Should You Pray About the Book of Mormon?

A Catholic Response to a Common Mormon Appeal

IMAGINE OPENING a book that missionaries from a nearby church insist is “the most correct of any book on earth” and discovering that it teaches, plainly and repeatedly, that God punished ancient sinners by darkening their skin as a visible curse.

On October 7, 1857, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church (known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), declared:

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

This statement was recorded by several eyewitnesses and was later included in the official introduction to the Book of Mormon. The wording received a minor stylistic adjustment in the 2020 edition. Joseph Smith’s bold claim remains an official teaching and is referenced often in church manuals, lesson materials, and general conference talks.

The same book states that if the ancient people described therein had repented and lived upright lives, their skin would cease to be dark and would become “white and delightsome” again. This is not a marginal gloss or an odd nineteenth-century fringe interpretation. It stands right in the text of the Book of Mormon itself, spelled out across several passages (2 Nephi 5:21–23, 30:6; 3 Nephi 2:15; Mormon 5:15–17).

For more than a century and a half, every Latter-day Saint prophet from Joseph Smith through Spencer W. Kimball repeated this teaching without hesitation. They treated it as settled doctrine, explained Native American and African skin color through it, and used it to justify priesthood restrictions for black members.

Then, in 2013 and again in 2020, the Church released public statements distancing itself from the very ideas its own canon teaches, declaring that dark skin is not a curse from God and should not be seen as a sign of divine disfavor. Yet the scriptural passages that shaped these racial doctrines remain untouched, still presented as the inspired word of God.

This is where the fault line becomes impossible to ignore. When a church that claims ongoing revelation maintains scripture that its leaders now repudiate, readers are left with an unavoidable question. Either the text reflects God’s unchanging truth, or those passages reflect nineteenth-century racial theories that were mistakenly canonized and cannot now be removed without acknowledging an error in what is called “the most correct book on earth.”

Although the Mormon Church has, in recent years, officially disavowed its earlier teaching that God cursed individuals or entire peoples with dark or black skin, the fact remains that this belief was taught for generations by Mormon prophets and apostles, beginning with Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, and it is plainly stated in LDS scripture itself.

The Book of Mormon describes what it presents as God’s punishment of the Lamanites, portrayed as wicked descendants of ancient Israelites, by darkening their skin “that they might not be enticing” to the more righteous and “white” Nephites (see 2 Nephi 5:21–24; Alma 3:6).

For nearly 130 years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially barred Black men from holding the Mormon priesthood, teaching that they were descendants of Cain and therefore under a divine curse. This policy remained in force until 1978, when then-prophet Spencer W. Kimball announced a new “revelation” lifting the ban (see Official Declaration 2, Doctrine and Covenants).

For many decades before that, Mormon leaders also taught that certain souls had been “less valiant” in the premortal conflict between Jesus and Lucifer, and that their birth as Black people on earth was a divine consequence of that lesser faithfulness. Apostle Bruce R. McConkie articulated this idea in Mormon Doctrine (2nd ed., 1966).

“Those who were less valiant in pre-existence . . . are known as the negroes. Such spirits are sent to earth through the lineage of Cain . . . . They are denied the priesthood during mortality.”*¹

Similarly, Joseph Fielding Smith, later the tenth Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explained at greater length:

“There were no neutrals in the war in heaven. All took sides either with Christ or with Lucifer. Every man had his agency there, and men receive rewards here based upon their actions there, just as they will receive rewards hereafter for deeds done in the body. The Negro evidently is receiving the reward he merits.”*²

These and similar statements by Mormon leaders were based on the belief that skin color reflected a person’s moral standing in a previous life (i.e., premortal existence, see Abraham 3:22–28 and Doctrine and Covenants 93:29–30).

Although this teaching was long regarded as prophetic doctrine, it was officially set aside in 1978 when the LDS Church declared that “all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color.”³

The Church’s 2013 Gospel Topics Essay went further, disavowing any earlier claim that dark skin signified a divine curse or premortal unfaithfulness, describing it instead as a “theory” once held by some. (That characterization, however, is historically and rationally untenable, since the 1978 “revelation” ending the priesthood ban (formally taught as doctrine in Doctrine and Covenants, Official Declaration 2) constituted not the dismissal of a mere theory but the explicit reversal, and in effect, repudiation, of a doctrine long taught and defended by LDS prophets and apostles.)

Yet this now-repudiated view corresponds directly to the Book of Mormon’s own language, which attributes to God the act of cursing the Lamanites “with a skin of blackness” for their rebellion (2 Nephi 5:21) and later “making their skin white” when they repented (3 Nephi 2:15).

