In a sermon
dated May 20, 1860, Brigham Young gave some reasons why not all revelations
received by the leadership of the Church have yet been inscripturated:
You may ask whether this is reasonable. I can
prove it to be so in a few sentences. There are men upon whom God has bestowed
gifts and graces, and women who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet
they cannot receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them: it leaves them
in darkness. When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so important
or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God
reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively, from the crowns of their
heads to the soles of their feet, and the enemy may have the advantage over
them in an hour when they think not. To please our Father in heaven, and do his
will in all things, to walk up faithfully in the discharge of every duty
preparatory to being crowned in his kingdom, when a truth is presented to an
intelligent person he ought to grasp it and receive it in his faith. There are
revelations, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding yet to be proclaimed, and
whether they will please the world, or not, is immaterial to me. I shall not
pledge myself upon a single point. (JOD 8:58-59)
In other
words, as an act of mercy, the Church has not yet put into the canon certain
revelations as to ensure that members will not be condemned, less they “neglect
to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals” as many are not yet spiritually
ready to receive such things.
