The Sourcebook section of Questioning Mormonism contains scanned source documents important to understanding doctrines taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are provided here in order to allow the investigator opportunity to read and study important historical and doctrinal issues within their context. We encourage everyone to compare these LDS teachings with the Bible.

New documents will be added periodically.

Juvenile Instructor 3:157 (October 15, 1868)
(1 page, about 400K)

The Juvenile Instructor was a periodical for the young men and women of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was issued from 1866 through 1929. Originally under the authority of LDS Apostle George Q. Cannon, the Juvenile Instructor became the official organ of the Church Sunday School in 1901. The scan included here is the first page from an 1868 article titled Man and his Varieties, The Negro Race. The teaching found in it, intended for the children of the Church, provides insight into LDS doctrines regarding Blacks. While a spokesperson for the Church today would not use the same sort of language--or be as forthcoming on the Church's teachings--the doctrines included in this Juvenile Instructor have never been retracted. Because of the poor quality of the scan, we have also provided a typed transcript of a portion of this page, volume 3 page 157, from the Juvenile Instructor.

1833 Book of Commandments, Chapter VII
(2 pages, about 75K per page)

The 1833 Book of Commandments is the first published volume of Joseph Smith's revelations. Chapter VII is a revelation directed at Oliver Cowdery. Received by Joseph Smith in April 1829, it answered Cowdery's desire to have a more active role in translating the Book of Mormon. As it appeared in the 1833 Book of Commandments, Cowdery was told that he had "another gift, which is the gift of working with the rod." (v. 3) He was also told that only God could cause this "rod of nature" to "work in your hands." The rod referenced was Cowdery's divining rod. In the 1835 edition of Doctrine and Covenants the wording of the revelation was changed. The "gift of working with the rod" became the "gift of Aaron" and the "rod of nature, to work in your hands" became the "gift of Aaron to be with you." The changes in wording obscure the original idea that Cowdery received revelation by use of an occultic device. Today this revelation is published as Section 8 of the Doctrine and Covenants and contains approximately 58 more words than in 1833.

1833 Book of Commandments, Chapter VI
(1 page, about 75K)

The 1833 Book of Commandments is the first published volume of Joseph Smith's revelations. Produced in April 1829, Chapter VI was purported to have been translated by Joseph Smith from an ancient parchment written by the Apostle John. As originally published, this revelation consisted of 143 words. When reprinted in the 1835 edition of Doctrine and Covenants this revelation had gained 109 words, nearly doubling its content. The early handwritten manuscript of this revelation agrees with the 1833 version. The significance of the added text is found in its reference to Peter, James and John being given keys of ministry, alluding to a church presidency of three. In 1829 the concept of a First Presidency was unknown. It was established 5 years later (1834) by Joseph Smith. Today this translation/revelation, in its longer form, is published as Doctrine and Covenants, Section 7:1-8.

1833 Book of Commandments, Chapter XLIV
(8 pages, about 75K per page)

The 1833 Book of Commandments is the first published volume of Joseph Smith's revelations. Originally written in February 1831, Chapter XLIV explained The United Order, a communistic economy Smith sought to institute within the Church at that time. The Saints were told to "consecrate all" their property to the Church (v. 26) and were promised that God would take "the riches" of the non-Mormons and give it to Mormons (v.32). Three years later Smith purportedly received a revelation which put an end to this United Order (current edition of Doctrine and Covenants, Section 104). As with other revelations, the text of Book of Commandments Chapter XLIV underwent substantial alterations for subsequent editions. Today this revelation is Doctrine and Covenants, Section 42:1-73. The communistic language has been significantly softened, hundreds of words have been added, and much has been deleted from the original revelation published in 1833.

1833 Book of Commandments, Chapter XXVIII
(1 page, about 75K)

The 1833 Book of Commandments is the first published volume of Joseph Smith's revelations. Chapter XXVIII is a revelation purportedly received in August and September of 1830. As it appeared in the 1833 Book of Commandments, its 193 words focused on instructions regarding the sacrament. Today this revelation is published as Section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants and contains approximately 400 additional words. Beyond the curiosity of substantial textual additions, the changes to the revelation are significant in that, as originally written, the revelation did not record the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph Smith at the hands of Peter, James and John (27:12).

The Bible Alone An Insufficient Guide, Orson Pratt, December 1, 1850
Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, No. 3 (16 pages, about 150K per page)

Orson Pratt was one of the first Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 1848 to 1851 Pratt presided over the LDS Church in Europe. During this time, he wrote and published sixteen missionary pamphlets in defense of LDS doctrines. The Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon, a subset, consisted of a series of six pamphlets written and published in Liverpool, England from late 1850 through 1851. About this particular pamphlet in the series, Number 3, Pratt wrote: "In this number it will be shown that without further revelation the Bible is an insufficient guide." Pratt's pamphlet reveals the early LDS attitude toward the Bible, the same attitude promoted today within the LDS Church. The reader will also find some interesting remarks regarding the Catholic Church and her Protestant "Harlot Daughters."

1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Section CI
(2 pages, about 75K per page)

This section from the first edition of Doctrine and Covenants is entitled Marriage. Included in each edition of Doctrine and Covenants until 1876, it condemned the practice of polygamy. Joseph Smith had allegedly received a revelation in 1832 which permitted men to have multiple wives. Smith himself was a husband to over forty women. Brigham Young, Smith's successor, married at least fifty-five plural wives before his death in 1877. When the 1876 edition of Doctrine and Covenants was published, Section CI was removed and Section 132, Smith's contradicting revelation permitting polygamy, was inserted.

1833 Book of Commandments, Chapter IV
(4 pages, about 75K per page)

The 1833 Book of Commandments is the first published volume of Joseph Smith's revelations. As initially written, Chapter IV recorded God declaring that He would grant Smith no gift other than the gift of translation as it pertained to the Book of Mormon. The text of this revelation underwent extensive changes when reprinted three years later in the first edition of Doctrine and Covenants (1835; renumbered as section XXXII). These scans are provided to allow comparison between this revelation as initially recorded (1833) and the text the LDS Church uses today. Book of Commandments Chapter IV appears in the current edition of Doctrine and Covenants as section 5; the current text matches the 1835 version.

Adam-God Sermon, Brigham Young, April 9, 1852
Journal of Discourses 1:46-53 (8 pages, about 75K per page)

Brigham Young, the second prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, taught that the first man, Adam, "is our father and our God." Young proclaimed this doctrine publicly for the first time at the April 1852 General Conference of the LDS Church. He consistently taught this unique concept of God for a period spanning approximately 25 years. The Adam-God doctrine was later denounced by subsequent LDS prophets and is not sustained in the Church today. This Conference address also includes significant teaching on the LDS doctrine of the Virgin Birth of Jesus.

King Follett Discourse, Joseph Smith, April 6, 1844
Journal of Discourses 6:1-11 (11 pages, about 75K per page)

Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, delivered this important sermon at the Church's General Conference just six weeks before his death in 1844. The King Follett Discourse contains Smith's authoritative teachings on the nature of God and the nature of man. In addition to the text available here, this sermon can also be found in History of the Church, 6:302-317; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 342-362; and Millennial Star, 23:245-280.