When the Lord taught the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45–46), he could have had direct reference to the great teachings on missionary work found within the Pearl of Great Price we value today as one of our choicest scriptural records. Contained within the histories, visions, doctrinal teachings and other inspired revelations in this standard work are some of the most important foundations and principles of missionary work for this and previous dispensations. As we learn of them our appreciation for the importance of sharing the gospel with others grows, and our understanding of the role of each member of the Church in taking the gospel to the nations of the earth deepens.

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pas the immortality and eternal life of man.” This profound doctrinal statement is one of many contained in the Pearl of Great Price, the smallest of the standard works and the last to be canonized. Studying that scripture in depth adds immensely to our understanding of the Lord’s eternal plan. Comprising addresses delivered at a symposium on the Pearl of Great Price, this book combines the insights and testimonies of thirteen gospel scholars. All things were created to bear witness of God. As here shown, the Pearl of Great Price does that in many ways.

Perhaps no institution has had a bigger hand in shaping the history of the Western world in the Christian era than the Roman Catholic Church. But how was that church itself shaped? What kinds of forces and personalities operated in the molding process? This book addresses such questions. The author supplies commentary on facts and claims, along with much interesting detail. His expressed hope was “that this study might lead to better understanding and better tolerance among religious groups.” ISBN 0-8849-4679-7

Walk alongside the Mormon girls, young women, mothers, and grandmothers who traveled to Arizona by covered wagons and by train. This book is filled with numerous stories of remarkable women who traversed the harsh terrain, drove teams, and cared for their husbands and children while their men trailed the cattle, and were vital in settling the Arizona Strip and along the Little Colorado, San Pedro, Gila, and Salt Rivers. With references to recent publications, footnotes to explain long-forgotten phrases and events, and over three hundred photographs, this second edition will not only keep these stories alive for descendants and general readers but also provide a wealth of information for specialists in women’s studies, Arizona history, Mormon history, and Western Americana. ISBN 978-1-9443-9409-7

The inspiration for this book and the source of most of its chapters was a conference held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the coming of the Mormon pioneers to Utah’s Salt Lake Valley. In recognition of the fact that by the end of the twentieth century The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a global presence with more members outside North America than in it, Church leaders suggested that sesquicentennial celebrations might appropriately focus on local pioneers who had helped establish the Church in their respective areas. The chapters in this book are grouped into three sections that roughly correspond to the volume’s subtitle. Since memory, identity, and history inevitably intertwine in the presentation of past experience, readers should expect considerable overlap between sections. Nonetheless, chapters have been grouped according to their dominant orientation and approach. Histories by and about Pacific Islanders are never impersonal. They focus on individuals more than on institutions and on ordinary people more than the elite. The people-centered, personal-narrative character of islander discourse is apparent in many chapters throughout this book. By the time readers close the cover of this volume, it should be clear, as it was at the close of the Pioneers in the Pacific Conference, that LDS pioneering in the Pacific required the same faith and inspiration, hardship and heartache, miracles and mighty works that European and United States converts in the mid–nineteenth century exhibited in crossing the North American plains. It is a legacy that beckons to every generation of Latter-day Saints in every land. To demonstrate similar “faith in every footstep” and to witness along the way what great things the Lord has done, and will do, for His people is at the heart of our Christian discipleship. ISBN 0-8425-2616-1

Volume 13 in the Occasional Papers Series Hundreds of sketches and blueprints unfold Church history from an architect’s point of view. This volume takes readers on a visual journey from the Peter Whitmer log home, where the Church was organized, to the Kirtland and Nauvoo temples, moving on to pioneer-era meetinghouses and tabernacles, and then featuring our modern stake and ward buildings. Hundreds of sketches trace the progression in meetinghouse design from the infancy of the Church to its transformation into a major world religion. ISBN 1-5915-6390-9

Because mortality is a test, we will all experience some dark days that may include grief, illness, disappointment, disillusionment, temptation, confusion, unanswered questions, and pain. The good news is that Jesus Christ promises deliverance from all our mortal suffering and his promises are sure. While we wait for deliverance to come in his time and in his way, Christ’s intimate understanding of our lives, our trials, our hopes, and our heartaches allows him to perfectly succor, strengthen, and refine us. Speaking from the annual Brigham Young University Easter Conferences in 2021 and 2022, authors Marie C. Hafen, Virginia Hinckley Pearce Cowley, Tyler J. Griffin, John Hilton III, Jan J. Martin, and Jennifer Reeder teach and testify of the power of Christ’s deliverance. ISBN 978-1-9503-0423-3

