LDS Scriptures
Unlike most of Christianity, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that the Bible is not the only scripture authorized by God. Members of the Church read the Bible and believe that it is scripture and speaks the word of God, but there is also other scripture. The Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenant, and Pearl of Great Price make up what members call the Standard Works and are all considered scripture. All four books are available in their entirety online at www.lds.org
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is similar to the Bible in that it is a compilation of various works written by many people over many centuries (more than 1,000 years). The Book of Mormon follows a group of people and their dealings with God. The Book of Mormon’s subtitle is “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” The book testifies of Christ’s divinity and mission and is another witness that Christ lived, atoned for our sins, died on the cross, and was resurrected. The Book of Mormon, unlike the Bible, has only been translated from its original version once, and is therefore considered to have minimal translation errors.
The Book of Mormon has fifteen sections called books, which are further divided into chapters and sections like the Bible. For the most part, the Book of Mormon when read from front to back is chronological, except for the Book of Ether, which is a record of a people that lived on the land long before the Book of Mormon people.
For a free copy of the Book of Mormon visit mormon.org
Doctrine and Covenants
Latter-day Saints believe that God continues to give revelation to man, and this is done through his prophet. The Doctrine and Covenants is made up of revelations that were deemed important enough to adopt as scripture. All of the revelations are God’s answers to questions that prophets had about the organization of the Church, scripture passages, or principles of the gospel. Some of the revelations do not relate to the Church now but remain important because they highlight gospel truths or history of the Church. The Doctrine and Covenants addresses some important parts of the LDS religion such as the Word of Wisdom, eternal marriage, the Priesthood, Baptism by Immersion, life after death, organization of the Church, and tithing.
Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great Price started as a collection of scriptures printed for the Saints in England to use. The scriptures in the Book of Moses came about because Joseph Smith was pondering parts of Genesis. He received revelation that some important truths had been left out, and through inspiration from God wrote what is now found in the Book of Moses (see also Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible). This book includes information about a vision Moses had, the earth’s creation, Adam and Eve’s experiences and information about more of their descendants.
The Book of Abraham was translated from papyrus obtained by the Church from archaeologists who were exhibiting their finds from Egypt. Joseph Smith examined the papyrus and determined that it had been written by Abraham. Then through divine inspiration he translated the papyrus. This book contains information about Abraham’s origins, the pre-mortal life, the earth’s creation, and the Abrahamic covenant.
The Pearl of Great Price contains four other segments:
- Joseph Smith-History, which gives a good overview of the prophet's early life, the First Vision, and visitations from heavenly messengers and the translation of the Book of Mormon.
- Joseph Smith-Matthew, which is the prophet's inspired translation/correction of St. Matthew chapter 24.
- Articles of Faith, which outline the basic beliefs of the Mormon Church.
- Official Declarations 1 and 2, which discuss Plural Marriage and the priesthood.
