Lectures of Faith: Preface

This month marks the one-year anniversary of my blog and to celebrate, I wanted to go over some of the most famous "apocryphal" texts of Mormonism, the Lectures of Faith. The Lectures of Faith were a collection of seven Lectures delivered to the School of the Elders in Kirtland, Ohio in the winter of 1834-35 and first published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. The authorship of the Lectures is not entirely known, with recent scholarship attributing a lot of the lectures to Sidney Rigdon, with substantial input from Joseph Smith Jr. They were published in the doctrine and covenants by the LDS church until 1921, when they were removed, as they were not revelations in the same way the rest of the D&C was. The RLDS church removed the Lectures from their version of the D&C a few decades earlier, in 1897 (Though they still publish it in a separate volume). Other branches of the restoration, such as the Strangite Church and the Remnant movement still use the Lectures of Faith as scripture. Even today, in the LDS church, many church publications quote them in some form or another. 

Below is the Preface of the Lectures, written in 1835.

DEAR BRETHREN:

We deem it to be unnecessary to entertain you with a lengthy preface to the following volume, but merely to say, that it contains in short, the leading items of the religion which we have professed to believe.

The first part of the book will be found to contain a series of Lectures as delivered before a Theological class in this place, and in consequence of their embracing the important doctrine of salvation, we have arranged them into the following work.

The second part contains items or principles for the regulation of the church, as taken from the revelations which have been given since its organization, as well as from former ones.

There may be an aversion in the minds of some against receiving any thing purporting to be articles of religious faith, in consequence of there being so many now extant; but if men believe a system, and profess that it was given by inspiration, certainly, the more intelligibly they can present it, the better. It does not make a principle untrue to print it, neither does it make it true not to print it.

The church viewing this subject to be of importance, appointed, through their servants and delegates the High Council, your servants to select and compile this work. Several reasons might be adduced in favor of this move of the Council, but we only add a few words. They knew that the church was evil spoken of in many places—its faith and belief misrepresented, and the way of truth thus subverted. By some it was represented as disbelieving the bible, by others as being an enemy to all good order and uprightness, and by others as being injurious to the peace of all governments civil and political.

We have, therefore, endeavored to present, though in few words, our belief, and when we say this, humbly trust, the faith and principles of this society as a body.

We do not present this little volume with any other expectation than that we are to be called to answer to every principle advanced, in that day when the secrets of all hearts will be revealed, and the reward of every man's labor be given him.

With sentiments of esteem and sincere respect, we subscribe ourselves your brethren in the bonds of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

JOSEPH SMITH jr.
OLIVER COWDERY.
SIDNEY RIGDON.
F.G. WILLIAMS.

Kirtland, Ohio, February 17, 1835.