byu-citations

name	byu-citations
description	Look up which General Conference talks, Journal of Discourses entries, and other sources cite a particular scripture verse using the BYU Scripture Citation Index (scriptures.byu.edu). Use when you want to know who has taught about a verse, how frequently a verse appears in conference, or to discover that a verse has surprisingly little modern commentary.
argument-hint	[scripture reference, e.g. 'D&C 113:6' or 'Alma 32:21']

BYU Scripture Citation Index

What It Is

The BYU Scripture Citation Index tracks which General Conference talks (1942–present), Journal of Discourses entries, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and other sources cite each verse of scripture. Our mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations MCP tool queries this index directly.

When to Use It

• During source gathering (Phase 2): After reading a chapter, use this to discover which conference talks have cited the key verses. This can surface talks you'd never find through keyword search.
• Confirming silence: When a verse seems under-discussed, this tool can authoritatively confirm how many (or how few) citations exist. "Zero conference citations" is a finding, not an absence.
• Comparative citation density: Looking at a cluster of verses (e.g., Isaiah 11:1-10) and checking which ones are heavily cited vs. ignored reveals what the tradition has emphasized and what it hasn't.
• Finding speakers: When you want to know who has taught on a specific verse — especially to find modern prophetic commentary.

How to Use It

Single Verse Lookup

mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations("D&C 113:6")
mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations("3 Nephi 21:10")
mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations("Isaiah 53:5")

Accepts standard references, abbreviations, and full book names:

• "Isa 53:5" → Isaiah 53:5
• "Hel 5:12" → Helaman 5:12
• "Doctrine and Covenants 93:36" → D&C 93:36
• "JS-H 1:19" → Joseph Smith—History 1:19

Bulk Lookup

mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations_bulk("Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:10, D&C 113:1, D&C 113:6")

Returns a summary table showing citation counts plus full details for each.

Book ID List

mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations_books()

Lists all supported books and their BYU internal IDs. Useful for debugging.

Interpreting Results

Each citation includes:

• Speaker — the conference speaker or author
• Title — talk or discourse title
• Reference — coded as YEAR-SEASON:PAGE (e.g., 1989-O:54 = Oct 1989, page 54) or JD VOL:PAGE for Journal of Discourses

Season Codes:

• O = October General Conference
• A = April General Conference
• JD = Journal of Discourses (19th century)

Patterns to Watch For

Pattern	Significance
0 citations	The verse may be "hiding in plain sight" — prophetically significant but not yet taught. Especially interesting for prophecies.
1-2 citations	Lightly touched. Check whether the citation is substantive engagement or just a passing reference.
10+ citations	A well-established teaching verse. The citations show how interpretation has evolved over time.
Only JD citations	19th-century engagement only — modern prophets haven't addressed it. This is a significant pattern for prophetic passages.
Recent surge	Multiple citations in recent years may indicate a verse gaining prophetic emphasis.

Integration with Studies

During Source Gathering

After reading a chapter, query the key verses. The scratch file entry format:

### BYU Citation Index — [Verse]
- **Citations found:** [count]
- **Notable speakers:** [list key names and years]
- **Observation:** [what the citation pattern tells you]

In the Study Document

Citation index data belongs in the "Modern Prophets" or "Commentary" sections. The absence of citations is as important as their presence:

"3 Nephi 21:10-11 has exactly one citation in the entire index: John Taylor in the Journal of Discourses (1878). Zero modern conference talks. This is a stunning silence for a verse that contains a direct prophecy of a latter-day servant."

Cross-Referencing with mcp__gospel-engine-v2__gospel_search

The BYU Citation Index tells you who cited a verse. The gospel_search semantic mode tells you who discussed a topic. They complement each other:

1. Use mcp__byu-citations__byu_citations to find who cited the specific verse
2. Use mcp__gospel-engine-v2__gospel_search with mode: "semantic" to find thematic discussions that may allude to the verse without citing it directly
3. Read the actual talks to verify