What do you think?
Rate this book
Journal of Discourses
Journal of Discourses, Volume 26
The timeless set of classic discourses by Brigham Young, his counselors, and other early General Authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Newly designed and typeset (for the first time since its original publication) in a modern 7-by-10-inch format by Temple Hill Books.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1855
2 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Brigham Young
171 books64 followersBrigham Young was an American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1847 until his death. He was also the founder of Salt Lake City and the first governor of the Utah Territory, United States. Brigham Young University was named in his honor.
Young had a variety of nicknames, among the most popular being "American Moses," (alternatively the "Modern Moses" or the "Mormon Moses") because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. Young was also dubbed the "Lion of the Lord" for his bold personality, and was commonly called "Brother Brigham" by Latter-day Saints.
Young had a variety of nicknames, among the most popular being "American Moses," (alternatively the "Modern Moses" or the "Mormon Moses") because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. Young was also dubbed the "Lion of the Lord" for his bold personality, and was commonly called "Brother Brigham" by Latter-day Saints.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 10, 2009
President Kimball said to "Read the Journal of Discourses, They are like unto Scripture".
It is a shame that so many think they know more than what these books teach and infer they are old and thus are left to gather dust.
It is a shame that so many think they know more than what these books teach and infer they are old and thus are left to gather dust.
January 25, 2025
When a friend of mine died a few years ago I ended up storing a good number of his books. Among them was the entire 26 volumes of the Journal of Discourses. I put them on a bookshelf in a room I exercise in and one day thought, "why not read those...and audio record it"? I'm not sure what I'll do with the recordings, and it's a tremendously ambitious project. I decided to start at the last volume, #26, and move backwards because they're basically all 100 year old conference talks. It took me about three months to complete this volume (39 discourses), which suggests at this pace I might knock out four volumes a year and finish in 2031? I'm having fun now, but in 6.5 years? We'll see if I can keep it up, haha.
A few observations from volume 26 (largely 1884-1886):
Elder George Q. Cannon needs to sum things up and sit down sometimes!
The brethren, to a man, loved the United States and the Constitution, but felt quite put out by the Edmunds Act of 1882, outlawing polygamy. They felt utterly ganged up on. From time to time an apostle commented on the fact that members of the first presidency weren't present because they're in hiding. Many felt that the persecution they were experiencing to be quite bewildering as so many of the same married lawmakers behind the law had secret mistresses in Washington D.C., which was almost expected (and always forgivable), whereas to expand ones family in the open, through public marriage, and in the complete agreement of every affected party was considered vile and depraved. There were many talks that referenced those sorts of observations.
Of course, there were quite a few topics addressed in addition to polygamy. I felt many of the messages to be quite beautiful. They ALL preached peace, and Christ. Sometimes a few speakers seemed to go off script, like Elder Cannon who, in one brief aside, suggested that the church should consider excommunicating sabbath breakers because people were getting soft and he was feeling fed up with it. None of that kind of talk bothered me because while they were called and often inspired, they're still humans dealing with agency and doing their best to magnify and hang in there (there's no disconnectable spiritual ethernet cable binding a leader's mind to a continuous flow of heavenly script, though we might sometimes wish it so!) Even the amazing Eliza Snow got her hand proverbially slapped in one of the discourses for being a tad overly zealous at one point. It's not going to decrease my enthusiasm in singing O My Father in any sort of fashion.
I started highlighting, the few periodic personal anecdotes that pepper these talks, remembrances that start with words such as, "Joseph said in the beginning...". Like, these discourses are extremely interesting that way. So many of these speakers had lesser known personal interactions with Joseph Smith, which were put down here but not likely to make it into our lesson manuals.
In considering an excerpt I might share in this review, I thought I'd include a paragraph from the talk I read this morning by apostle Lorenzo Snow, published in the Deseret News in 1886. It's coincidentally also the last talk in the last volume (#26). Here, he shares his view of the importance of personal revelation in any testimony of the restoration of the gospel. It's applicable to everyone.
A few observations from volume 26 (largely 1884-1886):
Elder George Q. Cannon needs to sum things up and sit down sometimes!
