Standard Works
Encyclopedia
Continuous revelation
Continuous revelation or continuing revelation is a theological belief or position that God continues to reveal divine principles or commandments to humanity...
scriptural canon
Biblical canon
A biblical canon, or canon of scripture, is a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community. The term itself was first coined by Christians, but the idea is found in Jewish sources. The internal wording of the text can also be specified, for example...
.
- The Holy Bible (King James version)King James Version of the BibleThe Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
- The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus ChristBook of MormonThe Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
- The Doctrine and CovenantsDoctrine and CovenantsThe Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - The Pearl of Great PricePearl of Great Price (Mormonism)The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....
The Standard Works are printed and distributed by the LDS church in a single binding called a Quadruple Combination and as a set of two books, with the Bible in one binding
LDS edition of the Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publishes editions of the Bible in English and Spanish that it encourages its members to use. The text of the LDS Church's English-language Bible is the Authorized King James Version and the church's Spanish-language Bible is a revised Reina-Valera...
, and the other three books in a second binding called a Triple Combination. Current editions of the standard works include a bible dictionary
Bible Dictionary (LDS Church)
Bible Dictionary is an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Since 1979, Bible Dictionary has been published as an appendix to most copies of the King James Version of the Bible printed by the LDS Church. The dictionary contains 1285 entries on 196 pages...
, photographs, maps and gazetteer
Gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or directory, an important reference for information about places and place names , used in conjunction with a map or a full atlas. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup of a country, region, or continent as well as the social...
, topical guide, index, footnotes, cross references, excerpts from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
(JST), and other study aids.
Continuing revelation
Under the Church's doctrine of continuing revelationContinuous revelation
Continuous revelation or continuing revelation is a theological belief or position that God continues to reveal divine principles or commandments to humanity...
(see the Ninth Article of Faith
Articles of Faith (Mormonism)
Within the Latter Day Saint movement, the Articles of Faith are a creed composed by Joseph Smith, Jr. as part of an 1842 letter sent to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, and first published in the Latter Day Saint newspaper Times and Seasons. It is a concise listing of thirteen...
), Latter-day Saints believe literally in the principle of revelation
Revelation (Latter Day Saints)
Latter Day Saints teach that the Latter Day Saint movement began with a Revelation from God . They also teach that revelation is the foundation of the church established by Jesus Christ and that it remains an essential element of His true church today...
from God to his children. Individual members are entitled to divine revelation for confirmation of truths, gaining knowledge or wisdom, meeting personal challenges, etc. Parents are entitled to revelation for raising their families.
Divine revelation for the direction of the entire Church comes from God to the President of the Church, who is viewed by Latter-day Saints as a prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
in the same sense as Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
, Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
, Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, and other biblical leaders. When prophets and General Authorities
General authority
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , a general authority is a member of certain leadership organizations who are given administrative and ecclesiastical authority over the church...
of the Church speak as "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.(Doctrine & Covenants 68:4). Members are encouraged to ponder these revelations and pray to determine for themselves the truthfulness of doctrine.
Adding to the canon of scripture
The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that "all things must be done in order, and by common consentCommon consent
Common consent is a democratic principle established by the Latter Day Saint movement's founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., who taught in 1830 that "all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church, by the prayer of faith." As it is most frequently used by the Church of Jesus Christ of...
in the church.". This applies to adding new scripture. President of the Church Harold B. Lee
Harold B. Lee
Harold Bingham Lee was eleventh president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from July 1972 until his death.- Early life :...
taught "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." There are six recorded instances of this happening in the LDS church:
- April 6, 1830 - When the church was organized, the Bible and Book of Mormon were unanimously accepted as scripture.
- August 17, 1835 - Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the Doctrine and Covenants.
- October 10, 1880 - The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously accepted as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants which had not been accepted as scripture because they were received after 1835 were unanimously accepted as scripture.
- October 6, 1890 - Official Declaration—1 was accepted unanimously as scripture.
