Some critics of the Church, in an effort to impute a greater authority to the 26-volume Journal of Discourses than it has for Latter-day Saints, harp on the fact that the term "standard work" is used to describe it in the preface to the 8th volume:
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." (JOD 8:iii [George Q. Cannon])
The term “standard work[s]” in the early Church was not exhausted by the category of “canonical book”; instead, it denoted any work of excellence. Indeed, such was even used of the hymnal by Joseph Smith on May 14, 1840:
In answer to your enquiries, respecting the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon, Hymn Book, History of the Church &c &c; I would say, that I entirely approve of the same; and give my consent, with the exception of the Hymn Book, as a new Edition, containing a greater variety of hymns, will be shortly published or printed in this place; which I think will be a standard work. As soon as it is printed, you shall have some sent to you, which you may get translated, and printed into any language you please— Should we not be able to send some to you, and there should be a great call for Hymn Books where you may be; then I should have no objection to your publishing the present one. Were you to publish the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants or Hymn book; I desire the copy rights of the same to be secured in my name. (source)
We can see how such was used by other 19th century Latter-day Saints. In a sermon dated 7 April 1866, we read the following from John Taylor:
I had recourse to some of our dictionaries, to find out what popular lexicographers said about it. I referred to the standard works of several different nations, which I find to be as follows:—
Webster (American), "Religion includes a belief in the revelation of his (God's) will to man, and in man's obligation to obey his command."
Worcester (a prominent American). 1. An acknowledgement of our obligation to God as our creator. 2. A particular system of faith or worship. We speak of the Greek, Hindoo, Jewish, Christian, and Mahomedan religion.
Johnson (English), "Religion, a system of faith and worship."
Dictionary of the French Academy, "La croyance que l'on a de la divinite' et le culte qu'on lue rend en consequence."
Foi croyance.
The belief we have in God and his worship.
Faith—belief.
German Dictionary of Wurterbuch, by Dr. N. N. W. Meissner, a standard work in Germany.
"Religion, glaube, faith, persuasion."
Here, then we have the opinion of four of the great leading nations of the earth, as expressed by their acknowledged standard works, on what they consider to be the meaning of the word religion.
The German has it—faith, persuasion. The French—faith, belief; faith in God and his worship. The English—a system of faith and worship. These three are very similar.
Next we have Webster, American, which is our acknowledged standard, and he says, "Religion includes a belief in the revelations of God's will to man, and in man's obligation to obey his commands." (JOD 11:220)
Here, Taylor used "standard work(s)" to denote (secular) works of excellence.
More importantly, as we will see below, "standard work(s)" also had a broader meaning when used in a religious, not secular, context.
In a sermon dated 7 April 1867, George A. Smith is recorded as having said the following:
I travel about occasionally, and sometimes, when I want food or a night's lodging, I call at the house of a brother, who is probably of long standing in the Church, and who is raising a family of fine children. Now, a part of that man's mission is to educate those children, to form their tastes, to cultivate their talents, and make a kingdom of holy men and women of them—a kingdom of priests unto God. But what has he got there to do it with? If you ask for a Book of Mormon, he will probably hand you one that old age seems long since to have passed its final veto upon, and if you undertake to pick it up you would say, "it stinks so that I cannot." I do not know that there are many such Elders, but if there should happen to be one here, it would be well for him to reflect that right here at the Deseret News printing office br. Kelly has the standard works of the Church for sale, and I would like every Elder in Israel to place a full set of them in the hands of his children; but especially, and above all others, the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I want to find them in every house. And when I go to a meeting house to preach I want the Bishop to have them on the stand, and the better they are bound and the nicer they look the more they please me. I do not wish to see these sacred books so dirty that you cannot read them, nor so shattered by time and bad usage that you cannot find a passage you wish to read because it is torn out. Where there are meeting houses without them I recommend, if necessary, that collections be taken up to procure them. When stopping at the houses of the brethren, instead of the works of the Church I will probably find "Cresswell's Eulogy on the Life of Henry Winter Davis." "How did this get here?" I inquire. "Oh, why, br. Hooper sent it, and it is a very nice work," is the reply. Have you the Juvenile Instructor?" "No." "Why, your children are big enough to read it, and it is one of the finest written things imaginable, and there is scarcely a syllable in it but what is useful. How do you manage to keep your children at home without something to interest them? Do you take the Deseret News?" "No, they stopped publishing the sermons, so I concluded that I would do without it." "Do you take the Daily Telegraph?" "I did take it, but I did not pay for it, and the editor got out of patience at having to furnish it for nothing, and he stopped it. I felt insulted, and would not take it any more." "Do you send to the States for books?" "No." So the children are learning nothing at all, and the only chance for them to have a little excitement is to get some corn and play at three men morris.
Brethren, make your homes attractive. Procure the Deseret News and the Juvenile Instructor, and let your children read the sermons and articles printed there, and read them yourselves, you are none of you too old to learn. If you want light reading do not sent to the States for it, but support that which is got up here. (JOD 11:363-64)
Here we see that the term “standard work” was not exhausted by the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants (the Pearl of Great Price would not be canonized until 1880), but was a much broader term.
