Prayer and the Canon of Scripture

# Prayer and the Canon of Scripture

If you have ever spoken with missionaries from **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints**, you have likely encountered an appeal to read the **Book of Mormon** and pray about its truthfulness. The invitation is rooted in the closing chapter of that book, specifically **Moroni 10:4**, which exhorts readers to ask the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, whether the book is true, with the promise that the truth will be manifested by the power of the Holy Ghost. The passage continues in verses 3–5, urging reflection, sincere intent, faith in Christ, and the expectation of divine confirmation.

This approach places prayer at the center of determining authenticity. Rather than appealing primarily to ancient manuscripts, archaeology, or historical transmission, the text directs the reader inward—toward a spiritual witness. The epistemology is experiential. Truth is confirmed by an internal manifestation through the Holy Spirit.

Yet the question immediately arises: if prayer is a valid method for discerning truth, should it not be applied consistently to all disputed writings? If one is encouraged to pray about the Book of Mormon, should one not also pray about other ancient texts that claim revelatory authority?

Unlike the Book of Mormon, numerous Jewish and early Christian writings survive in ancient manuscript form. Among them are **Book of Enoch**, **2 Baruch**, **4 Ezra**, **Gospel of Thomas**, **Odes of Solomon**, **Gospel of Truth**, and **Gospel of Philip**. These writings are preserved in Greek, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, and Latin manuscripts, some dating to late antiquity. They are not hypothetical records awaiting archaeological discovery; they are physically extant documents.

If prayer is the decisive test of authenticity, then consistency would demand that believers also pray about these texts. One might read the Book of Enoch and ask whether its vision of heavenly watchers is true. One might read the Gospel of Thomas and ask whether its sayings preserve authentic teaching. One might examine the Gospel of Philip and seek discernment concerning its sacramental theology. If divine confirmation through prayer is reliable in one case, it must be reliable in all.

This leads naturally into the broader question of canonicity.

In 1546, the **Council of Trent** formally declared the canonicity of several additional books, often called the Deutero-Canonical writings. These included Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. However, the same council did not retain every work that had appeared in earlier Latin tradition. Certain writings that had long circulated in the Latin Vulgate—such as the Prayer of Manasses and 1 and 2 Esdras (distinct from Ezra and Nehemiah)—were not included in Trent’s final canon.

This historical fact illustrates something important: canon lists developed over time. They were shaped by usage, tradition, theological judgment, and ecclesiastical authority. The presence or absence of a book in an official list does not change the text itself. A council may recognize, exclude, or affirm a writing, but it does not create inspiration. The authority of a book, if it exists, must precede institutional recognition.

Therefore, canonicity cannot rest solely on conciliar decisions. Nor can it rest merely on how often a text is quoted by later writers. Citation does not equal inspiration. A text must be examined on its own merits.

The real test of canonicity must involve internal coherence and doctrinal harmony. A writing that claims divine origin must reflect consistency with the established revelation already received. It cannot promote superstition, magical manipulation, or the worship of created beings. It must align with the theological and ethical framework found in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Unity of message, moral clarity, and theological coherence are essential.

When we turn to the discoveries at Nag Hammadi in 1945, the discussion deepens. The codices unearthed in Egypt contained numerous previously unknown writings, including **Apocryphon of James**, **On the Origin of the World**, **Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit**, and **The Reality of the Rulers**. These texts present elaborate cosmologies, secret revelations, and mythological narratives involving archons, emanations, and hidden knowledge.

For example, the Apocryphon of James speaks of secret books revealed privately and transmitted in restricted form. On the Origin of the World describes androgynous demons and references hidden books attributed to Moses and Solomon. The Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit recounts the role of Seth and a heavenly pleroma, presenting a layered cosmology populated by spiritual entities. The Reality of the Rulers describes authorities, a sown element from above, and liberation through knowledge.

These writings often claim secret transmission. They appeal to hidden revelation rather than public proclamation. Their worldview frequently includes elaborate hierarchies of aeons, rulers, and emanations. The theological atmosphere is markedly different from the straightforward monotheism of the Hebrew Scriptures and the ethical proclamation of the canonical Gospels.

If one were to apply the same test proposed in Moroni 10—read and pray—one might seek spiritual discernment concerning these texts as well. Yet prayer alone cannot override contradictions. If a writing promotes doctrines incompatible with established revelation—if it introduces mythological systems that conflict with foundational teaching—then subjective experience cannot transform error into truth.

Thus, discernment must involve both prayer and evaluation. Prayer seeks guidance; evaluation tests content. The internal character of a book matters. Does it promote righteousness? Does it align with the known character of the Father? Does it uphold the moral and theological principles already revealed? Does it avoid superstition and creature worship?

The canon of Scripture did not descend as a completed list from heaven. It emerged through recognition of writings that bore consistent marks of divine origin. The process involved transmission, usage in worship, apostolic or prophetic authority, and doctrinal harmony. Councils later affirmed what had already functioned as Scripture within communities of faith.

In conclusion, prayer is a meaningful spiritual exercise, but it cannot function in isolation from discernment and doctrinal coherence. If one applies prayer as a test of authenticity, it must be applied universally and consistently. Ancient manuscript evidence, historical continuity, internal harmony, and theological integrity all play essential roles in evaluating sacred writings.

The question of canonicity is therefore not resolved by institutional decree alone, nor by private spiritual impression alone. It requires a convergence of witness: the character of the text, its harmony with prior revelation, its historical grounding, and the guidance sought through sincere prayer. Only where these elements align can a writing reasonably be received as Scripture.

Pray and the Canon of Scripture

If you’ve ever spoken to a Mormon missionary, there is no doubt that you have been challenged to read the Book of Mormon and pray about its message. You will most likely hear a recitation of a verse in the book’s last chapter. It reads: 
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moroni 10:4)

The Book of Mormon asks us to pray about authenticity of its contents:

Moroni 10:3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

I am not a Latter Day Saint nor do I believe in the book of Mormon unless I was to see an ancient manuscript(s). However we do have ancient manuscripts of Jewish and Christian documents like the Book of Enoch, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, the Gospel of Thomas, the Odes of Solomon, the Gospel of Truth, The Gospel of Philip. We should pray about these books to ask God if they are true 

Canonicity of Scripture

In 1546, the (Roman Catholic) Council of Trent declared the Canonicity of some additional books which they call the "Deutero-Canonical" (2nd Canon) books. It is to be noted as well that the Council of Trent did not accept all the writings previously approved by the earlier Council of Carthage but dropped three of these: the Prayer of Manasses and 1 and 2 Esdras (not the 1 and 2 Esdras that, in the Catholic Douay Bible, correspond with Ezra and Nehemiah). Thus, these three writings that had appeared for over 1, 100 years in the approved Latin Vulgate were now excluded.

Canonicity of a book therefore does not rest in whole or in part on whether some council, committee, or community accepts or rejects it. The voice of such no inspired men is valuable only as witness to what God has already done through his accredited representatives. 

The real test of canonicity, however, is not how many times or by what non-apostolic writer has quoted a certain book. The contents of the book itself must give evidence that it is a product of holy spirit. Consequently, it cannot contain superstitions or demonism, nor can it encourage creature worship. It must be in total harmony and complete unity with the Bible that Jesus used, thus supporting the authorship of the Father. Each book must conform to the principles that have been established in the Hebrew Scriptures, and be in harmony with the teachings and examples of Christ Jesus.

Other hidden codices revealed in the nag hammadi scriptures:

Since you asked that I send you a secret book which was revealed to me and Peter by the Lord, I could not turn you away or gainsay (?) you; but I have written it in the Hebrew alphabet and sent it to you, and you alone. (The Apocryphon of James)

I also sent you, ten months ago, another secret book which the Savior had revealed to me. Under the circumstances, however, regard that one as revealed to me, James; but this one ... [untranslatable fragments] (The Apocryphon of James)

You will find the effect of these names and the force of the male entities in the Archangelic (Book) of the Prophet Moses, and the names of the female entities in the first Book of Noraia. (On the Origian of the world)

They had intercourse with one another, and each one begot seven, so that they amount to forty-nine androgynous demons. Their names and their effects you will find in the Book of Solomon.

"My father, the progress that has come to me now, and the foreknowledge, according to the books, that has come to me, exceeding the deficiency - these things are foremost in me." 

The great Seth wrote this book with letters in one hundred and thirty years. He placed it in the mountain that is called 'Charaxio,' in order that, at the end of the times and the eras, by the will of the divine Autogenes and the whole pleroma, through the gift of the untraceable, unthinkable, fatherly love, it may come forth and reveal this incorruptible, holy race of the great savior, and those who dwell with them in love, and the great, invisible, eternal Spirit, and his only-begotten Son, and the eternal light, and his great, incorruptible consort, and the incorruptible Sophia, and the Barbelon, and the whole pleroma in eternity. Amen. (The Holy Book of the Great )


But I said, "Sir, am I also from their matter?"
"You, together with your offspring, are from the primeval father; from above, out of the imperishable light, their souls are come. Thus the authorities cannot approach them, because of the spirit of truth present within them; and all who have become acquainted with this way exist deathless in the midst of dying mankind. Still, that sown element will not become known now. Instead, after three ages it will come to be known, and it has freed them from the bondage of the authorities' error." 
Then I said, "Sir, how much longer?"
He said to me, "Until the moment when the true man, within a modeled form, reveals the existence of the spirit of truth, which the father has sent. 
Then he will teach them about everything, and he will anoint them with the unction of life eternal, given him from the undominated generation.
Then they will be freed of blind thought, and they will trample underfoot death, which is of the authorities, and they will ascend into the limitless light where this sown element belongs.
Then the authorities will relinquish their ages, and their angels will weep over their destruction, and their demons will lament their death.
Then all the children of the light will be truly acquainted with the truth and their root, and the father of the entirety and the holy spirit. They will all say with a single voice, 'The father's truth is just, and the son presides over the entirety", and from everyone unto the ages of ages, "Holy - holy - holy! Amen!'"
The Reality
of the Rulers