Bruce R. McConkie - Mormon Doctrine

Mormon Doctrine

In 1958 McConkie published a book entitled Mormon Doctrine: A Compendium of the Gospel, which he described as "the first major attempt to digest, explain, and analyze all of the important doctrines of the kingdom" and "the first extensive compendium of the whole gospel—the first attempt to publish an encyclopedic commentary covering the whole field of revealed religion." He included a disclaimer that he alone was responsible for the doctrinal and scriptural interpretations, a practice unusual at the time.

In writing the book, McConkie relied heavily upon the scriptures and recognized doctrinal authorities. Church leaders were surprised by its publication (since he had not asked permission and was not asked to develop such a work) and responded that while they applauded the attempt of the book to fill a need, it used a harsh tone and, in the words of Mark E. Petersen, was "full of errors and misstatements, and it is most unfortunate that it has received such wide circulation." Church president David O. McKay asked McConkie not to reprint, but later McConkie was asked to revise it with the editorial help of Spencer W. Kimball. The 1966 second edition incorporated many changes, especially a softening of the tone.

While the large majority of the Bible Dictionary included with the LDS Church's publication of the Bible in 1979 borrows from the Cambridge University Press bible dictionary, modifications were made to some entries to better reflect Mormon beliefs, and Mormon Doctrine heavily influenced those changes.

Mormon Doctrine remained in print until 2010, when Deseret Book ceased publication, citing poor sales.