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Sixty-eight years ago this month, Keith Siddens had a life-changing experience.

It was then - a Tuesday night in 1940 - that the Albany, Mo., man says he accepted Jesus as his savior. A few years later, he came to believe that every Christian who is able should search the scriptures for guidance, and it was this belief that ultimately led him to found the Words of Jesus Ministry with his wife, Lettie.

The most recent project of this ministry is a book, "Teachings of Jesus," in which Mr. Siddens took the words spoken by Jesus in the four Gospels and placed them in approximate chronological order. Mr. Siddens spoke with the News-Press recently about his motivation for publishing the book.

Tell me a little bit about what your goal was in taking the words of Jesus out of their original context and putting them in chronological order.

I used the chronological order because it was (done) in ... "The Combined Gospels" (published by the People of the Living God in McMinville, Tenn.), and I liked that, because it condenses our Lord's words into much less area when you're copying it or wanting to use it.

How did your idea for the book originate?

It just seemed that to me that, in my own experience, I had found it difficult to make the words of our Lord more important than the words of other writers of scripture. And he states that his words that he spoke while he was here on earth will judge his people in the last days, so I felt like they should be available in a form that is easy for people to accept. And, in this day of condensed and easy-to-digest information, it seemed to me to have them in as concise a form as possible was a big help.

How long did it take you to put everything together like this?

I've been working on it for several years. In fact, I have printed out copies of it at times and (received) feedback from other people as I went along, and consequently, it has been several years - like 12 or 15.

How did you choose which Bible translation to use?

I used the King James because ... it is claimed that King James told the writers of the King James version that if he discovered that they had deliberately mistranslated something, he would take their head off. This seemed like a pretty good motivation to do it right. I hope it is not just prejudice because I was raised on the King James version, but I do feel that there is a lot of accuracy there.

Tell me a little bit about your ministry, the Words of Jesus Ministry. What's the connection between it and the book?

(Lettie and I) actually own Words of Jesus Ministry in Missouri ... This was my emphasis and has been since sometime in the '60s or the mid-1970s ... In the '80s then, my wife had written some books.

You say this is your emphasis, meaning books like this? Or what else do you do?

They are devotional books mostly, and there are some (biographies) ... Her dad was a minister, and she ... (included) sermons her dad used throughout the years ... showing also the fact that he was standing in a position where he was helping people who for some reason found it difficult to fit into organized religion. He also had the "Bible Proof" radio program for several years, which I was also a speaker for that after his death for 10 years. So that's all a part of the Words of Jesus Ministry.

If people are interested in purchasing the book (which retails for $8.99), what options do they have?

(A-Z's) Freshair Fare (114 S. Eighth St. in St. Joseph) is going to be handling them ... And also it can be ordered (from) Sow the Seed Ministries (www.sowtheseedministries.com).

Is there anything else you would want to add about the book?

I would just say that the Lord has really blessed us with this opportunity of providing a unique and helpful book for those who want to know more about our Lord.

Lifestyles reporter Erin Wisdom can be reached at ewisdom@npgco.com.