D&C 68

Speaking to the elders of the Church, the Lord said -

"...this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth—

3 And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
5 Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants."  (Doctrine and Covenants Section 68:2 - 5)

Is the Lord saying that whenever an ordained person speaks as moved upon by the Spirit shall become canonized scripture?  Of course not.  Scripture by definition is -

"a body of writings considered sacred or authoritative"  (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

To become scripture, in my mind, it must needs be written whether upon paper, the mind, or the heart.  I personally believe that anything given by the Spirit should be written upon our hearts. 

I  personally take a different perspective to this verse than that that is generally taken.  Nephi taught -

"Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ."  (Book of Mormon 2 Nephi 32:3)

I think that is what this verse is saying.  Those that speak as moved upon by the Spirit will speak the words of Christ, or in other words, scripture which is the mind and will of the Lord.  Joseph Fielding Smith taught -

"What is scripture? When one of the brethren stands before a congregation of the people today, and the inspiration of the Lord is upon him, he speaks that which the Lord would have him speak. It is just as much scripture as anything you will find written in any of these records, and yet we call these the standard works of the Church. We depend, of course, upon the guidance of the brethren who are entitled to inspiration.


There is only one man in the Church at a time who has the right to give revelation for the Church, and that is the President of the Church. But that does not bar any other member in this Church from speaking the word of the Lord, as indicated here in this revelation, section 68, but a revelation that is to be given as these revelations are given in this book, to the Church, will come through the presiding officer of the church; yet, the word of the Lord, as spoken by other servants at the general conferences and stake conferences, or wherever they may be when they speak that which the Lord has put into their mouths, is just as much the words of the Lord as the writings and the words of other prophets in other dispensations. " (Joseph Fielding Smith, DS 1:186.)