The first edition of the scriptural collection known as the Pearl of Great Price appeared in 1851. The “precious contents”[1] of this record, consistent with its name, remain some of the most priceless doctrinal and theological gems in all the canonized scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This scripture contains, in a division called the Book of Moses, the writings of ancient prophets and patriarchs from Adam to Enoch and Noah, while another sacred text in this collection, the Book of Abraham, contains the writings and revelations of Abraham, providing essential insights into God’s dealings with that great prophet and his family. The latter text takes us back in time to ancient Egypt and its environs throughout Syria-Palestine, offering gospel perspectives from Abraham’s own experience and shedding invaluable light on the revelations of God, ancient astronomy, and the purposes of creation and our very existence.[2]

The Pearl of Great Price restores and illuminates significant teachings and prophecies from the Savior himself, delivered to his closest disciples on the Mount of Olives in one of his last and most tender discourses during the final week of his life. These teachings provide insights into the impending trials of his early disciples, the apostasy from within the church, and the destructions that were to befall the people, the city of Jerusalem with its temple, and the region. Yet Jesus also offered words of encouragement, gave signs whereby his latter-day disciples would recognize the approach of his second coming, and left instructions so they could prepare for that momentous event (see Joseph Smith—Matthew; compare Matthew 24; Doctrine and Covenants 45).

Also contained in the Pearl of Great Price are excerpts from the 1838 history of the Prophet Joseph Smith[3] (the fullest and most detailed of the four extant firsthand accounts of the First Vision that Joseph Smith recounted) as well as the Articles of Faith. Joseph Smith—History further describes the difficulties and growth of the Prophet’s ministry and prophetic calling, the miraculous events associated with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and the revelations leading to the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and his church. The Articles of Faith, extracted from a letter originally sent by Joseph Smith to Chicago Democrat newspaper editor John Wentworth,[4] outlines the basic beliefs of the Latter-day Saints, then and now.

The precious truths and accounts in the Pearl of Great Price have come down to us in diverse forms: restorations of ancient Bible-related texts, translations associated with ancient papyri, historical autobiographies with vision accounts, and a short summary of beliefs. Portions of these writings preserve and even restore original sacred teachings spoken by the Savior through and to his prophets.[5] They also recover firsthand accounts of theophanies and revelations, including those received by the instrumentality of a revelatory device referred to as “Urim and Thummim”[6] and others received while the recipient was standing face-to-face with the Lord or directly hearing his voice (beginning with Moses 1:1–2, 25, 31). This latter revelatory process occurs throughout the Adam, Enoch, and Noah accounts in the Book of Moses; in Abraham 2:6 and 3:11; and in Joseph Smith—History 1:17, 25. These texts offer some of the clearest glimpses into the intricacies of how the Lord operated in Old Testament times (and still operates today) and introduce us to the magnificence of the Lord’s revelations that expand our individual and collective visions of eternal realities.[7] Showing how the Lord works with and through his prophets is one of the most important aspects of what the Pearl of Great Price reveals. These sacred texts truly constitute pearls of great price. Indeed, the original publication announcement for the Pearl of Great Price in 1851 accurately envisioned the great treasure the volume was intended to be and would become:

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, who will[,] by an acquaintance with its precious contents, be more abundantly qualified to set forth and defend the principles of our Holy Faith before all men. The Pearl of Great Price will recommend itself to all who appreciate the revelations of truth as hidden treasures of Everlasting Life.[8]

These hidden treasures are what the book was designed to help us discover, and early converts to the Church in England pleaded to have these sacred, revealed truths made available to them. Like the contents of the volume itself, the history of how the Pearl of Great Price came to constitute sacred scripture is both unique and multifaceted.

The Pearl of Great Price—A Historical Overview

The Pearl of Great Price did not constitute a standard scriptural work of the Church from its inception. Instead, its development and compilation commenced within the mission in Great Britain, where early converts to the Latter-day Saint faith yearned for more Church literature amid shortages of such. It was in this environment of thirsting for restored truth that the Pearl of Great Price began to take shape, as Joseph Smith’s revelations that had been published in the United States were collected and compiled overseas. Later, in 1880, they would become canonized scripture.[9]

The origins of the British Mission itself stem from a period of apostasy in Kirtland[10] in which Church leaders and members were struggling with contentious disunity revolving around financial matters and the Kirtland Safety Society.[11] Some slandered the Prophet and questioned his prophetic ministry and authority as panic ensued and banks closed.[12] Amid all this uncertainty and disloyalty, as well as his concerns for the welfare and stability of the Church, Joseph Smith described the prompting he received to forestall what was happening:

