FAIRWiki:Scripture template how to

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FAIR: Defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1997 The actual template is at Template:scripture. Click there to edit, but please don't unless you know what you're doing!

How to use the template:

Syntax is as follows: {{scripture|a|b|c|d}} [Can also use {{s|a|b|c|d}} if you don't want to type "scripture" every time.]

  • a = Book number, like 1 Nephi or 3 John. If there is no book number, you must leave this space blank like this: {{scripture||b|c|d}} (note the two || lines beside each other, meaning that "a" section is blank.
  • b = Book of Scripture: Nephi, Jonah, etc. For D&C references, just put DC, or it messes up the parser.
  • c = chapter
  • d = verses. Dashes, commas, or both are permitted; eg: 4-7,9 (verses 4 through 7, and verse 9).

Note: don't put spaces between elements. So, you can put 4-7,9 for verses 4-7 and then verse 9, but don't put "4 - 7, 9." If you do so, you are ritually impure in a wiki sense.

Exceptions

Due to software limitations, books of scripture with more than one word in their title are a bit tricky. Fortunately, there are only a few:

Book of Scripture Ways to cite it that work How it Looks
Words of Mormon
  • {{scripture||W+of+M|1|1}}
Words of Mormon 1:1
  • {{scripture||Words+of+Mormon|1|1}}
Words of Mormon 1:1
Articles of Faith
  • {{scripture||A+of+F|1|13}}
Articles of Faith 1:13
  • {{scripture||Articles+of+Faith|1|13}}
Articles of Faith 1:13
Song of Solomon
  • {{scripture||Song|1|1}}
Song of Solomon 1:1
Doctrine and Covenants
  • {{scripture||DC|1|1}}
D&C 1:1
Joseph Smith - History
  • {{scripture||JS-H|1|1}}
Joseph Smith—History 1:1
Joseph Smith - Matthew
  • {{scripture||JS-M|1|1}}
Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:1

Some Examples

  1. To code D&C 121:5-7, you would put: {{scripture||DC|121|5-7}} This will appear as D&C to the user, but you must put DC in the code, or the link won't work.
  2. To code 1 Nephi 3:7, you would put: {{scripture|1|Nephi|3|7}}
  3. To code Joseph Smith History 1:5, you would put: {{scripture||JS-H|1|5}}
  4. To code Joseph Smith Matthew 1:2, you would put: {{scripture||JS-M|1|2}}

Please note! Help translators when you code in English!

There is another template called {{Bible}} or {{B}} that works in exactly the same way as {{Scripture}} and {{S}} in English. If we use the Bible links in English, then English pages will be more easily converted into other languages, who must generally use a non-LDS site for Bible references, since the lds.org site does not have any Bibles besides the KJV. Either will work, but translators will thank you if use the Bible ones, because then they won't have to convert them later.

Help! It doesn't work for me!

If you're having problems, try changing the template name to "scripturetest."

Template:scripturetest

This is a troubleshooting template, that shows you what you're entering, and how the computer is interpreting it. When you get it fixed, just change the name back to "scripture" instead of "scripturetest", and you're good to go!

Most common error

  • You have omitted an element, and thus missed putting two || together to show this element as 'blank'. This error is most likely to occur if you aren't citing "a" (for the numbered books like 1 Nephi, 2 Nephi, 2 Kings, 3 John, etc.).
  • Or, the above error could happen if you're trying to cite a whole chapter: then the "d" element isn't entered, but you still need ||. (e.g. Alma 13 would be {{scripture||Alma|13||}} The first || contains the empty "a" (since there is no 1st Alma, 2nd Alma, etc.) and the second || contains the empty "d" (since no verses are being cited.)

In short, there should always be 4—count 'em!—vertical bars -> |||| within the template. Whether there's anything between the bars depends on what you're citing.

Other common errors

  • you are using "D&C" for the Doctrine and Covenants, instead of plain old "DC." See the examples section to see how to cite the D&C properly.
  • you have mistakenly put regular parentheses [smooth brackets like this: (()) ] instead of curly brackets [like this {{}} ] around your template call.
  • you have a space between some elements: don't put spaces between commas, dashes, etc.
  • you are trying to cite Joseph Smith-History or Joseph Smith-Matthew from the Pearl of Great Price without using JS-H and JS-M. See the examples.
  • you are trying to cite Words of Mormon, Articles of Faith, or Song of Solomon without looking at the exceptions table.

Heeelp! It still doesn't work!

Please report any bugs or citations that don't work to User:GregSmith. You may have found a bug with the system, which we need to fix or work around, or we can help spare you frustration by showing you what's going wrong.