JOEL - The four books of scripture that make up the official cannon of doctrine for the LDS Church are the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. We believe these scriptures were written by prophets of God who obtained their information directly from God through revelation. We also believe in latter-day prophets in our Church who also receive inspiration and information from God that is important for us today.

"Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, abut he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

These prophets(including the Twelve Apostles) have from time to time written books that contain their God inspired writings that are beneficial to those who want to better understand what the scriptures are telling us. For this reason we not only refer to the scriptures but also to the writings of these other prophets in our studies of the gospel.

Our scriptures tell us:
"And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118)

and:

"And set in order the churches, and study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people. (D&C 90:15)

We must always be careful however to be certain that what we learn in these other books and those writtten by anyone else does not contradict what the scriptures tell us.