History of the Coming Forth of The Pearl of Great Price
As discussed elsewhere (see especially the introductory commentary for section 112 in Learning to Love the Doctrine and Covenants) the year 1837 brought a spirit of apostasy and turmoil into the young Church in Kirtland, Ohio which threatened the church's very existence. It was under these conditions that Joseph received instruction: "God revealed to me that something new must be done for the salvation of his Church" (HC 2:489-90). As a result, in June 1837 the First Presidency set apart Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve, "by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, [with] prayer and laying on of hands . . . to preside over a mission to England." Orson Hyde, present at the meeting, was moved by the Spirit and asked if he could accompany Elder Kimball. The First Presidency set him apart as well (Ibid.). The two men headed the first foreign mission of the Church. It would prove, quite literally, to be the church's salvation. That mission would also result in the publishing of The Pearl of Great Price.
Missionary work went well in the British Isles. One of the chief means the missionaries used to get their message out was the publication of pamphlets and newsletters. From 1838 to 1848 quite a number came off the press and were eagerly read by the saints and other interested people. Many of these were available to the new converts in England from 1838 to the mid-1840s. However, many of these began to disappear from England, usually by being placed in the trunks of those British saints leaving for Zion. By the late 1840s there was a serious dearth of gospel learning materials available to the English saints. In 1848, the new mission president, Orson Pratt, saw that the British saints needed study materials focusing on church history and doctrine, and his apostolic associate Franklin D. Richards concurred.
President Pratt and Elder Richards began working hard to overcome the deficit (Peterson, H. Donl, The Pearl of Great Price: A History and Commentary [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1987], 14). They were motivated largely by the pleas of the British saints to make the "pearls" of the restoration available to them. In response, President Pratt wrote several pamphlets and tracts, which he then printed and distributed. He, along with Elder Richards, admonished the saints to read these and pass them along to members and nonmembers alike. These two brethren also encouraged other missionaries to write and print materials. For example, Elder Pratt wrote to John Davis, a Welsh convert, "I wish you to take every method of increasing the circulation of the publications of the Church, by offering inducements to agents and by lessening the price in proportion to the increased circulation" (as quoted in Peterson, H Donl, The Pearl of Great Price: A History and Commentary, 10). Elder Davis went to work on the assignment and within a few months was able to report success. As a result, Elders Pratt and Richardson wrote him again: "We are very thankful to learn that the circulation of the tracts is producing so great and good results in the principality, and we pray that the printed word both in the English and Welsh languages may run far and wide, have free course and be glorified in turning many from the error of their ways unto the living and true God" (Ibid.). The saints were so enthusiastic about possessing their own material that in some branches they formed a "Circulating Tract Society Fund" for the purpose of purchasing and trading pamphlets and tracts. One enthusiastic missionary, Elder Kelsey, estimated that the total demand would exceed twenty-five thousand copies (Millennial Star, 1851, 34). Though his estimation may have been somewhat inflated, Kelsey's statement nonetheless indicates the hunger the British saints had for the doctrines of the Restoration.
Under President Pratt's direction, the saints developed an efficient system of distribution that allowed newly published materials to reach thousands. The leaders printed extra copies of their material and appointed conference agents whom they urged to "use every exertion to get them introduced into the principal stationers shops throughout the kingdom, and exposed for sale" (Millennial Star, 1850, 201). The shops proved a good outlet for the church materials, giving them a wide exposure. An additional boon was that they provided much-needed income for the elders (see Whittaker, David J. "Orson Pratt: Prolific Pamphleteer." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15, no. 3 [1982), 29).
Late in 1850, Brigham Young recalled Elder Pratt to duties in Utah, assigning Elder Richards to take Elder Pratt's place as mission president. Orson Pratt left the mission field on February 1, 1851. By 1851 there were many members of the Church in the British Isles, more in fact than there were in the Salt Lake Valley (In 1850 Great Britain claimed nearly thirty-one thousand Latter-day Saints while all of Salt Lake Valley, headquarters for the Church, boasted of only slightly over six thousand members. The worldwide membership of the Church then was about fifty-seven thousand, meaning that over half of the members lived in the British Isles, and Elder Richards felt they needed church literature to encourage and uplift them.
President Richards did not let up on their common goal of getting church materials into the hands of the British saints. In fact, on the very day that Elder Pratt left England, President Richards sent a letter to his uncle, Levi Richards, then serving in Swansea, south of Liverpool, informing him of further publishing plans and enlisting his help. That letter contains the earliest known mention of his intent to publish material that would become The Pearl of Great Price.
President Richards told his uncle that he wanted to pull together the choicest items from tracts, books, newspapers, and other church publications. His objective, he said, was to issue "a collection of revelations, prophecies &c., in a tract form of a character not designed to pioneer our doctrines to the world, so much as for the use of the elders and saints to arm and better qualify them for their service in our great war" (Ibid., 11). Unlike many of the tracts written by the missionaries, this one would include only material produced by or in association with Joseph Smith.
President Richards felt strongly about the power of tracts and pamphlets in reaching people with the message of the Restoration. At the British General Conference in October 1850, he declared, "The press is the most powerful and prolific means of spreading the knowledge of truth. Each book, pamphlet, or tract, is a preacher, exhorter, or defender of the faith; testifying of the things which we know, and which we most assuredly believe" (Millennial Star, 1850, 348). In the present case, he had a unique design in mind, a new pamphlet that would be a preacher and exhorter to the saints themselves. He gathered material from church publications brought to England by missionaries, including items from the Lectures on Faith, the Doctrine and Covenants, and a broadside published in Kirtland in 1836 or 1837 containing Joseph Smith's inspired rendering of the Olivet Prophecy (now Joseph Smith-Matthew).
By May 8, 1851, Elder Richards had gathered all the pieces he wanted to include and was preparing them for publication. Significantly, by that date he had determined that the name of the collection would be "The Pearl of Great Price." He enlisted the help of his Uncle Levi in preparing the material, and they worked on the project over the next few weeks. By May 15, Elder Richards was ready to announce the forthcoming publication. In the Millennial Star he wrote, "The Pearl of Great Price is the title of a new work which will soon be ready for sale, containing 64 pages on beautiful paper of superior quality, and on new type of a larger size than heretofore issued from this office." In the press release he repeated the purpose for which he designed the book: "This little work though not particularly adapted nor designed as a pioneer of our faith to unbelievers of present revelation, will be a source of much instruction and edification to many thousands of the saints" (Richards, Franklin D., Millennial Star, 15 July 1851, 216-17).
President Richards' words reveal his enthusiasm for the Pearl, and, as history has shown, it was not misplaced. In fact, he may not have been enthusiastic enough. The little book has influenced not thousands but millions. He ran another press release on June 15. In it, to whet the spiritual appetites of his readers, he listed the content of the volume. These can be reviewed in the table of contents of the first edition, as reviewed below.
On July 11, the little volume came off the press, and it sold well. It would be inaccurate, however, to say that it received more attention or adulation than other tracts being produced at the time. In fact, compared to the amount of press received by the LDS hymnal, published just a few months later, its entrance into the world was modest indeed. In the main, the work was viewed as just one insightful publication among many, but with a slightly different mission, a mission to the members. Even Elder Richards, once the volume was printed, said little more about it (Peck, David R. "A History of the Book of Moses to Its Canonization" [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, unpublished Master's Thesis, 2002], 81).
Today the Pearl of Great Price does not have a preface, but the first edition in 1851 included the following preface:
PREFACE
The following compilation has been induced by the repeated solicitations of several friends of the publisher, who are desirous to be put in possession of the very important articles contained therein. Most of the Revelations composing this work were published at early periods of the Church, when the circulation of its journals was so very limited as to render them comparatively unknown at present, except to a few who have treasured up the productions of the Church with great care from the beginning. A small portion of this work has never before appeared in print; and altogether it is presumed, that true believers in the Divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, will appreciate this little collection of precious truths as a Pearl of Great Price that will increase their ability to maintain and to defend the holy faith by becoming possessors of it.
