Another tool that helped change the church and its perception is the Topical Guide, nearly 600 pages citing about 50,000 verses. Each topic first lists scriptural references from the Old Testament and then the New, followed by those from the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

"These lists call to mind a great unity of scripture," Matthews said. "The four standard works all treat the subjects the same way."

One result of work on the Topical Guide surprised the scriptures committee, committee member George Horton Jr. said.

"Something popped out we weren't prepared for — the incredible number of references to the Savior."

The guide included 19 pages of scriptural references to Jesus Christ, across 58 topics.

"These references from the four volumes of scripture constitute the most comprehensive compilation of scriptural information on the mission and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ that has ever been assembled in the history of the world," Elder Boyd K. Packer commented. A member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Packer was one of the project's directors, along with President Monson and Elder McConkie.

Shipps said the editions quieted some of the criticism from Evangelicals that Latter-day Saints were not Christian.

"This effort was to signal to the world and the Latter-day Saints the importance of both scriptures," she said. "The fact was the church itself started emphasizing the scriptures, both the Book of Mormon and the Bible, at that time."

The project began in 1971 but really gained steam in the late '70s, when deadlines were short and hours for the team, which included hundreds of unpaid students, scholars and interested church members, were long. There was humor to be found, however.

When Mortimer asked for a report from the Topical Guide committee, which was working alphabetically, he received this written reply:

"We have been through Heaven and Hell, Love and Lust and now we're working on Repentance."

When the work finally was done, President Monson said the project had changed the lives of church members.

"You've affected the church and you've affected the youth," he told the reunion of committee members on Thursday night during a fund-raiser for the Crandall Printing Museum in Provo. "Every missionary who goes out is better because of the work you did with very little credit.

"The work was prodigious. I think it's one of the finest projects I've ever seen."

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