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Teachings of Presidents of the Church

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The ninth book in the series, featuring the teachings of church founder Joseph Smith.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church is a series of books published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Each book of the series briefly compiles the teachings and sermons of one of the men who has served as president of the LDS Church. The series is not complete, with 15 books having been released by August 2016. (There have been 16 presidents of the LDS Church.) The text of each book is not limited to sermons preached while the person was President of the Church, but generally contain teachings given during their time as an ordained apostle.

The series began in 1997, with the release of the Brigham Young edition. The books are not being issued in the same order in which presidents served. The books are not intended to be a comprehensive collection of the words, sermons, or writings of their subjects. Church members are encouraged to save the books and make a collection in their homes.

The books serve as a basis for many of the lessons presented in weekly church Relief Society and adult priesthood meetings. Each book is used as class curriculum for one or two calendar years, depending on the length of the book.

The copyright in the books is held by Intellectual Reserve, but they are available in electronic format for free on the LDS Church's website.

In 2010 and 2011, the LDS Church temporarily ceased using this series for communal study at Sunday meetings and instead used a newly revised Gospel Principles manual. Sunday study of the Teachings of Presidents of the Church series resumed in 2012.

NOTE: Study of these manuals will conclude at the end of 2017. Beginning in 2018, adult members of the LDS Church will study a new curriculum entitled Come Follow Me: For Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society which will place greater emphasis on counseling about and meeting local needs, studying general conference talks twice as often, and studying topics selected by the general church leadership.[1]

Books in the series

No. Publication date President of the Church
& years in tenure
Years used as curriculum
1 1997 Brigham Young (1847–77) 1998–99
2 1998 Joseph F. Smith (1901–18) 2000–01
3 2000 Harold B. Lee (1972–73) 2002
4 2001 John Taylor (1880–87) 2003
5 2002 Heber J. Grant (1918–45) 2004
6 2003 David O. McKay (1951–70) 2005
7 2004 Wilford Woodruff (1889–98) 2006
8 2006 Spencer W. Kimball (1973–85) 2007
9 2007 Joseph Smith (1830–44) 2008–09
10 2011 George Albert Smith (1945–51) 2012[2]
11 2012 Lorenzo Snow (1898–1901) 2013[3]
12 2013 Joseph Fielding Smith (1970–72) 2014[4]
13 2014 Ezra Taft Benson (1985–94) 2015[5]
14 2015 Howard W. Hunter (1994–95) 2016[6]
15 2016 Gordon B. Hinckley (1995–2008) 2017[7]

No edition has been published for Thomas S. Monson, the sixteenth president of the church.

Notes