Gospel Topics, ‘Journal of Discourses’; “The Journal of Discourses is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a compilation of sermons and other materials from the early years of the Church, which were transcribed and then published. It included some doctrinal instruction but also practical teaching, some of which is speculative in nature and some of which is only of historical interest…The content of the Journal of Discourses was transcribed, sometimes inaccurately, and published between 1854 and 1886 in England…The Journal of Discourses includes interesting and insightful teachings by early Church leaders; however, by itself it is not an authoritative source of Church doctrine.”
Journal of Discourses, Preface, Volume 8; “The Journal of Discourses deservedly ranks as one of the standard works of the Church, and every rightminded Saint will certainly welcome with joy every number (issue) as it comes forth.” – President George Q. Cannon
We retrieved the info above from the Gospel Topics section of the LDS website on May 7, 2015. With that in mind, we have a question.
Why do leaders of the Church still utilize the Journal of Discourses today? If they’re not an official resource of teachings or doctrines, are the speeches they give at General Conference official? According to the Church the words spoken at GC are “inspired”.
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