In Infinite Goodness, I made this comment:
Joseph’s revelations and writings contain several similar examples of the Lord alluding to Joseph’s background knowledge. One of my favorites is D&C 18:10 in which the Lord tells Joseph, “Remember the worth of souls is great,” a non-biblical phrase that, for him to remember, Joseph had to have learned outside of the Bible.
Edwards wrote these passages.
- The man Christ Jesus when he was upon earth, had doubtless as great a sense of the infinite greatness and importance of eternal things, and the worth of souls, as any have nowadays
- All those that are truly sensible of the worth of souls will think these very glorious times and will long for them.
- In how clear and striking a manner does what Christ has done and suffered demonstrate the worth of the souls of men! If Christ thought the worth of souls to be so great as to answer such labors…
- When God Gives me a Sense of the worth of Souls, then I See the Danger of unconverted Ministers…
Hervey wrote something similar. “The surpassing worth of an immortal soul; a solicitude for its final welfare urged.”
Surely the Lord knew that Joseph was familiar with these teachings when he told Joseph to “remember” them.
There's more to the story.
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Edwards wrote not only about the worth of souls, but also about the worth of "immortal souls," which is a nonbiblical Book of Mormon term.
The 1808 Edwards collection, Kindle at 57388:
The devils and damned souls have a great sense of the vast importance of the things of another world. They are in the invisible world, and they see and know how great the things of that world are: Their experience teaches them in the most affecting manner. They have a great sense of the worth of salvation, and the worth of immortal souls, and the vast importance of those things that concern men’s eternal welfare.
Much of this language is common to both the KJV and the BofM, but some of it is nonbiblical BofM terminology.
"damned souls" is a nonbiblical BofM term (Mormon 9:4), as is "damned soul" (Alma 36:16)
"sense" is a nonbiblical BofM term. (Neh. 8:8 uses the term as a synonym for "meaning," which is how other translations render it).
In the BofM, like in Edwards, "sense" is used in the connotation of perceiving and awareness.
- "neither sense or insensibility," [Note: "insensibility" is a nonbiblical BofM term that Edwards used often]
-"awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt,"[Note: "lively sense" is a nonbiblical BofM term that Edwards used often]
-"a sense of your own nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state," [Note: "nothingness" and "worthless" are nonbiblical BofM terms that Edwards used often]
-"awake to a sense of your awful situation." [Note: "awful" is a nonbiblical BofM term that Edwards used often]
"importance" is another nonbiblical BofM term, as in "how great the importance" (2 Ne. 2:8) and "one thing is of more importance" (Alma 7:7) Both BofM and Edwards use superlatives with "importance."
"immortal souls" is another nonbiblical BofM term (Helaman 3:30)
"eternal welfare" is another nonbiblical BofM term (2 Ne. 1:25)
