Lesson 2 History of the Doctrine and Covenants Key Words Book of Commandments appendix General Assembly General Conference Scriptures for this Lesson Section 108A People that came into the new church were excited to know that God was hearing prayers and answering by revelation. This was fresh and living Christianity in an age when such things were generally dismissed or condemned. The first revelation came with the first prayer offered by Joseph in the grove of trees by his home in Palmyra. By revelation came the news of the need for a restoration of the church, the Book of Mormon and guidance for many different concerns and situations. Although many of the earliest revelations were to individuals, they were full of insight, doctrine and encouragement to the young church. There was a desire to read the revelations and learn what the Lord was saying. The first attempt to distribute the revelations was through a church sponsored newspaper. It was called the Evening and the Morning Star. It was published in Independence, M by William W. Phelps. Brother Phelps published the first issue in June 1832. His front page was the text of a revelation called the Articles and Covenants of the church which we simply call Section 17. Before the newspaper shut down, 19 revelations were published in the Evening and the Morning Star and parts of 5 others were also printed. There were many more revelations from the Lord that were significant. The newspaper was too slow and too cumbersome to be an effective way to distribute all of the word of the Lord to the church. By this time, the church was growing rapidly. Not all of them had access to the paper. It was felt to be more useful to compile the really important revelations and print them in a book. The first attempt to print a book of the revelations Page -7-
was authorized by a special conference held on November 1, 1831. The new book was to be called the Book of Commandments. This conference authorized 10,000 copies to be printed. This number was reduced to 3,000 copies inmay1832. William W. Phelps, Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer were appointed as a committee to "review and prepare such revelations for the press as shall be deemed proper for publication, and print them as soon as possible at Independence, Missouri; the announcement to be made that they are Published by W. W. Phelps & Co." It was decided by the conference that Joseph Smith should arrange and get in readiness the revelations, and that Oliver Cowdery should carry them to Independence, Missouri, where W. W. Phelps had gone with a printing office, and have them published. (CH 1:224) Joseph Smith dedicated 11 the Book of Commandments and Revelations 11 to the service of Almighty God (CH 1:227) in prayer. A preface to the new book of scripture was received on November 1, 1831. It is now known as Section 1 in the D&C. Two days later, the appendix to the book was received as another revelation. This is now Section 108. These were intended to be the opening and closing sections of the Book of Commandments. Oliver Cowdery and John Whitmer traveled to Independence together. Oliver was given the stewardship over the revelations. They joined with W. W. Phelps, who had established a printing press there. The work on the Book of Commandments commenced. On July 20, 1833, the printing press was attacked by a mob. They pied the type and scattered the printer's tools and dumped the press in the river. The pages of the incomplete Book of Commandments were scattered in the streets. Some of the Saints rescued what they could from the street. The entire set of revelations authorized for publication yet printed when the mob struck. The first 64 revelations were printed and part of the 65th was printed. The last words on paper were "the blood of Ephraim," part of what is now Section 65. Despite its incomplete state, several copies (some estimate more than a hundred) were eventually bound together and distributed. Some were in leather bindings and others with a simple paper cover. This was a private endeavor and was not church sanctioned. It is interesting to note that no effort was made to finish printing the Book of Commandments. It has remained an incomplete printing and its contents were never endorsed by the church. Copies of the book are extant. The Church of Christ (Temple Lot) did adopt it as scripture and rejected the D&C. As far as the church was concerned, the effort was incomplete and a second attempt to print the revelations was authorized by a General Assembly of the Church on September 24, 1834 in Kirtland, Ohio. A new committee was selected to arrange and prepare the revelations for printing. The members of the committee were Joseph Smith Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Page -8-
Frederick G. Williams. The committee worked over the next few months to prepare the revelations for printing. The book was published in Kirtland, Ohio by F. G. Williams & Co. and a copyright secured according to the law of the day. The new book of revelations was called the Doctrine and Covenants. It contained a series of lectures called the Lectures on Faith. These had been prepared and taught in the School of the Prophets in Kirtland. It also contained a second part which consisted of revelations to the church. It also contained two sections that dealt with marriage and with government. The Doctrine and Covenants was presented to the church for approval on August 17, 1835 at a General Assembly held in Kirtland, Ohio. The minutes of that meeting were published as Section 108A for many years in the Doctrine and Covenants. This section, with others, was removed by later conferences of the Reorganized Church. Editions The first edition of the D&C was the 1835. It contained 100 revelations, an article on marriage, an article on governments and a copy of the minutes of the General Assembly of August 17 that approved the D&C. The Lectures on Faith were also included. Together the two sections formed the doctrine (lectures) and covenants (revelations). In 1844, a second edition of the D&C was published. It was published at Nauvoo, Ill. by John Taylor. It included all of the material