Scriptural Teachings. of the

Transcription

1 Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith Taken from his sermons and writings as they are found in the Documentary History and other publications of the Church and written or published in the days of the Prophet s ministry Selected and arranged by the Historian, Joseph Fielding Smith, and his Assistants in the Historian s Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. With Scriptural Annotations By Richard C. Galbraith

2 Dedication To my two scriptural grandmothers, Harriet Amanda Davis and Louise Oscarson Belnap. (2 Timothy 1:5) About the Author Richard C. Galbraith is a Professor of Marriage, Family, and Human Development at Brigham Young University. He received his Ph.D. degree in experimental psychology at Northwestern University. His research and scholarly publications include the areas of human memory and intelligence, statistics and computer science. ABBREVIATIONS: MSS Manuscript History. JH Journal History of the Church. DHC Documentary History of the Church. E&MS Evening and Morning Star. TS Times and Seasons. FWR Far West Record. M&A Messenger and Advocate.

3 Author's Foreword I have had a fondness for the sermons and writings of the Prophet Joseph Smith for many years. My interest was initially sparked in the classes of Hyrum L. Andrus when I was an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University. I always appreciated the Prophet's usage of the scriptures, and would occasionally note a few scriptural references in the margins of my copy of the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In November, 1989, I decided it was time to formally catalog these marginal notes and hunt up what scriptural references remained. I contacted a friend in the Ancient Scripture Department, Monte S. Nyman, and asked if he had any scriptural references in his copy of the Teachings which might save me a little time. Mont gave me a list containing 700 entries. I was sure the task was nearly done. As with so many things, the little project began to take on a life of its own. My first careful reading of the Teachings resulted in 2,000 scriptural references. In addition, I discovered that many of the phrases and passages of the Teachings, although not quoting verbatim, were extremely useful in the interpretation of many other scriptures, and vice versa. Several readings have transpired since, and the final count now stands at over 11,000 references, both direct and contextual. Doubtless there are others. I also found that the line between scripture cited and scriptural concept noted became increasingly blurred as my appreciation of the Prophet's scriptural prowess grew. When asked if he stole his wife, the Prophet once replied "Ask her, she was of age, she can answer for herself" (TPJS, p. 120). In a strict sense, this is not a scriptural citation. But after experiencing the Prophet's scriptural genius time and again, I am persuaded that a clever use was made of John 9:21. In this passage, the parents of the man born blind, seeking to avoid excommunication (John 9:22), replied to the Pharisees, "he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." A brief sampling of the Prophet's scriptural usage, including a basis for this ability from his life experiences, is included in the Appendix. It is hoped that the present work highlights one of the great contributions of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that of "expounding all scriptures unto the church" (D&C 24:5). The Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith has benefitted from the contributions of friends and family. My wife Sandy, and children James, Jennifer, Daniel, Stefanie and Michelle have patiently allowed me to see an idea through to fruition. The Department of Family Sciences at Brigham Young University (Terrance D. Olson, Chairman) has tolerated my wide range of research interests and generously provided computer equipment. Specialty Reference Retrieval (Paul M. Urie, Mark L. Donaldson, RCG) provided Retriever, a computer text retrieval program, which greatly aided in the identification of scriptural references. Don E. Norton of the English Department, Brigham Young University, has been most helpful in editing my nonscriptural material. Finally, two women have greatly influenced my love of the scriptures and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. My angel grandmother, Harriet Amanda Davis, raised me as a child to appreciate the abundant life contained in the scriptures (John 10:10). Her life was "seasoned with grace" (TPJS p. 156, Col. 4:6). Truly, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness" (Prov. 31:26; Eph. 4:32). Louise O. Belnap, a dear friend, was a saint "instructed unto the kingdom of heaven who freely brought forth of her treasure goodly pearls, new and old" (Matt. 13:45, 52; Matt. 10:8).

4 INTRODUCTION A quarter of a century ago, Elder Edwin F. Parry compiled and published a classified arrangement of excerpts from doctrinal sermons and writings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. These sayings were taken from the Documentary History of the Church. That little work filled an important mission, but left in the hearts and minds of all who were interested in the sayings of the great latter-day Prophet, a longing for more of his sayings, which longing was not satisfied. Many faithful members of the Church have expressed the desire that a more extensive work of this kind be published. The members of the Church quite generally desire to know what the Prophet Joseph Smith may have said on important subjects, for they look upon his utterances as coming through divine inspiration. Many of these discourses and writings appear in the Documentary History of the Church, but others have not been included in these volumes, but are scattered through the early publications of the Church. It has been difficult even for the student to obtain these because the old publications are not accessible for general use. In accordance with the many calls that have been made that there be a more extensive compilation of these discourses and sayings, the matter was taken up in the Historian s Office and such a compilation has been prepared, submitted to the First Presidency and passed by them for publication. It should be remembered that this compilation contains some discourses and statements from the minutes of council and priesthood meetings, which are not verbatim reports of the Prophet s remarks, but which have been approved in those minutes. There has been no attempt to compile these sayings by subject, because frequently in the same article or discourse, several subjects are discussed. It has been thought best to give each article, or portion of article, chronologically, with an exhaustive index through which the various subjects may be found. Historical matters and incidental or unimportant matters have been eliminated. By the use of asterisks these portions left out are indicated in the body of the work. Articles which are accessible, such as Joseph Smith Tells His Own Story, which has been published in tract form and also in the Pearl of Great Price, are not added to this work. References have been made to the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants where necessary, but these revelations are not included in this work. It is felt that this volume will meet a need and promote faith among the members of the Church. With this intent it is sent out on its mission as another testimony of the divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith. JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH, Church Historian. First published in 1938.

5 SECTION ONE

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