- April 3, 1976 - Two visions were accepted as scripture and initially added to The Pearl of Great Price, and later moved to the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 137 and 138.
- September 30, 1978 - Official Declaration—2Official Declaration—2"Official Declaration—2" is the formal 1978 announcement by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the church's priesthood would no longer be subject to restrictions based on race or skin color...
was accepted unanimously as scripture.
When a doctrine undergoes this procedure, the LDS Church treats it as the word of God, and it is used as a standard to compare other doctrines. Lee taught "It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they speak and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don't care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, "Well, that is his own idea!" And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard works (I think that is why we call them "standard"—it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false; regardless of the position of the man who says it."
The Bible
EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking Latter-day Saints typically own and study the LDS Church-published edition
LDS edition of the Bible
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publishes editions of the Bible in English and Spanish that it encourages its members to use. The text of the LDS Church's English-language Bible is the Authorized King James Version and the church's Spanish-language Bible is a revised Reina-Valera...
of the King James Version of the Bible
King James Version of the Bible
The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
, which includes LDS-oriented chapter headings, footnotes referencing books in the Standard Works, and select passages from the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.
Though the King James Version (KJV) was always commonly used, it was officially adopted in the 1950s when J. Reuben Clark
J. Reuben Clark
Joshua Reuben Clark, Jr. was an American attorney, civil servant, and a prominent leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Born in Grantsville, Utah Territory, Clark was a prominent attorney in the Department of State, and Under Secretary of State for US president Calvin Coolidge...
, of the First Presidency
First Presidency (LDS Church)
The First Presidency is the presiding or governing body of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . It is composed of the President of the Church and his counselors. The First Presidency currently consists of President Thomas S. Monson and his two counselors, Henry B...
, argued extensively that newer translations, such as Revised Standard Version
Revised Standard Version
The Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...
of 1952, were of lower quality and less compatible with LDS tradition. After publishing its own edition in 1979, the First Presidency announced in 1992 that the KJV was the church's official English Bible, stating "[w]hile other Bible versions may be easier to read than the King James Version, in doctrinal matters latter-day revelation supports the King James Version in preference to other English translations." In 2010 this was written into the church's Handbook, which directs official church policy and programs.
A Spanish version, with a similar format and using a slightly revised version of the 1909 Reina-Valera
Reina-Valera
The Reina-Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible, first published in 1569 in Basel, Switzerland and nicknamed the "Biblia del Oso" . It was not the first complete Bible in Spanish; several others, most notably the Alfonsina Bible, were published in previous centuries...
translation, was published in 2009. Latter-day Saints in other non-English speaking areas may use other versions of the Bible.
Though the Bible is part of the LDS canon and members believe it to be the word of God, they believe that omissions and mistranslations are present in even the earliest known manuscripts. They claim that the errors in the Bible have led to incorrect interpretations of certain passages. Thus, as church founder Joseph Smith, Jr. explained, the church believes the Bible to be the word of God "as far as it is translated correctly." The church teaches that "[t]he most reliable way to measure the accuracy of any biblical passage is not by comparing different texts, but by comparison with the Book of Mormon and modern-day revelations".
The manuscripts of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
The Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
state that "the Song of Solomon is not inspired scripture," and therefore it is not included in LDS canon and rarely studied by members of the LDS church. However, it is still printed in every version of the King James Bible published by the church.
The Apocrypha
Although the ApocryphaApocrypha
The term apocrypha is used with various meanings, including "hidden", "esoteric", "spurious", "of questionable authenticity", ancient Chinese "revealed texts and objects" and "Christian texts that are not canonical"....
was part of the 1611 edition of the KJV, the Church does not currently use the Apocrypha as part of its canon. Joseph Smith Jr. taught that while the contemporary edition of the Apocrypha was not to be relied on for doctrine, it was potentially useful when read with a spirit of discernment
Discernment
Discernment is a term used to describe the activity of determining the value and quality of a certain subject or event. Typically, it is used to describe the activity of going past the mere perception of something, to making detailed judgments about that thing...