in the 1835 edition plus 5 more revelations, two letters from Joseph Smith Jr., and a section about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on June 27, 1844. Joseph Smith had been working on the revelations prior to his death. This edition was reprinted with no essential changes in 1845 and 1846. After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, the church began to divide. A large number of the members and the leading quorums left Nauvoo for Salt Lake City with Brigham Young. Many other groups formed under various leaders. Several branches remained aloof from many of these organizations for several years. The Utah church (the Mormons) continued to print the D&C. The next major edition was in 1876 in Salt Lake City. It had several printings. Another edition was printed in 1921 and this was the first Utah D&C that did not include the Lectures on Faith. Major editions since then include 1981and2014. From among these independent branches came the Reorganization in 1850. As the church organized and grew, there came a need for a new edition of the D&C. Joseph Smith III was the new Prophet and a new D&C for the Reorganization was published in 1864. This new edition arranged the revelations in chronological order, but retained the Preface as Section 1 and the Appendix as Section 108. It also added Sections 22 and 36 which were not previously published in the D&C, but both had been printed in The Evening and Morning Star. A new edition was printed in 1881 Page -9-
and it included revelations from Joseph Smith III for the first time. These were added after the Appendix and the statements on marriage and government. The new revelations were received in 1861, 1863, 1865 and 1873. In 1897, another edition was published. Some printing errors were corrected and it included the revelation on the Civil War, the minutes of the Joint Council meeting of 1894. This edition omitted the Lectures on Faith. Another edition appeared in 1911. This edition was ordered by the 1909 General Conference which called for a committee to reconcile the wording of Section 22 with its rendition in the Inspired Translation of the Bible. Typographical errors were to be addressed and better versification. The new edition contained all but the new versification. A Student's edition of the D&C was printed in 1952. It was done under the auspicious of the First Presidency as editors. It added expanded historical prefaces for each section. These were written by John Blackmore 8 The new D&C also included a revised versification. The now familiar sub-verses were added. Chris Hartshorn, editor of the Herald corrected typographical errors and made grammatical corrections. The Reorganized Church has continued to add revelations from time to time. The various prophets have submitted documents to the General (more recently called World) Conferences. They have also acted to remove some sections that were previously part of the D&C. The process of removing some sections developed over the practice of baptism for the dead. This is an ordinance that was practiced in Nauvoo. It is mentioned in Section 107, 109 and 110. A resolution from members in the Salt Lake City, Utah area submitted a resolution to the 1968 World Conference requesting that the First Presidency submitted a recommendation to create a new format for the D&C. It would create a category of documents felt to be "revelatory" and a category called "historical." The historical sections would be marked as those without sufficient revelatory credentials to be considered as binding on the church 9 This proposal passed and in 1970 the First Presidency recommended moving Section 107, 109, 110, 113 and 123 into the historical appendix. The 1970 World Conference approved the action. The World Conference of 1990 questioned the need for inclusion of nonbinding documents in the D&C and voted to removed the historical appendix altogether. In subsequent RLDS editions these Section numbers appear with a note that they were first moved to the appendix and then removed by conference action. Among the churches and groups out of the heritage of the Reorganization, the Community of Christ is the major publisher of the D&C today. The D&C 8 Howard, Richard, Restoration Scriptures. Page 179-180. 9 Howard, Richard, Restoration Scriptures, pg 180-182. Page -10-
they produce has continued adding sections from each of their presidents. The latest addition is Section 164 from President Stephen M. Veazey, April 2010. Herald House is the publishing company producing the D&C. Price Publishing, a Restoration publisher, also produces a D&C. It is a reprint of the 1950 D&C of the Reorganized Church. It includes Sections 143 and 144 as well as the Lectures on Faith. There are no revelations by any of the presidents of the Reorganization after Israel A. Smith. It is common for the Restoration members to use the revelations up to Section 144 and not beyond. This probably represents a belief that the apostasy of the Reorganized Church had its roots in the administrations following Israel A. Smith. At least one church organization arising out of the Restoration branch movement has a Doctrine and Covenants of its own. This is the Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Its president, Fred Larson, has added sections that have come through him and have been approved by the church's General Conference. As a living document, the D&C has grown and changed over the years. It stands as a testimony to the world that we believe that God still speaks and leads His people. Questions for Discussion 1. Why was a book of revelations desired? 2. The first public printing of a revelation was------------- which appeared in of June. 3 When was the printing of the Book of Commandments authorized? 4. Name the persons involved in the printing of the Book of Commandments. 5. Why was the Book of Commandments never completed? 6. What is a General Assembly of the church? 7. Name the committee for the Doctrine and Covenants. 8. How was the Doctrine and Covenants approved as binding on the church? 9. Name major editions of the RLDS D&C and what made them significant. 10. Have you read the D&C? Page -11-