The Pearl of Great Price is the most unstable book in the Latter-day Saint canon. It started as an 1851 pamphlet in Liverpool, was reshaped by Orson Pratt in the 1870s, canonized in 1880, streamlined by James E. Talmage in 1902, expanded in 1976, and reworked again in 1979–81. And in the 1970s, Elder Bruce R. McConkie even drafted a never-published edition that would have added huge chunks of the JST, the Wentworth Letter, the Lectures on Faith, and two brand-new Articles of Faith. 

In this episode of Informed Saints, we walk through the wild, moving target that is the Pearl of Great Price and ask what it teaches us about an open — and living — canon. We talk about Franklin D. Richards’ original British pamphlet, Orson Pratt’s edition that briefly included D&C 132 and a canonized hymn, Talmage’s quiet changes to the Articles of Faith, the short life of Joseph Smith’s and Joseph F. Smith’s visions inside the Pearl of Great Price, and the “McConkie edition” that almost changed everything. 

Along the way, we explore:

• How something goes from newspaper article to canonized scripture

• Why some revelations and theological texts never made it into the standard works

• What criteria leaders actually use when they consider new scripture

• Why canonization is a community process, not a solo prophetic decree

• What it really means to have an “open” and “living” canon as Latter-day Saints 

We also introduce The Pearl of Great Price Study Edition by Stephen O. Smoot, published with the Interpreter Foundation and Scripture Central, and talk about how textual variants, facsimile changes, and manuscript history can actually strengthen faith when we understand the human side of scripture. 

If you’ve ever wondered, “Could we get new scripture?” or “Should I be worried that our canon has changed so much?” — this episode is for you. At Informed Saints, we show that you can study deeply and still believe boldly.

===Informed Saints Credits===

Produced by The Ancient America Foundation

Producer: Spencer Clark

Hosts: Stephen Smoot, Neal Rappleye, Jasmin Rappleye

Donate today: ancientamerica.org/donate/

Resource Guide:

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/the-pearl-of-great-price

https://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/digital/collection/EoM/id/4040/

https://interpreterfoundation.org//books/the-pearl-of-great-price-study-edition

https://biblecentral.info/library/book/pearl-of-great-price-study-edition/

https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/library/pearl-of-great-price-first-edition-1851?lang=eng

https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/the-pearl-of-great-price

===Discover===

If any of our thoughts resonated with you, consider learning more about the single most influential book in our lives.

https://www.discoverbookofmormon.org/

===Content Disclaimer===

The views expressed represent ours alone and do not necessarily reflect the official position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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