Although not adapted, nor designed, as a pioneer of the faith among unbelievers, still it will commend itself to all careful students of the scriptures, as detailing many important facts which are therein only alluded to, or entirely unmentioned, but consonant with the whole tenor of the revealed will of God; and, to the beginner in the Gospel, will add confirmatory evidence of the rectitude of his faith, by showing him that the doctrines and ordinances thereof are the same as were revealed to Adam for his salvation after his expulsion from the garden, and the same that he handed down and caused to be taught to his generations after him, as the only means appointed of God by which the generations of men may regain His presence.
Nor do we conceive it possible for any unprejudiced person to arise from a careful perusal of this work, without being deeply impressed with a sense of the Divine calling, and holy ordination, of the man by whom these revelations, translations, and narrations have been communicated to us. As impervious as the minds of men may be at present to these convictions, the day is not far distant when sinners, as well as Saints, will know that Joseph Smith was one of the greatest men that ever lived upon the earth, and that under God he was the Prophet and founder of the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which will be gathered together into one all things which are in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.
Franklin D. Richards
15, Wilton Street, Liverpool
July 11th, 1851
The materials contained in the 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price was organized differently than that which is found in our present edition. There follows a Table of Contents of the first edition. The brackets following each entry contain the reference as to where the material is now found in church literature.
Contents Page
Extracts from the Prophecy of Enoch, containing also a Revelation of the Gospel unto our father Adam, after he was driven out from the Garden of Eden. Revealed to Joseph Smith, December, 1830 [Moses 6:43-7:69] 1
The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at the time when Moses was caught up into an exceeding high mountain, and he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure His presence. Revealed to Joseph Smith, June 1830 [Moses 1:1-5:16, part; 5:19-40; 8:13-30] 8
The Book of Abraham-A Translation of some Ancient Records, that have fallen into our hands from the Catacombs of Egypt, purporting to be the writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand upon Papyrus. Translated from the Papyrus by Joseph Smith [Abraham 1-5] 19
An Extract from a Translation of the Bible-being the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, commencing with the last verse of the twenty-third chapter. By the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, Joseph Smith [JS-M] 30
A Key to the Revelations of St. John. By Joseph Smith [D&C 77] 33
A Revelation and Prophecy by the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, Joseph Smith. Given December 25th, 1832 [D&C 87] 35
Extracts from the History of Joseph Smith-Containing an Account of the first Visions and Revelations which he received; also of his discovering and obtaining the plates of gold which contain the Record of Mormon-its translation-his baptism, and ordination by the Angel-Items of Doctrine from the Revelations and
Commandments of the Church [JS-H] 36
From the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church-Commandment to the Church concerning Baptism [D&C 20:71; D&C 20:37; D&C 20:72-74] 48
The Duties of the Members after they are received by Baptism [D&C 20:67-68] 49
Method of administering the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper [D&C 20:75-79] ib.
The Duties of the Elders, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, and Members of the Church of Christ [D&C 20:38-44; D&C 20:107:11; 20:45-49, 70, 80] ib.
On Priesthood [D&C 107:1-10, 12-20] 50
The Calling and Duties of the Twelve Apostles (D&C 107:23, 33] 51
The Calling and Duties of the Seventy [D&C 107:34, 93-100] 52
Extract from a Revelation given July, 1830 [D&C 27:5-18] ib.
Rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [D&C 20:1-36] 53
"Times and Seasons," Vol. III, page 709 [Articles of Faith] 55
Truth ["Oh Say, What is Truth," LDS Hymn Book] 56
INDEX TO WOOD-CUTS
A Fac-Simile from the Book of Abraham. No. 1 18
Ditto ditto No. 2 24
Ditto ditto No. 3 29
In summary the original Pearl of Great Price contained:
1. the preface and most of the first six chapters of Genesis from Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible;
2. the entire five chapters from the writings of Abraham;
3. Joseph Smith's translation of Matthew 24;
4. excerpts from five sections of the Doctrine and Covenants;
5. extracts from Joseph Smith's history;
6. the Articles of Faith;
7. the poem entitled "truth"; and
8. the three facsimiles from the writings of Abraham.
