Scripture canon

English quadruple combination of the standard works

The canon of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is composed of four books (called standard works ), which can be extended. There may be additions that require the approval of the higher church leaders. The four books of the canon of scriptures are:

The bible ; in the English-speaking countries this is the King James Bible , in other-speaking countries a different version
The Book of Mormon , subtitled Another Witness for Jesus Christ since 1981

The Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS Church

The Pearl of Great Price , consisting of the Book of Moses , Book of Abraham , the Articles of Faith , Joseph Smith-Matthew, and Joseph Smith-Life Story .

The canon of scriptures is printed and distributed by the LDS Church in a complete edition called a "Quadruple Combination" and as a set of two books, a Bible, and a "Triple Combination". Recent editions of the Canons of Scriptures contain many extra aids for studying the scriptures.

Further disclosure

The LDS Church believes in further revelation. Mormons believe that if their church leaders are seized by the Holy Spirit, then “will be scriptures, will be the will of the Lord, will be the mind of the Lord, will be the word of the Lord, will be the voice of the Lord and power Of God for salvation ”. They think the President of the Church is a prophet .

Add to the font canon

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches, “For all must be done in order, and by general approval in the Church, by the prayer of faith.” This applies to the addition of new scriptures. President Harold B. Lee taught that nothing will be added unless the President appears with this text and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Church bodies approve. This has happened a few times:

June 9, 1830: The first conference of the Church to establish the articles and covenants of the Church of Christ - now known as the Doctrine and Covenants, chapter 20.
August 17, 1835: Selected revelations from Joseph Smith were accepted as scriptures.
October 10, 1880: The Pearl of Great Price was accepted as scripture. Other scriptures were also added to the Doctrine and Covenants at this time .
October 6, 1890: The 1890 Manifesto was adopted as scripture.
April 3, 1976: Two visions, one from Joseph Smith and one from Joseph F. Smith , were accepted as scriptures. These are now sections 137 and 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants .
September 30, 1978: The priesthood revelation was accepted.

When a doctrine undergoes this procedure, it is viewed by the LDS church as the word of God. Harold B. Lee taught:

“When [someone] writes or says anything beyond anything that is in the scriptures, unless it is the prophet, seer, and revelator - please note this one exception - you can immediately say, ' That is his opinion. ' And if he says something that contradicts what is in the standard works of the Church, then you can equally know that it is wrong. "

- Clyde J. Williams (Ed.): The Teachings of Harold B. Lee. [1996], pp. 540 f.

The Bible

An open quadruple combination on a page of the Book of Isaiah . See the cross-references in the footnotes between the Bible and the Mormon scriptures, below.

English-speaking Mormons usually study with the King James Bible , which in its version includes chapter headings, footnotes with references to the other books of the canon of scriptures, and quotations from Joseph Smith. Although the KJV has always been widely used in general, it was not officially adopted by the First Presidency under J. Reuben Clark until the 1950s . The rationale was that it is better than, for example, the Revised Standard Version because it is of better quality and more compatible with the LDS Church. After publishing its own edition in 1979, the First Presidency announced in 1992 that the King James Bible had become the official Bible for English-speaking members. In 2010 this was written in the Church Manual. A Spanish version, similar to the Reina-Valera translation from 1909, was published in 2009. Mormons in other non-English speaking countries use different versions of the Bible. Although the Bible is part of the Mormon canon of scriptures, they believe that there are loopholes and translation errors even in the earliest manuscripts. Mormons claim that errors in the Bible have led to wrong interpretations. The Church believes that the Bible is the word of God insofar as it is "correctly translated". The Church teaches that the correctness of biblical passages is not solved by comparing different translations, but by comparing those passages with the Book of Mormon and modern revelation.

Apocrypha

Although the apocrypha are present in the King James Bible of 1611, the LDS Church does not use them in the scriptures. Joseph Smith taught that the Apocrypha should not be used for teaching and should only be read with a distinction of spirits .

Joseph Smith Translation

Joseph Smith translated the Bible thematically. Smith did not translate the full text in his lifetime. However, its incomplete version is known as the Joseph Smith Translation or the Inspired Version . Although Church leaders generally do not quote this version, the Church's English Bible has references to the Joseph Smith Translation and an addendum that contains large excerpts from it. The Joseph Smith Translation is not an accepted scripture in the LDS Church. But his translation of Genesis , the book of Moses and his translation of the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew are accepted.

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon is sacred to Mormons, comparable to the Bible. Joseph Smith received the gold plates from the angel Moroni . He translated the text on it into English with the Urim and Thummim . He showed the gold plates to the three witnesses and the eight witnesses . He then returned the plates to the angel and published the Book of Mormon.

Doctrine and Covenants

The Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS Church is a collection of revelations, policies, letters, and publications by Presidents of the Church . This book contains Church doctrine and information about how the Church should be governed. This book exists in various formats, with different contents throughout history, and is used by different Mormon churches . When the LDS Church makes new revelations, they are usually added to this book. The last changes were ordered in 1981.

Delicious pearl

The Pearl of Great Price is made from selected materials from Joseph Smith. It addresses the many important aspects of the faith and doctrine of the Church. Much of this material was published in early Church magazines.

Church curriculum

In the past, Sunday School and the Church Educational System taught the scriptures on a four-year cycle.

Year One: Old Testament (includes related topics from the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham)

Year two: New Testament

Year three: Book of Mormon

Year Four: Doctrine and Covenants and Church History

However, Ezra Taft Benson taught that members should not follow this rhythm privately and should study the Book of Mormon daily .

In 2014 the curriculum was changed. The topics now are these:

Year One: Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel

Year Two: Basics of Restoration

Year Three: Book of Mormon Statements and Teachings

Year Four: The Eternal Family

Further literature

Scriptures in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism
Standard works in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism

Individual evidence

↑ The only one authorized to bring forth new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be accepted the church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and then sustained by the body of the church. (Harold B. Lee, The First Area General Conference for Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Spain of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in Munich Germany, August 24–26, 1973, with Reports and Discourses, 69. OCLC 59671066. )

^ LDS Church releases Spanish-language Bible. ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Salt Lake Tribune , September 17, 2009. @1@ 2

^ LDS Edition of The Holy Bible in Spanish . lds.org. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

^ Scott Taylor: LDS Church publishes new Spanish-language Bible. Deseret News , September 13, 2009.

^ LDS Edition of Bible in Portuguese. Liahona , Nov 2015.

↑ Michael Morris: President Eyring Announces 'Great Blessing' for Portuguese-Speaking Saints. lds.org, September 15, 2015.

↑ §21.1.7 Bible . In: Handbook 2: Administering the Church . LDS Church. 2010.

^ Article of Faith, No. 9

Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants - 68: 4.

Jump up ↑ Doctrine and Covenants 28:13.

↑ Harold B. Lee, The First Area General Conference for Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Spain of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held in Munich Germany, August 24–26, 1973, with Reports and Discourses, 69: “The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church. " OCLC 59671066 .

^ The minutes of that meeting recorded , "Articles and Covenants read by Joseph Smith jr. and received by unanimous voice of the whole congregation, which consisted of most of the male members of the Church. "(English).

Jump up ↑ Joseph Smith, BH Roberts (ed.): History of the Church , Vol. 2 (1902), pp. 243-246.

↑ Introduction

^ “I hold in my hand the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and also the book, The Pearl of Great Price, which books contain revelations of God. In Kirtland, the Doctrine and Covenants in its original form, as first printed, was submitted to the officers of the Church and the members of the Church to vote upon. As there have been additions made to it by the publishing of revelations which were not contained in the original edition, it has been deemed wise to submit these books with their contents to the conference, to see whether the conference will vote to accept the books and their contents as from God, and binding upon us as a people and as a Church. " George Q. Cannon : Comments . In: Millennial Star . 42, No. 46, Nov. 15, 1880, p. 724 (Oct. 10, 1880, General Conference)