Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha. There are many things contained therein

that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand,

for the Spirit manifesteth truth, and whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom.

Doctrine and Covenant, Section 91, verses 1, and 4 through 5.

Hey listeners, this is Nick from Book of Mormon Central, and today's podcast addresses the

question, why study ancient apocryphal literature?

Most Latter-day Saints today are unfamiliar with the collection of books commonly called the Apocrypha, Greek for Hidden.

These are works of Jewish literature, some of a religious nature, primarily written in Greek between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD.

They were included as part of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew

Bible and Old Testament, and as a result were included as part of the biblical canon by some

early Christians. To this day, they form what is called the Deuterocanonical books in Catholic

and Orthodox Christianity. Because these works were mostly written during the Intertestamental period,

that is, the time between the Old and New Testaments,

studying them can help bridge the cultural, religious,

and historical gap between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the new.

Thus, as Jared Ludlow explained, the Apocrypha

can be a valuable tool for helping us understand the political, cultural, and religious background

of Jesus Christ and his contemporaries. Beyond the official collection of the Apocrypha,

there are several additional Judeo-Christian writings from around the same time period that are sometimes referred to as the Apocrypha, there are several additional Judeo-Christian writings from around the same time period

that are sometimes referred to as the Apocryphal literature.

This includes the pseudipigrapher work texts written in the first person,

as if they were written by a famous biblical figure such as Moses, Enik, Solomon, or one of the patriarchs.

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