The tension between the Church’s current position and its scriptural texts is difficult to reconcile; both reflect versions of a racial theology once presented as divine truth and now rejected by the very institution that promulgated it.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did, in fact, officially teach that God cursed the Lamanites by turning their white skin dark; this is a matter of historical record, since the teaching appears quite literally in the Book of Mormon itself.

In 2013, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints formally disavowed “theories . . . that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse.”

This statement appears in paragraph 7 of the official Gospel Topics Essay titled “Race and the Priesthood,” published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on December 6, 2013.

“Today, the Church disavows the theories advanced in the past that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse, or that it reflects actions in a premortal life; that mixed-race marriages are a sin; or that blacks or people of any other race or ethnicity are inferior in any way to anyone else. Church leaders today unequivocally condemn all racism, past and present, in any form.”
—Race and the Priesthood, Gospel Topics Essays, para. 7, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, December 6, 2013.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/topics/race-and-the-priesthood

That was a profoundly significant shift—a complete doctrinal reversal—given that such ideas had been publicly taught and defended by earlier LDS prophets and leaders for generations.

Several important questions naturally arise for Latter-day Saints on this issue. Were those past teachings—that God cursed certain peoples by giving them dark skin—once true but now false? Or were they always false, despite having been publicly presented as doctrine for well over a century? If the Church now rejects those ideas, does that imply that its earlier prophets were mistaken?

How is an observer outside the Mormon religion to understand such a reversal within a community that professes to be led by living prophets who claim to receive revelation from God?

Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 declares, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” That passage seems to affirm that what prophets teach carries divine authority, does it not?

What, then, should one conclude when modern LDS prophets repudiate as erroneous teachings that all their predecessors once proclaimed as divinely revealed truth?

This is not an accusation but an honest question from an outsider about continuity, trust, and divine guidance. If those earlier teachings about God cursing certain people with dark skin were indeed mistaken (as they clearly were), what safeguards exist in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today to prevent similar errors from being officially taught in the future? And if they were once regarded as true, what changed, and why?

The Invitation to “Pray About It”

As Latter-day Saints are taught to do, all the Mormon missionaries I’ve ever encountered have earnestly invited me to read the Book of Mormon (much of which I already had) and then pray about it so that I could “know” it is true.

This is because Mormons regard the Book of Mormon as “another testament of Jesus Christ,” a phrase that functions as a kind of subtitle on its front cover. This invitation to read and pray for divine confirmation comes directly from Moroni 10:3–5, where Moroni—said to be a prophet in the Book of Mormon—urges readers to ponder its message and pray for a manifestation of its truth:

“Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them . . . [that you] ponder it in your hearts. 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.”

Contemporary Latter-day Saints employ the same approach. For example, Walter F. González, a Mormon General Authority Seventy, wrote in his 2011 Ensign article “If You Really Want to Know, You Will Know”:

“I bear witness that if you read and pray about the Book of Mormon, following the directions of Moroni, you will know that it is true.”

González describes how he prayed for confirmation and felt the Holy Ghost assure him of its divine origin. This personal testimony pattern is central to Mormon missionary practice. The underlying belief is that anyone who sincerely reads and prays will, through the Spirit, receive the same assurance that the Book of Mormon is true.

When Mormons offer me that same invitation, I explain that there is no need for me—or for any Catholic, or anyone else, for that matter—to do that, because God has already revealed in Jesus Christ the fullness of His plan of salvation as recorded in the New Testament and transmitted through Apostolic Tradition. Christ commissioned His Church to teach “all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).

At the heart of this issue lies a clear contradiction. The Book of Mormon teaches that God darkened the skin of the Lamanites as a sign of disfavor (2 Nephi 5:21; Alma 3:6), yet the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has officially disavowed the idea that dark skin signifies divine curse or moral inferiority. Its 2013 Race and the Priesthood statement rejects such interpretations outright, placing the Church’s current position in clear tension with the language of its own scripture (see 3 Nephi 2:15).

In the view of Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and other historic Christians, this contradiction raises a deeper theological question. They hold that God’s public revelation was fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ and handed down through the Apostles, reaching its definitive close with the New Testament canon (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 66–67). From that perspective, no subsequent revelation—such as the Book of Mormon’s claim to be “another testament of Jesus Christ”—can be regarded as divinely revealed truth, especially when its content differs significantly from (or worse, contradicts) what has already been divinely revealed.

For those who share this belief, there is no need to pray for confirmation of the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, since, as Catholics affirm, God has already spoken fully and definitively through Christ, the Old and New Testaments, and His Church. Any later text that departs from that revelation by directly contradicting it—or that now requires radical reinterpretation within its own tradition—cannot be viewed as part of the same Divine Revelation. To approach it otherwise would be, for a Catholic, akin to praying for confirmation of divine inspiration in other post-biblical religious writings such as L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics, the works of Ellen G. White, the Bhagavad Gita, or the Qur’an.

St. Paul expresses this clearly in Galatians 1:8:

“Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

In other words, for Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, there would be no need to “pray about” any claimed revelation or scripture that comes after, much less departs from, the Gospel already revealed by Christ and formally canonized by the Church; for them, the Book of Mormon corresponds to the very kind of “different gospel” Saint Paul warns against.

To illustrate this point more concretely, a few examples may clarify where key doctrines found in the Book of Mormon diverge significantly from Catholic teaching, basing itself on Scripture and Apostolic Tradition.

Examples of Contradictions Between the Book of Mormon and Catholic Biblical Theology

1. Original Sin and Infant Baptism
The Book of Mormon teaches that little children are incapable of sin and are “alive in Christ,” without need for baptism (Moroni 8:8, 10–12). (See also: Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–27; Gospel Principles, chap. 20, “Baptism.”)

This stands in contrast to the New Testament teaching that all humanity inherits original sin from Adam (Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:21–22) and therefore requires baptism for salvation (John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5; see CCC 396–409, 1250). St. Augustine declared, “No one is freed from the guilt of sin, nor admitted into the kingdom of heaven, unless he be baptized” (On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, I.9). Likewise, St. Thomas Aquinas affirmed that baptism is necessary because “man cannot be cleansed from sin except through the grace of Christ, which is conferred in baptism” (Summa Theologiae, III, q. 68, a. 1).

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2. The Necessity of the Fall
According to 2 Nephi 2:23–25, Adam and Eve’s disobedience was essential for joy, procreation, and moral agency; in other words, they had to fall. (See also: Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:10–11; Gospel Principles, chap. 6, “The Fall of Adam and Eve.”)

Scripture, however, presents the Fall as a tragic act of disobedience that brought sin and death into the world (Romans 5:12–19; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22), not as a fortunate necessity (see CCC 396–400). St. Augustine described Adam’s sin as “the cause of all the evils that befell our nature” (City of God, XIII.14), and St. Thomas Aquinas explained that the Fall deprived mankind of original justice, leaving human nature wounded and inclined to sin (Summa Theologiae, I–II, q. 85, a. 3). Through Christ, the New Adam, humanity is redeemed and restored (Romans 5:18–19; CCC 411).

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3. Salvation by Works
The Book of Mormon states that salvation comes “by grace . . . after all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23; Moroni 10:32). (See also: Doctrine and Covenants 76:41–43; Book of Mormon Student Manual, commentary on 2 Nephi 25:23.)

This suggests that divine grace completes or crowns human effort, whereas Scripture teaches that salvation is “by grace through faith . . . not because of works” (Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16). As St. Paul writes, believers are saved by “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6; James 2:17, 24), not by human merit. If mankind could achieve salvation through its own effort, the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ would have been unnecessary (John 1:14; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:26).

The Council of Trent affirmed that while good works necessarily accompany grace, they do not earn salvation (Decree on Justification, sess. 6, chap. 16; canons 24–26). St. Augustine taught, “When God crowns our merits, He crowns nothing other than His own gifts” (Epistle 194, to Sixtus, n. 19; cf. On Grace and Free Will, ch. 15). St. Thomas Aquinas likewise explained that human merit “depends entirely on the first grace given through Christ,” and that “no one can merit the first grace” (Summa Theologiae, I–II, q. 114, a. 2, ad 3). See also CCC 2006–2011.

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4. The “Racial Curse”
The Book of Mormon describes dark skin as a divine curse marking spiritual inferiority among the Lamanites, said to be the wicked descendants of ancient Israelites (2 Nephi 5:21; Alma 3:6). (See also: Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7:8, 22; Doctrine and Covenants, Official Declaration 2, “Race and the Priesthood.”)

This teaching stands in clear contrast to the historic Christian understanding of Scripture, i.e., that all are equal in Christ, with no racial or ethnic distinction (Galatians 3:28; Acts 10:34–35; Colossians 3:11). St. Peter proclaimed that “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), and St. Paul affirmed that “Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).

Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and most Protestants, for example, understand the New Testament to teach that every human being, regardless of race or ethnicity, possesses equal dignity, having been created in the image of God. (CCC 1934–1935). St. Thomas Aquinas echoed this belief, writing that “grace is given to all according to the measure determined by the wisdom of God” (Summa Theologiae, I–II, q. 112, a. 4), not according to birth or race.

Examining LDS Attempts to Reconcile the Contradiction

A fair-minded reader might ask, “How would a faithful Latter-day Saint respond to this?” It is natural that LDS scholars and apologists would seek to clarify, qualify, or reinterpret the Book of Mormon passages in ways that mitigate or resolve the apparent contradiction. Yet, upon close examination, these explanations fail to stand when both the text itself and the Church’s 2013 disavowal are read at face value.

One approach might be to suggest that the “curse” placed upon the Lamanites was purely spiritual, not physical. However, the Book of Mormon does not support that interpretation. It explicitly states that God “caused a skin of blackness to come upon them . . . that they might not be enticing” to the Nephites (2 Nephi 5:21). This is not symbolic language; it describes a visible, physical change associated with moral guilt—a principle the modern LDS Church has since rejected as false.

The Book of Mormon itself attributes the change in skin color directly to God’s punitive action:

“And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing . . . wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them” (2 Nephi 5:21).

Others might argue that the 2013 disavowal applies only to nineteenth- and twentieth-century “theories” or “folklore” concerning Africans and the descendants of Cain, not to the Book of Mormon’s ancient setting. Yet that distinction is unsustainable.

The Mormon Church’s own statement disavows “theories . . . that black skin is a sign of divine disfavor or curse.” It does not exempt the Lamanites. Whether the setting is ancient America or modern Africa is immaterial; the principle remains identical. Both portray dark skin as a divine punishment. If one version of that teaching is condemned, so must the other be.

A third explanation appeals to the idea of “continuing revelation”—that modern prophets have received greater light and knowledge, enabling them to reinterpret earlier scripture in a fuller way. Yet that position raises serious theological problems. If living prophets can contradict previous prophets and reinterpret scriptures said to have been revealed by God, how can one ever discern where revelation ends and error begins? Joseph Smith declared the Book of Mormon to be “the most correct of any book on earth.” But that claim becomes untenable if its contents require continual reinterpretation or quiet revision. A divinely inspired text, by its very nature, should not require retrospective correction.

Another proposal could be to redefine “white” and “dark” as merely symbolic, referring to covenant status or moral condition rather than literal skin color. Yet again, the Book of Mormon passages do not lend themselves to that reading. The text explicitly connects white skin with being physically “enticing” and dark skin with being “loathsome,” distinctions that make sense only if understood in a physical, physiognomic, not metaphorical, sense. Early Latter-day Saints, including Joseph Smith and subsequent LDS leaders, clearly understood these descriptions as literal. Modern symbolic reinterpretations seem to be little more than anachronistic efforts to reconcile the Book of Mormon text with contemporary moral sensibilities, rather than a faithful exegesis of its original claims.

Some Mormon apologists might maintain that the LDS Church never rejected the Book of Mormon passages themselves, only certain racist interpretations that were later attached to them. Yet, as the official 2013 disavowal explicitly states, the idea of dark skin as a sign of divine disfavor is false, without qualification or exception. In other words, if the Book of Mormon’s description of the Lamanite curse certainly seems to mean exactly what the text itself says—and what LDS leaders consistently taught it to mean until 2013—then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has effectively disavowed a core teaching within its own scripture, even if it does not acknowledge that implication directly.

When this tension is raised, some defenders might appeal to mystery: “We don’t fully understand how the curse worked; God’s ways are mysterious.” But it remains that the Church now explicitly teaches that God does not mark whole races with dark skin (of any shade) as a sign of disfavor and punishment. That leaves only two possible conclusions: either the Book of Mormon was mistaken on this point from the beginning, or the modern prophets and authorities of the LDS Church are mistaken now. There is no rationally consistent third position.

Finally, some might appeal to the familiar claim that Mormon “prophets are not infallible.” However, Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 appears to teach otherwise:

“Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

Conclusion

For Catholics and others who believe that Divine Revelation in and through Jesus Christ, the Old and New Testaments, and in His Church are complete and definitive, praying about that would not be necessary—or even fitting—to determine whether the Book of Mormon could be true. In their view, the witness of Scripture and Apostolic Tradition on these central doctrines already provides complete clarity.

When a Latter-day Saint encourages a non-member to “pray for confirmation” that the Book of Mormon is true, for many, the Apostle Paul’s warning in Galatians 1:8 comes to mind: “Even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” According to Joseph Smith’s account, an angel named Moroni appeared to him and revealed the existence of the Book of Mormon. Saint Paul’s caution about “an angel from heaven preaching another gospel,” however, bears a striking resemblance to that description.

The LDS Church’s earlier teaching—now officially disavowed—that God punished certain peoples with dark skin certainly appears to exemplify precisely the kind of “different gospel” Paul warned against.

That raises an unavoidable question: How can the LDS Church repudiate as false its former doctrine that God marks or “curses” some with dark skin, yet continue to affirm the Book of Mormon as divinely inspired when that very text teaches the same idea?

According to the Book of Mormon:

“And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity . . .wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.” (2 Nephi 5:21)

“And their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites.” (3 Nephi 2:15)

“They did become a dark, loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.” (1 Nephi 12:23)

This contradiction is impossible to ignore. One cannot have it both ways. And it stands as yet another reason why many might reasonably conclude that there is no need to “pray about” the Book of Mormon to discover whether it is true—because, ironically, even the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself has officially declared that at least one of its teachings is not true.

Postscript:

I am confident that all who profess faith in Jesus Christ, whatever their religious background, can agree that the contrast between what is claimed as revelation and what endures as authentic, divinely revealed truth invites thoughtful reflection and prayer. Every generation faces the enduring questions of where God has truly spoken and how His voice continues to guide the human heart. Those who sincerely seek the truth and ask the Lord for wisdom and light can trust that He will lead them toward what is true, genuine, and lasting.

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Appendix: References from Official Mormon Sources

1. The Call to Pray About the Book of Mormon

• Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:3–5.

• Walter F. González, “If You Really Want to Know, You Will Know,” Ensign, Oct. 2011.

• Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2019), chap. 5, “The Book of Mormon.”

2. Original Sin and Infant Baptism

• Book of Mormon, Moroni 8:8, 10–12.

• Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–27: “And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old.”

• Gospel Principles (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2011), chap. 20, “Baptism.”

3. The Necessity of the Fall

• Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:23–25.

• Pearl of Great Price, Moses 5:10–11 (Adam and Eve rejoice that their fall brought knowledge and joy).

4. Salvation by Grace ‘After All We Can Do’

• Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:23; Moroni 10:32.

• Doctrine and Covenants 76:41–43: “By him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.”

• Book of Mormon Student Manual (Salt Lake City: LDS Church Educational System, 2009), commentary on 2 Nephi 25:23.

5. The Racial Curse

• Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 5:21–24; Alma 3:6.

• Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7:8, 22 (people of Canaan cursed with blackness).

• Doctrine and Covenants, Official Declaration 2 (June 8, 1978).

• Journal of Discourses, vol. 7 (1859), Brigham Young, 290–291 (teaching on “mark of Cain” and priesthood restrictions).

• Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 527–528.

• Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection (Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1931), 43.

• Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1 (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954), 61–62.

• Official Declaration 2, Doctrine and Covenants, 1978.

Explanatory Notes:

1. Apostolic Tradition
In Catholic teaching, Apostolic Tradition refers to the living transmission of Christ’s teaching through the apostles and their successors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It includes both what was written in Sacred Scripture and what was handed on orally and in practice. Together they form one Deposit of Faith—the full revelation of Christ entrusted to the Church until the end of time. See CCC 75–78, 80–82, 84; cf. 1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Timothy 2:2.¹

The Cessation (Completion) of Divine Revelation
Catholic doctrine holds that public revelation—God’s definitive self-disclosure in Jesus Christ—was completed with the death of the last apostle. No new public revelation is to be expected before Christ’s return in glory. Private revelations, even when recognized by the Church, do not add to or complete this revelation but help believers live it more fully in a given period of history. See CCC 66–67; cf. Hebrews 1:1–2; Jude 3; John 14:26.

The Role of the Magisterium
Catholic teaching is that the Magisterium (Latin magister, “teacher”) is the Church’s living office of interpretation (comprised of all the bishops of the Church in union with the pope), charged with preserving and explaining the truth handed down in Scripture and Tradition. Christ commissioned His apostles to continue His teaching: “Go into the whole world and make disciples of all nations . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). The Magisterium’s mission and mandate is to safeguard and faithfully transmit the Gospel (i.e., the objective content and authentic understanding of Divine Revelation, in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition [see 1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15], and guiding the faithful in understanding it rightly in each generation. See CCC 85–87, 94; cf. Luke 10:16; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Peter 1:20–21.