.
Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
Joseph Smith translated selected verses of the Bible, working by subject. Smith did not complete the entire text of the Bible during his lifetime. However, his incomplete work is known as the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, or the Inspired Version. Although this selected translation is not generally quoted by members of the Church, the English Bible issued by the Church and commonly used by Latter-day Saints contains cross references to the Joseph Smith Translation (JST), as well as an appendix containing major excerpts from it. However, with the exceptions of Smith's translation of portions of the book of Book of Genesis (renamed the Selections from the Book of Moses) and the translation of MatthewGospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
23:39-24:51, no portions of the Joseph Smith Translation have been officially canonized by the LDS Church.
The Book of Mormon
Latter-day Saints consider The Book of Mormon as a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It contains a record of God’s dealings with the prophets and ancient inhabitants of the AmericasAmericas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. The introduction to the book asserts that it "contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon."
Segments of the Book of Mormon provide an account of the culture, religious teachings and civilizations of groups who immigrated to the New World. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, identified in the book as the Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
s and the Lamanite
Lamanite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...
s. Some years after their arrival, the Nephites met with a similar group, the Mulekites who left the Middle East during the same period. An older group arrived in America much earlier, when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
. This group is known as the Jaredite
Jaredite
The Jaredites are a people written of in the Book of Mormon, principally in the Book of Ether. In the Book of Ether, the Jaredites are described as the descendants of Jared and his brother, at the time of the Tower of Babel. According to the Book of Mormon, the people fled across the Ocean via...
s and their story is condensed in the Book of Ether
Book of Ether
The Book of Ether is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The Book of Ether tells of an ancient people , descendants of Jared and his companions who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Babel...
. The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of Jesus Christ among Nephites soon after his resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. This account presents the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and offers men peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. The latter segments of the Book of Mormon details the destruction of these civilizations, as all were destroyed except the Lamanites. The book asserts that the Lamanites are among the ancestors of the indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
According to his record, Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon by gift and power of God through the Urim and Thummim
Urim and Thummim
In ancient Israelite religion and culture, Urim and Thummim is a phrase from the Hebrew Scriptures or Torah associated with the Hoshen , divination in general, and cleromancy in particular...
. Eleven witnesses signed testimonies of its authenticity, which are now included in the preface to the Book of Mormon. The Three Witnesses
Three Witnesses
The Three Witnesses were a group of three early leaders of the Latter Day Saint movement who signed a statement in 1830 saying that an angel had shown them the golden plates from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon and that they had heard God's voice testifying that the book had...
testified to having seen an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
present the gold plates, and to having heard God bear witness to its truth. Eight
Eight Witnesses
The Eight Witnesses were one of the two groups of witnesses who signed a statement stating that they had seen the golden plates which Joseph Smith, Jr. said was his source material for the book...
others stated that Joseph Smith, Jr. showed them the plates and that they handled and examined them.
The Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsDoctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
is a collection of revelations, policies, letters, and statements given to the modern Church by past Presidents of the Church. This record contains points of Church doctrine and direction on Church government. The book has existed in numerous forms, with varying content, throughout the history of the Church and has also been published in differing formats by the various Latter Day Saint denominations. When the Church chooses to canonize new material, it is typically added to the Doctrine and Covenants; the most recent changes were made in 1981.
The Pearl of Great Price
The Pearl of Great PricePearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....
is a selection of material produced by Joseph Smith, Jr. and deals with many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of the Church. Many of these materials were initially published in Church periodicals in the early days of church.
The Pearl of Great Price contains five sections:
- Selections from the Book of MosesBook of MosesThe Book of Moses is part of the scriptural canon of Mormonism dictated by founder Joseph Smith, Jr. It is an amalgamation of the "Vision of Moses," which Smith dictated in June 1830, the "Book of Enoch," dictated December 1830, and material deriving from Smith's revision of the Book of Genesis in...
