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Lectures On Faith From the School of the Prophets at Kirtland, Ohio
"Did you know that the Lectures on Faith were published in the forepart of the Doctrine and Covenants in all editions from 1835 until 1921? Although the lectures are not currently published as part of the standard works, it is evident that they were held in high esteem by the Prophet Joseph Smith and those that followed him." The book contains the seven lectures on Faith delivered at the school of the Prophets in Kirtland, Ohio. Excellent letures on the nature of faith, as taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Also contains a historical sketch of the same by Dr. John A. Widtsoe, a treatise on "True Faith" by Orson Pratt and a bibliography on Melchizedek by Ariel L. Crowley.
- GenresReligionLdsNonfiction
96 pages, paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 1, 2026
LECTURES GIVEN AT THIS SCHOOL DURING THE 1830s
The introductory section of this book explains, “The ‘Lectures on Faith’ have not been printed in the current editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, because they are not revelations to the Church… The occasion for the printing of these Lectures on Faith at this time is because of a demand for the wonderful information that they contain. Surely, the printing of these Lectures will be the means of an increase of faith among all who read them.” (Pg. 6)
The First Lecture explains, “1. Faith being the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness, necessarily claims the first place in a course of lectures which are designed to unfold to the understanding the doctrine of Jesus Christ… From [Heb 11:1] we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action of all intelligent beings.” (Pg. 7)
“Is faith anything else beside the principle of action? It is… the principle of power also.” (Pg. 11)
“… the way by which mankind were first made acquainted with the existence of a God… was by a manifestation of God to man, and that God continued, after man’s transgression, to manifest himself to him and to his posterity; and, notwithstanding they were separated from his immediate presence that they could not see his face, they continued to hear his voice.” (Pg. 18)
“Had any other of the human family, besides Adam, a knowledge of the existence of God, in the first instance, by any other means than human testimony? They had not. For previous to that time that they could have power to obtain a manifestation for themselves, the all-important fact had been communicated to them by their common father; and so from father to child the knowledge was communicated as extensively as the knowledge of his existence was known; for it was by this means, in the first instance, that man had a knowledge of his existence.” (Pg. 25)
“Let us here observe that the foregoing is the character which is given of God in his revelations to the Former-day Saints, and it is also the character which is given of him in his revelations to the Latter-day Saints, so that the saints of former days and those of latter days are both alike in this respect; the Latter-day Saints having as good grounds to exercise faith in God as the Former-day Saints had, because the same character is given on him to both.” (Pg. 37)
“Could these things be found out by any other means than by revelation? They could not.” (Pg. 38)
“If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.” (Pg. 40)
“Such, then, is the foundation which is laid, through the revelation of the attributes of God, for the exercise of faith in him for life and salvation; and seeing that these are attributes of the Deity, they are unchangeable---being the same yesterday, today, and for ever---which gives to the minds of the Latter-day Saints the same power and authority to exercise faith in God which the former-day Saints had; so that all the saints, in this respect, have been, are, and will be, alike until the end of time; for God never changes, therefore his attributes and character remain forever the same. And as it is through the revelation of these that a foundation is laid for the exercise of faith in God unto life and salvation, the foundation, therefore, for the exercise of faith was, is, and ever will be, the same; so that all man have had, and will have, an equal privilege.” (Pg. 46)
“And [Jesus] being the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fullness of the glory of the Father, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one; or, in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power of all things; by whom all things were created and made that were created and made, and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one; the Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power, and fullness---filling all in all.” (Pg. 48-49)
“How many personages are there in the Godhead? Two: the Father and the Son… How do you prove that there are two personages in the Godhead? By the Scriptures.” (Pg. 49)
“Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind? They do… What is this mind? The Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 52)
“Faith or belief is the result of evidence presented to the mind. Without evidence, a mind cannot have faith in anything… We believe in historical facts on the evidences of the historian. Faith in every fact, statement, truth, or proposition which we have confidence in, is, in all cases whatsoever, derived from evidence. Therefore, without evidence, faith can have no existence.” (Pg. 70)
“Therefore, ‘to him that worketh not’ the works of circumcision and other laws that are done away, but performeth the works of the Gospel, ‘his faith is counted for righteousness,’ the same as Abraham’s was, who walked in the steps of the same Gospel, and was justified in the same way. This view of the subject perfectly reconciles the teachings of both Paul and James, and shows most clearly that both were correct, when their statements are applied to the two different subjects upon which they were writing.” (Pg. 80)
“The Baptism of the Holy Ghost cannot be dispensed with by the believer, any more than the baptism of water… A man may believe, repent, and be immersed in water, or in other words, be born of water, and yet, according to the word of Jesus, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, without also being born of the spirit.” (Pg. 88)
This book will interest LDS who want to go ‘deeper’ into such theological issues.
The introductory section of this book explains, “The ‘Lectures on Faith’ have not been printed in the current editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, because they are not revelations to the Church… The occasion for the printing of these Lectures on Faith at this time is because of a demand for the wonderful information that they contain. Surely, the printing of these Lectures will be the means of an increase of faith among all who read them.” (Pg. 6)
The First Lecture explains, “1. Faith being the first principle in revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness, necessarily claims the first place in a course of lectures which are designed to unfold to the understanding the doctrine of Jesus Christ… From [Heb 11:1] we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action of all intelligent beings.” (Pg. 7)
“Is faith anything else beside the principle of action? It is… the principle of power also.” (Pg. 11)
“… the way by which mankind were first made acquainted with the existence of a God… was by a manifestation of God to man, and that God continued, after man’s transgression, to manifest himself to him and to his posterity; and, notwithstanding they were separated from his immediate presence that they could not see his face, they continued to hear his voice.” (Pg. 18)
“Had any other of the human family, besides Adam, a knowledge of the existence of God, in the first instance, by any other means than human testimony? They had not. For previous to that time that they could have power to obtain a manifestation for themselves, the all-important fact had been communicated to them by their common father; and so from father to child the knowledge was communicated as extensively as the knowledge of his existence was known; for it was by this means, in the first instance, that man had a knowledge of his existence.” (Pg. 25)
“Let us here observe that the foregoing is the character which is given of God in his revelations to the Former-day Saints, and it is also the character which is given of him in his revelations to the Latter-day Saints, so that the saints of former days and those of latter days are both alike in this respect; the Latter-day Saints having as good grounds to exercise faith in God as the Former-day Saints had, because the same character is given on him to both.” (Pg. 37)
“Could these things be found out by any other means than by revelation? They could not.” (Pg. 38)
“If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.” (Pg. 40)
“Such, then, is the foundation which is laid, through the revelation of the attributes of God, for the exercise of faith in him for life and salvation; and seeing that these are attributes of the Deity, they are unchangeable---being the same yesterday, today, and for ever---which gives to the minds of the Latter-day Saints the same power and authority to exercise faith in God which the former-day Saints had; so that all the saints, in this respect, have been, are, and will be, alike until the end of time; for God never changes, therefore his attributes and character remain forever the same. And as it is through the revelation of these that a foundation is laid for the exercise of faith in God unto life and salvation, the foundation, therefore, for the exercise of faith was, is, and ever will be, the same; so that all man have had, and will have, an equal privilege.” (Pg. 46)
“And [Jesus] being the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fullness of the glory of the Father, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one; or, in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme power of all things; by whom all things were created and made that were created and made, and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one; the Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power, and fullness---filling all in all.” (Pg. 48-49)
“How many personages are there in the Godhead? Two: the Father and the Son… How do you prove that there are two personages in the Godhead? By the Scriptures.” (Pg. 49)
“Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind? They do… What is this mind? The Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 52)
“Faith or belief is the result of evidence presented to the mind. Without evidence, a mind cannot have faith in anything… We believe in historical facts on the evidences of the historian. Faith in every fact, statement, truth, or proposition which we have confidence in, is, in all cases whatsoever, derived from evidence. Therefore, without evidence, faith can have no existence.” (Pg. 70)
“Therefore, ‘to him that worketh not’ the works of circumcision and other laws that are done away, but performeth the works of the Gospel, ‘his faith is counted for righteousness,’ the same as Abraham’s was, who walked in the steps of the same Gospel, and was justified in the same way. This view of the subject perfectly reconciles the teachings of both Paul and James, and shows most clearly that both were correct, when their statements are applied to the two different subjects upon which they were writing.” (Pg. 80)
“The Baptism of the Holy Ghost cannot be dispensed with by the believer, any more than the baptism of water… A man may believe, repent, and be immersed in water, or in other words, be born of water, and yet, according to the word of Jesus, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, without also being born of the spirit.” (Pg. 88)
This book will interest LDS who want to go ‘deeper’ into such theological issues.
August 28, 2017
Formerly a part of the Latter-day Saint canon. Contains the classic teaching from Joseph Smith:
"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary [to lead] unto life and salvation."
The treatise on True Faith by Orson Pratt has lots of interesting ideas, but doesn't seem authoritative. Which means I'd have to independently verify the truthfulness of any of his assertions before quoting it.
"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary [to lead] unto life and salvation."
The treatise on True Faith by Orson Pratt has lots of interesting ideas, but doesn't seem authoritative. Which means I'd have to independently verify the truthfulness of any of his assertions before quoting it.
September 20, 2021
Interesting logical approach to defining and justifying faith in God. The validity of the evidence depends on whether you believe in the Bible, which was more common when the lectures were first given. But I do, so it works for me. Another good Sunday afternoon read.
December 28, 2020
I had read this before and was not so impressed. But this time around, I understood a lot more. I also listened to it on Audible as I read.
December 24, 2013
this book really made me rethink how important faith is.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews