Can we talk about the Pearl of Great Price? I love it. Just the first few pages of the book of Moses pack in some pretty amazing stuff, beginning with Moses’ conversation with God. Moses recounts God’s words: “[W[orlds without number have I created…my works are without end…and behold, thou art my son.”

The Book of Moses tells of the unfathomable expansiveness of the universe and our own smallness, but at the same time affirming our significance as human beings. Who cannot marvel at the paradox: “man is nothing,” and yet we are gods in embryo. Our worth is not earned, but inherent.

When God leaves Moses, Satan comes and tempts him. Satan counters these beautiful truths, calling him “a son of man” and demanding Moses worship him. Do we not all experience that? We are all confronted with a culture that demands we worship the idols of wealth, beauty, possessions, and if we don’t, we are ordinary, and ordinary is the worst thing to be. Moses’ example reminds me that when we are confronted with this darkness, we must remember our inherent goodness—our inherent godliness—and take courage in it.

In the Book of Moses we learn that Eve’s considered decision to partake of the fruit was a blessing, not a curse, for all of humankind: She says, “Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.” Thanks to the Pearl of Great Price, Eve is a hero.

And who can forget Enoch’s humble reaction when he receives a calling from God? “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?”

His embarrassment and lack of self-confidence is something we can all relate to, and his willingness and eventual success suggests that despite our many shortcomings and insecurities we too can be strong in the face of adversity. We too can rise to the occasion and fulfill our unique missions in life.

It is through the Pearl of Great price that we get the God who weeps. “And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon …the people, and he wept.”

Enoch asks, “How is it thou canst weep?”

God says, “Behold these my brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands…and I have said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another…but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood…wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer.”

A god who has feelings, who is as devastated by the hatred and violence that afflicts our society, is really the only kind of god I could worship.

In the book of Abraham we have an account of Abraham’s righteous desire for priesthood ordination, providing a beautiful example of faithful seeking for something greater—a story especially relevant for today’s Ordain Women movement.

I know we all have all heard of the history of the Pearl of Great Price, but allow me to refresh our memories and recount some of it here. I am no expert, and I am not going to give citations to the information here because reciting the history of the work is tangential to the main point of this blog post. This is just a basic history and origin, as I understand it.

Joseph Smith dictated the Book of Moses, the first chapter of which parallels the pseudepigraphal Apocalypse of Abraham, as he was re-translating the Bible. The Apocalypse of Abraham’s, like other pseudepigraphal claimed authorship is unfounded, and therefore not considered scripture by Jews or any Christian group. In the Apocalypse, Abraham stands in God’s presence, and God shows Abraham everything that exists on heaven and earth. Other various accounts in the first chapter of Moses have strong parallels in other pseudepigraphal literature, including the books of Enoch, Ezra, and the Life of Adam and Eve. The later chapters of Moses generally follow the first chapters of the Book of Genesis in the Bible, the Qur’an, and Jewish midrash. Mormon scholars (non-apologists, of course), posit that Joseph Smith had access to these works, and the resultant book of Moses is a mish-mash of all of them.

In July of 1835, Michael Chandler’s touring mummy exhibit stopped in Kirtland, Ohio. He had heard that Joseph Smith could translate golden plates and asked Smith to look at papyri that had been found with the mummies. Smith declared that one of rolls contained the writings of Abraham. He purchased the papyri and translated them, and these translations became what we know as the book of Abraham. Later, after scholars studied the Rosetta Stone more and were able to better understand hieroglyphics, Egyptologists denounced Smith’s interpretation. One wrote, “It may be safely said that there is not one single word that is true in [Smith’s] explanations.”

For some Latter-Day Saints, the academic history of a work of canonical LDS scripture is a big obstacle to a testimony of Joseph Smith’s divine calling. It’s tough to get around the conclusion that Smith was at best mistaken and at worst a fraud. This is understandable. Additionally, the Pearl of Great Price has its problems: gendered language, the omission of the divine feminine, and an exclusively patriarchal lineage.

But to me, the history doesn’t really matter. They don’t take away from the truths to be found in the Pearl of Great Price. To me, the Pearl of Great Price provides great comfort and peace and instruction, and scholarly debunking of Smith’s account of its origins is about as relevant to my life as an instruction manual for a semi-truck. As for the real problems with gender in the work, I fully acknowledge that I cherry-pick the parts from the Pearl of Great Price that I like, and when I read it often switch the genders of the characters. Additionally, have you ever looked at the academic history of the Bible? It’s no better.

I do feel for those who have a hard time with the history of the Pearl of Great Price. I can relate. Perhaps I felt similar anger and frustration and confusion when I learned things like how Joseph Smith encouraged 14-year old Helen Mar Kimball to marry him. The church has a lot of difficult history behind it, and there are even more difficulties with the day-to-day realities of church membership, particularly for women. But comforting truths and good instruction are in the Pearl of Great Price, there for the taking, and for that I am grateful.