 The 2009 edition of the book. | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Language | English (original) (available in ~50 languages) |
| Publisher | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints |
Publication date | 1978, 2009 |
| Pages | 290 (2009) |
Gospel Principles is a book that sets out some of the basic doctrines and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The book is published by the LDS Church and is provided to its members as a personal study guide and as a church lesson manual.
Gospel Principles was first published in English in 1978. Subsequent editions, each with minor revisions, were published in 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1995, and 1997. The book has traditionally been used as a Sunday School lesson manual for attendees who are recent converts or non-members of the church.
In 2009, the LDS Church published a revised edition of the book and mandated that it be used twice-monthly as the lesson manual for Sunday Relief Society and Melchizedek priesthood classes in 2010 and 2011. [1]
Gospel Principles is designed to be both a personal study guide and as a teacher's manual. [2] The book is divided into 47 chapters. Each chapter sets out a basic doctrine or teaching of the LDS Church in simple language. Supporting scriptural references to the standard works are included in each chapter, as are sample questions that a teacher could ask in a class setting. The book also contains color illustrations.
The chapters have not changed between the 1979 and 2009 editions, but some content has been revised. Mormonism Research Ministry, a Christian organization that opposes the teachings of the LDS Church, has compiled a list of changes in the various editions of the book. [3]
Gospel Principles is published by the LDS Church and is available for purchase from the church and through some private LDS-related bookstores. The book's contents are also available for free on the church's Internet website. The text of Gospel Principles is copyrighted by Intellectual Reserve, a corporation that holds the intellectual properties of the LDS Church.
The standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the four books that currently constitute its open scriptural canon. The four books of the standard works are:
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ.
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The church reports 250,000 members in 1,100 congregations in 59 countries. The church traces its origins to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Christ on April 6, 1830. A group of members including his eldest son Joseph Smith III formally established the current church on April 6, 1860 in the aftermath of the 1844 death of Joseph Smith.
"The Family: A Proclamation to the World" is a 1995 statement issued by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which defined the official position of the church on family, marriage, gender roles, and human sexuality. It was first announced by church president Gordon B. Hinckley.
The Joseph Smith Translation (JST), also called the Inspired Version of the Holy Scriptures (IV), is a revision of the Bible by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, who dictated "inspired changes and additions to scribes." Smith considered this work to be "a branch of his calling" as a prophet. Smith was murdered before he ever deemed it complete, though most of his work on it was performed about a decade beforehand. The work is the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) with some significant additions and revisions. It is considered a sacred text and is part of the canon of Community of Christ (CoC), formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and other Latter Day Saint churches. Selections from the Joseph Smith Translation are also included in the footnotes and the appendix of the LDS-published King James Version of the Bible, but The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has only officially canonized certain excerpts that appear in its Pearl of Great Price. These excerpts are the Book of Moses and Smith's revision of part of the Gospel of Matthew.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Priesthood Correlation Program began in 1908 as a program to reform the instruction manuals and curriculum of the different organizations of the church. Its scope quickly widened and Correlation came to have large effects on almost every aspect of the church including doctrines, organizations, finances, and ordinances. A significant consequence was to centralize decision making power in the priesthood, particularly the Quorum of the 12 Apostles. More recently, the function of the correlation department has shifted to planning and approving church publications and curriculum and keeping unorthodox information, doctrines and other undesired concepts from being introduced or revived.
Bruce Redd McConkie was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1972 until his death. McConkie was a member of the First Council of the Seventy of the LDS Church from 1946 until his calling to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The Pearl of Great Price is part of the canonical standard works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and some other Latter Day Saint denominations.
Jesus the Christ: A Study of the Messiah and His Mission According to the Holy Scriptures Both Ancient and Modern is a 1915 book by James E. Talmage. The book is a doctrinal study on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and is widely appreciated by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book consists of 42 chapters, each focusing on important aspects of the life and mission of Jesus as the Messiah.
Community of Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are two denominations that share a common heritage in the Church of Christ founded by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830. Since Smith's death in 1844, they have evolved separately in belief and practices. The LDS Church is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and claims more than 16 million members worldwide; Community of Christ is headquartered in Independence, Missouri, and reports a worldwide membership of approximately 197,000.
The basic beliefs and traditions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a cultural impact that distinguishes church members, practices and activities. The culture is geographically concentrated in the Mormon Corridor in the United States, and is present to a lesser extent in many places of the world where Latter-day Saints live.
Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints include weekly services, held in meetinghouses on Sundays, in geographically based religious units. Once per month, this weekly service is a fast and testimony meeting. Twice each year, the LDS Church holds a worldwide general conference. LDS Church adherents also worship in temples, which are open only to members in good standing.
Teachings of Presidents of the Church is a series of books published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each book of the series briefly compiles the teachings and sermons of one of the men who has served as president of the LDS Church. The series is not complete, with 15 books having been released by August 2016. The text of each book is not limited to sermons preached while the person was President of the Church, but generally contain teachings given during their time as an ordained apostle.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind. Male members of the church who meet standards of worthy behavior and church participation are generally ordained to specific offices within the priesthood.
Sunday School is an official organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All members of the church and any interested nonmembers, age 12 and older, are encouraged to participate in Sunday School.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, baptism is recognized as the first of several ordinances (rituals) of the gospel.
The Handbook is a two-volume book of instructions and policies for leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The books are prepared by the church's First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Along with the church's standard works, the Handbook stands as the preeminent policy and practice guide for the leaders of the LDS Church. The LDS Church distributes copies of the handbook only to individuals who fill certain leadership callings within the church hierarchy, but one of the two volumes can be accessed on the church's official website.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been the subject of criticisms since it was founded by American religious leader Joseph Smith in 1830.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses its doctrine and teaching on Jesus Christ; that he was the Son of God, born of Mary, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross, rose on the third day, appeared again to his disciples, and now resides, authoritatively, on the right hand side of God. In brief, some beliefs are in common with Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. However, teachings of the LDS Church differ significantly in other ways and encompass a broad set of doctrines, so that the above-mentioned denominations usually place the LDS Church outside the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching as summarized in the Nicene Creed.
The LDS edition of the Bible is a version of the Bible published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The text of the LDS Church's English-language Bible is the Authorized King James Version; the church's Spanish-language Bible is a revised Reina-Valera translation and the Portuguese-language edition is based on the Almeida translation. The editions include footnoting, indexing, and summaries that are consistent with LDS Church teachings and that integrate the Bible with the church's other standard works. The LDS Church encourages its members to use the LDS Church edition of the Bible.