In another sermon from George A. Smith (11 October 1874), we read the following:
We are anxious to publish the standard works of the Church to a greater extent than hitherto. Some of them have been republished, and others are in progress, and we wish to have the co-operation of the Saints, generally, throughout the Territory, in helping on this work. Our publications should be in every family of the Saints, and we wish to exercise that kind of influence in the midst of our people that will lead them to make themselves acquainted with the contents of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and such other Works as are or have been published illustrative of the principles of life and salvation made known in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that they may be more generally understood by those professing to the Latter-day Saints. (JOD 17:161)
Again, “standard works” encompass more works than the canonical works of the church merely.
Even more interesting is how “standard works" is used in a sermon from Brigham Young from 8 April 1867:
As the subject of education is open, and has been from time to time during this Conference, I will now urge it upon the people—the young men and the middle-aged—to get up schools and study. If they are disposed to study physic or surgery, all right; they will know then what to do if a person is sickly, or has his elbow, wrist, or shoulder put out of joint, or his arm or any other bone broken. It is just as easy to learn such things as it is to learn to plant potatoes. I would like to urge these matters upon our young men, and I am convinced this meets the feelings of all the brethren. I do hope, and pray you, my brethren and sisters, to be careful to observe what br. Wells has said in regard to introducing into our schools the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Standard works of the Church, and all the works pertaining to our faith, that our children may become acquainted with its principles, and that our young men, when they go out to preach, may not be so ignorant as they have been hitherto. I would like very much to urge upon our young people, the sisters as well as the brethren, to pay more attention to arithmetic and other things that are useful, instead of acquiring a little French and German and other fanciful studies that are not of so much practical importance. I do not know how long it will be before we call upon the brethren and sisters to enter upon business in an entirely different way from what they have done. I have been an advocate for our printing to be done by females, and as for men being in stores, you might as well set them to knitting stockings as to sell tape. Such business ought to be done by the sisters. It would enable them to sustain themselves, and would be far better than for them to spend their time in the parlor or in walking the streets. Hardy men have no business behind the counter; they who are not able to hoe potatoes, go to the kanyon, cut down the trees, saw the lumber, &c., can attend to that business. Our young men in the stores ought to be tuned out and the sisters take their place; and they should steady arithmetic and bookkeeping necessary to qualify them for such positions. I would also like our school teachers to introduce phonography into every school; it is an excellent thing to learn. By its means we can commit our thoughts and reflections to paper with ease and rapidity, and thus preserve that which will be of benefit to ourselves and others, and which would otherwise be for ever lost. This is a delightful study! In these and all other branches of science and education we should know as much as any people in the world. We have them within our reach, for we have as good teachers as can be found on the face of the earth, if our Bishops would only employ and pay them, but they will not. Let a miserable little, smooth-faced, beardless, good-for-nothing Gentile come along, without regard for either truth or honesty, and they will pay him when they will not pay a Latter-day Saint. Think of these things. Introduce every kind of useful studies into our schools. I have been urging upon our young men for years to get up classes for the study of law. The laws of this Territory, of the United States, of the different States, of England, and foreign lands. Do this instead of riding over the prairies hunting and wasting your time, which is property that belongs to the Lord our God, and if we do not make good use of it we shall be held accountable. (JOD 12:31-32)
In the above text, the canonical works of the Church (Bible; Book of Mormon; Doctrine and Covenants) is distinguished from the category of “standard works”(!)
Brigham also used the term in the same way in a sermon from 24 July 1877:
Study the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, read the sermons that are published in the Deseret News, as well as all the standard works of the Church. Such reading will afford you instruction and improvement; but novels allure the mind and are without profit. (JOD 19:64)
Note also that Brigham also differentiates the sermons published in the Deseret News (whence the Journal of Discourses) from the “standard works of the Church.”
Such a distinction appears also in a sermon from George A. Smith dated 11 October 1874 which, as we have seen above, earlier used “standard works” to denote the canonical works and other works of excellence pertaining to Latter-day Saint theology, showing the elasticity of the term in 19th century Latter-day Saint discourse:
After the close of this Conference meetings in this building will be discontinued during the winter and will be held, under the direction of the Bishops, in the ward assembly rooms every Sunday afternoon and evening. The forenoons will be devoted to Sunday Schools, and I exhort the brethren and sisters to have their children ready, so that they can be at school in time. And I invite the young men and especially the young sisters, to attend Sunday schools; I want to stir up the young men to go there and form Bible classes. And I exhort the Elders to be present as teachers, that there may be no lack of teachers. I want to express my admiration of brother Goddard and a number of other school superintendents and teachers, with whom I am acquainted, because of their efforts to spread among the young throughout the Territory a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel, as taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and in the standard works of the Church. And I say to the young men, that if they will attend the Bible classes and study the catechism in use in our schools, and make themselves familiar with it, they will become so thoroughly informed in the principles of the Gospel and the evidences of it, that when called upon to go abroad to defend the doctrines of Zion they will be well prepared to do so. I invite the Elders to see that these classes are formed in all the settlements.
I will again repeat the idea that has already been presented, to sustain our own literary institutions and publications,—the Juvenile Instructor, the Woman's Exponent, the Deseret News, which contains discourses by the First Presidency and Twelve, and also the publications in the several counties. They are conducted by men who take pains to disseminate the truth, . . . (JOD 17:257)
Critics who attempt to elevate the authority of the Journal of Discourses are simply ignorant and/or disingenuous when they appeal to the preface to volume 8 by George Q. Cannon and the term “standard work.” And do note that I appealed, with one exception, to nothing but the Journal of Discourses to prove my case! :-)
On the scope and limits of Latter-day Saint doctrine, see: