Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the canonical Standard Works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and some other Latter Day Saint denominations.
Pearl of Great Price
The first paragraph of the Introductory Note in the LDS Church edition of the Pearl of Great Price states: "The Pearl of Great Price is a selection of choice materials touching many significant aspects of the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These items were produced by Joseph Smith and were published in the Church periodicals of his day."
The name of the book is derived from the Parable of the Pearl told by Jesus in Matthew 13.[1]
A copy of the Pearl of Great Price owned by NASA photographer M. Edward Thomas's wife Ruth C. Thomas traveled to the Moon and back in 1972 with astronaut John Young aboard Apollo 16.[2][3]
Changes[edit]
The original contents of the Pearl of Great Price were significantly different, reproducing material found in the Doctrine and Covenants and a poem entitled "Oh Say What is Truth?" (which is now found in the LDS Church hymnal). In 1878, some material was added to the Book of Moses. The Pearl of Great Price was canonized by the LDS Church in 1880. In 1902, the material reproduced in the Doctrine and Covenants was removed. Two other documents, Vision of the Celestial Kingdom and Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,[6] were added to the Pearl of Great Price in 1976 and moved to the LDS Church edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 137 and 138) in 1979.[7] Minor changes to introductions were made in the 2013 edition.[8]
The Pearl of Great Price was first compiled by Franklin D. Richards in Liverpool, England. Some items duplicated text that was already available in the Doctrine and Covenants. It contained the following entries (the placement of the text in today's LDS Church publications is noted in parentheses):
