It began with a simple problem.
Most of us know the feeling. You are carrying something heavy: worry, grief, a hard choice, a question you can't put down. You know the scriptures speak to it. But where?
If you remember the right words, a search can help. Type "peace" and you find verses with "peace" in them. But what if the verse you need never uses the word? What if you only know how you feel, not how the passage is written?
For a long time, finding the right passage depended on knowing the right words, or on knowing someone who did. We believed it shouldn't.
Words are not the whole story.
A verse is more than its words. It carries a feeling. It speaks in a certain voice. It holds a theme, a promise, a warning, a comfort. Two verses can share none of the same words and still say the same thing to your heart.
We wanted a way to find scripture by what it carries, not only by what it says.
So we started the Scripture Genome Project.
The idea was simple to say and big to do: give every verse a kind of fingerprint, a "genome" that describes what is truly in the text.
We set out to describe all 41,995 verses of the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, one by one: their feeling, their themes, their voice, their place in the story.
From the start we made one rule: describe what is in the text, and nothing more. No opinions added. No interpretation from any one tradition. Just a careful, respectful description of each verse, so the scriptures can speak for themselves.
From research to a reader.
A genome on its own is only a map. What people need is a way to use it: to ask a real question and be led to the right place.
That is why we built Scriptura.
The Scripture Genome Project is one part of Scriptura's search. The app brings together meaning, words and thematic connections to suggest passages for questions like "How can I find peace?" or "I feel alone." You can find relevant passages even when you do not remember their wording.
Answer Focus adds a further relevance check on your own device. Matching verses from the same chapter now stay together, with references you can move between and the full chapter close at hand. The aim is to help you find a place to read, then let you examine the text for yourself.
Made with care for the reader.
From the beginning we decided what kind of tool Scriptura should be:
- Free. Scriptura is free of charge, and it will never be sold.
- Private. No account and no tracking. Your questions, notes and highlights stay on your own device.
- Offline. Once it is set up, it works anywhere, even without internet.
- Respectful. It is a reading aid, not a teacher of doctrine. Every verse is one tap away from its full chapter, so you always read it in context.
- Fair. Every book of scripture gets a fair chance to answer you, so no volume crowds out the others.
What it means for you.
You no longer need to know where a verse is to find it. You don't need the exact words. You only need your question.
Ask Scriptura the way you would ask a friend. Follow a Trail of verses on comfort, hope or courage, and let it grow with what helps you. Read in the style you love, in five languages.
Our hope is simple: that when you need a verse, you find it.
Where we are going.
Scriptura is the first tool from Scriptura Labs. Our work continues: to make the scriptures easier to find, easier to read, and closer to the people who need them.
So many times I knew the scriptures held an answer, but I could not find the words to search for it. I started the Scripture Genome Project because I believe no one should have to know the right words to find the right verse. My part was to build a better path to them, and to keep it free for everyone.