Main Page: Latter-day Saint Scriptures
Other Latter-day Saint "Scriptures" (Non-Canon)
"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 [discourse] 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." - Brigham Young, second President of the Church
"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 Lords, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." - Doctrine and Covenants 68:4
"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 Lords, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." - Doctrine and Covenants 68:4
Patriarchal Blessings
Patriarchal blessings are literally personalized scripture pertaining specifically to each person who receives one. Whenever a Latter-day Saint feels ready and worthy, he or she can go to see a patriarch, an old man whose job it is to receive and recite these blessings straight from God. It will detail the person's lineage from the tribes of Israel (if they don't have one, they are adopted) as well as insights into themselves and their talents and promises of what the future will hold for them in this life and/or the next if they live righteously and follow the blessing's advice. It is recorded, transcribed and given to the person, with an extra copy stored in Salt Lake City in case that one is lost. On occasion the transcription contains additions or alterations from further revelation received by the patriarch.
Patriarchal blessings are usually more specific than "you will have a good life" but more vague than "you will marry at the age of twenty-five and have three sons and five daughters." Still, I can say from personal experience that the connection between my blessing and my life is more than can be explained by coincidence or confirmation bias. In the two years after receiving it I didn't look at it very often, and when I did, it was painfully obvious how much better those two years would have been if I had kept in mind the admonitions given. That's why we are counseled to read our patriarchal blessings often. They are rather personal and sacred however, and usually no more than a few details when deemed appropriate should be shared beyond one's immediate family.
Patriarchal blessings are usually more specific than "you will have a good life" but more vague than "you will marry at the age of twenty-five and have three sons and five daughters." Still, I can say from personal experience that the connection between my blessing and my life is more than can be explained by coincidence or confirmation bias. In the two years after receiving it I didn't look at it very often, and when I did, it was painfully obvious how much better those two years would have been if I had kept in mind the admonitions given. That's why we are counseled to read our patriarchal blessings often. They are rather personal and sacred however, and usually no more than a few details when deemed appropriate should be shared beyond one's immediate family.
General Conference Addresses
Twice a year, in April and in October, the Church holds a two-day conference which is broadcast to members around the world in several languages. They are spoken to by the prophet, apostles, and other church leaders called General Authorities, who have spent several months preparing their talks. The talks are then edited for any necessary clarification and printed in the next issues of church magazines. We are counseled to study them in conjunction with the standard works, which they often quote from, and they often form the foundation of talks by lay members in church meetings.
The prophet and apostles speak to us for God as did their predecessors, so whenever they command or recommend something it's wise to follow them. They are human beings however, and prone to their own opinions like all of us, so anything they say that is not found somewhere in the standard works is not binding doctrine upon the Church. According to the LDS Newsroom: "A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church. With divine inspiration, the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body of the Church) counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications."
General Conference is of course not the only setting where prophets and apostles speak under inspiration. At stake conferences and such, however, their words are only intended for their current audience, not the world. In 1954, in the midst of controversy over a young-earth creationist book published by Joseph Fielding Smith, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. was assigned to give a now-famous talk called "When are the Writings and Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?" In essence, he concluded that we can determine when leaders are speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost because we will be likewise influenced while listening. This makes perfect sense in light of the scriptural admonition in Moroni 10:5 that "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
The prophet and apostles speak to us for God as did their predecessors, so whenever they command or recommend something it's wise to follow them. They are human beings however, and prone to their own opinions like all of us, so anything they say that is not found somewhere in the standard works is not binding doctrine upon the Church. According to the LDS Newsroom: "A single statement made by a single leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, but is not meant to be officially binding for the whole Church. With divine inspiration, the First Presidency (the prophet and his two counselors) and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (the second-highest governing body of the Church) counsel together to establish doctrine that is consistently proclaimed in official Church publications."
General Conference is of course not the only setting where prophets and apostles speak under inspiration. At stake conferences and such, however, their words are only intended for their current audience, not the world. In 1954, in the midst of controversy over a young-earth creationist book published by Joseph Fielding Smith, President J. Reuben Clark, Jr. was assigned to give a now-famous talk called "When are the Writings and Sermons of Church Leaders Entitled to the Claim of Scripture?" In essence, he concluded that we can determine when leaders are speaking under the influence of the Holy Ghost because we will be likewise influenced while listening. This makes perfect sense in light of the scriptural admonition in Moroni 10:5 that "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
Church Magazines
I was told in Primary once that church publications count as scripture. This is true in a sense, though they're not on par with the standard works or even General Conference, and most of their articles are written by lay members who do not speak for the Church. One infamous and embarrassing error took place in November 1945 when an article in the Church magazine Improvement Era said things like, "[Satan] wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to 'do their own thinking'... When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done." President George Albert Smith denounced this false attitude and from then on church publications have been more carefully monitored by the Apostles. The current major church magazines are:
The Friend: Monthly magazine for Primary children (ages five to eleven), published since 1902 and called The Children's Friend until 1971.
New Era: Monthly magazine for youth aged twelve to eighteen. It was preceded by Juvenile Instructor from 1901-1929, which was renamed simply The Instructor in 1930 until 1971.
Ensign: Monthly magazine for adults, formerly the Improvement Era which began in 1897 and was renamed in, you guessed it, 1971. It is pronounced EN-zine, not en-SIN, and refers not to a naval rank but to a flag or pennant on a hill waving to signal the world of the restoration of the gospel.
Liahona: Magazine for the Church's international membership encompassing all age groups. It's been published since 1971, right? Wrong! It began in 1977, and it was called Tambuli in English until 1995. It's published in fifty-one languages and its frequency in each language varies from one to twelve times a year depending on how many translators are available and how many members it needs to serve.
The Friend: Monthly magazine for Primary children (ages five to eleven), published since 1902 and called The Children's Friend until 1971.
New Era: Monthly magazine for youth aged twelve to eighteen. It was preceded by Juvenile Instructor from 1901-1929, which was renamed simply The Instructor in 1930 until 1971.
Ensign: Monthly magazine for adults, formerly the Improvement Era which began in 1897 and was renamed in, you guessed it, 1971. It is pronounced EN-zine, not en-SIN, and refers not to a naval rank but to a flag or pennant on a hill waving to signal the world of the restoration of the gospel.
Liahona: Magazine for the Church's international membership encompassing all age groups. It's been published since 1971, right? Wrong! It began in 1977, and it was called Tambuli in English until 1995. It's published in fifty-one languages and its frequency in each language varies from one to twelve times a year depending on how many translators are available and how many members it needs to serve.
Constitution of the United States
The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that the Constitution of the United States of America was inspired by God. Section 101:80 relates, "And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood." Section 98:5-7 says "And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land; and as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil." Notice that it says "belongs to all mankind"; indeed, the Constitution has been a blessing to many nations. The United States was the first democratic republic in the modern world and provided inspiration that today results in increased freedom for billions of people.
Lost Scriptures
There are many scriptural books mentioned in the Bible, and a few in the Book of Mormon, that were as valuable or even more so than the books we have today. These include the book of the wars of the Lord, the book of Jasher, the book of the acts of Solomon, the book of Samuel the seer, the book of Gad the seer, the book of Nathan the prophet, the prophesy of Ahijah, the visions of Iddo the seer, the book of Shemaiah, the book of Jehu, the sayings of the seers, an earlier epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, perhaps an earlier epistle to the Ephesians, an epistle to the Church at Laodicea, additional prophesies of Enoch, and (referenced in the Book of Mormon) the writings of Zenock, Zenos, and Neum.
Forthcoming Scriptures
It doesn't get talked about an awful lot, but sometime before the Second Coming there will be more scriptures brought to light and added to the standard works. These will include, but might not be limited to, the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon that Joseph Smith didn't translate. (A false prophet named Christopher Nemelka claims to already be translating it, and to have also produced the "Book of Lehi" from the missing 116 pages as evidence, but inconsistencies with the Book of Mormon show it to be a crude forgery.) They will also apparently include some of the lost scriptures we already know of. Leaders have spoken on this a few times over the years.
