The Mormon Apocrypha

Joseph Smith is not the time of person one would imagine writing poetry, but when Barbara Neff, a member of the early church in Nauvoo, asked for his signature in the spring of 1844, he wrote a short poem about the importance of Charity, Truth, and Virtue, with the last line being his signature.  This poem was found by the Joseph Smith Papers project and is located in the fourteenth volume of the Document series. The truth and virtue both are good when rightly understood But Charity is better Miss That takes us home to bliss and so forthwith remember Joseph Smith

Brigham Young, the second prophet of the restoration, was the largest contributor to the Journal of Discourses, with a total of 90 sermons. He had a fierier form of teaching, using strong language to get the point across, sometimes causing controversy in the Modern day. Some words in this very sermon might cause one to feel uncomfortable. This sermon was located in the seventh volume and was transcribed by George D. Watts. In the talk, he talks about the importance of Charity, his desire not to be rich himself or anyone to be rich, and the horrors of war. This was an interesting one. In this one, I try to something different. While reading it, some sections stood out to me, and I underlined them to add a personal touch. If it is too distracting or you think I should try something, leave a comment below.    A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 18, 1859. My greatest desire to my Father and God is that I may so speak ...

Many teachers of spiritual matters can be inspired by the work of others and their teachings. Here is a general conference talk from April 1933 from President Heber J Grant that was inspired by a book.  President Heber J. Grant I hold in my hand a book entitled, "In Search of Truth," written by the only absentee of the General Authorities of the Church, Elder John A. Widtsoe, of the Council of the Twelve. I had marked enough passages in the book to occupy fully twenty minutes of your time were I to read them, but there are not twenty minutes left unless we eliminate Brother Ballard entirely, and I am willing to divide evenly with him.  I am going to read the last chapter of this book. I think I can do it readily in ten minutes: The way to truth The way to truth? O yes, there is such a royal road, and any man may find and follow it. True, it leads straight for the goal and therefore is not attractive to those who like to meander and loiter among pretty fields of pseudo-truth. ...

The Journal of Discourses was a 26-volume collection of Sermons and teachings from the early church published from 1854 to 1886. They transcribed mainly by George D Watts, to instruct the members of the church how to live their lives. Talks from Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff were in these pages. Due to the possible inaccuracy of the transcribing of the speech, it is not the most correct source of what God's prophets have said, so take reading from the journals with a grain of salt. In the future, I will dedicate three months to go through one sermon from each volume, but for now, here is only one discourse.   Discourse by Elder Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Salt Lake Assembly Hall, at the Priesthood Meeting, Sunday Evening, July 4th, 1880. As this is the priesthood meeting of the elders of Israel and those bearing the priesthood, I feel I would like to say a few words in connection with what Brother Taylor has said. I look upon our condition or our position,...

       General Conferences in the LDS Church have been going on since the church was founded almost 200 years ago. The people who spoke in these conferences were prophets and apostles, people, teachers of God's will. Imperfect people chosen by God to lead his church in the modern era. Despite being decades old, these talks may still have things to teach us. Repurposed below is an interesting conference talk given by Reed Smoot, an apostle and former U.S. senator, in April 1933 about the nature of God, of Christ, and of his church. Elder Reed Smoot Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles I am thankful for the privilege of attending this General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ, and I know it will result in blessings to the people and be profitable to all those present and the thousands that are making use of the radio to hear all that may be said during the three days of this Annual Conference. At this conference, like all that have been held in the past, w...