General Authority Bibliography

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The dispensation of the fulness of times has brought a proliferation of books “written according to the word of God” such as Nephi and John the Revelator could not have begun to fathom. From the “Pauline” letters of Orson Pratt and the “Acts of the Apostles” of Joseph Smith and B. H. Roberts to the “Gospels” of James E. Talmage and Bruce R. McConkie and the “Testaments” of the prophets, seers and revelators of the Church, latter-day presses have produced thousands of church books. Plentiful presses, the relative ease of “getting published” and the increased literacy of the people contribute to this knowledge explosion, though few products could be called “canonical” scripture. 

“Canonical” or not, church publications have had considerable influence on the progress of individual members of the Church. The list of best sellers bears eloquent witness to this. Indeed, this list could serve as the LDS “basic books” shelf to complement the four standard works. As the Church continues to grow, books now out of print will undoubtedly be reprinted (many reprints of older standards have already appeared), and many are still available in bookstores although officially out of print. 

Many observations may be made by careful study of author and chronological lists. Book titles have shortened considerably since the early days, and only two books were published in Nauvoo during the early days of the Church, the remainder being printed at Eastern presses or in England. Other self-explanatory statistics are found on the following pages. 

Chad Flake’s newly published, scholarly bibliography (A Mormon Bibliography 1830-1930, University of Utah Press, 1978) covers more than this present “check list” ever could. Bibliographies published in Dialogue and in BYU Studies include publications in the 1960s and 1970s. This checklist covers all books published by any general authority from 1837 to the October conference of 1978. The following considerations should be noted: 

• All works included must have been published during the general authority’s lifetime (implying his complete approval of the work). 
• All works must exceed sixty pages or leaves in length. 
• Theses and dissertations are included since they indicate a general authority’s scholastic interests before his ecclesiastical calling. 
• Multiple volumes are counted as one book unless they can stand alone, have variant titles, or do not share a common index and bibliography. 
• Works not included: the four standard works; periodical articles (unless a compilation of one general authority); speeches, addresses, talks, sermons and discourses (unless compiled for one general authority); journals and diaries (unless published church wide); compilations by non-general authorities after the general authority’s death; teacher’s supplements to manuals; introductions to the works of another general authority; translations into foreign languages; manuscripts, typewritten or mimeographed copies; missionary tracts and pamphlets; scripture cards, filmstrips, tapes, etc. 

I express my thanks to the BYU Library, Deseret Book, the BYU Bookstore, and the LDS Church Library, especially Mary Schnitker. 

[Editor’s Note: For the rest of Gary P. Gillum’s article, see PDF below]