The Old Testament for Latter-day Saint Families: Illustrated King James Version with Helps for Children

by Thomas R. Valletta (Editor)

Book by

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Church, Lds

662 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2005

Reviews

[Kenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

YAY! I finally finished. Reading this version made things much easier to understand b'cuz it explains difficult words, gives explanations of verses, etc. It was espeically helpful getting through Isaiah! :)

I've been reading the Old Testament for over a year. It's very difficult to understand in parts, but I love the definitions and insights provided in this version. I'm hoping to be done before my brother comes home from his mission in June!

[Laurie Dunmire-beer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too many lessons! However, one of my favorite lessons comes from King Hezekiah. He was a wonderful and righteous king and perhaps today known or remembered for "Hezekiah's Tunnel" in the Holy Land. He became sick, and pleaded with the Lord to extend his life. Because of his righteousness, the Lord did extend his life by 15 years. During that time, he fell into pride (but did repent), and had a son, who became king after he passed on. King Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, was a wicked king who killed many righteous leaders and prophets, including the Prophet Isaiah. The big moral for me in this story is to not have "Hezekiah's 'tunnel'" vision but to always keep the big picture in mind. The Lord always knows what's best for us and we need to learn the principle of "thy will be done" instead of MY will be done. Great story... among so many others.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The enrichment material was great - quotations from modern-day prophets, explanations of difficult vocabulary, and questions to ponder. The only thing that stops me from giving this 5 stars is that I sometimes questioned the choices of which verses to summarize and which to include in full. I would have probably summarized more through Psalms, included some from Chronicles, abbreviated more of Ezekiel and so forth.
We read this edition of the Old Testament over about 18 months for our family scripture study. There were many days that my kids got nothing out of it, though I hope having read it young they will feel less intimidated by the OT. When it comes right down to it, it's difficult to make the last 2/3rds of the Old Testament accessible for children, no matter what supplemental material you add and how many verses you summarize. Still, I think it was worthwhile.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me love reading the Old Testament. It has an enormous amount of quality word helps, scriptural and doctrinal commentary, historical background, prophetic statements and application insights, along with an abundant variety of beautiful illustrations, helpful charts and maps. Reading this book deepened my love for the Savior, Jesus Christ, and increased my love for the scriptures.

[Clyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it's the Old Testament. A way to get the meat of the book without having to wade through all of the bones--just some of them! Great commentary and great for families with young kids. Our youngest is 7 and was able to keep up and follow along. Awesome for family scripture study of the Old Testament.

[Adam Herrera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was raised reading the Bible and love getting this for Christmas a few years ago. Never go wrong reading and the print makes it easy on us old guys :)

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the Old Testament was my goal. Of course it's not as easy as reading the Book of Mormon, and I really appreciated the comments by Church leaders--enlightening!