It was intended primarily for a Latter-day Saint audience and has been used as a reference book by church members because of its comprehensive nature, and was a highly influential all-time bestseller in the LDS community.

In 1958, McConkie, then a member of the First Council of the Seventy of the LDS Church, published a book entitled Mormon Doctrine: A Compendium of the Gospel, which he described as "the first major attempt to digest, explain, and analyze all of the important doctrines of the kingdom" and "the first extensive compendium of the whole gospel—the first attempt to publish an encyclopedic commentary covering the whole field of revealed religion."

Apostle Mark E. Petersen said it was "full of errors and misstatements, and it is most unfortunate that it has received such wide circulation.

"[5] On January 5, 1959, apostle Marion G. Romney was assigned by church president David O. McKay to read and report on the book.

His report was delivered on January 28, which mainly "dealt with Elder McConkie's usage of forceful, blunt language; some strongly worded statements about ambiguous doctrine and matters of opinion; and the overall authoritative tone throughout the book, though in general Romney had a high regard for Mormon Doctrine and felt it filled an evident need remarkably well.

"[4] The report concluded that "notwithstanding its many commendable and valuable features and the author's assumption of 'sole and full responsibility' for it, its nature and scope and the authoritative tone of the style in which it is written pose the question as to the propriety of the author's attempting such a project without assignment and supervision from him whose right and responsibility it is to speak for the church on Mormon Doctrine."

[2] Nearly a year later, after meeting to discuss the book, the January 8, 1960 office notes of McKay reflect: "We [the First Presidency of the church] decided that Bruce R. McConkie’s book, Mormon Doctrine recently published by Bookcraft Company, must not be re-published, as it is full of errors and misstatements, and it is most unfortunate that it has received such wide circulation.

"[5]McKay called Joseph Fielding Smith (McConkie's father-in-law) on January 27, 1960, to inform him of the decision to ban further publication of the book: [McKay] then said: 'Now, Brother Smith, he is a General Authority, and we do not want to give him a public rebuke that would be embarrassing to him and lessen his influence with the members of the Church, so we shall speak to the Twelve at our meeting in the temple tomorrow, and tell them that Brother McConkie's book is not approved as an authoritative book, and that it should not be republished, even if the errors... are corrected.'

A third edition of the book was published in 1978 after church president Spencer W. Kimball said he received a revelation that the priesthood should be extended to all worthy male members.

In the 1966 edition of Mormon Doctrine, McConkie wrote that those who were sent to Earth through the lineage of Cain were those who had been less valiant in the premortal life.

In 1972, McConkie was called to serve in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles by church president Harold B. Lee.