“No Man Hath Seen God at Any Time”—a Mistranslation
Joseph Smith Translation, John 1:19
19 And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved.
President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:
“There are too many passages [in the Bible] which declare very definitely that God did appear, ‘face to face,’ with His ancient servants. Therefore, passages which declare that no man has seen Him, must be in error. . . . The Prophet Joseph Smith has given us a correction of [John 1:18] as follows: ‘And no man hath seen God at any time, except he hath borne record of the Son; for except it is through him no man can be saved’ [JST, John 1:19].”
(Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 2:162.)