As one studies the Table of Contents of the original Pearl of Great Price, it is seen that Elder Richards carefully selected material that would be of great worth to members of the Church.
Most of the items contained in the first edition had already been printed, but not in a form easily accessible to the British saints. Of those items never before printed was what is now Moses 4:14-19 and 22-25 and, interestingly, Joseph Smith's prophecy on war, now D&C 87.
The First American Edition
The book remained largely unknown in America over the next quarter of a century. Orson Pratt, however, was well aware of it and in 1877 sent a copy to a number of General Authorities, including John Taylor, then acting president of the Church. In the letter Elder Pratt sent with the book, he noted its value and volunteered to make an American edition. Elder Pratt was church historian at the time, and he was in a good position to do the editing and see that the work was published. John Taylor approved the idea and set the apostle to work.
Elder Pratt made only three substantial changes:
1. He removed the preface. President Richards had written it primarily for a British audience, so it did not fit the book's new American format.
2. He produced the book of Moses. He did this by combining and placing in chronological order the Pearl's first two original entries and then adding missing material, using the Inspired Version of the Bible. Having assisted Joseph Smith with the original materials, he was convinced that the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had printed an accurate copy of the text and was, therefore, willing to use it. Joseph's inspired revision of the Bible had been published by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1867 and was the source book for these several changes by Orson Pratt. This not only gave the book a text differing in some places from the 1851 Pearl of Great Price, but it also supplied many passages that were lacking in the 1851 edition. One interesting note is that the RLDS publication committee who worked on the Reorganites' 1867 publication of the JST produced a few changes from the original manuscript of the JST. These were carried over by Orson Pratt into our Pearl of Great Price. Some may think it strange that Elder Orson Pratt would copy the Moses material from the RLDS Church's 1867 printing of the JST, but the evidence is clear that he did. The 1878 Pearl of Great Price contains the precise text of the RLDS Inspired Version, including the identical variants and spelling in which the JST differs from the original manuscripts. Nearly all of the changes which the RLDS publication committee made in the original manuscripts of the JST are still found in our present text of the Book of Moses. Two examples of this are presented:
OT2 And Enoch said unto the heavens how is it that thou canst weep
OT3 And Enoch said unto the heavens how is it that thou canst weep
RLDS 1867 Inspired Version And Enoch said unto the Lord. How is it that thou canst weep.
Note: The manuscripts use the word "heavens." The RLDS publication committee substituted "Lord." This has been carried over into our current Book of Moses through the 1878 Orson Pratt edition.
OT2 And Moses receiving strength called upon God saying In the name of Jesus Christ depart hence Satan
OT3 And Moses received strength and called upon God in the name of his Son, saying to Satan depart hence
RLDS 1867 Inspired Version And Moses received strength and called upon God in the name of the Only Begotten, saying to Satan, Depart hence
Note: The RLDS substituted the term "Only Begotten," which has been carried over into our current Book of Moses.
3. Orson Pratt added the revelation on eternal marriage (now section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants). Because of antagonism between the Church and the U.S. Federal Government over polygamy, the Brethren felt it would be good to have the revelation placed in the Pearl as well as in the new edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Interest in publishing these revelations was heightened by the approach of the church's fiftieth anniversary. The leaders wanted to use the moment to take care of important church business and to affirm its connection with the past. Over the course of the next year, the brethren discussed the need to reorganize the First Presidency (which had not functioned since the death of Brigham Young in August 1877) and to canonize the new revelations placed in the Doctrine and Covenants and also the Pearl of Great Price. Orson Pratt was assigned to prepare both for presentation at general conference. He did little more than make a few editing changes to the Pearl.
The 2:00 PM session of general conference held October 10, 1880, opened with church business. Church leaders moved three items forward: the congregation sustained the reorganized First Presidency with John Taylor as president, voted to accept the revelations added to the Doctrine and Covenants, and accepted the Pearl of Great Price as scripture. According to the minutes of the conference:
President George Q. Cannon said: "I hold in my hand the Book of Doctrine and Covenants and also the book The Pearl of Great Price, which books contain revelations of God. In Kirtland, the Doctrine and Covenants in its original form, as first printed, was submitted to the officers of the Church and the members of the Church to vote upon. As there have been additions made to it by the publishing of revelations which were not contained in the original edition, it has been deemed wise to submit these books and their contents as from God, and binding upon us as a people and as a Church."
