“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” -2 Timothy 3:16-17
In the Fellowship of Christ we have an open cannon. Our primary books of scripture are the Bible and Book of Mormon. These were unanimously accepted as scripture back on April 6, 1830. The 1835 version of the Doctrine and Covenants were added to our canon later in August of 1835. On April 6, 2019 the Book of Enoch, the Book of Avahr, the Book of the Law of the Lord, the Book of Remembrance, and other visions and revelations the Lord had given me were added by the vote of the Saints. The next year other revelations from a number of people, including Joseph Smith Jr. and Havah Pratt, were added. In 2020 we collected all these modern revelations into Doctrines of the Saints. In 2021 we released translations from the plates of brass; 5 books of Moses, 8 chapters from the Book of Melchizedek, and the Visions and Parables of Zenos.
Are all of these part of the library of Mormon Kabbalah? Yes and no. Here we will cover the key books of Mormon Kabbalah and how they relate to our studies. Please keep in mind that with an open canon, no one must accept any of these, nor must they reject other books they see as scriptural. This is one of the benefits of having an open canon.
The Library
The Torah
The Jewish Torah would be the 5 books of Moses found in the Christian Old Testament,
- Genesis (canonical)
- Exodus (canonical)
- Leviticus (canonical)
- Numbers (canonical)
- Deuteronomy (canonical)
Coming from Judea, the Jewish Torah appears to be a combination of the Torah of Judah and the Torah of Levi.
The Torah from the plates of brass are similar to that found in the Old Testament, yet unique. With the exception of the fifth book, they did not have titles in the traditional sense, or chapters but were broken up by text. Listed below are their “titles” from the plates along with their inspired titles:
- 1 Moses: “The Word of YHVH given us by His servant, Moses, who freed Israel from her bondage of doubt and disbelief,” The Book of Beginnings
- 2 Moses: “The record of our father, Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, savior of Israel as written by the hand of Moses,” The Book of Joseph
- 3 Moses: “The record of Moses, savior of Israel; the exodus of Israel from the world, and the Marriage Covenant of Israel with YHVH, as written by the hand of Moses” The Book of Moses
- 4 Moses: “The teachings of Moses and Zipporah, as given them by YHVH in Egypt and upon the Mountain of Strength,” The Book of Testimony
- 5 Moses: “The Book of Ha’Torah,” The Book of Instructions
In addition, we also have the Book of the Law of the Lord (canonical), a modern translation of the essence of the Torah of Judah. This book was translated by James Strang from 18 loose plates, according to witnesses. The text contains selections pertaining to running a church and kingdom here upon the earth. The Book of the Law of the Lord may be found in Doctrines of the Saints.
These books, the Jewish Torah, the Torah of Joseph, and the sections of the Torah of Judah, may be studied with the Inspired Translation of the Bible (IV), also known as the Joseph Smith Translation (JST).
The Gospels
The best way to understand the Torah is to read the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Gospels are also known as “the Tora lived” as Jesus kept the Torah in perfection. These books include: John, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 3 Nephi. There are other Gospels available for study, though many are fragmented.
Completely preserved Gospels:
- Gospel of John (canonical)
- Gospel of Mark (canonical)
- Gospel of Matthew (canonical)
- Gospel of Luke (canonical)
- 3 Nephi (canonical)
Partially preserved Gospels:
- Gospel of Peter
- Gospel of Mary
The Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith Jr. stated once “that the book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the key stone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book” (Joseph Smith Jr., History, 1838–1856, vol. C-1 pg. 1255, 28 November 1841). The Book of Mormon is the greatest commentary on the Torah and the Gospels we have available to us. Like the Zohar to the Jews, the Book of Mormon was given to us through the spirit of prophecy and revelation and can only be understood by that same power. It is packed full of stories and teachings that expand our understanding of both the Torah and the Gospels.
Small Plates of Nephi:
- First Book of Nephi (canonical)
- Second Book of Nephi (canonical)
- Book of Jacob (canonical)
- Book of Enos (canonical)
- Book of Jarom (canonical)
- Book of Omni (canonical)
Mormon’s abridgment of the Large Plates of Nephi:
- Book of Lehi (lost)
- Words of Mormon (canonical)
- Book of Mosiah (canonical)
- Book of Alma (canonical)
- Book of Helaman (canonical)
- Third Nephi (canonical)
- Fourth Nephi (canonical)
- Book of Mormon (canonical)
Moroni’s abridgment of the twenty-four plates of Ether
- Book of Ether
Moroni’s collection of other writtings
- Book of Moroni
Other translations from golden plates:
- The Writings of Moroni (Havah Pratt, canonical)
- The Shulemna (Havah Pratt, canonical)
- Words of Moroni (Sealed Portion, Brazil)
- Sealed Portion of the Book of Moses (Sealed Portion, Brazil)
- Acts of the Three Nephites (Sealed Portion, Brazil)
- The Voree Plates (James Strang)
The Prophets
The writings of the prophets (Nevi’im) can be found in the Old Testament, the Book of the Revelation of St. John in the New Testament, and in Doctrines of the Saints. These are the words of God to us given by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Seeing that we are to be a prophetic people, these books can give us a glimpse of how other prophets have understood their personal relationships with God, giving us great incite (see DoS 2d:18).
The Major Prophets:
- Joshua (canonical)
- Judges (canonical)
- Samuel (canonical)
- Kings (canonical)
- Isaiah (canonical)
- Jeremiah (canonical)
- Ezekiel (canonical)
The Minor Prophets:
- Hosea (canonical)
- Joel (canonical)
- Amos (canonical)
- Obadiah (canonical)
- Jonah (canonical)
- Micah (canonical)
- Nahum (canonical)
- Habakkuk (canonical)
- Zephaniah (canonical)
- Haggai (canonical)
- Zechariah (canonical)
- Malachi (canonical)
New Testament:
- Revelation of St. John (canonical)
Latter Day:
- Book of Avahr (canonical)
- Doctrines of the Saints (mostly canonical)
Hymns, Psalms, Acts, Ketuvim/Writings, and Stories
Our hymns, stories and psalms give a poetic voice to God’s Word. Texts specific to Mormon Kabbalah would include:
Ketuvim/Writings:
Poetic books:
- Psalms (canonical)
- Proverbs (canonical)
- Job (canonical)
Five scrolls:
- Song of Songs/Song of Solomon (canonical)
- Ruth (canonical)
- Lamentations (canonical)
- Ecclesiastes (canonical)
- Esther (canonical)
Other books:
- Daniel (canonical)
- Ezra (canonical)
- Nehemiah (canonical)
- Books of Chronicles (canonical)
- Books of Kings (canonical)
Latter Day Writings:
- Book of Avahr (canonical)
- Doctrines of the Saints (mostly canonical)
- The Book of Remembrance (canonical)
- Hymns of the Saints
Letters and Epistles
Letters and Epistles can be found in the New Testament, Doctrines of the Saints, and outside canonized texts. These are at the bottom of the list as they are easily the least reliable. Why? Because they were written in context to very specific people, normally in very specific circumstances. Without full context they are still worth while, but should not be seen as authoritative as direct revelation or the Torah itself. It should be understood that if the writers of these texts had known that their words would be read so widely and used to explain theologies and doctrines with the same authority and the rest of the scriptures, they would likely have chosen their words more carefully.
New Testament:
- Epistles to the Thessalonians (canonical)
- Epistle to the Galatians (canonical)
- Epistles to the Corinthians (canonical)
- Epistle to the Philippians (canonical)
- Epistle to Philemon (canonical)
- Epistle to the Romans (canonical)
- Epistle to the Ephesians (canonical)
- Epistle to the Colossians (canonical)
- Epistles to Timothy (canonical)
- Epistle to Titus (canonical)
- Epistle to the Hebrews (canonical)
Latter Day Epistles:
- Letters from Joseph Smith Jr. (mostly canonical)
- Letters from Sidney Rigdon
- Letters from Wilford Woodruff
- Letters from James Strang
- Letter to the Church noting the death of Joseph Smith Jr.
- Vision of John Taylor
- Visons letters of Joseph Smith III
- History and other writings of David (mostly canonical)
- Vision of Vicotria (canonical)
- Epistle of Alexei (canonical)
Other Good Books
While there are a number of other good books, these include the most common used to understand Mormon Kabbalistic ideas. Books like the Zohar or the Quran, that were given specifically to meet the needs of other branches of Abraham’s children do have valuable information and may be used from time to time. However, the books listed above are more central to the needs of the Mormon Kabbalist. No list can be all encompassing, thus as a prophetic people it is up to each individual to build their own personal Kabbalistic library as the Spirit directs. No Mormon Kabbalist would be turn away for using books not on this list, nor for excluding any of the books listed.