Saturday, January 9, 2021

Joseph Fielding Smith vs. the Formal Sufficiency of the Doctrine and Covenants

 In the 1948 manual for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums, Joseph Fielding Smith wrote the following:

 

There are some revelations still in possession of the Church which were not included. Some of these we can readily believe were not included because the inspiration of the Prophet was that it was not necessary, or because some of them had an application which was not to intended for publication and to be sent to an unbelieving world. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation: Being a Course of Study for the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorums for the year 1948 Second Series [Salt Lake City: The Deseret News Press, 1947], 20)

 

Such a comment shows how Latter-day Saints do not believe in the formal sufficiency of any of our canonical works, not just the Bible. On the related topic of Sola Scriptura, see:


Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura