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Journal of Discourses

Recently some research has brought me to ask the following question;

Why does the Church not take an official position on the Journal of Discourses? They use some the quotes in institute, etc, but yet still they say it is not 'official works' of the Church, but then why quote from it? How are we to assertain which is truth and which is opinion?

Discourses Journal

I don't know why the Church doesn't say whether the Journal of Discourses is doctrine or not. Personally I  think if they want to avoid the question and the controversy, they should stop quoting from it period. Don't you all think?. Because you cannot quote what it fits you and the present LDS doctrine and reject those those quotes that don't fit you. It doen't make any sense.

Journal of Discourses Studies Doctrine Mormon

The interesting thing is I took the first post and placed it in another LDS forum. Many responded, some used the weak trend of saying that 'if you are righteous' you will get the answer, etc. Some tried to defend, some made statements that would bring strange looks in Church and none but one answered the question. Here was the answer used after asking permission f the poster:

I'm not sure why the Church should take any position on the JoD at all. It's an excellent historical reference. The JoD was a sixteen-page semimonthly subscription publication privately printed in Liverpool, England, in 1854-1886. It was not an official Church publication nor has it ever been a source for official Church doctrine.

The Journal contained many different kinds of speeches, including the prayer given at the laying of a cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple, a report of a high council court decision, a funeral sermon, and a plea for the defendant and the charge to the jury in a murder trial. But most of the material was devoted to publishing sermons of Church leaders...which were likely to be impromptu public sermons transcribed by shorthand by the private compilers of the Journal. It was supposed to have contained every notable speech given in the Utah territory, or rumored to have been given, including Orson Pratt's famous speech -- where Brigham Young got up afterwards and said it was the best speech he had ever heard in his life -- completely wrong on the doctrine mind you, but the best spoken speech he had ever heard.

See: https://www.fair-lds.org/ubbcgi/ultimatebb....c;f=15;t=000215

I thought it was an excellent answer and so posted it here.

Discourses Journal

I suppose it is like "thus saith the Lord" sometimes a prophet may speak and it is direct revelation, at other times it is not a statement inspired by the Holy Ghost but the mortal man speaking his own will. The Church has only a handful of books that are accepted as Church doctrine and there is a lot of books written even by members of the Church in good standing that have questionable material that the Church will not accept as official Church Doctrine.

Discourses Journal

[quote] in good standing that have questionable material that the Church will not accept as official Church Doctrine[/quote]
Thanks for your input. That brings up another question for analysis. How does the Church select what is standard and what is opinion? Since many books outside the standard works teach us of the deeper doctrines (and we use them) then why aren't they considered standard? I have the feeling that to go beyond the Doctrine and Covenants (which I think contains most of the deep stuff) would mean that someone was being 'opinionated' about something already revealed? I do not know, but it would sure be helpful for the Church to make some kind of official statement about it.

Journal of Discourses

Now this is an interesting topic all be it somehow perplexing in that I have been unable to assertain through a brief search any other books besides the Standard Works as official doctrine of the church. I have heard the discourses of Brigham on many occasions and it is even in the manuals, so the church I am sure authenticates its relevance to our lives at this time.

Journal Discourses

The standard works themselves give us a insight into the deeper doctrines that have been discussed by the leaders of the Church, one such passage is found in 3 Nephi Chapter 26 verse 9 it reads:

And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.

Another passage in 2 Nephi Chapter 27 verse 11 reads:

And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men,and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth.

It seems that alot of us are at this moment kept from a knowledge of the greater things in clarity and perfection for a reason, the test of faith.

The day will come when even the light and knowledge received from the Book of Mormon/ Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, not to mention the discourses of modern day witnesses of Christ, will be added upon and the faithful will recieve undisputiable knowledge in a fullness.

Journal Discourses Mormon Doctrine Studies

I was looking through some old bookmarks that brough me to this: 'Mistaking the Personal Beliefs of LDS Church Leaders for Doctrines of the Church' and I remembered we had a thread about this. Look at what this person says and see what you think. The link is HERE

Quoted in part:

"It should come as no surprise to anyone but the unreasonable or the false-expecting, that the daily lives of the biblical prophets of God were not marked by constant revelatory communion with the Eternal Father, nor were they void of any error, sin, mistakes in judgement, nor beliefs which differed from the doctrines of the religious faith they have represented. There are the biblical accounts of the Prophet Jonah acting in defiance against God (Jonah Chapters 1-4), the Prophet Balaam sinning against God (Num. 22:1-35), and the Prophet Moses questioning God (Ex. 4:10-14), thus giving indication of their fallibility and imperfect natures as prophets. In fact, the Apostle Peter was chastened for his impulsive and errant beliefs and actions, not only by Christ (Matt. 16:22-23), but by both God (Acts 10:13-16) and Paul (Gal. 2:11) as well. Even Paul, at various times, and on various doctrinal subjects, had strong disagreements with some of the other leaders of Christ's Church during that time (Act 15:1-2, 36-41). "