Doctrine and Covenants

The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, editions of the book continue to be printed mainly by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church)).

The book originally contained two parts: a sequence of lectures setting forth basic church doctrine, followed by a compilation of important revelations, or "covenants" of the church: thus the name Doctrine and Covenants. The "doctrine" portion of the book, however, has been removed by both the LDS Church and the Community of Christ. The remaining portion of the book contains many revelations on numerous topics, most of which were dictated by the movement's founder Joseph Smith, Jr., supplemented by materials periodically added by each denomination.

Controversy has existed between the two largest denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement over some sections added to the 1876 LDS edition, attributed to founder Smith. Whereas the LDS Church believes these sections to have been revelations to Smith,^[1] the RLDS Church traditionally disputed their authenticity.^[2]

History

The Doctrine and Covenants was first published in 1835 as a later version of the Book of Commandments, which had been partially printed in 1833. This earlier book contained 65 early revelations to church leaders including Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdery. Before many copies of the book could be printed, however, the printing press and most of the printed copies were destroyed by a mob in Missouri.

On September 24, 1834 a committee was appointed by the general assembly of the church to organize a new volume containing the most significant Latter Day Saint revelations. This committee of Presiding Elders, consisting of Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams, began to review and revise numerous revelations for inclusion in the new work. The committee eventually organized the book into two parts: a "Doctrine" part followed by a "Covenants" part.

The "Doctrine" part of the book consisted of a theological course now called the "Lectures on Faith". The Lectures were a series of doctrinal courses used in the School of the Prophets which had recently been completed in Kirtland, Ohio. According to the committee, these Lectures were included in the compilation "in consequence of their embracing the important doctrine of salvation."^[3] The "Covenants" part of the book, labeled "Covenants and Commandments of the Lord, to his servants of the church of the Latter Day Saints", contained a total of 103 revelations on church governance. These 103 revelations were said to "contain items or principles for the regulation of the church, as taken from the revelations which have been given since its organization, as well as from former ones."^[4] Each of the 103 revelations was assigned a "section number"; however, section 66 was used twice. Thus, the sections of the original work numbered only to 102.

On February 17, 1835, after the committee had selected the book's contents, the committee wrote that the resulting work represents "our belief, and when we say this, humbly trust, the faith and principles of this society as a body."^[4]

The book was first introduced to the church body in a general conference on August 17, 1835. Joseph Smith, Jr. and Frederick G. Williams, two of the Presiding Elders on the committee, were absent, but Oliver Cowdery and Sidney Rigdon were present. The church membership at the time had not yet seen the Doctrine and Covenants manuscript as it had been compiled and revised solely by the committee; however, various church members who were familiar with the work "bore record" of the book's truth. At the end of the conference, the church "by a unanimous vote" agreed to accept the compilation as "the doctrine and covenants of their faith" and to make arrangements for its printing.^[5]

In 1835, the book was printed and published under the title Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of the Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints editions

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alongside the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and The Pearl of Great Price as holy scripture. Together they are referred to as the "Standard Works". The LDS Church's version of the Doctrine and Covenants is officially described by the church as "containing revelations given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with some additions by his successors in the Presidency of the Church."^[6]

Sections added to LDS edition

The 138 Sections in LDS Church's Doctrine and Covenants break down as follows:

• Sections 1–134, 137 — From the presidency of Joseph Smith, Jr. (1828–1844)
• Sections 135–136 — During the administration of the Twelve (1844–1847)
• Official Declaration—1 — From the presidency of Wilford Woodruff (1889–1898)
• Section 138 — From the presidency of Joseph F. Smith (1901–1918)
• Official Declaration—2 — From the presidency of Spencer W. Kimball (1973–1985)

The following sections are not revelations, but letters, reports, statements, and so forth: 102, 123, 127–131, 134, and 135

In 1844, the church added eight sections not included in the 1835 edition. In the current edition, these added sections are numbered 103, 105, 112, 119, 124, 127, 128, and 135.

In 1876, a new LDS Church edition renumbered most of the sections in a roughly chronological order instead of the earlier topical order, and included 26 revelations not included in previous editions, now numbered as Sections 2, 13, 77, 85, 87, 108–111, 113–118, 120–123, 125, 126, 129–132, and 136. Previous editions had been divided into verses, however, the early versifications generally followed the paragraph structure of the original text. It was with the 1876 edition that the currently used versification was first employed.