"This sealed portion of the record which came into the hands of Joseph Smith but was not translated by him so far as we are aware, the abridgment made by Mormon, the record of Ether, and the other sacred records which were deposited in the Hill Cumorah, still lie in their repository, awaiting the time when the Lord shall see fit to bring them forth, that they may be published to the world. Whether they have been removed from the spot where Mormon deposited them we cannot tell, but this we know, that they are safe under the guardianship of the Lord, and that they will be brought forth at the proper time as the Lord has declared they should be, for the benefit and blessing of the people of the world, for his word never fails." - President Anthony W. Ivins, 1928
"John the Revelator saw in the hands of the Great God a book sealed with seven seals... This same knowledge is contained in the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. For aught we know the two sealed books are one and the same. Of this much we are quite certain: When, during the Millennium, the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon is translated, it will give an account of life in the premortal existence; of the creation of all things; of the Fall and the Atonement and the Second Coming; of temple ordinances, in their fullness; of the ministry and mission of translated beings; of life in the spirit world, in both paradise and hell; of the kingdoms of glory to be inhabited by resurrected beings; and many such like things. As of now, the world is not ready to receive these truths." - Elder Bruce R. McConkie, BYU speech, 1984 (He went on to say that it would destroy the theory of organic evolution and rewrite the timeline of the Earth's history, but unless he had read it himself, this was unwarranted speculation on his part.)
"Many more scriptural writings will yet come to us, including those of Enoch (see D&C 107:57), all of the writings of the Apostle John (see Ether 4:16), the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see 2 Nephi 29:13), and the approximately two-thirds of the Book of Mormon plates that were sealed: 'And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth' (2 Nephi 27:11). Today we carry convenient quadruple combinations of the scriptures, but one day, since more scriptures are coming, we may need to pull little red wagons brimful with books." - Elder Neal A. Maxwell, 1989
"This sealed portion of the record which came into the hands of Joseph Smith but was not translated by him so far as we are aware, the abridgment made by Mormon, the record of Ether, and the other sacred records which were deposited in the Hill Cumorah, still lie in their repository, awaiting the time when the Lord shall see fit to bring them forth, that they may be published to the world. Whether they have been removed from the spot where Mormon deposited them we cannot tell, but this we know, that they are safe under the guardianship of the Lord, and that they will be brought forth at the proper time as the Lord has declared they should be, for the benefit and blessing of the people of the world, for his word never fails." - President Anthony W. Ivins, 1928
"John the Revelator saw in the hands of the Great God a book sealed with seven seals... This same knowledge is contained in the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon. For aught we know the two sealed books are one and the same. Of this much we are quite certain: When, during the Millennium, the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon is translated, it will give an account of life in the premortal existence; of the creation of all things; of the Fall and the Atonement and the Second Coming; of temple ordinances, in their fullness; of the ministry and mission of translated beings; of life in the spirit world, in both paradise and hell; of the kingdoms of glory to be inhabited by resurrected beings; and many such like things. As of now, the world is not ready to receive these truths." - Elder Bruce R. McConkie, BYU speech, 1984 (He went on to say that it would destroy the theory of organic evolution and rewrite the timeline of the Earth's history, but unless he had read it himself, this was unwarranted speculation on his part.)
"Many more scriptural writings will yet come to us, including those of Enoch (see D&C 107:57), all of the writings of the Apostle John (see Ether 4:16), the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see 2 Nephi 29:13), and the approximately two-thirds of the Book of Mormon plates that were sealed: 'And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth' (2 Nephi 27:11). Today we carry convenient quadruple combinations of the scriptures, but one day, since more scriptures are coming, we may need to pull little red wagons brimful with books." - Elder Neal A. Maxwell, 1989
