Standard Works - Continuing Revelation - Adding To The Canon of Scripture

Adding To The Canon of Scripture

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches that "all things must be done in order, and by common consent in the church."(D&C 28:13). This applies to adding new scripture. President of the Church Harold B. Lee taught "The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church." There are six recorded instances of this happening in the LDS Church:

• April 6, 1830 - When the church was organized, the Bible and Book of Mormon were unanimously accepted as scripture.
• August 17, 1835 - Select revelations from Joseph Smith were unanimously accepted as scripture. These were later printed in the Doctrine and Covenants.
• October 10, 1880 - The Pearl of Great Price was unanimously accepted as scripture. Also at that time, other revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants which had not been accepted as scripture because they were received after 1835 were unanimously accepted as scripture.
• October 6, 1890 - Official Declaration—1 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It later began to be published in the Doctrine and Covenants.
• April 3, 1976 - Two visions (one received by Joseph Smith and the other by Joseph F. Smith) were accepted as scripture and added to the Pearl of Great Price. (The two visions were later moved to the Doctrine and Covenants as sections 137 and 138.)
• September 30, 1978 - Official Declaration—2 was accepted unanimously as scripture. It immediately was added to the Doctrine and Covenants.

When a doctrine undergoes this procedure, the LDS Church treats it as the word of God, and it is used as a standard to compare other doctrines. Lee taught "It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they speak and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don't care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator—please note that one exception—you may immediately say, "Well, that is his own idea!" And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard works (I think that is why we call them "standard"—it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false; regardless of the position of the man who says it."