Impact
The Journal was highly esteemed in its day. The preface to the 8th volume, written by Apostle George Q. Cannon, stated:
"The Journal of Discourses deservedly ranks as one of the standard works of the Church, and every rightminded Saint will certainly welcome with joy every Number as it comes forth from the press as an additional reflector of 'the light that shines from Zion's hill.'"
The term "standard works" is modernly used in LDS circles as shorthand for "canonical scripture" and applies only to the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. However, this usage arose some time after the quotation given above, and LDS scholars do not believe it to be the sense in which Cannon uses it. In the normal academic sense of the term, the Journal is arguably still a "standard work."
However, reservations about the Journal can be found in official LDS publications as early as 1978. Below is the current, official position of the church on the issue:
"The Journal of Discourses is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is a compilation of sermons and other materials from the early years of the Church, which were transcribed and then published. It included some doctrinal instruction but also practical teaching, some of which is speculative in nature and some of which is only of historical interest. ... Questions have been raised about the accuracy of some transcriptions. Modern technology and processes were not available for verifying the accuracy of transcriptions, and some significant mistakes have been documented. The Journal of Discourses includes interesting and insightful teachings by early Church leaders; however, by itself it is not an authoritative source of Church doctrine."
Interpretations of some of the themes in the Journal have and are currently under debate between many anti-Mormons and Mormons. Some of the issues under debate between these groups include blood atonement, the Adam-God theory, plural marriage, and the exclusionary Negro doctrine.
Read more about this topic: Journal Of Discourses
Famous quotes containing the word impact:
“As in political revolutions, so in paradigm choice—there is no standard higher than the assent of the relevant community. To discover how scientific revolutions are effected, we shall therefore have to examine not only the impact of nature and of logic, but also the techniques of persuasive argumentation effective within the quite special groups that constitute the community of scientists.”
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“Too many existing classrooms for young children have this overriding goal: To get the children ready for first grade. This goal is unworthy. It is hurtful. This goal has had the most distorting impact on five-year-olds. It causes kindergartens to be merely the handmaidens of first grade.... Kindergarten teachers cannot look at their own children and plan for their present needs as five-year-olds.”
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“The question confronting the Church today is not any longer whether the man in the street can grasp a religious message, but how to employ the communications media so as to let him have the full impact of the Gospel message.”
—Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)