The Pearl of Great Price

by Joseph Smith Jr.

Book Overview

The Pearl of Great Price is a religious text written by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The book is a collection of several smaller texts, including the Book of Moses, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1435108434
• ISBN13: 9781435108431
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Length: 123 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Extremely Happy with Purchase

I received Joseph Smith's "The Pearl of Great Price" in a trouble free, very timely fashion, for a great price. When it arrived, I found the book in excellent condition, which is good because I purchased it brand new. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the purchase.

Inspired Scripture for the Seeker of Truth

The Pearl of Great Price is yet another collection of inspired text available to the student of scripture. It provides the humble reader with important insights into the great Creation and the premortal existence of mankind. But that is not all. The book clarifies doctrines and events that were once well understood and taught by the ancient prophets, but were lost due to apostacy. I, like other readers, have read the arguments aimed at discrediting this truly priceless collection of scripture - none have been compelling nor lessened the spiritual impact of the Pearl of Great Price. As with other scripture, there are detractors. I would suggest to those who, for whatever reason, are bent on leveling criticism at holy scripture or truth seekers that study them to consider that each of us will be accountable for what we think, say and do in the not-too-distant future. For Christians, that means it is far better to be positive and loving than nasty and mean.

The Word of God revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet

The Pearl of Great Price is one of the four canonized scriptures of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints along with the Bible, The Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants. It is composed of the Book of Moses, the Book of Abraham, Joseph Smith History, and some chapters of the JST version of the Bible - mostly in Matthew - as well as the Articles of Faith. And it is, in my personal view, sacred scripture with many plain and precious truths that can be easily understood if one takes the time to look at the issues sincerely. There is not much to be said about the Book of Moses, other than it is another version of the creation story and the accounts of the early patriarchs that is parallel to the Bible. Indeed it offers many insights and expansions on the creation account in Genesis and indeed many of the other accounts in the first book of the Bible as well. However, considering that this section of the Pearl of Great Price came about from revelation as Joseph the Prophet was translating the Bible, there is not much scholarship offered on it than compared to the Book of Abraham - which I will discuss later. However, it is interesting to note that there is substantial evidence from newly discovered texts that correlate the accounts in the Book of Moses to texts such as 1 Enoch. However, this section of the Pearl of Great Price is generally dealt with based solely on personal faith. The Book of Abraham is the next section of the Pearl of Great Price and is defiantly the most controversial section. It is the book in the Pearl of Great Price that has generated the most heated debate as to it's origins and the contents inside. And it is the book that contains many 800 pound gorillas, including the concept of Kolob and other Abrahamic astrology - yes, that's right, astrology - doctrines, the creation of life and the world by God(s), the pre-mortal life and the war in Heaven, and the Egyptian Temple Endowment among other things. However, having read the Book of Abraham many times, I can say safely that it does not say anything at all about Blacks not being able to have the Priesthood, God living on the planet Kolob with multiple wives, or any of the other anti-Mormon tripe that is so commonly attached to the Book of Abraham. If you do not believe me, you can read it for yourself at LDS.org. There has been considerable controversy over the Book of Abraham. Not so much the doctrines it teaches than how it came together and what the original papyri really contains in the text. I will not focus on trying to prove or disprove the Book of Abraham for too long. I could very well fill up multiple pages that would bog down this review, so I will instead recommend some reading and allow the reviewer to decide for his/herself. For a critical book on the Book of Abraham, and to see where the critics stand, you would want to check out "By His Own Hand Upon Papyrus" by Charles Larson. This is the book of books when it comes to a critical examinatio

Don't Appoach Any Book With a Swine Mindset

First, to clear a couple of things up: The 1851 edition of the Pearl of Great Price was published independently by followers of Joseph Smith in England--after he died, you understand (in 1844). He couldn't possibly have been telling two different stories from 1823 to 1851 because by 1851 he was dead. The original PoGP was actually a pamphlet put together by people in England who wanted to remember some of Joseph Smith's teachings. I haven't actually read the original document so I can't know if the words "angel Nephi" appear there as "MAN OF TRUTH" claims, but if they do and he has been lucky enough to read them, then he should be enough of a scholar to know the stacks and stacks of other sources attesting to Joseph Smith's testimony regarding his Moroni visitation. "Angel Nephi" in a first edition independent missionary pamphlet can safely be seen as a simple typo by an ethusiastic printer. 2) Joseph Smith was convicted of "glass looking, fortune telling or prophesying"? Yes he was. And yes God forbid the Israelites in Deuteronomy from fortune telling, but what do those two things have to do with each other? Just because some local preachers tried persecuting Smith under a catch-all law in 1826 does that mean he really did something so terrible if he broke the fortune telling commandment from the Law of Moses (2000 B.C.)? Didn't Jesus say that in him the Law of Moses was done away? Even so, I believe the fortune telling was looked at as still wrong (see Peter and the book of Acts) but that wasn't what Joseph Smith was doing or convicted for under that catch-all law in my mind--he was prophecying, and that was something that may have been a no no under some 1826 law, but is a-OK with the Lord. See the Bible. Now, all I have left to say is, see this book. I love it. It clears up a lot in the Bible and fits into it quite nicely (quite literally).

The Word of God

I have read a lot of criticisms of the Pearl of Great Price, mainly on the Book of Abraham (Charles Larson and the Tanners, for example). Notwithstanding, the main trust of anti-Mormon charges are based on a fault assumption that the Book of Breathings was the source material the prophet Joseph Smith emploiyed for the text. However, the charges of fraud have been dealth a blow since Tvedtnes et al published "Traditions about the early life of Abraham" that provide over-whelming evidence for the Book of Abraham's authenticity. As for the text itself, the PGP contains a portion of Joseph Smith's redaction of the Bible, the Book of Abraham (as afforementioned), redaction of Matthew, the 13 articles of faith and Joseph Smith - History, containing the story of the First Vision, Moroni's visitation to thr young prophet and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Study the PGP with an open mind, as with the more foundational Book of Mormon, and "test all things," (Acts 17:11) to discover the texts truthfulness.