The Pearl of Great Price is a seminal work in Latter-day Saint scripture, providing unique insights into the doctrines and teachings that delineate the faith from other religious traditions. While relatively concise in its compilation, the Pearl of Great Price offers a rich tapestry of revelation and enlightenment that is indispensable to understanding the cosmology embraced by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The title page of the Pearl of Great Price asserts that it contains “a selection from the revelations, translations, and narrations of Joseph Smith: first prophet, seer, and revelator to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This gives us a succinct definition of the kinds of documents that are contained in the Pearl of Great Price and the correlative way that we should read and understand the authority of such documents.

The significance of the Pearl of Great Price was affirmed by leaders of the Church. Elder Franklin D. Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was presiding over the Church’s mission in England when he brought together what would become the first edition of the Pearl of Great Price. He stated that the Pearl of Great Price would be “a source of much instruction and edification to many thousands of the Saints, who will by an acquaintance with its precious contents, be more abundantly qualified to set forth and defend the principles of our Holy Faith before all men.” It would be another 30 years before the Pearl of Great Price would become part of the scriptural canon of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was canonized on October 10, 1880 by action of the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve, and the general body of saints gathered at general conference.

One of the unique aspects of the Pearl of Great Price is its broadening of the biblical narrative through the inclusion of texts like the Book of Moses and the Book of Abraham. 

The Book of Moses is an inspired translation of the early chapters of Genesis and offers significant insight into the Creation and early history of the earth from a uniquely Latter-day Saint perspective. Regarding God, Moses 1:39 declaratively states, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

The Book of Abraham, containing writings attributed to the patriarch Abraham, adds further dimension to our understanding of the ancient patriarch and humanity’s place in the cosmos. This text not only recounts Abraham's travels and trials but also offers profound insights into the premortal existence and the purpose of life on earth, Abraham’s teachings regarding astronomy to the Egyptians, and teachings on the eternal nature of the soul and the divine plan of happiness.

Joseph Smith—History, another segment of the book, provides an autobiographical account of the foundational events that led to the Restoration, including the First Vision and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. The most memorable line is found in Joseph Smith––History 1:17: “I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Joseph Smith – Matthew contains an excerpt from Joseph Smith’s New Translation of the Bible. One may wonder how it became part of the Latter-day Saint canon. JS–Matthew’s significance is in its clarity regarding the teachings contained in the 24 chapter of Matthew. It contains revelatory clarification regarding the doctrine there. When publishing the Pearl of Great Price, Elder Richards stated that all of the documents contained in it were had in various Church publications in the United States. Elder Richards thus presumably had access to Joseph Smith–Matthew, but how is not understood clearly.

The Articles of Faith, comprising the final segment of the Pearl of Great Price, distills core beliefs of the Church into concise declarations. These articles provide a foundational summary of Latter-day Saint doctrine and thus can be a powerful missionary tool (see #194 ARTICLES OF FAITH and #195 WENTWORTH LETTER).

The Pearl of Great Price stands as a unique gift to Latter-day Saints, providing not only profound doctrinal insights but also relating some of the most foundational events in the history of the Restoration. It is an essential component of Latter-day Saint canon, reinforcing teachings found in the Bible and the Book of Mormon. As a testament to the ongoing process of divine revelation, it continues to guide and inspire members of the Church in their spiritual journeys back to God’s presence. Through its pages, Latter-day Saints find a clearer understanding of the divine plan and deeper insights into eternal truths, making it an invaluable asset in the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment and eternal life.

The essential message of the Pearl of Great Price can be summarized by the words that God spoke to Moses in the Book of Moses: “[M]y works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease” (Moses 1:4).