During the 1880s, five foreign editions contained two revelations to John Taylor that were received in 1882 and 1883; these revelations "set in order" the priesthood, gave more clarification about the roles of priesthood offices—especially the Seventy—and required Priesthood leaders to live plural marriage in order to qualify to hold their church positions.^{[citation needed]} Probably due to the LDS Church's change in attitude to polygamy in 1890, these sections were not included in future English editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.^{[citation needed]}

In 1930, a small volume edited by Apostle James E. Talmage titled Latter-day Revelations was published, which was a highly edited selective version of the Doctrine and Covenants. Some believe it was intended to replace the Doctrine and Covenants, but that due to the controversy that arose this plan was dropped.^{[citation needed]} Talmage's work did not contain the section on plural marriage.^[7]

Sections 137 and 138 were added to the LDS Church's 1981 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is the edition currently in use by the church. These were accounts of two visions, one from Joseph Smith and the other from his nephew, Joseph F. Smith in 1918. The revelations were earlier accepted as scripture when added to The Pearl of Great Price in April 1976.^[8] No new revelatory sections have been added since 1981.

The LDS Church's 1981 edition also contains two "Official Declarations" at the book's conclusion, the first renouncing polygamy in 1890, and the second in 1978 announcing the opening of priesthood ordination to all worthy male members including previously restricted members of African descent. These two "Official Declarations" are not revelations, but they serve as the formal announcements that a revelation was received. In neither case is the entire revelation included in the Doctrine and Covenants. The text of Official Declaration—1 has been included in every LDS Church printing of the Doctrine and Covenants since 1908.

Portions removed from the LDS edition

In 1876, Section 101 from the 1835 Edition (and subsequent printings) was removed. Section 101 was a Statement on Marriage as adopted by a conference of the church,^[9][10] and contained the following text:

Inasmuch as this Church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication and polygamy, we declare that we believe that one man should have one wife, and one woman but one husband, except in the case of death, when either is at liberty to marry again.^[11]

It was superseded by section 132 of the modern LDS edition, which contains a revelation received by Joseph Smith on eternal marriage and teaches the doctrine of plural marriage.

In 1921, the LDS Church removed the "Lectures on Faith" portion of the book, with an explanation that the Lectures "were never presented to nor accepted by the Church as being otherwise than theological lectures or lessons".^[12] The Lectures contain theology concerning the Godhead and emphasize the importance of faith and works.

Until 1981, editions of the book used code names for certain people and places in those sections that dealt with the United Order. The 1981 LDS edition replaced these with the real names, relegating the code names to footnotes. The Community of Christ edition still uses the code names.

Community of Christ editions

Officials of Community of Christ (formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) first published an edition of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1864, based on the previous 1844 edition. A General Conference of the church in 1878 approved a resolution that declared that the revelations of the Prophet–President Joseph Smith III had equal standing to those previously included in the work. Since that time, the church has continually added sections to its edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, containing the revelations of succeeding Prophet-Presidents. The most recent addition was formally authorized on April 14, 2010, after being presented to the church for informal consideration on January 17, 2010. The numbers of the sections and versification differ from the edition published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and both modern editions differ from the original 1835 edition numeration.

Sections added to Community of Christ edition

The 166 Sections of the Community of Christ's Doctrine and Covenants break down as follows:

• Sections 1–113 (includes 108A) — From the presidency of Joseph Smith, Jr. (1828–1844)
• Sections 114–131 — From the presidency of Joseph Smith III (1860–1914)
• Sections 132–138 — From the presidency of Frederick M. Smith (1914–1946)
• Sections 139–144 — From the presidency of Israel A. Smith (1946–1958)
• Sections 145–152 (includes 149A) — From the presidency of W. Wallace Smith (1958–1978)
• Sections 153–160 — From the presidency of Wallace B. Smith (1978–1996)
• Sections 161–162 — From the presidency of W. Grant McMurray (1996–2004)
• Sections 163–164 — From the presidency of Stephen M. Veazey (2005– )

The following sections are not revelations, but letters, reports, statements, and so forth: 99, 108A, 109–113, and 123.

