Some Unique Doctrinal Contributions of the Pearl of Great Price

It is instructive to consider a number of principles or doctrines that are taught in a unique manner in the Pearl of Great Price.

Additional Understanding of the Nature of God

Moses was allowed to enter the realm of divine experience, and after being transfigured was permitted to see God face to face and later to look upon the vastness of his creations (Moses 1).

Enoch learned firsthand that the Almighty was not only a being of passion, but also a tender Lord with compassion, one who weeps over the waywardness of his children-the workmanship of his own hands. Enoch further observed and testified that God's omnipotence and greatness do not establish a personal chasm between him and his children: He who is omniscient and omnipresent is equally omni-loving. In the words of Enoch: "And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever" (Moses 7:30; see also Moses 7:28-32).

Additional Insight into the Nature of Man

The Pearl of Great Price contains the most complete presentation of all the standard works on the matter of man's eternal existence. It affirms that man did not suddenly spring into existence at birth, but that he has always lived (Abraham 3:18).

Abraham wrote of his own vision of men as spirits-"organized intelligences"-and thus provided doctrinal insights concerning the premortal experience (Abraham 3:22). Moses made passing reference to the fact that all things-man included-were created spiritually before they were naturally upon the earth (Moses 3:5). Both Moses and Abraham provide extra-biblical information regarding the Grand Council of spirits, the pre-mortal occasion where Jehovah was appointed as the Advocate and chief proponent of the plan of the Eternal Father.

Further, this small book of scripture testifies of the timeless nature of the Atonement of Christ, and thus of the innocence of man at birth. Adam's progeny would not be yoked with the stain of a parent, for the Son of God had "atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children" (Moses 6:54). Men would become carnal, sensual, and devilish only as they refused the offerings of the plan of salvation and chose to love Satan more than God (Moses 5:13).

The Pearl of Great Price provides remarkable details concerning the lives or teachings of seven major heads of gospel dispensations. In a very few (but pregnant and poignant) pages we learn not only the how, but the why of the creation of the earth and the subsequent fall of our first parents from their Edenic and paradisiacal glory; of the perfect obedience of Adam and Eve to the commandments of the Lord; of the sorrows and woes associated with the transgression of large groups of Adam's children and grandchildren; and of the sweet and sublime joys associated with understanding the plan of salvation and applying the atoning blood of Christ (Moses 2-6).

In Enoch we are introduced to a young man-a sensitive young man brimming with eternal possibilities-who develops slowly but surely from a stammering and uncertain youth to a noble and confident priesthood leader, one whose name and works have become associated with transcendent righteousness.

And so it is through the entirety of the Pearl of Great Price. We are taken through history and given singular insights into such prophetic personalities as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph Smith, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of these was called of God to minister to a generation which had been traveling for a time in darkness. Each stood as a restorer of truth and a legal administrator for the introduction of a new and everlasting covenant. Moses and Abraham teach us of premortality. Enoch shares with us his vision of the great millennial day, the time wherein the Zion of God will have been established on earth, and "for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest" (Moses 7:64). From organized intelligence to mortal probation and from earthly challenges to millennial splendor and Godhood-the Pearl of Great Price takes us through the journey of life and provides the content and context necessary to answer cosmic questions. Its scope, like man himself, is from everlasting to everlasting.

The Reality of Satan

Moses became an eyewitness of Lucifer's childish and tantrum-like behavior when spurned, and Enoch described a chilling vision of Satan's devilish delight in his work: "And [Enoch] beheld Satan; and he had a great chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced" (Moses 7:26: see also 1:12-22; 4:1-4).

The Nature of the Cosmos

The Pearl of Great Price is a significant witness to the fact that "worlds without number" have been created by Elohim through Jehovah, the "word of his power" (Moses 1:33; Moses 7:30; Abraham 3:12). Furthermore, this scripture attests to the order and systematization of him who holds all things in the palm of his hand. Abraham was shown through the Urim and Thummim the structure and hierarchy of the cosmos, and given to understand that the reckoning and government of stars and planets is ultimately in keeping with the structure laid down by him who is Eternal (Abraham 3:1-17). There is no end to creation, and there is no end to redemption. In the words of the Lord: "As one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words" (Moses 1:38).

The Preparation of Prophets

Prophets may be foreordained to their high and holy stations, but they are seldom born prophets, Much preparation and molding and experience-generally planned and programmed by the Lord himself-are needed before they become the "polished shafts" in the quiver of the Almighty. After the pattern of that Master whom they serve and represent, prophets frequently are recipients of experiences which take them from the heights of heaven to the depths of hell, or vice versa. Enoch knew the discouragement associated with scorn and rejection. He also learned of the power involved in having the Lord justify all his (Enoch's) words (see Moses 6:31-36). Enoch felt the pangs of sorrow as he saw in vision the destruction of a wicked generation by water. He also came to experience the sublime totality of walking and talking with the Lord, and ultimately being taken into the bosom of heaven (see Moses 7:35-44; Moses 7:67-69).

So also did Abraham know the apprehension of death at the hands of unbelievers, as well as the mind-stretching and soul-expanding experience of witnessing "those things which [God's] hands had made, which were many" (Abraham 1:12-15; Abraham 3:12). Moses was taken into the presence of the Lord and given a glimpse of the earth and all of its inhabitants. Soon thereafter he encountered Lucifer, who in some cases almost seems to demand "equal time" with the prophets. After what proved to be a harrowing experience with Satan, Moses was again caught up in vision: Moses "beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the spirit of God. And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not" (Moses 1).

The Eternal Mission of Jesus Christ

One of the powerful contributions of the Pearl of Great Price is an insight into the nature of Christ's Eternal Gospel, the revelation to the Church and the world that Christian doctrine and Christian ordinances have been taught by Christian prophets since the days of Adam. Much of what has been delivered through Joseph Smith and his successors is a restoration-not alone of the first century Christian Church-but of those matters which pertain to the ancient of days and have their origins in the earth's primeval period of temporal existence. Adam was told by an angel that he was to do all that he did in the name of the Son, and that he and his posterity were to repent and call upon the Father in the name of the Son forevermore (Moses 5:8). Adam was further instructed-at least four thousand years before the time of the Master-that Jesus Christ is "the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men" (Moses 6:52). In like fashion, Enoch, looking down through the stream of time, "saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world" (Moses 7:47).

In an era of gross wickedness, Noah was called to prepare that generation for the coming deluge, and, more specifically, to bring as many as would come into the true church. The Pearl of Great Price is a valuable witness to the fact that Noah's warning voice and testimony were not simply vague challenges to change, but rather an invitation to participate in those saving principles and ordinances that anchor one to truth in the times of storm and stress. "And it came to pass," the account records, "that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed to my words; Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not" (Moses 8:23-24). The same could be demonstrated with regard to Moses and Abraham: these ancient prophets held communion with Jehovah, knew of his centrality in the plan of salvation as the mortal Messiah, and were indefatigable witnesses of his name and works (see Moses 1; Abraham 1:16; Abraham 2:8; Abraham 3:19). In short, the brief collection known as the Pearl of Great Price is a confirming evidence that to Christ "give all the prophets witness" (Acts 10:43), and that "none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ" (Jacob 7:11). The Pearl of Great Price is another witness for Jesus Christ.