Searching LDS Scriptures by Meaning — Not Just Words

If you’ve ever searched the scriptures and couldn’t remember the exact wording, you know how frustrating it can be.
Maybe you think, “Where’s that verse about faith being like a seed?” but your search for “faith is like a seed” doesn’t return what you had in mind.

That’s because most scripture search tools are keyword-based — they match the exact words you type, and that’s it.

I wanted something better.
So I built a semantic search engine for the scriptures of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a tool that finds verses based on meaning, not just matching text.

Try it here: 👉 ai.wphelps.dev

What Makes This Different

Semantic search uses AI-generated embeddings to understand the meaning behind words and phrases. This means you can search for:

“How can I increase my faith?”
and still find Alma 32’s analogy about a seed — even if you never typed the word “seed.”

How It Works

1. Embed the Scriptures - Every verse is processed with Nomic Embed Text, turning its meaning into a numerical “vector.”
2. Store in a Vector Database - I use SurrealDB to hold both the scripture text and its embeddings.
3. Search by Meaning - When you type a query, it’s embedded the same way, and the system finds the verses whose meaning is closest to your query.
4. Show Relevant Passages - The app displays the best matches, often finding scriptures you might have missed in a keyword search.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: SvelteKit for a fast, minimal interface.
• Embeddings: Nomic Embed Text for semantic understanding.
• Local Processing: Ollama for running the embedding model on your own machine.
• Database: SurrealDB for scripture storage and vector search.

Why I Built It

• Better study - find related verses even if you don’t know the exact phrasing.
• Privacy-first - runs locally, so your searches stay yours.
• Fun with AI tools - it’s a great playground for experimenting with semantic search tech.

Give It a Try

Here are some sample searches:

• "What is the pure love of Christ"
• "Be a light to others"
• "Faith growing like a plant"

You might be surprised at what turns up.

👉 ai.wphelps.dev