"A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible."

— 2 Nephi 29:3

The chapter continues with the Lord's response:

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one?"

"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word?"

"For I command all men, both in the east, and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, and in Spring City Utah that they shall write the words which I speak unto them."

Those verses have always fascinated me.

Not merely because they defend the existence of additional scripture, but because they challenge a deeper assumption: that God has somehow finished speaking.

The complaint in Nephi's prophecy is not merely, "We already have a Bible."

The complaint is, "We already have enough."

Enough revelation.

Enough understanding.

Enough words from God.

Enough light.

Enough truth.

Enough Jesus.

The Lord's response is almost playful.

Do you really think I only speak to one nation?

Do you really think I only speak once?

Do you really think I stop creating after creating something wonderful?

For years Jesus has had me use the Holy Bible as a metaphor, an artistic framework, and a kind of sacred container.

The Bible is already a remarkable thing.

It is not one book.

It is a library.

A collage.

A collection of voices, histories, poems, prophecies, letters, testimonies, songs, visions, and witness accounts gathered together into a single symbolic vessel.

Common people understand this intuitively.

The Bible already points toward reality-generating possibilities.

It demonstrates that many voices can become one witness.

Many books can become one book.

Many stories can become one story.

Many experiences can testify of one God.

Because of this, Jesus has increasingly had me use "The Bible" as a working art piece—a symbolic container large enough to hold the entirety of what I call My Jesus-Greg WORLD.

My life.

My revelations.

My altars.

My songs.

My stories.

My witnesses.

My experiences.

My conversations with Jesus.

The Book of Mormon.

The Doctrine and Covenants.

The Pearl of Great Price.

Classic rock songs redeemed for Christ.

Movies.

Parables.

Living scriptures.

Daily experiences.

Objects.

Places.

People.

Moments.

What is performance art?

How does Jesus use the Bible as a performance art piece?

In this artistic approximation, all things become candidates for testimony because all things ultimately point back to Christ.

The Bible ceases to be merely a book on a shelf.

It becomes a pattern.

A way of organizing reality itself around Jesus.

A Hampton Court Conference Approximation Is Underway in Spring City, Utah

This morning Jesus said:

"It is time, Greg."

And then He invited me to firmly grasp material that feels a little like nuclear reactor fuel.

It energizes me.

It excites me.

It expands my vision.

And yet I know many people will immediately regard it as dangerous, heretical, foolish, presumptuous, or absurd.

Ironically, from my perspective, Jesus is inviting me to cling even more tightly to His Word.

Not less.

More.

Much more.

The invitation is not:

"Abandon scripture."

The invitation is:

"Expand your understanding of what scripture can become."

"Hear Him."

"Continue receiving."

"Continue writing."

"Continue witnessing."

Today I am announcing what may become one of the central projects of Zion Coalition:

The New Bible Project.

Or perhaps more accurately:

The Redeeming the Bible Project.

Jesus and I are beginning an artistic and spiritual effort to redeem the King James Version of the Bible.

Not destroy it.

Not replace it.

Not diminish it.

Redeem it.

The same way I have spent years redeeming classic rock songs.

Taking something already beautiful.

Discovering deeper layers.

Adding more Jesus.

Finding Christ hidden in unexpected places.

Allowing old vessels to carry new light.

The Bible, in this framework, becomes less of a finished monument and more of a living city under continual construction.

A living witness.

A growing witness.

A witness that can still surprise us.

Interestingly, history provides a useful approximation.

The gathering that ultimately launched the King James Bible was not itself a translation committee.

It was a meeting.

A conversation.

An idea.

A proposal.

In January 1604, King James convened what became known as the Hampton Court Conference.

During that gathering, a Puritan scholar proposed a new English translation of the Bible.

King James approved the idea.

From that seed emerged a project involving dozens of scholars working for years.

Eventually, the King James Version was published in 1611.

The conference itself did not produce the Bible.

The conference launched the effort.

The Bible emerged later.

Line upon line.

Scholar upon scholar.

Page upon page.

Year upon year.

What is happening in Spring City is, in my mind, a kind of Hampton Court Conference approximation.

Not an institutional one.

Not an official one.

Not one that claims authority over anyone else.

An artistic one.

A symbolic one.

A Zion-flavored one.

A conversation about what happens when people stop saying:

"A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible."

And start asking instead:

What if Jesus still speaks?

What if He still teaches?

What if He still creates?

What if He still inspires?

What if He still writes?

What if He intends His children to write the words He gives them?

What if reality itself is overflowing with testimony?

For the record, the Jesus-Greg Version (JGV) is rapidly becoming my favorite version of the Bible.

It contains the King James Bible.

The Book of Mormon.

The Doctrine and Covenants.

The Pearl of Great Price.

Personal revelation.

Redeemed classic rock songs.

The Chosen.

The Matrix (Part 1).

Stories.

Witnesses.

Parables.

Objects.

Places.

Altars.

Living scriptures.

In short:

Anything that successfully helps me receive more Jesus.

Whether anyone else ultimately finds value in the project remains to be seen.

But that has never been the primary question.

The primary question is whether Jesus is inviting me to build it.

This morning, I believe His answer was simple:

"It is time, Greg."

#HearHim

#NewBible

#JGV

#ZionCoalition

#MoreJesus