No quorum in the church was entirely exempt from the influence of those false spirits, who were striving against me, for the Mastery; even some of the Twelve were so far lost to their high and responsible calling, as to begin to take sides, secretly, with the enemy. In this state of things [. . .] God revealed to me that something new must be done for the salvation of his church, and on or about the first of June 1837[,] Heber C. Kimball, one of the Twelve, was, set apart by the spirit of prophecy and Revelation, Prayer and the laying on of the hands of the First Presidency, to preside over a mission to England, to be the first foreign mission of the Church of Christ in the last days.[13]

The solution was to begin building the kingdom of God on the other side of the world. Toward that end, in June 1837 Heber C. Kimball was called to preside over the mission in the British Isles. As it turned out, between 1837 and 1850, and amid great poverty and hardship experienced during the Industrial Revolution, British converts flocked to the message of the restored gospel. Five years saw more than 7,500 baptisms, and in the first thirteen years of the mission, new-member converts totaled 30,747. This constituted more than 50 percent of the Church’s worldwide membership in 1850 (57, 278). [14] These diligent Saints would participate in migrations to the United States that would provide stability and strength to the developing Church as it weathered challenges and persecutions in subsequent decades.[15] The Prophet Joseph Smith’s response to the Lord’s promptings to initiate missionary work in Britain became a source of strength to the Church and proved truly prophetic. The Pearl of Great Price would play a significant role in the spiritual development of the early Church membership.

In relation to the rapid growth of the Church in England and its limited resources, the early British Saints had little access to materials and revelations published by the Church.[16] They did possess some of the Church publications and revelations from the Times and Seasons and The Evening and the Morning Star, but by the mid-1840s many of these tracts had been carried overseas to Zion by migrating Saints.[17] As a result, the early converts who remained lacked essential Church literature (many did not own a copy of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, or Church pamphlets) and pleaded with Church leaders to make them available.[18] Although a circulation and loan system was set up among the British Saints to help fill the need for accessible literature,[19] under the direction of the mission’s president, Elder Franklin D. Richards, a more permanent and far-reaching solution was sought.

During the formative years of the Church, Elder Richards had compiled Joseph Smith’s sermons, revelations, and articles from Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. Now with his authority as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and as president of the British Mission, he published those materials in 1851 under the title The Pearl of Great Price, referencing Christ’s parable in Matthew 13:45–46.[20] In a letter to his uncle Levi Richards on February 1, 1851, Elder Richards noted his motive for creating this book: 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.”[21] The first compilation of the Pearl of Great Price thus included additional revelations beyond what it contains today. Many of these inclusions were designed to instruct new converts in their duties and to assist in issues of administration. The compilation originally consisted of the following as summarized by H. Donl Peterson:

(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.[22]

Table 1. Joseph Smith’s revelations and writings appearing in Franklin D. Richards’s 1851 compilation The Pearl of Great Price[23]

These revelations and other writings of the Prophet were invaluable to the fledgling and rapidly growing Church, offering sources of divine instruction that inspired and directed the early Saints in Britain.[24] Significantly, President Richards was not just directing the work of gathering new converts—he was also preparing them to migrate to Zion on the American continent.[25]

Over the years, returning missionaries from the British Mission carried this pearl home, where it became a welcome addition to the spiritual resources of the Saints in Utah.[26] The first American edition of the Pearl of Great Price, published in 1878, relied heavily on Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible (“Inspired Version”) produced by the RLDS Church (now Community of Christ Church) under the direction of Joseph Smith III, the Prophet’s son. Elder Orson Pratt used this version of the Bible to create a new edition of the Pearl of Great Price,[27] containing the most updated revisions made by the Prophet in publication preparations. Nevertheless, to this day neither the Inspired Version nor the current edition of the Book of Moses contains all of the corrections made by the Prophet Joseph Smith and his scribes.[28] The 1878 edition of the Pearl of Great Price was a significant improvement over that of Franklin D. Richards, who did not have access to the Prophet’s inspired translation in 1851 when the first tract was published.[29] This new edition of the Pearl of Great Price also featured several changes in formatting.[30] In 1880, two years after its completion and publication, the Pearl of Great Price with its priceless revelations was canonized with a sustaining vote at general conference. Peterson recounts the events of that General Conference Sunday thus:

Sunday, 10 October 1880, was a special day in Church history. President Wilford Woodruff said of the day, “This is a great day to Israel.” … The Church leaders and members met at 2:00 P.M. for the second Sunday session of the 50th Semiannual General Conference of the Church. Elder Orson Pratt presented the authorities for the sustaining vote of the conference. The voting was by priesthood quorums. John Taylor was sustained as the prophet, seer, and revelator and as president of the Church with George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith as his counselors. President Taylor had been acting president of the Church since the death of Brigham Young three years before because he was president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[31]

Elder Orson Pratt, President of the Quorum of the Twelve and the sole surviving member of those who had been present at Carthage and the Prophet Joseph Smith’s martyrdom in 1844, led the sustaining. He himself had been instrumental in the publication of the 1878 edition of the Pearl of Great Price and now would witness its canonization. Following the sustaining of Church officers, the Pearl of Great Price was officially canonized by the vote of the entire conference and was accepted as the fourth standard work of the 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.[32]

When James E. Talmage was later commissioned by the Church to make more revisions to the Pearl of Great Price, he added chapter divisions, subheadings, and cross-references to the text and deleted the repeated Doctrine and Covenants sections and also the poem “Truth,” which can now be found as the Church hymn “Oh Say, What Is Truth?”[33] The names of sections have been changed as well. Yet the purpose of the book remains—to “increase [the Saints’] ability to maintain and to defend the holy faith by becoming possessors of it” (preface to the Pearl of Great Price, 1851)—and the revelations contained therein continue to inspire and change the hearts of seekers of truth. The formation of the Pearl of Great Price had its origin in efforts to strengthen the lives of seekers of truth and revelation, and it continues to serve this purpose. It was a most precious pearl to the early Saints who yearned for these truths and can be so to us. Such is the brief history of this sacred book of scripture that contains the revealed text known as the Book of Moses, to which we now turn.

Notes

[1] “Editorial,” Millennial Star 13, no. 14 (July 15, 1851): 217.

[2] For general studies on the Book of Abraham and the facsimiles, see Gee, Introduction to the Book of Abraham; Gee, Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri; Rhodes and Moody, “Astronomy and the Creation in the Book of Abraham,” 17–36; Gee and Muhlestein, “Egyptian Context for the Sacrifice of Abraham,” 70–77; and Muhlestein, “Joseph Smith Papyrus I,” 31–33.

[3] For recent treatments of the First Vision accounts, see Harper, Joseph Smith’s First Vision; and Muhlestein, Joseph’s First Vision Combined from Nine Accounts. See also resources available at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/topics/restoration and https://www.josephsmithpapers.org (using the search phrase “Accounts of the First Vision”).

[4] For the letter from John Wentworth requesting information of the Prophet, see Joseph Smith, “Church History,” 1 March 1842, p. 706, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[5] Some of these revelations and accounts were removed through the centuries (see Moses 1:41–42), and others simply disappeared without trace until restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith (see Abraham 1:31). Others that were revealed to Joseph Smith during his translation of the Bible restore crucial information not contained in the Bible (see Doctrine and Covenants 45:15–62; compare Joseph Smith—Matthew; Matthew 24). For a complete record of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, see Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible. See also Jackson, “New Discoveries in the Joseph Smith Translation,” 149–60; Jackson, “Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 1830,” 51–76; Matthews, “Plainer Translation”; and Bradshaw, “Sorting Out the Sources in Scripture,” 215–72.

[6] See Abraham 3:1, 4 (1–10); compare Joseph Smith—History 1:35. For Joseph Smith’s use of seer stones and what came to be known as Urim and Thummim, see MacKay and Frederick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones, 171–76. The function of these seer stones included (1) receiving warnings and alerting Joseph Smith of danger in his early activities so he could preserve himself and the plates that contained the content of the Book of Mormon (see MacKay and Dirkmaat, Darkness unto Light, 14–15, 65); (2) showing places and locations (see MacKay and Frederick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones, 56); (3) assisting in the translation of the plates containing the revelations, peoples, and prophetic ministries found in the Book of Mormon (see MacKay and Frederick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones, 45–64; and MacKay and Dirkmaat, Darkness unto Light, 65–71); and (4) conveying several revelations throughout Joseph Smith’s life, including the English translation of the Book of Mormon, at least six sections in the Doctrine and Covenants (3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 17), and possibly portions of the Book of Abraham (see MacKay and Frederick, Joseph Smith’s Seer Stones, 128–29, for a chart listing these revelations).

