The Pearl of Great Price: A History and Commentary

by H. Donl Peterson

Book by Peterson, H. Donl

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Lds

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took one line at a time from the Pearl of Great Price and had several paragraphs under each line explaining what the line meant. The paragraphs were taken from a Prophet or from one of the 12 Apostles, past or present. It was great to get new & additional insight on many subjects. I even wrote down each new thing I learned. It was interesting reading.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is interesting as a commentary because the comments are almost all from prophets and apostles (with a few apparently from the author/compiler). This makes the commentary authoritative, with some of the most interesting comments from Bruce R. McConkie. The commentary seems a bit dated in some cases (the book was published in 1987), although you'd think such comments would never contradict or change; still, I believe that some thoughts would be stated differently or given additional context by a current prophet. And although the author limits himself to comments by these authorities, I kept thinking of all that Hugh Nibley would have to say about these scriptures and having to remind myself that his work is outside the scope of what the author was including in his commentary. I don't recommend this book as a purchase although it may be worth checking out from the library.

[Janette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sponsored by the Religious Studies Center at BYU. Essays from prominent teachers. Loved it!!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. This is my favorite style of formatting for a commentary (and about the only kind I can endure): for each verse (or part of a verse) there are "Selected Statements of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles" in bullet form, and then "Other Commentary" etc. From the cover it may appear as though these are just Peterson's thoughts and ramblings, but it's actually a compilation of quotes from authorities. The other thing I like about it is that there are quotes for most of the verses in the book--it doesn't skip several verses at a time like in many manuals. Finally, the quotes selected are rich and meaningful. I learned a lot--there are plenty of stars and exclamation marks in the margins of my copy.

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good set of essays on themes from the Pearl of Great Price. The essays are hit or miss, as is the case in this series of lectures from BYU, but overall, I enjoyed most of them. Some really deep topics are discussed, which will require some re-reading. I really like these older collections though.

[Tranylle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember much about this book except that I read it for an online Pearly of Great Price course through BYU and it was an amazing book. I learned so much that this was actually my favorite religion class.

[Doug Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

All scriptural commentaries should be written in the form and style of this one. It commands the authority of the prophets.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book to add depth to understanding meanings. Quotes from the prophets that explain the verses clearly. Great insights !

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took classes from Peterson.