The 33rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Before Joseph Smith was born, religious scholars such as William Tyndale and Martin Luther put their lives in jeopardy to spread the word of God to their followers, blazing doctrinal trails so that a restoration of the gospel could occur. This volume highlights these influential men and other important Reformers who helped pave the way for the Restoration. ISBN 1-5903-8329-X

The 33rd Annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium Before Joseph Smith was born, religious scholars such as William Tyndale and Martin Luther put their lives in jeopardy to spread the word of God to their followers, blazing doctrinal trails so that a restoration of the gospel could occur. This volume highlights these influential men and other important Reformers who helped pave the way for the Restoration.

It should come as no surprise that the Book of Mormon reads like an ancient Hebrew book. After all, its story begins in the world of the Old Testament and its chroniclers were literate in some form of Hebrew. What is surprising is that there are so many Hebraisms in the book—and that they have survived translation into English! Many of these remnants that persist in the text make for odd English but are perfectly sound Biblical Hebrew. Go to a Book of Mormon Central review of this book HERE. ISBN 978-1-9443-9495-0

The 2009 BYU Church History Symposium The pattern of keeping records dates back to the earliest days of the church, when Joseph Smith, the church’s founding prophet, announced the divine decree, “Behold, there shall be a record kept among you” (D&C 21:1). Leaders of the church have strived to obey that command. Contemporaneous records were kept of revelations received by the prophet, the calling and interaction of early leaders, missionary assignments, the building of temples, and much more. The Latter-day Saints continue to be a record-keeping people. In fact, there may be no other people on earth of comparable size who have a richer record-keeping tradition than the people nicknamed Mormons. It is a part of the church’s administrative system, reaching from small committees to the church’s general conferences and from new members to the most senior leaders. Because of this tradition, scholars can readily evaluate Latter-day Saint history from a wealth of primary documents. ISBN 978-0-8425-2777-4

Contents:

Introduction: 1985 Sperry Symposium / Robert J. Matthews

1. Spiritual Communication / Richard G. Scott

2. The Doctrine of Godhood in the New Testament / Rodney Turner

3. The Fall of Man / LaMar Garrard

4. To Be As Gods: Original Sin or Eve’s Motive For Mortality? / Alan K. Parrish

5. Insights Into the Atonement from Latter-day Scriptures / Keith W. Perkins

6. The Sacrament: Principles Essential to Exaltation / S. Brent Farley

7. Having A Testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ / Chauncey C. Riddle

8. A New Commandment / George W. Pace

9. Humanity and Practical Christianity: Implications For a World-Wide Church / James R. Christianson

10. Covenants and Covenant People / James R. Moss

11. Affliction and the Plan of Salvation / Philip M. Flammer

12. Political Responsibility and Religious Belief / Gary C. Bryner

13. Personal and Family Preparedness: Lessons From Church History / William G. Hartley

14. Temples, Ordinances, and Art / R. L. Gunn

By definition, order means being in the proper relationship or arrangement. In a gospel context, order is found in enjoying a harmonious relationship with God. This chapter will examine what the Book of Mormon teaches about order, how students of the Book of Mormon can order their lives, and the related doctrines of ordination and ordinances.

July 1996 marked the sesquicentennial of Prophwyd y Jubili, or Prophet of the Jubilee, the official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wales from 1846 to 1848. Published in Welsh under the direction of Captain Dan Jones while he was a missionary in his native land, Prophet of the Jubilee printed defenses against persecution, items from other Latter-day Saint publications, letters, missionary and conference reports, and Elder Jones’s own bits of wisdom. In this book, Prophet of the Jubilee has been translated and edited. This was the first translation into English done of the publication. ISBN 1-5700-8296-0

When we think of the doctrine of Zion as taught in the Book of Mormon, our minds often turn to 4 Nephi. The book describes in a few verses a society organized around the principles taught by the Savior to a righteous remnant of Nephites and Lamanites at the temple in Bountiful. Some important characteristics of this community of Christians were faith, family, hope, peace, security, and happiness. Indeed, Mormon powerfully asserts that “there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God”. Imagine that! They were happier than the citizens of the city of Enoch, happier than Mechizedek’s city of Salem. This Book of Mormon Zion had been foretold from the time Lehi and his family left Jerusalem. In preparation for that great day, crucial principles about Zion were regularly taught by prophets like King Benjamin and Alma the Elder. But the Book of Mormon was written for our day to assist us in preparing for the building of our Zion. And so the Book of Mormon calls us to come unto Christ and take upon His name by building Zion, which is founded on the principles of equality, unity, covenants, and priesthood organization.