[7] An etymological meaning of reveal is from the Latin revelare (re “opposite of” and velum “veil”), giving “unveil”—i.e., pull back the veil, exposing what is on the opposite side of it, the Lord showing us what he sees. See Harden, Dictionary of the Vulgate New Testament, 103. This meaning is also reflected in the Greek word for apocalypse (ἀποκαλύπτω), “an uncovering.” See Grimm, Thayer, and Wilke, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 62.

[8] “Editorial,” 217.

[9]

See Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” 220–21, 224–25. Missionaries were also working on tracts to help them distribute information about the Restoration. A recent publication on the Book of Moses (Givens and Hauglid, Pearl of Greatest Price, 13–14, Kindle) provides this historical perspective:

Orson Pratt was the first to publicize Smith’s “Several Remarkable Visions,” in an Edinburgh publication. (Pratt was in the British Mission at the time.) . . . At about the same time, Orson Hyde and fellow apostle John Page had been appointed to a mission to Palestine and had evangelized extensively through several states en route. From Cincinnati they wrote to Joseph Smith, proposing “to write a set of Lectures upon the faith and doctrine of [our] church, giving a brief history of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, and an account of its contents, in as clear and plain style as possible; together with the out lines and organization and government of the church of Latter Day Saints, drawn from the ‘doctrine and Covenants.’” Two weeks later, on 14 May 1840, Smith responded, “In answer to your inquiries, respecting the translation and publication, . . . History of the church, &c, &c; I would say, that I entirely approve of the same; and give my consent. . . . With respect to publishing any other work, either original, or those which have been published before, you will be governed by circumstances; if you think necessary to do so I shall have no objections whatever.”

See also the appendix in Pratt, Interesting Account of Several Remarkable Visions (1840), The Joseph Smith Papers.

[10] For an overview of this period, see Church Educational System, “Apostasy in Kirtland, 1836–38,” 169–79. While the Kirtland Safety Society was not the immediate cause of the widespread apostasy throughout Kirtland, it was a significant factor. Some have speculated that the real cause had to do with the short-lived prosperity of the period. “Prosperity was dawning upon [the Saints],” Eliza R. Snow wrote, “. . . and many who had been humble and faithful . . . were . . . lifted up in the pride of their hearts.” At the same time, malicious and spiteful comments were being discussed behind the Prophet’s back.” “Apostasy in Kirtland,” 173. See Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Dissent in the Church.”

[11] “Due to the failure to obtain a state charter (whose Democratic majority possessed an aversion to private banking and paper currency), and the negative publicity surrounding the events, the institution had failed by the end of the summer of 1837.” Berrett, Sacred Places, 3:35–36. See Wimmer, “Kirtland Economy,” 2:793; Joseph Smith, “Articles of Agreement,” 441–43, The Joseph Smith Papers; and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “The Kirtland Bank: Q&A.”

[12] See Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Kirtland Safety Society”; and Howe, Transformation of America, 1815–1848, 502–4, 870–71.

[13] Joseph Smith, History, 1838–1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834–2 November 1838], p. 761, The Joseph Smith Papers.

[14] See Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 11. See also Grant, “British Isles,” 228, which puts the number at 33,000 new converts.

[15] See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 2. “The success of the British mission served as an important counterbalance to the Ohio apostasy. . . . The thousands of British converts who emigrated to America immensely strengthened the Church during crucial periods.” Church Educational System, “Apostasy in Kirtland, 1836–1838,” 176.

[16] “Although England had easily accessible printing presses for missionaries to print tracts, the needs outweighed the manufacturing capacity and many British Saints were left without access to even prints such as the Book of Mormon. Orson Pratt’s observant concerns for the lack of available material helped jumpstart the production of pamphlets containing information on doctrine and history that would eventually result in the first publication of the Pearl of Great Price.” Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 3. See the discussion in Givens and Hauglid, Pearl of Greatest Price, 13–14.

[17] “Members and officers published articles in various Church publications, including the Times and Seasons and The Evening and the Morning Star. England, too, saw a number of Church publications. However, pamphlets and tracts, plentiful from 1838 to the mid-1840s, disappeared into the trunks of those British Saints leaving for Zion. The result created a dearth of material by the late 1840s.” Peck, “History of the Book of Moses,” 49. By 1850, President Orson Pratt and Elder Franklin D. Richards were both working hard to overcome the deficit. See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 2; and Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” 221, 224–25.