Based on the above, the number of revelations (accounting for sections that are not revelations) presented by each Community of Christ prophet, are as follows:

• Joseph Smith II: 107
• Joseph Smith III: 17
• Frederick M. Smith: 7
• Israel A. Smith: 6
• W. Wallace Smith: 9
• Wallace B. Smith: 8
• W. Grant McMurray: 2
• Stephen M. Veazey: 2

Portions removed from the Community of Christ edition

Community of Christ removed the "Lectures on Faith" ("Doctrine" portion of the work) in 1897. The 1970 World Conference concluded that several sections that had been added between the 1835 and 1844 editions—mainly dealing with the subjects of temple worship and baptism for the dead—had been published without proper approval of a church conference. The World Conference removed Sections 107, 109, 110, 113 and 123 to a historical appendix (which also included documents that were never published as sections). Of these, only Section 107 was a revelation. The World Conference of 1990 subsequently removed the entire appendix from the Doctrine and Covenants. Section 108A contained the minutes of a business meeting, which, because of its historical nature, was moved to the Introduction in the 1970s. After 1990, the Introduction was updated, and what was section 108A was removed entirely.

Doctrinal Developments in the Community of Christ edition

The ongoing additions to the Community of Christ edition provide a record of the leadership changes and doctrinal developments within the denomination. When W. Grant McMurray became Prophet–President, he declared that instruction specific to leadership changes would no longer be included, so that the focus of the work could be more doctrinal in nature, and less administrative. The record of these leadership changes are still maintained in the form of published letters of counsel. Prophet–President Stephen M. Veazey has conformed to this pattern. Although these letters are not formally published in the Doctrine and Covenants, they are still deemed to be inspired, and are dealt with in the same manner that revelations are (that is,, they must be deliberated and approved by the voting members of a World Conference).

A modern revelation that resulted in some "disaffection" and "led to intense conflict in scattered areas of the RLDS Church"^[13] is contained in the Community of Christ version's Section 156,^[14] presented by Prophet-President Wallace B. Smith and added in 1984, which called for construction of the Independence Temple and the ordination of women to the priesthood, among other changes.

While some of the prose in the new revelations seems designed to guide the denomination on matters of church governance and doctrine, others are seen as inspirational. One such example can be cited from Section 161, presented as counsel to the church by W. Grant McMurray in 1996: "Become a people of the Temple—those who see violence but proclaim peace, who feel conflict yet extend the hand of reconciliation, who encounter broken spirits and find pathways for healing."

Editions used by other denominations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) uses the 1846 edition that was published in Nauvoo, Illinois; this version is virtually identical to the 1844 edition. Most recently a facsimile reprint was produced for the church at Voree, Wisconsin by Richard Drew in 1993.

The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) contends that the thousands of changes made to the original revelations as published in the Book of Commandments (including the change of the church's name) are not doctrinal and result from Joseph Smith's fall from his original calling. As a result, the Church of Christ (Temple Lot) prefers to use reprints of the Book of Commandments text.

The Restoration Branches generally use the older RLDS Church Doctrine and Covenants, typically sections 1–144.

The Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also uses the older RLDS Church version of the Doctrine and Covenants up to section 144, and also contains new revelations from their prophet–president Frederick Niels Larsen. These new sections are R 145–R 153.

Chart comparison of editions

The following chart compares the current editions of the Doctrine and Covenants used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ed.) and the Community of Christ (CofC ed.) with the 1833 Book of Commandments (BofC), the 1835 edition published in Kirtland, and the 1844 edition published in Nauvoo. Unless otherwise specified, the document is styled a "revelation" of the person delivering it.

LDS ed.	CofC ed.	BofC (1833)	Kirtland ed. (1835)	Nauvoo ed. (1844)	Date	Delivered by	Description
1	1	1	1	1	1831-11-01	Joseph Smith	Lord’s 'Preface'
2					1823-09-21	Joseph Smith (angelic visitation)	Moroni’s visit to Joseph Smith
3	2	2	30	30	1828-07-??	Joseph Smith	lost 116 pages
4	4	3	31	31	1829-02-??	Joseph Smith	To Joseph Smith, Sr.
5	5	4	32	32	1829-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Martin Harris; golden plates
6	6	5	8	8	1829-04-??	Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery	To Oliver Cowdery
7	7	6	33	33	1829-04-??	Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery	To Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery; John the Apostle
8	8	7	34	34	1829-04-??	Joseph Smith	To Oliver Cowdery; Book of Mormon translation
9	9	8	35	35	1829-04-??	Joseph Smith	To Oliver Cowdery; Book of Mormon translation
10	3	9	36	36	1828-??-?? (Summer)	Joseph Smith	lost 116 pages
11	10	10	37	37	1829-05-??	Joseph Smith	To Hyrum Smith
12	11	11	38	38	1829-05-??	Joseph Smith	To Joseph Knight, Sr.
13					1829-05-15	Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (angelic visitation)	Conferral of Aaronic priesthood by John the Baptist
14	12	12	39	39	1829-06-??	Joseph Smith	To David Whitmer
15	13	13	40	40	1829-06-??	Joseph Smith	To John Whitmer
16	14	14	41	41	1829-06-??	Joseph Smith	To Peter Whitmer, Jr.
17	15		42	42	1829-06-??	Joseph Smith	To Three Witnesses
18	16	15	43	43	1829-06-??	Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer	selection of Twelve Apostles
19	18	16	44	44	1830-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Martin Harris
20	17	24	2	2	1830-04-06	Joseph Smith	Church organization and government
21	19	22	46	46	1830-04-06	Joseph Smith	Joseph Smith’s calling
22	20	23	47	47	1830-04-??	Joseph Smith	baptism
23	21	17-21	45	45	1830-04-??	Joseph Smith	To Oliver Cowdery, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith, Joseph Smith, Sr., Joseph Knight, Sr.
24	23	25	9	9	1830-07-??	Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery	Callings of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery
25	24	26	48	48	1830-07-??	Joseph Smith	To Emma Smith
26	25	27	49	49	1830-07-??	Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, and John Whitmer	Common consent
27	26	28	50	50	1830-08-??	Joseph Smith	Sacrament and priesthood ordinations
28	27	30	51	51	1830-09-??	Joseph Smith	To Oliver Cowdery; Joseph Smith to receive revelations until another appointed
29	28	29	10	10	1830-09-??	Joseph Smith	To six elders; Second Coming; origin of Satan; redemption of children
30	29	31-33	52	52	1830-09-??	Joseph Smith	To David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, Jr., John Whitmer
31	30	34	53	53	1830-09-??	Joseph Smith	To Thomas B. Marsh
32	31		54	54	1830-10-??	Joseph Smith	To Parley P. Pratt and Ziba Peterson
33	32	35	55	55	1830-10-??	Joseph Smith	To Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet
34	33	36	56	56	1830-11-04	Joseph Smith	To Orson Pratt
35	34	37	11	11	1830-12-??	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Callings Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon; signs and miracles; the elect
36	35	38	57	57	1830-12-??	Joseph Smith	To Edward Partridge
37	37	39	58	58	1830-12-??	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Saints to gather in Ohio
38	38	40	12	12	1831-01-02	Joseph Smith	equality; wars
39	39	41	59	59	1831-01-05	Joseph Smith	To James Covill
40	40	42	60	60	1831-01-??	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	concerning James Covill
41	41	43	61	61	1831-02-04	Joseph Smith	To the church; Edward Partridge called as bishop
42	42	44, 47	13	13	1831-02-09	Joseph Smith	"the law" of the church
43	43	45	14	14	1831-02-??	Joseph Smith	Role of President of the Church; missionary work; forces of nature
44	44	46	62	62	1831-02-??	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Church conference called
45	45	48	15	15	1831-03-07	Joseph Smith	Matthew chapter 24 explained; missionary work; Christ as advocate
46	46	49	16	16	1831-03-08	Joseph Smith	sacrament meeting, gifts of the Spirit
47	47	50	63	63	1831-03-08	Joseph Smith	John Whitmer to keep history of church
48	48	51	64	64	1831-03-??	Joseph Smith	purchase of lands
49	49	52	65	65	1831-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Parley P. Pratt and Leman Copley; Shaker beliefs
50	50	53	17	17	1831-05-??	Joseph Smith	Recognizing the Spirit
51	51		23	23	1831-05-??	Joseph Smith	property division
52	52	54	66	66	1831-06-07	Joseph Smith	sending elders to Missouri
53	53	55	66[15]	67	1831-06-??	Joseph Smith	To A. Sidney Gilbert
54	54	56	67	68	1831-06-??	Joseph Smith	To Newel Knight
55	55	57	68	69	1831-06-??	Joseph Smith	To W.W. Phelps
56	56	58	69	70	1831-06-??	Joseph Smith	the rebellious; the rich and the poor
57	57		27	27	1831-07-20	Joseph Smith	location of Zion at Jackson County, Missouri
58	58	59	18	28	1831-08-01	Joseph Smith	tribulations; gather to Zion
59	59	60	19	19	1831-08-07	Joseph Smith	the sabbath; reward for the righteous
60	60	61	70	71	1831-08-08	Joseph Smith	elders to travel to Cincinnati; missionary work
61	61	62	71	72	1831-08-12	Joseph Smith	"destruction upon the waters"
62	62	63	72	73	1831-08-13	Joseph Smith	missionary work
63	63	64	20	20	1831-08-??	Joseph Smith	signs; mysteries; impending war and woe; gather to Zion; authority to use Lord's name
64	64	65[16]	21	21	1831-09-11	Joseph Smith	forgiveness; financial debt; tithing; Zion to flourish
65	65		24	24	1831-10-??	Joseph Smith (prayer)	Prayer of Joseph Smith; keys of the kingdom
66	66		74	75	1831-10-25	Joseph Smith	To William E. M’Lellin
67	67		25	25	1831-11-??	Joseph Smith	testimony of the Book of Commandments
68	68		22	22	1831-11-??	Joseph Smith	To Orson Hyde, Luke S. Johnson, Lyman E. Johnson and William E. M’Lellin; ; bishops; parents
69	69		28	28	1831-11-??	Joseph Smith	Assignments for John Whitmer
70	70		26	26	1831-11-12	Joseph Smith	stewardship; equality
71	71		90	91	1831-12-01	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon called to preach
72	72		89	90	1831-12-04	Joseph Smith	bishops
73	73		29	29	1832-01-10	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible
74	74		73	74	1832-01-??	Joseph Smith	Explanation of 1 Corinthians 7:14; salvation of children
75	75		87	88	1832-01-25	Joseph Smith	missionary work; families of missionaries
76	76		91	92	1832-02-16	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon (vision)	Jesus Christ; resurrection; degrees of glory; origin of Satan
77					1832-03-??	Joseph Smith	certain verses from Revelation explained
78	77		75	76	1832-03-??	Joseph Smith	United Order; equality
79	78		76	77	1832-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Jared Carter
80	79		77	78	1832-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Stephen Burnett and Eden Smith
81	80		79	80	1832-03-??	Joseph Smith	To Jesse Gause; on March 18, 1833 application transferred to Frederick G. Williams
82	81		86	87	1832-04-26	Joseph Smith	obedience; United Order; equality
83	82		88	89	1832-04-26	Joseph Smith	husbands and fathers; widows and orphans
84	83		4	4	1832-09-23	Joseph Smith	priesthood
85					1832-11-17	Joseph Smith (letter)	Letter from Joseph Smith to W.W. Phelps; United Order; One Mighty and Strong; equality
86	84		6	6	1832-12-06	Joseph Smith	Parable of the Tares explained
87					1832-12-25	Joseph Smith	prophecy of war, calamity
88	85		7	7	1832-12-27/28; 1833-01-03	Joseph Smith	the "olive leaf"; "Lord's message of peace"
89	86		80	81	1833-02-27	Joseph Smith	A word of wisdom
90	87		84	85	1833-03-08	Joseph Smith	keys of the kingdom; First Presidency
91	88		92	93	1833-03-09	Joseph Smith	the Apocrypha
92	89		93	94	1833-03-15	Joseph Smith	To Frederick G. Williams
93	90		82	83	1833-05-06	Joseph Smith	John’s record of Christ; intelligence; innocence of children
94	91		83	84	1833-05-06	Joseph Smith	To Hyrum Smith, Reynolds Cahoon and Jared Carter; construction of various buildings commanded
95	92		95	96	1833-06-01	Joseph Smith	temple to be built; purpose of temples
96	93		96	97	1833-06-04	Joseph Smith	division of property
97	94		81	82	1833-08-02	Joseph Smith	Saints in Jackson County, Missouri; temple to be built in Jackson County, Missouri
98	95		85	86	1833-08-06	Joseph Smith	promises and warnings; martyrs; when war is justified; forgiving enemies
99	96		78	79	1832-08-??[17]	Joseph Smith	To John Murdock
100	97		94	95	1833-10-12	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon	Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to preach gospel; Rigdon to be Smith's spokesman; welfare of Orson Hyde and John Gould
101	98		97	98	1833-12-16	Joseph Smith	redemption of Zion; parables; United States and U.S. Constitution; Saints to seek redress
