The Pearl of Great Price is one of the four standard works of Mormonism, along with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants. It is a collection of writings that includes: The name comes from Jesus’ parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45–46), where a merchant sells everything to obtain a pearl of supreme value. Joseph Smith applied that title to this collection of writings to emphasize its great spiritual worth.
The book contains:
- The Book of Moses (an expanded version of Genesis)
- The Book of Abraham (translated by Joseph Smith from Egyptian papyri)
- Joseph Smith’s History (including his First Vision account)
- The Articles of Faith
- Joseph Smith—Matthew (his revision of Matthew 24)
For Christians, it is noteworthy that the Bible presents the parable of the pearl of great price as a picture of Christ treasuring and pursuing the lost, which contrasts the LDS view that we must pursue him first.
