“Doctrine & Covenants” was the most unique volume of Mormon scriptures published during the movement’s early years.
Embracing an open canon of scripture and the doctrine of continuing revelation, Mormonism faced criticism and, oftentimes, open hostility from the leading denominations of the day. During religion’s first fourteen years, its theology evolved quickly, embracing ideas widely denounced as heretical and dangerous by proponents of traditional Christian orthodoxy.
To combat misunderstandings and misrepresentations of Mormon beliefs, on September 24, 1834, a general assembly of the church appointed a committee “to arrange the items of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, for the government of his church…these items are to be taken from the Bible, book of Mormon, and the revelations which have been given to said church up to this date.” Once selected, edited, and arranged, these items would be published in a single volume that would clearly convey Mormon faith and practice.
Even though the church’s presiding elders—Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams—were appointed to serve on the committee by the assembly’s unanimous vote, the Mormon aversion to creedal statements caused many rank-and-file believers to be suspicious of the project. Resistance was apparently widespread enough that when the first edition of “Doctrine & Covenants” was published in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1835, the committee addressed the issue in the book’s introduction:
“There may be an aversion in the minds of some against receiving any thing purporting to be articles of religious faith, in consequence of there being so many now extant; but if men believe a system, and profess that it was given by inspiration, certainly, the more intelligibly they can present it, the better. It does not make a principle untrue to print it, neither does it make it true not to print it.
“The church, viewing this subject to be of importance, appointed, through their servants and delegates, the High Council, your servants to select and compile this work. Several reasons might be adduced in favor of this move of the Council, but we only add a few words. They knew that the church was evil spoken of in many places—its faith and belief misrepresented, and the way of truth thus subverted. By some, it was represented as disbelieving the Bible, by others as being an enemy to all good order and uprightness, and by others as being injurious to the peace of all governments, civil and political.
“We have, therefore, endeavored to present, though in few words, our belief, and when we say this, humbly trust the faith and principles of this society as a body.
“We do not present this little volume with any other expectation than that we are to be called to answer to every principle advanced, in that day when the secrets of all hearts will be revealed, and the reward of every man’s labor be given him.”
Whereas “The Book of Mormon” was presented as an historical narrative, “Doctrine & Covenants” was not. The book’s title was descriptive of its unusual structure—which was explained in the introduction to its first edition:
“We deem it to be unnecessary to entertain you with a lengthy preface to the following volume, but merely to say that it contains, in short, the leading items of the religion which we have professed to believe.
“The first part of the book will be found to contain a series of Lectures as delivered before a Theological class in this place, and in consequence of their embracing the important doctrine of salvation, we have arranged them into the following work.
“The second part contains 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.”
The first edition of “Doctrine & Covenants” was divided into two parts. The first part, entitled “Theology,” consisted of “The Seven Lectures on Faith.” These lectures were the course of study in the Kirtland, Ohio, School of the Prophets—which served as Mormonism’s first seminary. Scholars have debated the authorship of these lectures; the current consensus is that Sidney Rigdon played a significant role in their creation, assisted by Joseph Smith and possibly others.
“Part Second” of the book contained “Covenants and Commandments of the Lord to his servants of the church of the Latter Day Saints.” These “covenants and commandments” were mostly revelations by Joseph Smith to Mormonism’s first converts and leaders, but they also contained council minutes and policy statements.
A number of the revelations—dictated by Joseph Smith between 1828 and 1833—were accounts of visionary experiences and millenarian prophecies. The vast majority addressed issues that arose during the writing and publication of “The Book of Mormon” in 1830 and the minutia of organizing the first Mormon congregations and communities in New York, Ohio, and Missouri.
These revelations had been previously published in 1833 under the title “A Book of Commandments.” However, for the first edition of “Doctrine and Covenants,” many of the revelations were extensively rewritten and significantly enlarged—essentially retrofitted to accommodate a two-tiered Priesthood (the Aaronic Priesthood and the Melchizedek Priesthood) that had been introduced into the church for the first time in late 1834 and early 1835.
Before late 1834, Mormonism held that Divine authority was charismatic in nature and given to individuals through personal revelations from God and the indwelling Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost. “The Book of Mormon” contained stories of repentant individuals being ordained by God through the bestowal of the Holy Ghost and spiritual gifts. Also, in accordance with “The Book of Mormon,” only three ecclesiastical offices initially existed among the early Mormons: elder, priest, and teacher. The power and authority of those holding these offices were believed to come from the Holy Ghost. The charismatic nature of early Mormonism led to competing claims of spiritual authority in the movement. To combat confusion and maintain order, charismatic authority applicable to the entire community was increasingly underplayed. Organizational checks and balances were introduced, as were additional ecclesiastical offices, culminating in the 1835 introduction of an elaborately structured Priesthood. During the ensuing years, the structure of that Priesthood continued to change.
In the first editions of “Doctrine and Covenants,” these revelations, minutes, and policy statements were not organized chronologically but around particular subjects. For instance, Section 2 gave a brief history of the church’s rise and instructions for performing baptisms and administering the sacrament. Sections 3 through 6 (entitled “On Priesthood”) contained instructions, revelations, and council minutes on the duties of each office in the new two-tiered Priesthood. Section 7 was a revelation dictated by Joseph Smith on December 27, 1832, dealing with theological concepts: the nature of the Light of Christ, God’s law, and personal revelation. While the book’s remaining 95 sections contained occasional passages dealing with spiritual principles that could be useful universally, most were addressed to specific individuals about temporary organizational duties, rendering them of limited value to most readers outside of a historical context.
Nevertheless, when F. G. Williams and Company of Kirtland, Ohio, released the first edition of “Doctrine & Covenants” in the autumn of 1835, anyone—Mormon or non-Mormon—could peruse the compact volume’s 257 pages and easily understand Mormon theology and practice at that time.
The same cannot be said of later editions of the book.
Following the June 27, 1844, murder of Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, the movement splintered into competing denominations, with the leaders of each claiming to be Smith’s true successor.
The two most prominent of these denominations were The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (incorporated under the leadership of Brigham Young on February 8, 1851, in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory) and The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ), organized in Amboy, Illinois, on April 6, 1860, under the leadership of Joseph Smith III. These denominations continued publishing their respective editions of “Doctrine & Covenants,” each adding sections to bolster their claims to Divine authority and starkly different interpretations of Joseph Smith’s theological innovations.
For example, under Brigham Young’s leadership, quotations from the LDS Church’s history (which was then in the process of being written) were post-dated as 1823, 1829, and 1830 revelations and added to the LDS “Doctrine & Covenants.” A second-hand account of Moses, Elijah, Elias, and Jesus appearing to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Ohio Temple was reworded as a first-person plural narrative and added to the book. Other added sections included secondhand accounts of teachings attributed to Joseph Smith but published to give the impression that they came directly from Joseph himself. The most controversial addition to the LDS “Doctrine & Covenants” was the 1876 canonization of a revelation, dated July 1843, authorizing polygamy.
The RLDS/Community of Christ edition of “Doctrine & Covenants”” has also seen significant changes. Believing for over a century that only direct male descendants of Joseph Smith could serve as the president/prophet of the denomination, dozens of revelations were written by these leaders and added to their editions. In recent decades, as Community of Christ has sustained presidents/prophets outside of the Smith family, revelations written by these leaders have also been added to the book. These sections have accommodated such practices as female ordination, acceptance of LGBTQA members, same-sex marriage, and a more ecumenical approach to mainstream Christianity. In addition, when the historicity of certain sections in earlier editions was proven questionable at best, those sections were removed. Revelations from the 1830s (some containing early Mormonism’s most radical theological innovations) are still published in current editions but rarely quoted or cited as a source of the denomination’s current doctrine. The result is that the RLDS/Community of Christ “Doctrine & Covenants” differs significantly in tone, focus, and narrative flow from the LDS edition.
Perhaps the most noticeable change in both editions was the removal of ‘The Lectures on Faith.” The RLDS/Community of Christ edition dropped them in 1892 and the LDS in 1921. Removing the lectures stripped both editions of the “Doctrine” referenced the book’s title, leaving only the “Covenants.”
The second most significant change in both editions was the rearrangement of those “Covenants.” The revelations, minutes, and policy statements were rearranged chronologically, affecting how both denominations used the book. The educational system of the LDS Church now approaches the book as a vehicle for studying the denomination’s history and reinforcing its claim of being “the One True Church.” Community of Christ also tends to approach the book as an historical document. However, being committed to ecumenicalism and current social justice issues, it typically cites only the most recent revelations. The 19th and 20th-century revelations, which comprise most of the book but do not address current religious/social issues, are seldom referenced.
Nearly 190 years after its initial publication, a book intended to clarify Mormon beliefs and practices now does the opposite. Anyone outside the Mormon/Restorationist tradition who peruses a copy of “Doctrine & Covenants” is bound to be confused. The book’s title makes little sense, given the contents of modern LDS and Community of Christ editions. The chronological ordering of the revelations and the brief italicized explanations preceding each are meaningless to anyone without a rudimentary understanding of Mormon history. Because most of the revelations were addressed to long-forgotten individuals about ecclesiastical matters that are no longer relevant, reading them for universally relevant theological/spiritual insights can be a mindnumbing chore.
The Mormon Community (Reform), in publishing this edition of “Doctrine & Covenants,” seeks to achieve the objective for the book’s first edition: to clearly and “intelligibly” lay out the principles of our religion so that they might be understood all readers—believers and non-believers, alike.