One of the greatest blessings the Lord has showered upon Latter-day Saints is the guidance and noble example of modern-day apostles and prophets—men whose lives and words inspire, bless, and uplift. This volume brings together engaging biographies of these men—all 109 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called since the Restoration began. Featuring memorable stories and facts from the lives of those whom the Lord has called to lead His latter-day kingdom, this volume unfolds the panorama of latter-day Church history. ISBN 1-5734-5797-3

The 46th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium This book explains Old Testament prophecies in their original linguistic, historical, and theological contexts, helping us more fully understand the Old Testament and its relevance. Prophetic books such as Amos, Micah, Jonah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Obadiah are contextualized. Topics include rhetorical questions and prophetic voice, imagery of salvation, and symbolic naming. The volume additionally concentrates on topics such as Daniel’s apocalyptic visions, social domains and dimensions of foreign soil, sacred land and divine communication, gathering outcasts and remnant theology, the everlasting covenant and redemption, and the period of the exile. A section of the volume is also devoted to situating the Old Testament within other books of scripture. Chapters include topics such as Isaiah 7 and the fulfillment of prophecy in Matthew 1–2, the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the influence Old Testament prophets and prophecies had on the development of the Restoration.

The 46th Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium This book explains Old Testament prophecies in their original linguistic, historical, and theological contexts, helping us more fully understand the Old Testament and its relevance. Prophetic books such as Amos, Micah, Jonah, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Obadiah are contextualized. Topics include rhetorical questions and prophetic voice, imagery of salvation, and symbolic naming. The volume additionally concentrates on topics such as Daniel’s apocalyptic visions, social domains and dimensions of foreign soil, sacred land and divine communication, gathering outcasts and remnant theology, the everlasting covenant and redemption, and the period of the exile. A section of the volume is also devoted to situating the Old Testament within other books of scripture. Chapters include topics such as Isaiah 7 and the fulfillment of prophecy in Matthew 1–2, the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants, as well as the influence Old Testament prophets and prophecies had on the development of the Restoration. ISBN 978-1-9443-9422-6

Provo, Utah, is the home of two LDS temples, each with a distinctive story. This volume includes a comprehensive account of each of these two temples, which have very different histories. One temple was built from the ground up and dedicated in 1972. The other is like a phoenix, born again of the ashes of a building destroyed by fire. This book includes richly illustrated pictures and text that traces the unique construction, history, and many other details that help tell the stories of each of Provo’s two temples. ISBN 978-0-8425-2965-5

In the mid-nineteenth century, in the growing city of Nauvoo, Illinois, poets found ample publication outlets in the Times and Seasons, the Wasp, and the Nauvoo Neighbor. Others, however, penned poetry in private correspondence and personal diaries. They wrote of revelations, restored scriptures, prophecies, temples, and their testimonies of Jesus Christ. To these faithful psalmists, their religion served as inspiration for distinctive poetry. Psalms of Nauvoo: Early Mormon Poetry is a narrative collection of these poems. The purpose in contextualizing and publishing these poems is to provide a glimpse into the culture, life circumstances, religious heritage, and espoused doctrines of those early Latter-day Saints; by doing so this book offers readers the chance to also catch “the swift thought of God” as the poets penned it. ISBN 978-0-8425-2886-3

Some may ask, Can you really go wrong with love—in any form? But Mormon taught that “if ye have not charity, ye are nothing” and that “whoso is found possessed of it [charity] at the last day, it shall be well with him”. Obviously, saying that charity is important is an understatement. But what if people understate charity and are left with a form that isn’t even the same charity Mormon spoke of? What if the present understanding of charity has already shifted from the divine precept taught in the Book of Mormon?