SCRIPTURE READING EXERCISE.

THE MODERN SCRIPTURES—^[1] THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE.

SPECIAL TEXT: "And it came to pass as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and 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, and he discerned them by the Spirit of God. And their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea-shore. And he beheld many lands, and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof. And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying, tell me I pray thee, why these things are so. * * * * And the Lord God said unto Moses, for mine own purpose have I made these things Here is wisdom and it remaineth with me. * * * * And worlds without number have I created, and I also created them for mine own purpose, and by the Son I created them, which is mine only begotten. * * * * FOR BEHOLD THIS IS MY WORK AND MY GLORY TO BRING TO PASS THE IMMORTALITY AND ETERNAL LIFE OF MAN."—BOOK OF MOSES.

NOTES.

1. Compilation and Contents: The Pearl of Great Price was compiled and published by the late Elder Franklin D. Richards, of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, in Liverpool, England, 1851. Elder Richards at the time was presiding over the British mission. Its title page ran as follows:

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.

In addition to the Articles now published in the current and authorized version of the tract, it also contained a number of extracts from the Revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants, including a key to the revelations of St. John (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 77); commandments to the Church concerning baptism (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 20); on the method of administering the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 20); the duties of the Elders, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons and members of the Church (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 20); on Priesthood (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 84); the calling and duties of the Twelve Apostles (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 107); an extract from the revelation given July, 1830, (Doc.. & Cov., Sec. 27); extract from the revelation on the rise of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 1); John Jaques' splendid hymn, entitled "Truth," (Hymn-book, p. 71), and last but not least, the revelation and prophecy on war, (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 87). From this enumeration of articles omitted from this choice collection in the later editions of the work, it is seen that nothing is omitted but what is now published in the Doctrine and Covenants or Hymn-book; and the eliminations were made to avoid duplicating the publication of the articles in several books.

Reverting to the revelation and prophecy on war, I call attention to the fact that the preface of the Pearl of Great Price bears the date of July 11, 1851, and the work was published in that year; but it was not until the morning of the 12th of April, 1861, that the first gun in the great Rebellion was fired on Fort Sumter by General Beaureguard, so that this remarkable prophecy made by the Prophet in 1832 was actually in print and widely published in England and the United States nearly ten years before the war of the Rebellion broke out.

From a copy of the 1851 edition now on file in the Historian's office, we take the following paragraph from the Preface, which explains the reasons for publishing this collection of precious gems from the revelations of God to the great modern Prophet:

"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 smaller 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."

2. Book of Moses: The Book of Moses published in the Pearl of Great Price, is a revelation of the ancient prophet's writings to Joseph Smith, which began to be given to the prophet in June, 1830, just after the Prophet and the disciples of the Church he was founding had passed through the very trying period of persecution, and in his history the Prophet introduces it in the following language:

"Amid all the trials and tribulations we had to wade through, the Lord, who well knew our infantile and delicate situation, vouchsafed for us a supply of strength and granted us line upon line of knowledge, here a little and there a little, of which the following was a precious morsel."

Then follows part of the Book of Moses, published in the Pearl of Great Price, History of the Church, Vol. 1, pp. 98-101. Another fragment from the Book of Moses appears in the same work at pp. 133 to 139, being an extract called the Prophecy of Enoch. The Prophet Joseph at this time was engaged in the revision (sometimes called a translation) of the Hebrew Scriptures. Referring to those revelations concerning historical events of ancient times, he remarks:

"The Lord greatly encouraged and strengthened the faith of his little flock, which had embraced the fulness of the everlasting gospel, as revealed to them in the Book of Mormon, by giving some more extended information upon the scriptures, a translation of which had already commenced. Much conjecture and conversation frequently occurred among the Saints, concerning the books mentioned, and referred to, in various places in the Old and New Testaments, which were now nowhere to be found. The common remark was, 'They are lost books;' but it seems the Apostolic Church had some of these writings, as Jude mentions or quotes the prophecy of Enoch, the seventh from Adam. To the joy of the little flock, which in all, from Colesville to Canadaigua, New York, numbered about seventy members, did the Lord reveal the following doings of olden times, from the prophecy of Enoch." (History of the Church, Vol. 1, pp. 131-133.)

I know of no revelation within the same compass that contains so much valuable information in regard to historical events and doctrinal principles as this Book of Moses. The information conveyed by it, both in history and doctrine, becomes a unifying force in the history of the world and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope this will be apparent in the analysis of this book to be found in Lesson VI.

3. The Book of Abraham: The Book of Abraham is a translation from certain Egyptian papyrus which fell into the hands of the Prophet in the following manner. The account is condensed from the story as told by the Prophet in the History of the Church, Vol. II, pp. 348-350.

In 1831 the celebrated French traveler, Antonio Sebolo, penetrated Egypt as far as the ancient city of Thebes, under a license procured from Mohemet Ali—then Viceroy of Egypt—through the influence of Chevalier Drovetti, the French consul. Sebolo employed four hundred and thirty-three men for four months and two days, either Turkish or Egyptian soldiers, paying them from four to six cents a day per man. They entered the Catacombs near ancient Thebes on the seventh of June, 1831, and procured eleven mummies. These were shipped to Alexandria, and from there the great traveler started with his treasures for Paris. But en route for the French capital, Sebolo put in at Trieste, where he was taken sick, and after an illness of ten days, died. This was in 1832. Previous to his death he willed his Egyptian treasures to his nephew, Michael H. Chandler, who was then living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but whom Sebolo believed to be in Dublin, to which city he ordered the mummies shipped. Mr. Chandler ordered the mummies forwarded to New York from Dublin, where he took possession of them. Here the coffins for the first time were opened, and in them were found two rolls of papyrus covered with engravings. While still in the customs house, Mr. Chandler was informed by a gentleman, a stranger to him, that no one in the city could translate the characters; but was referred to Joseph Smith, who, the stranger informed him, possessed some kind of gift or power by which he had previously translated similar characters. Joseph Smith was then unknown to Mr. Chandler. The mummies were shipped to Philadelphia; and from there Mr. Chandler traveled through the country, exhibited them and the rolls of papyrus, reaching Kirtland in July, 1835, where some of the Saints purchased the mummies and the two rolls of papyrus, one of which proved to be the writings of Abraham, and the other of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt.

With the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, and W. W. Phelps as scribes the Prophet began the work of translating this record, which so singularly came into his possession; but it was not finally published until March, 1842, at Nauvoo. It will be found as we now have it in the Pearl of Great Price, given with the fac-similies of certain pages of the papyrus in the Times and Seasons, Vol. III, Nos. 9 and 10. It is a revelation of exceedingly great value, both on account of the historical and doctrinal data which it contains, as appears in the analysis for Lesson VI. For still further items of interest in relation to the Book of Abraham, see History of the Church, Vol. II, pp. 348-350 and footnotes.

4. The Writings of Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price: Of the writings of Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price little need be said as they speak for themselves. It is the Prophet's simple yet attractive and powerful narrative of those events which pertain to the beginning of the great Latter-day work, the opening of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. It is comprised within a very few pages—23 in all—and merely gives the story of the Prophet's birth and first call by heavenly vision to the restoration of the Priesthood by the administration of John the Baptist, in the month of May, in the year 1829, and a quotation from the Wentworth Letter (See Note —) comprising the Articles of Faith. Yet brief and limited as are these writings, they are invaluable because of their authenticity, their beautiful simplicity, and the spirit of truth that pervades them and infuses them with a convincing power.

Footnotes

1. The readings for this exercise and for the remaining lessons should be selected from the Pearl of Great Price.