President Joseph F. Smith said: "I move that we receive and accept the revelations contained in these books as revelations from God to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to all the world." The motion was seconded and sustained by unanimous vote of the whole conference (Peterson, H. Donl, The Pearl of Great Price: A History and a Commentary, 22-23).
With the unanimous vote of the conference, the Church received the Pearl as its fourth standard work. However, the formation of the small book was not yet finished. Indeed, it would go through a number of revisions and refinements before it arrived at its present shape. Below is a simplified sketch of how it evolved into the work we know today.
An early move concerned the Articles of Faith. The 1880 conference had sustained the revelations contained in the Pearl, but a question arose about the Articles. Though many felt the power of inspiration behind them, the statements were not technically revelations in the sense of other portions of the book. In order to give them official status, in the October general conference in 1890, Franklin D. Richards read all thirteen, and the Brethren then asked that the saints accept them as scripture. The conference sustained their desires.
In 1900, both format and content underwent major changes. The First Presidency called Dr. James E. Talmage, then teaching at the University of Utah, to make the modifications. He began by deleting any of the material already in the Doctrine and Covenants and the poem "Truth," written by John Jaques, which had been the last entry in the former editions. That piece, it should be noted, was later set to music and became the hymn "Oh Say, What Is Truth?" Talmage then divided the books into chapters and verses and added numerous cross-references. After he was satisfied, he submitted his suggested changes to the Church Reading Committee, made up of other General Authorities, and they approved the work. The First Presidency presented the changes for sustaining in the October 1902 general conference.
The next change came twenty years later, again under the hand of Dr. Talmage. By that time he had served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for nine years. In 1920 President Heber J. Grant appointed him as chair of a committee whose task was to make revisions to all the standard works. Work on the Pearl began in 1921. Elder Talmage divided it into double columns and created an index. This edition became the standard for the next fifty-five years.
In the April 1976 conference, the First Presidency asked the saints to accept two additional revelations into the canon. These were Joseph Smith's vision of the celestial kingdom and Joseph F. Smith's vision of the redemption of the dead. Both recommendations were sustained and placed in the Pearl just ahead of the Articles of Faith. In 1978, the Brethren organized a Church Scripture Committee and assigned them the task of making it easier for the saints to use all the standard works together. The committee was also asked to recommend other necessary changes. In June 1979, in connection with publishing a new edition of the King James Version of the Bible, the Brethren decided to remove the two recently added revelations from the Pearl and make them a part of the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 137 and 138).
Over the next two years, the Church prepared a new edition of the other three standard works. To the Pearl they added a preface, lacking since the 1851 version, and changed the titles of three of the four books. The "Book of Moses" became "Selections from the Book of Moses," clearly indicating that Moses wrote more than is reproduced here. The "Writings of Joseph Smith 1" became "Joseph Smith-Matthew," and "The Writings of Joseph Smith 2" became "Joseph Smith-History." In addition, because of the deterioration of the book of Abraham facsimiles in earlier publications, the new edition contained photo prints of the originals found in the 1842 Times and Seasons. The scripture committee created new headings for each chapter and made minor textual changes "to bring the text into conformity with earlier documents" ("Introductory Note to the Pearl of Great Price"). The Quorum of the Twelve approved all the revisions suggested by the Scripture Publications Committee, on which some of them served. With those changes, the Pearl of Great Price reached its present form.
It is noteworthy that this work shows the Spirit working through the Lord's servants in response to the desire of the saints for more of the meat of the gospel. To this day, the Pearl of Great Price continues to be a work "not particularly adapted nor designed as a pioneer of our faith to nonbelievers" but for those who have strong testimonies (Richards, Franklin D., Millennial Star, 15 July 1851, 217). For them, it "will increase their ability to maintain and to defend the holy faith by becoming possessors of it" ("Preface to the Pearl of Great Price," 1851).