Macros for Latter-day Saint Content
As soon as I discovered Paul Beverly’s brilliant macros for editors, I realized that with my programming background, I could actually write my own! Because I edit a steady stream of Latter-day Saint nonfiction manuscripts, I set out to create a custom set of macros to dramatically speed up a tedious task that I do constantly: checking scripture quotes for accuracy. As a result, what used to take minutes now takes seconds. The macros I’ve developed have transformed my workflow, and I hope they’ll be just as game-changing in your editing work as they’ve been in mine.
What Do They Do?
There are three sets of macros that perform different tasks. Here’s a brief description of each, in the order in which I use them the most.
CheckVerseWithRefAfter, CheckVerseWithRefBefore
These macros will find the nearest scripture reference (after or before the cursor), fetch the official scripture text for that passage, and compare your selection to the official scripture text, highlighting it in green if it’s an exact match or pink if there’s a discrepancy in spelling, punctuation, or capitalization.
This selection is automatically (1) the text found between two quotation marks where your cursor is, (2) the text found between the beginning of the paragraph and the scripture reference, like in a block quote, or (3) whatever text you’ve manually selected.
NOTE: Due to certain dependencies, these macros only work in Windows, not on Mac computers. They also require Selenium, so be sure to read the Selenium Instructions at the bottom of this page.
LatterDayFetchNextURL, LatterDayFetchPrevURL, LatterDayFetchURL
These macros will find the nearest scripture reference (after, before, or at the place of your cursor), generate the appropriate URL on ChurchofJesusChrist.org for that passage, and launch it in your browser.
Most often, I use LatterDayFetchNextURL after CheckVerseWithRefAfter in order to make corrections to the improperly quoted scripture.
LatterDayFetch
This macro (which Paul Beverly helped me write) launches your selected text on the search page of ChurchofJesusChrist.org, allowing you to find the correct reference for the quoted text. (This works similarly to GoogleFetch and MerriamFetch.)
I only use this in the rare case when an author has omitted a reference or when the reference doesn’t match the verse.
Video Tutorial
Check out the video below to get a deep dive into how these macros work.
How to Set Up the Macros
Below is everything you need to get started using these time-saving macros for editing Latter-day Saint content! If you run into any issues, please email me at thewatchfulwordsmith@gmail.com.
Macro Code
Here you’ll find the code for all the macros listed above. Copy and paste this into the VBA editor of your Word application. (See “Macro Instructions” for step-by-step instructions if needed.)
Don’t forget to also install Selenium on your computer!
Macro Instructions
If you’ve never used macros, no worries! The documents below from Paul Beverly will walk you through how to set them up. Here’s the short answer:
1. Open Word
2. Press Alt + F8
3. Click “Create” (if “Edit” is grayed out) or “Edit”
4. Copy and paste the entire text of LatterDayMacros.txt at the end of the VBA window
5. Create keyboard shortcuts for the macros you expect to use the most
Selenium Instructions
CheckVerseWithRefAfter and CheckVerseWithRef require the additional step of setting up Selenium on your computer. Follow these steps to do so.
Download