Scriptural Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
Annotated by Richard C. Galbraith
Synopsis: This book is a re-publishing of Joseph Fielding Smith’s book Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith undertaken in 1993, but with scriptural references added as footnotes in every identified case where the Prophet referenced scripture in his speech and writing. This review will not, therefore, concern itself with the contents of the book which is shared by the original publication of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Rather, it will focus on the unique contributions of this particular publication. For a review of Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, see here.
Strong Points: The concept of the book is rather interesting, to tie in the scriptures together with the sayings of the Prophet, and it can act as a good study aid. The Prophet Joseph Smith was amazingly abundant with his use of scripture, and scriptures permeate the work to a degree which is incredibly impressive. Probably the most valuable contribution of the book was the Scripture Index at the back, which lists in scriptural order every scripture identified in the Book (which represents a very large sampling of the entire scriptural canon), and the page reference where the Prophet used the scripture or commented on it somehow. So the reader can go to that Scripture Index list, look up a scripture they are studying (which will likely be in the list), find the page where the Prophet used the scripture, and then go to that page and easily find Joseph Smith’s commentary on just about any scriptural passage! A very worthwhile resource for that reason alone. Alternatively, the reader can merely read the book normally, and refer to footnotes as they come up in the text, to see at the bottom of the page precisely the scripture being referenced in passing or otherwise. The original footnotes by Joseph Fielding Smith, which can be lengthy, are placed in the back of the book as an appendix – a wise choice.
Weak Points: If the reader does read the book normally instead of using it mainly as a research tool, they will find that the novelty of the footnotes loses its strength as they progress through the reading. This is simply because there are just too many of them. So the reader ends up reading the book much like they would Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Except that there is a strong flaw: the pagination of the book differs from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. To compensate for this, the author has put square brackets [] into the text any time the pagination of the original publication would have changed. But this is a little distracting from an already well-footnoted text, and it just would have been much nicer if the original pagination were retained. (For me, pagination is vital, even in spite of the compensating square brackets, because I often remember quotes based on where they appeared on a page.) Also, I did find typos that did not exist in the original publication, which was unfortunate. I think all-in-all, a reader can easily do without this book if they already have the indispensable Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. But it can make a useful resource if one wants to have Joseph Smith’s commentary on scripture.
Interesting: 5/5
Must Read: 5/5
Overall: 3/5
Pages: 539
Selected Quote: “The enemies of this people will never get weary of their persecution against the Church, until they are overcome. I expect they will array everything against me that is in their power to control, and that we shall have a long and tremendous warfare. He that will war the true Christian warfare against the corruptions of these last days will have wicked men and angels of devils, and all the infernal powers of darkness continually arrayed against him. When wicked and corrupt men oppose, it is a criterion to judge if a man is warring the Christian warfare. When all men speak evil of you falsely, blessed are ye. Shall a man be considered bad, when men speak evil of him? No. If a man stands and opposes the world of sin, he may expect to have all wicked and corrupt spirits arrayed against him.” (p. 292).
“All men know that they must die. And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence. What is the object of our coming into existence, then dying and falling away, to be here no more? It is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter, and it is a subject we ought to study more than any other. We ought to study it day and night, for the world is ignorant in reference to their true condition and relation. If we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject.” (p. 364-365).