The Lectures on Faith is a series of seven lectures delivered in Kirtland, Ohio by Joseph Smith Jr., and likely Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederik G. Williams in the early 1830s. Originally part of the Mormon canon of scripture, the lectures were de-canonized in 1921 by a committee headed by Mormon apostle James E. Talmage, likely because Mormon doctrine and theology had since drifted from the doctrines and theology taught by its founder. As a result, 102 years later, this Plato-like writing has nearly disappeared entirely from Mormondom. Some of the plausible sore points that led to de-canonization of the lectures are mentioned in the preface by Nathaniel Ernest, author of the novel The Gospel According to Ivan Ivanovich. In the lectures, Joseph attempts to establish among other things the following:
what faith is;
the object on which it rests;
how it was that the knowledge of the existence of God came into the world;
a correct idea of God, his character, perfections and attributes;
the nature of the Godhead;
the effects of faith.