102	99		5	5	1834-02-17	Oliver Cowdery and Orson Hyde (minutes of meeting)	Minutes for first high council meeting
103	100			101	1834-02-24	Joseph Smith	redemption of Zion; organization of Zion’s Camp
104	101		98	99	1834-04-24	Joseph Smith	United Order
105	102			102	1834-06-22	Joseph Smith	redemption of Zion; purpose of Kirtland Temple; peace
106	103		99	100	1834-11-25	Joseph Smith	To Warren A. Cowdery; Second Coming
107	104		3	3	1835-03-28 - completed; various times prior	Joseph Smith	priesthood; quorums
108					1835-12-26	Joseph Smith	To Lyman Sherman
109					1836-03-27	Joseph Smith (prayer)	Dedicatory prayer for Kirtland Temple
110					1836-04-03	Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (vision and angelic visitations)	Visitation of Jesus Christ to accept Kirtland Temple; conferral of priesthood keys; coming of Elijah
111					1836-08-06	Joseph Smith	temporal needs of the church
112	105			104	1837-07-23	Joseph Smith	To Thomas B. Marsh; Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; First Presidency
113					1838-03-??	Joseph Smith (answers to questions)	Answers to questions on the Book of Isaiah provided by Joseph Smith
114					1838-04-17	Joseph Smith	concerning David W. Patten
115					1838-04-17	Joseph Smith	name of the church; stakes; temple to be built at Far West, Missouri
116					1838-05-19	Joseph Smith	Adam-ondi-Ahman
117					1838-07-08	Joseph Smith	concerning William Marks, Newel K. Whitney and Oliver Granger; property; sacrifice
118					1838-07-08	Joseph Smith	vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles filled
119	106			107	1838-07-08	Joseph Smith	tithing
120					1838-07-08	Joseph Smith	Council on the Disposition of the Tithes
121					1839-03-20	Joseph Smith (prayer and prophecies)	Prayer and prophecies of Joseph Smith; why many are called but few chosen
122					1839-03-??	Joseph Smith	destiny of Joseph Smith
123					1839-03-??	Joseph Smith (letter)	Letter to church; duty in relation to their persecutors
124	107[18]			103	1841-01-19	Joseph Smith	Nauvoo Temple and Nauvoo House to be built; baptism for the dead
125					1841-03-??	Joseph Smith	Saints in Iowa
126					1841-07-09	Joseph Smith	To Brigham Young
127	109[18]			105	1842-09-01	Joseph Smith (letter)	Letter to church; baptism for the dead
128	110[18]			106	1842-09-06	Joseph Smith (letter)	Letter to church; baptism for the dead
129					1843-02-09	Joseph Smith (instructions)	distinguishing the nature of angels and disembodied spirits
130					1843-04-02	Joseph Smith (instruction)	Various items of instruction; corporeal nature of God and Jesus Christ; intelligence; seer stones
131					1843-05-17	Joseph Smith (instruction)	Various items of instruction; celestial marriage; eternal life
132					1843-07-12	Joseph Smith	plural marriage; celestial marriage; sealing power; exaltation
133	108		100	108	1831-11-03	Joseph Smith	original "Appendix"; Second Coming; missionary work
134	112		102	110	1835-08-15	Church (declaration)	secular governments and laws in general
135	113[18]			111	1844-06-27	John Taylor (eulogy)	Martyrdom of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith
136					1847-01-14	Brigham Young	Organization of Mormon pioneer westward journey
137[19]					1836-01-21	Joseph Smith (vision)	salvation for the dead; salvation of little children
138[19]					1918-10-03	Joseph F. Smith (vision)	Jesus Christ preached to spirits in prison; salvation for the dead
OD—1					1890-09-24	Wilford Woodruff (declaration)	cessation of plural marriage
OD—2					1978-06-08	Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, Marion G. Romney (declaration)	cessation of priesthood restrictions based on race
[20]	22[21]				1830-06-??	Joseph Smith	God’s words to Moses
[22]	36[23]				1830-12-??	Joseph Smith	Prophecy of Enoch
	108A		103		1835-08-17	Thomas Burdick, Warren Parrish, and Sylvester Smith (minutes of meeting)	General meeting of the quorums of the church to consider the labors of the committee charged with organizing publication of the revelations into a book
	111		101	109	1835-08-17	Church (declaration)	Declaration on marriage; one spouse only
	114				1861-10-07	Joseph Smith III (letter)	Tithing
	115				1863-03-??	Joseph Smith III	Calling of William Marks
	116				1865-05-04	Joseph Smith III	Priesthood ordination of other races