The brethren, to a man, loved the United States and the Constitution, but felt quite put out by the Edmunds Act of 1882, outlawing polygamy. They felt utterly ganged up on. From time to time an apostle commented on the fact that members of the first presidency weren't present because they're in hiding. Many felt that the persecution they were experiencing to be quite bewildering as so many of the same married lawmakers behind the law had secret mistresses in Washington D.C., which was almost expected (and always forgivable), whereas to expand ones family in the open, through public marriage, and in the complete agreement of every affected party was considered vile and depraved. There were many talks that referenced those sorts of observations.
Of course, there were quite a few topics addressed in addition to polygamy. I felt many of the messages to be quite beautiful. They ALL preached peace, and Christ. Sometimes a few speakers seemed to go off script, like Elder Cannon who, in one brief aside, suggested that the church should consider excommunicating sabbath breakers because people were getting soft and he was feeling fed up with it. None of that kind of talk bothered me because while they were called and often inspired, they're still humans dealing with agency and doing their best to magnify and hang in there (there's no disconnectable spiritual ethernet cable binding a leader's mind to a continuous flow of heavenly script, though we might sometimes wish it so!) Even the amazing Eliza Snow got her hand proverbially slapped in one of the discourses for being a tad overly zealous at one point. It's not going to decrease my enthusiasm in singing O My Father in any sort of fashion.
I started highlighting, the few periodic personal anecdotes that pepper these talks, remembrances that start with words such as, "Joseph said in the beginning...". Like, these discourses are extremely interesting that way. So many of these speakers had lesser known personal interactions with Joseph Smith, which were put down here but not likely to make it into our lesson manuals.
In considering an excerpt I might share in this review, I thought I'd include a paragraph from the talk I read this morning by apostle Lorenzo Snow, published in the Deseret News in 1886. It's coincidentally also the last talk in the last volume (#26). Here, he shares his view of the importance of personal revelation in any testimony of the restoration of the gospel. It's applicable to everyone.
“In the integrity of my heart, with honesty of purpose to know the truth, I received this message - I obeyed this form of doctrine and I received, in the most tangible and satisfactory manner, a divine manifestation - the promised blessing - a knowledge of this work. Am I the only witness? How is it with the experience of thousands whom I now address? Are you also witnesses? If you are not, I ask you in the name of common sense, why are you here? Why did you leave your homes and country, giving your sanction to the truth of a system which promised you divine manifestations, but which you failed in experiencing? Being honest ourselves, if we can not bear a truthful testimony of having received divine manifestations that God, Himself, has founded this order of things, then it becomes a serious fact, that we are witnesses, and in truth the only proper witnesses, that this whole plan and pretention of Joseph Smith is a sheer falsehood, a miserable fabrication.” - (Lorenzo Snow; Journal of Discourses vol. 26)
November 8, 2010
I have studied enough volumes to claim I have read it. I own all 26 books. A must for LDS Church history nuts like me...but don't take it as our scripture for it pertains to the saints of the 19th century. However, a fascinating works for the pioneers in the early west. I learned about the struggles of survival before the train...lack of manual labor, doctors, and universities...And about the unbelievable fortitude and faith of women in this history. It is a lot to ponder while also repetitive.
August 17, 2008
Okay, I submit that nobody has read this completely, but i've read enough of the various volumes to feel comfortable claiming to have read it. And it's good - insightful, and, unfortunately, generally ignored.
July 3, 2009
You had better reserve a huge chunk of time from your schedule to read these 26 volumes.
It is interesting to compare and contrast the sermons covered in the JofD with the correlated material the church presents today.
It is interesting to compare and contrast the sermons covered in the JofD with the correlated material the church presents today.
April 23, 2013
Found it discouraging for a new member. They take such a harsh view of those who have trouble committing to follow the commandments. Also, it does not seem to be very tolerant of others. It seems an odd attitude for a people that were persecuted so bad. Or maybe not.
January 4, 2009
It had some interesting historical geographic references concerning the Salt Lake Valley and the uses of the resources. Other than that is was pretty repetitive. A huge collection!
Want to read
December 29, 2008My dream is to read all of these... may never get to do it, but someday I hope to. Fascinating...
Want to read
April 11, 2010This is going to take a while to read. Maybe it would be a good idea to read the most recent General Conference Addresses and work my way back.
Currently reading
May 15, 2009These books are rich.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews