The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also called the Mormon Church or the LDS Church) has 4 volumes of written scripture: the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. This article is written from a Christian (non-LDS) perspective to help the reader better understand the basics about these writings which the Mormon Church holds as their scripture.

The Bible

The Mormon Church believes that the Bible is the word of God “as far as it is translated correctly” (8th Article of Faith). The King James Version of the Bible has been printed and distributed by the LDS Church both by itself and as a part of their 4-volume Standard Words (the “quad”). While the text of the King James is unaltered, the LDS Church has included chapter headings footnotes, cross references, a topical guide and a bible dictionary, all of which are unique to the LDS Church’s Bible. In the footnotes the reader will find re-translated portions of the Bible from the Joseph Smith Translation (JST). Some of Smith’s re-translations are little more than changing “an” to “a” while others expand a single verse from 34 words (in the KJV) to over 800 words (in the case of Genesis 50:24).

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon was written by Joseph Smith in the late 1820′s. At a time when the origins of the Native American population was uncertain Smith identified them as the descendants of the Old Testament Jews who had sailed across the ocean thousands of years before it was “discovered” by Europeans. Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon is divided into smaller books, chapters, and verses. It has 15 books which span531 pages in the modern printed edition. The book was allegedly translated by Joseph Smith from an otherwise unknown language, reformed Egyptian. The golden plates on which it was written were returned to a cave (also undiscovered) to the angel who initially led Smith to them.

Despite the lack of any ancient (non-English) manuscript, the Book of Mormon has gone through many revisions, some of which alter the grammar and spelling, and other revisions which add new words (ex. changing 1 Nephi 11:18 from “the mother of God” to “the mother of the Son of God”) or change key words (changing “King Benjamin” to “King Mosiah,” Mosiah 21:28), effectively altering the meaning of the text.

Anachronistic elements abound in this purportedly ancient document. References to animals which would not be introduced to the western hemisphere for over a thousand years are made. Greek names are used by Nephites who would never have been exposed to the Greek language. Large portions of the Bible are quoted by Book of Mormon characters, the translation of which is amazingly similar to the King James Version’s rendering. The Book of Mormon was translated by Smith in an almost Elizabethan dialect. Unlike most translations which seek to use the language and dialect of the audience for whom it is being translated, Smith produced a volume which sounds distinctly different from the way he spoke and wrote in other documents (such as his personal letters, his History of the Church, etc.)

The Doctrine and Covenants

During Joseph Smith’s career as a prophet he claims to have received direct revelation from God. Some of these were canonized into a volume called the Book of Commandments. Smith continued to receive new revelation and a larger volume was compiled which we now know as the Doctrine and Covenants. The Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) are comprised of 138 “Sections” and 2 “Official Declarations.” Joseph Smith wrote Sections 1-134 and 137. Section 135 was written by John Taylor about Smith’s death in Carthage, IL. Section 136 was written by Brigham Young, Smith’s successor as LDS prophet. Section 138 was written by Joseph F. Smith, the 6th LDS prophet. Official Declaration 1 was written by Wilford Woodruff, the 4th LDS prophet. And Official Declaration 2 was written by Spencer W. Kimball, the 12th LDS prophet.

Each Section is prefaced by a historical background which is useful in determining the context in which it was given. The topics covered in the D&C range from doctrinal matters to everyday issues. Smith received revelation validating polygamy (which he was already practicing) in Section 132, instructions for baptisms for the dead in Section 127. In Section 129:8 God revealed to Joseph that the devil could be identified by a handshake. Like Smith’s timely revelation permitting polygamy, the Official Declarations were both very well timed revelations, the first coming when political pressure against polygamy was very strong and Utah’s statehood was in the balance, the second at a time when the LDS Church had been criticized by many for their racist doctrine prohibiting blacks from holding the priesthood.

The Pearl of Great Price

The fourth and final volume of LDS scripture is titled the Pearl of Great Price. It is a collection of books that Mormons read as authoritatively as a well-translated Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Selections from the Book of Moses is part of the Joseph Smith Translation (JST) of the biblical book of Genesis. The Book of Abraham was translated by Smith from fragments of an Egyptian scroll. Interestingly, that scroll was thought to be lost until the late 1960s when it was discovered and studied by Egyptologists. What Smith translated as the Book of Abraham was, in reality, nothing more than the pagan Book of Breathings, a funerary document from no earlier than the 670s BC, well over 1,000 years after Abraham, Issac, and Jacob had all died.

The Book of Abraham contains 3 Facsimile’s (each with Smith’s explanation of their meaning) which Mormons consider part of their scripture. They too were copied from the pagan Book of Breathings, although Smith’s papyrus manuscript was damaged as a result of age and he had to fill in some gaps. In the areas that he supplied the missing elements of the facsimile there is a notable departure from other in-tact manuscripts of the same document which Smith had no access to during his lifetime.

Joseph Smith–Matthew is part of the JST of Matthew 23:39 and Matthew 24. Joseph Smith–History is comprised of extracts from the first five chapters of his mulch-volume History of the Church, which documents the early days of the Mormon Church. Joseph Smith–History offers a condensed history of Joseph’s quest for the true church, his “First Vision,” his marriage to his first wife Emma, his translating the Book of Mormon, and other information.

The Articles of Faith, written by Joseph Smith, are 13 core beliefs of the LDS Church. It is the smallest and final section of the Pearl of Great Price.

New Revelation

The LDS Church’s written scriptures leave open the possibility of new revelation, not only written revelation (such as can be found at the end of the D&C) but also oral or verbal revelation, given by LDS leaders. D&C 68:4 says of those “ordained unto this priesthood” (see vv. 1-4 for context):

And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. (italics mine)

D&C 1:38 also lends weight to this distinctly Mormon doctrine:

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

Brigham Young added clarity (if there was any doubt as to the meaning of these texts) in 1869 when he concluded one of his sermons with these words:

I have never yet preached a sermon and sent it out to the children of men, that they may not call Scripture. Let me have the privilege of correcting a sermon, and it is as good Scripture as they deserve. The people have the oracles of God continually. In the days of Joseph, revelation was given and written, and the people were driven from city to city and place to place, until we were led into these mountains. Let this go to the people with “Thus saith the Lord,” and if they do not obey it, you will see the chastening hand of the Lord upon them. (Journal of Discourses 13:95, italics mine)

The Mormon Church has a meeting twice every year which is called “General Conference.” The highest ranking LDS leaders (the prophet, apostles, and others) will give messages to the entire Mormon Church. These messages are considered to be scripture if they meet the criteria above.