[18] See Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 14.

[19] See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 2–3.

[20] Various extracts from the Joseph Smith Translation on the Book of Moses began to be published as early as 1832 in The Evening and Morning Star, in Lectures on Faith in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, and up until 1843 in the Times and Seasons. See summary in Bradshaw, In God’s Image, 2, 8; Faulring, Jackson, and Matthews, Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible, 57–59; and Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” 96. On the possible source behind Elder Richards’s access to these revelations, we read, “Brigham Young introduced Richards to the church when Richards was a fifteen-year-old youth. He joined two years later, gathered with the Saints, and was on his way to a mission in England when he learned of Joseph Smith’s murder and returned to Nauvoo. There Richards commenced work with his uncle Willard Richards, who was the church historian. This employment would have given Richards firsthand exposure to crucial documents in LDS history, which background would have served him in good stead for his future work as a pamphlet writer.” Givens and Hauglid, Pearl of Greatest Price, 14.

[21] Quoted in Peterson, History and Commentary, 11–12. See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 4.

[22] Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 18.

[23] The full title of Richards’s compilation was The Pearl of Great Price: Being a Choice Selection from the Revelations, Translations, and Narrations of Joseph Smith, First Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Liverpool: F. D. Richards, 1851). That publication contained the revelations listed in this table, here adapted from pages vii–viii of Richards’s compilation and from Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 16–18.

[24] On the significance of Franklin D. Richards’s work, a Church periodical reported the following: “In April 1852, at a convocation of British conference presidents, a memorial was presented to express gratitude to Richards for his service to the British people and for his pamphlet in particular: ‘when we ponder over the pages of the ‘Pearl of Great Price,’ we are, and ever shall be, inspired with admiration and love, intense and deep, toward you, whose illumined mind has concentrated that peerless pearl of august intelligence.’” “Minutes of Special General Council,” Millennial Star 14, no. 16 (June 12, 1852): 246; quoted in Givens and Hauglid, Pearl of Greatest Price, 19.

[25] As the revelations were being prepared for publication and dissemination to the British Saints, another matter of import arose that would reverse the effects of the apostasy that precipitated the establishment of the mission in the first place: convert migrations to Zion. “At that moment in 1851, however, other matters trumped publishing concerns. As Pratt was transferring the leadership of the mission to Richards, Brigham Young’s Fourth General Epistle (issued in late September 1850) arrived. Young exuberantly proclaimed an anticipated doubling of the Salt Lake Valley population in the coming year (and subsequent years) thanks to the work of the Perpetual Emigrating Poor Fund, and called on converts abroad to ‘come in flocks, like doves to their windows.’ This ambitious forecast and command had in mind one particular audience: ‘we feel to say to the Saints in England . . . the Lord hath done a great work in your midst, and speedily a greater responsibility must rest upon your shoulders.’ Concluding the epistle was the announcement that Franklin D. Richards, in addition to presiding over the British Mission, was one of the ‘Travelling Agents’ of the Fund, charged with helping fulfill the gathering of British converts to Utah.” Quoted in Givens and Hauglid, Pearl of Greatest Price, 15–16.

[26] See Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 18.

[27] According to an overview of Joseph Smith’s “New Translation” and the development of the Pearl of Great Price and its 1878 edition, “in 1867 the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints published what is now commonly called the Inspired Version, an edited transcript of the entire JST. That was followed in 1878 by a new edition of the Pearl of Great Price, published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah.” Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 2. See Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” chap. 7.

[28] For an overview of how these corrections were transmitted and omitted between manuscript copies known as OT1 and OT2, see Jackson, “How We Got the Book of Moses,” 140–43.

[29] See Jackson, “How We Got the Book of Moses,” 143.

[30] For an overview of these changes and their timing, see Peterson, “Birth and Development of the Pearl of Great Price,” 18–22; Jackson, “New Discoveries in the Joseph Smith Translation,” 18–52; Jackson, “How We Got the Book of Moses,” 143–45; and Matthews, “Plainer Translation,” chap. 9.

[31] Peterson, History and Commentary, 22. See Kenney, Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 7:595 (October 10, 1880).

[32] See Draper, Brown, and Rhodes, Pearl of Great Price, 8, summarizing Peterson, History and Commentary, 23, and his citation of Journal History of the Church, October 10, 1880.

[33] See Jackson, Book of Moses and the Joseph Smith Translation Manuscripts, 38–47; and Peterson, History and Commentary, 16.