	117				1873-04-10	Joseph Smith III	Changes in leadership positions
	118				1882-09-28	Joseph Smith III	Foreign missions
	119				1887-04-11	Joseph Smith III	Instructions to the elders
	120				1890-04-08	Joseph Smith III	Branch and district presidents
	121				1885-04-11	Joseph Smith III	Changes in leadership positions
	122				1894-04-15	Joseph Smith III	Duties of quorums
	123[18]				1894-04-20	Joint council of the First Presidency, Council of Twelve Apostles, and Presiding Bishopric (report)	Lamoni College; church publications; relations with LDS Church; doctrinal tracts; interpretation of various scriptures; gospel boat; branch in Detroit
	124				1894-04-??	Joseph Smith III	Changes in leadership positions
	125				1901-04-15	Joseph Smith III	patriarchs; foreign missions
	126				1902-04-16	Joseph Smith III (vision)	quorums
	127				1906-04-14	Joseph Smith III	Sanitarium
	128				1909-04-18	Joseph Smith III	Organization and colonization
	129				1909-04-18	Joseph Smith III	Changes in leadership positions
	130				1913-04-14	Joseph Smith III	Changes in leadership positions
	131				1914-04-14	Joseph Smith III	Presiding Bishopric
	132				1916-04-05	Frederick M. Smith	Presiding Bishop
	133				1920-04-07	Frederick M. Smith	Missionary work
	134				1922-10-02	Frederick M. Smith	Changes in leadership positions
	135				1925-04-18	Frederick M. Smith	Changes in leadership positions
	136				1932-04-14	Frederick M. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; unity
	137				1938-04-07	Frederick M. Smith	Changes in leadership positions
	138				1940-04-10	Frederick M. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; work toward Zion
	139				1946-04-09	Israel A. Smith	Changes in leadership positions
	140				1947-04-07	Israel A. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; Zion
	141				1948-10-02	Israel A. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel
	142				1950-04-02	Israel A. Smith	Commendation; urge to work
	143				1954-04-07	Israel A. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel
	144				1954-04-07	Israel A. Smith (letter)	New Church President named
	145				1958-10-08	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions
	146				1960-04-02	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; unity commended
	147				1964-03-11	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; stewardship
	148				1966-04-18	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel
	149				1968-04-01	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; relationship between ministerial programs; prepare to build temple at Independence
	149A				1968-04-05	W. Wallace Smith	Clarification of 149
	150				1972-04-14	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel on culture; temple preparation; ecology
	151				1974-04-01	W. Wallace Smith	Changes in leadership positions; reconciliation
	152				1976-03-29	W. Wallace Smith	New precedent on Presidential succession; Presidential successor named; changes in leadership positions; reconciliation
	153				1978-04-06	Wallace B. Smith	New Church President; changes in leadership positions; counsel on outreach
	154				1980-04-08	Wallace B. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel on outreach
	155				1982-03-29	Wallace B. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; counsel on witness
	156				1984-04-03	Wallace B. Smith	Purpose of Independence Temple; priesthood opened to women; changes in leadership positions
	157				1988-04-12	Wallace B. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; unity; humility
	158				1992-04-05	Wallace B. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; the spiritual life
	159				1994-04-10	Wallace B. Smith	Changes in leadership positions; trusting the Spirit; Independence Temple accepted
	160				1996-04-14	Wallace B. Smith	New Church President named
	161				2000-04-04	W. Grant McMurray	Proclaim peace; reach out; patience; embrace differences; respect tradition
	162				2004-03-29	W. Grant McMurray	Be a prophetic people; diversity; tithing
	163				2007-03-29	Stephen M. Veazey	Strive for peace; missionary work; use and misuse of scripture; equality; generosity
	164				2010-01-17	Stephen M. Veazey	Effects of baptism, confirmation, and sacrament of the Lord's Supper; cultural awareness and sensitivity; flexibility in number of quorums of seventy; accelerate evangelism