: portions of the Book of Genesis from the Joseph Smith Translation of the BibleJoseph Smith Translation of the BibleThe Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
. - The Book of AbrahamBook of AbrahamThe Book of Abraham is a 1835 work by Joseph Smith, Jr. that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book...
: a translation from papyriPapyrusPapyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
acquired by Smith in 1835, dealing with AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
's journeys in EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The work contains many distinctive MormonMormonThe term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
doctrines such as exaltationExaltation (Mormonism)Exaltation or Eternal Life is a belief among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that mankind can return to live in God's presence and continue as families. Exaltation is believed to be what God desires for all humankind. The LDS Church teaches that through exaltation...
. - Joseph Smith—MatthewJoseph Smith—MatthewJoseph Smith—Matthew is a book in the Pearl of Great Price, a scriptural text used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations. Joseph Smith—Matthew consists of Joseph Smith, Jr.'s "retranslation" of portions of the Gospel of Matthew...
: portions of the Gospel of MatthewGospel of MatthewThe Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
from the Joseph Smith Translation of the BibleJoseph Smith Translation of the BibleThe Joseph Smith Translation , also called the Inspired Version , was a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of...
. - Joseph Smith—History: a first-person narrative of Joseph Smith'sJoseph SmithJoseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
life before the founding of the Church. The material is taken from Documentary History of the Church and is based on a history written by Smith in 1838. - The Articles of FaithArticles of Faith (Mormonism)Within the Latter Day Saint movement, the Articles of Faith are a creed composed by Joseph Smith, Jr. as part of an 1842 letter sent to "Long" John Wentworth, editor of the Chicago Democrat, and first published in the Latter Day Saint newspaper Times and Seasons. It is a concise listing of thirteen...
: concise listing of thirteen fundamental doctrines of Mormonism composed by Joseph Smith in 1842.
Church instruction
In the Church's Sunday School and Church Educational SystemChurch Educational System
The Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consists of several institutions that provide religious and secular education for both Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint elementary, secondary, and post-secondary students and adult learners...
classes, the Standard Works are studied and taught in a four-year rotation:
- Year One : Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
(also includes some coverage of related topics in the Book of MosesBook of MosesThe Book of Moses is part of the scriptural canon of Mormonism dictated by founder Joseph Smith, Jr. It is an amalgamation of the "Vision of Moses," which Smith dictated in June 1830, the "Book of Enoch," dictated December 1830, and material deriving from Smith's revision of the Book of Genesis in...
and Book of AbrahamBook of AbrahamThe Book of Abraham is a 1835 work by Joseph Smith, Jr. that he said was based on Egyptian papyri purchased from a traveling mummy exhibition. According to Smith, the book was "a translation of some ancient records....purporting to be the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt, called the Book...
from the Pearl of Great PricePearl of Great Price (Mormonism)The Pearl of Great Price is part of the standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations....
) - Year Two : New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
- Year Three: Book of MormonBook of MormonThe Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
- Year Four: Doctrine and CovenantsDoctrine and CovenantsThe Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
and Church HistoryHistory of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsThe history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is typically divided into three broad time periods: the early history during the lifetime of Joseph Smith, Jr...
However, in recent times, leaders of the Church have emphasized that Latter-day Saints should not restrict their study of the Standard Works to the particular book being currently studied in Sunday School or other religious courses. Specifically, Church President Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson
Ezra Taft Benson was the thirteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1985 until his death and was United States Secretary of Agriculture for both terms of the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower.-Biography:Born on a farm in Whitney, Idaho, Benson was the oldest of...
taught:
At present, the Book of Mormon is studied in our Sunday School and seminary classes every fourth year. This four-year pattern, however, must not be followed by Church members in their personal and family study. We need to read daily from the pages of [that] book ....
External links
- Official Edition of the LDS Standard Works with Cross References and Study Helps
- The Doctrine and Covenants at WikisourceWikisourceWikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has...
- The King James Bible at WikisourceWikisourceWikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has...
- The Book of Mormon at WikisourceWikisourceWikisource is an online digital library of free content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Its aims are to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has...