The Book of Mormon — American Modern English Style
AMES Edition · v1.7 · complete
Plain, warm, modern English in natural paragraphs — every verse aligned with the original text.
15 books · 239 chapters · 6,604 verses · every verse human-reviewed
See how it reads
Original · 1 Nephi 3:7
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
AMES · 1 Nephi 3:7
I said to my father, "I will go and do what the Lord has commanded, because I know the Lord never gives a commandment without preparing a way for us to accomplish it."
Books
The small plates
- 1 NephiLehi's family leaves Jerusalem22 chapters
- 2 NephiNephi's teachings, and Isaiah33 chapters
- JacobThe brother who stayed to teach7 chapters
- EnosA night of wrestling prayer1 chapter
- JaromThe record passes down1 chapter
- OmniFive keepers of the plates1 chapter
- Words of MormonMormon bridges the records1 chapter
Mormon's abridgment
The Jaredites
Moroni's farewell
Why I made this
I've read the Book of Mormon my whole life, and I love how it sounds. But I kept meeting people — my own kids among them — for whom the 1830s English was a wall between them and the story. Alma's counsel to his sons, Nephi's grief and grit, the Lord's own voice to a scattered people: it's all in there, and too many readers never get past "it came to pass."
So I made the edition I wished existed: the complete Book of Mormon in plain, warm, modern American English, in natural paragraphs — with every verse still aligned to the original text, one tap away, because the original is the point. This is a reading edition and a study aid, not a replacement.
To be clear: this is my personal project. It isn't published, endorsed, or reviewed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for church classes, talks, and doctrine the official editions at churchofjesuschrist.org are the standard, full stop. But the Church has long taught that the word should reach people "after the manner of their language" (D&C 1:24), and its newest guidance warmly allows modern translations for personal Bible study. In that same spirit — as one member's offering, checked verse by verse — I hope this helps the book reach you. Read a chapter and see.
— Dan
What's preserved
Some phrasings are kept word-for-word across the whole edition — doctrinal terms of art and lines everyone knows by heart.
“I will go and do what the Lord has commanded”
1 Nephi 3:7
“the tender mercies of the Lord”
kept everywhere
“still small voice”
1 Nephi 17:45
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