Open source translation

From LDSOSS

Since most members of the Church live outside of the United States, many members speak languages other than English.

Deseret Book, a publishing company subsidiary of the Church provides many books to Church members in English and a limited amount in Spanish. Because of the Church's growth in non-English speaking countries, Deseret Book is not able to meet the needs of Church members. On top of this, translation is a very expensive task. Add to this the complexities of copyright, international tax laws, and the fact that many Church members around the world have a lot lower income than their American counterparts.

The solution is for bilingual (native members and return missionaries) to freely translate and make their translations available for free on the Internet. Many countries around the world do not consider translations of a work to be copyrighted by the owner of the work in the original language. Therefore, it is legal for a translator to make their translation accessible however they want.

www.OpenLDS.org is a repository for translations. It allows anyone to read and improve translations.