We consider the Bible, Book of Mormon, Book of Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and sayings of Joseph, the Seer, our guides in faith and doctrine. The first four have been adopted as such by a vote of the Saints in General Conference. Reference to other writings are only for illustration of the subject.
We have sought to furnish the best available material for the use of the Elders. It is for them to seek for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to enable them to use it with discretion.
On most of the subjects treated, only a portion of the passages that refer to them have been cited, but we have endeavored to use the best. We designed to make the Compendium sufficiently elaborate to give it a wide range of usefulness, and, at the same time, not make it so large as to be burdensome to the Elders who travel and preach the Gospel. Practically, we have aimed to get up a book that would contain a great amount of information for its bulk.
The arguments on each subject are so plain and direct, that, we trust, they may be made available by the most inexperienced Elders. At the same time, the references and citations are considered sufficient for the more advanced student to acquire a thorough knowledge of the subjects treated on.
The references in small type are not designed to be verbatim, but only to embody, as near as may be, the leading idea of the passage referred to. They should be studied before being used. The passages included within the usual quotation marks, thus, " ", are designed to be correctly quoted; and may be used without referring to the original.
We are indebted to Elder George Reynolds for the carefully prepared Chronology of the Book of Mormon. It is evidently the result of much study and thought, and as such is entitled to credence.
While we have aimed at accuracy, we should be pleased to have our friends inform us of any material error they may discover.
We expect our labors will elicit some criticism, but we trust the thoughtful and experienced will allow much for the complicated character of the work.
