> Greek New Testament reader's edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/greek-new-testament-readers-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/greek-new-testament-readers-edition/ Sat, 31 Aug 2019 12:00:00 GMT Just posted a verseless, paragraphed reader’s edition of the Greek New Testament, available for free download as an EPUB. It uses the paragraphing from the Nestle 1904 source edition.

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]]> Greek New Testament study edition https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/greek-new-testament-study-edition/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/greek-new-testament-study-edition/ Wed, 21 Aug 2019 12:00:00 GMT Just posted a wide margin study edition of the Greek New Testament (the Nestle 1904 Novum Testamentum Graece text). It’s available for free download as a PDF.

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And now I can (finally) take “publish a Greek New Testament” off my bucket list.

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]]> Scripture Journals https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/scripture-journals/ https://bencrowder.net/blog/2019/scripture-journals/ Wed, 10 Jul 2019 12:00:00 GMT I’ve released a set of scripture journals — one lined page for each chapter (of the Book of Mormon, D&C, Pearl of Great Price, Old Testament, and New Testament), available in PDF in both college-ish rule and wide-ish rule.

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