Date of Award:
8-2026
Document Type:
Thesis
Degree Name:
Master of Arts (MA)
Department:
History
Committee Chair(s)
Patrick Mason
Committee
Patrick Mason
Committee
Rebecca Andersen
Committee
Dominic Sur
Abstract
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints possesses a four-book scriptural collection known as the “Standard Works.” While this collection is roughly comparable to scriptural canons of other faith traditions, Latter-day Saints embrace an open canon of scripture, which raises questions about how these particular texts attained their level of authority and standardization within the community. Traditional approaches to understanding this process have relied extensively on the writings of Professor James E. Talmage, who theorized that texts only become authoritative “standard works” for the community when presented to the membership of the Church and accepted by vote in the faith’s general conferences. This thesis tests the history and strength of that hypothesis and recommends replacing it with a more nuanced and publication-focused understanding of the collection’s development. Doing so allows a better understanding of this faith tradition and its development. It also allows for increased comparative study demonstrating the spectrum of potential canonical options available for diverse faith communities.
This thesis demonstrates that the modern Latter-day Saint notion of a “Standard Works” emerged at the end of the nineteenth century through the influence of Professor James Edward Talmage, who both enumerated the contents of the collection and contributed the prevailing theory for how changes occur within it. While Talmage’s theory gained overwhelming acceptance among those interested in the faith, he established it on a weak evidentiary basis. Talmage assumed that church votes determined the structure of the canon, but historical records show that votes taken on texts have not closely corresponded with changes in the published scriptures. Instead, editors, scripture committees, and printers took the lead in implementing changes. Many of the most important adjustments occurred without any regard for public votes. Such votes played no more than a supporting role in the process. Rather, formal printings of the Church’s scriptures serve as the primary indicator of authoritative changes. These should serve as the basis for future research regarding the Latter-day Saint canon.
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Creative Commons License
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Recommended Citation
Johnson, Charles William, ""Adopted by the Vote of the Church:" Reassessing Latter-Day Saint Conceptions of Canonization and "Standard Works"" (2026). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present. 878.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd2023/878
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