Notes

1. ^ Section 132, scriptures.lds.org, accessed December 26, 2008
2. ^ Differences between the RLDS and LDS Doctrine and Covenants on the subject of Marriage, accessed December 26, 2008
3. ^ See 1835 D&C, Preface.
4. ^ ^{a b} See id.
5. ^ Joseph Smith, B.F. Roberts (ed.) (1902). History of the Church, 2:243-46.
6. ^ LDS 1981 D&C Title Page
7. ^ Covenant 132
8. ^ "Scriptural Text for Visions Added to Pearl of Great Price". Ensign: 127. May 1976. 
9. ^ History of the Church, vol. 2, at 247 (August 1835)
10. ^ Messenger and Advocate (Aug 1835), at 163
11. ^ Doctrine and Covenants [1835 Edition] 101:4
12. ^ See Introduction, 1921 edition.
13. ^ Howard, R.P. (1992) Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), Encyclopedia of Mormonism, New York: Macmillan, 1:1211
14. ^ D&C Section 156
15. ^ This section was mistakenly numbered LXVI, the same as the previous section. This numbering error was corrected in the Nauvoo edition, thus changing the number of all subsequent sections.
16. ^ Incomplete; due to the loss of printed pages, all copies of the Book of Commandments end in the middle of this revelation.
17. ^ Some older LDS and RLDS editions mistakenly date this revelation to August 1833.
18. ^ ^{a b c d e} Placed in the Appendix at the 1970 World Conference; the Appendix was removed completely by the 1990 World Conference.
19. ^ ^{a b} Originally included in the LDS Church’s Pearl of Great Price.
20. ^ Included in the LDS Pearl of Great Price as Moses 1:1-42.
21. ^ Approved by the 1970 World Conference.
22. ^ Included in the LDS Pearl of Great Price as Moses 7:1-69.
23. ^ Approved by the 1970 World Conference; Genesis 7:1-78 in the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.

References

• The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, with Some Additions by his Successors in the Presidency of the Church, Intellectual Reserve: Salt Lake City, UT, 1981.
• Book of Doctrine and Covenants: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God and Given in the Order of their Dates, Herald Publishing House: Independence, MO, 2000.
• Joseph Smith, The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: Carefully Selected from the Revelations of God, photo enlarged and reprinted from the 1846 Nauvoo edition by Richard Drew, Burlington (Voree), Wisconsin, 1993, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite).
• Peter Judd, Journey in Trust: A Study Resource for D&C 161, Herald House, 2004. ISBN 0-8309-1122-7
• Book of Commandments: Herald Heritage Reprint, Herald House, 1833 (reprint). ISBN 0-8309-0066-7
• F. Henry Edwards, The Edwards Commentary on the Doctrine & Covenants, Herald House, 1986. ISBN 0-8309-0187-6
• Robert J. Woodford, "Doctrine and Covenants Editions", Encyclopedia of Mormonism 1:425–427

External links

Latter-day Saints portal

• The Doctrine and Covenants at Wikisource (LDS Church version).
• Doctrine and Covenants - Complete official 1981 LDS Church edition
• The Doctrine and Covenants in a single file - Complete official 1989 LDS Church edition
• RLDS Sections 1-144 - unofficial HTML version produced for the Restoration Branches
• RLDS Sections 145-159 - unofficial HTML version produced for the Restoration Branches
• Community of Christ Edition (Section 161; official HTML version)
• Community of Christ Edition (Section 162; official HTML version)
• Community of Christ Edition (Section 163; official HTML version)
• Scanned images of complete 1833 Book of Commandments, 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, and 1971 LDS Church Doctrine and Covenants
• SaintsWithoutHalos.com: Doctrine and Covenants - Mormon historical revisionist site with thoroughly annotated D&C showing changes from various editions.
• Doctrine & Covenants Timeline by the LDS Church.