Doctrine and Covenants

The Doctrine and Covenants (affilaite link) is a collection of revelations, declarations, instructions, and church documents connected to the Latter Day Saint movement. It began as a collection of Joseph Smith’s revelations and later developed differently in separate branches of the movement.

An earlier collection of Joseph Smith’s revelations was published as the Book of Commandments in 1833, though the printing was interrupted in Missouri. In 1835, a new collection was published under the title Doctrine and Covenants. That edition included two major parts: the “doctrine” portion, known as Lectures on Faith, and the “covenants” portion, made up of revelations and commandments.

The title reflects the original structure of the book. The “doctrine” referred to the theological lectures, while the “covenants” referred to the revelations. Later editions changed in different branches. The LDS Church removed Lectures on Faith from its Doctrine and Covenants in 1921. Community of Christ also no longer includes Lectures on Faith in its current Doctrine and Covenants.

The Doctrine and Covenants contains material on church organization, priesthood offices, missionary work, baptism, spiritual gifts, church discipline, consecration, Zion, temple ordinances, marriage, revelation, and the duties of church leaders and members. Some sections are written as direct revelations. Others are official declarations, letters, visions, or statements adopted by a church body.

The LDS Church uses its own edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. It includes Joseph Smith revelations, later LDS additions, and official declarations, including the declaration ending the church’s public practice of plural marriage and the declaration extending priesthood and temple blessings to Black members.

Community of Christ uses a different Doctrine and Covenants. Its edition includes many Joseph Smith-era revelations, but also includes later documents presented or approved through Community of Christ leadership. Because of this, the Community of Christ Doctrine and Covenants has continued to expand beyond the Joseph Smith period.

Restoration Branches and other conservative RLDS-derived groups often use older RLDS editions of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Remnant Church and Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also use their own editions or related Restoration scripture collections.

Mormon fundamentalist groups often use older LDS editions of the Doctrine and Covenants or emphasize sections connected to plural marriage, priesthood, and early LDS authority claims. Some reject later LDS changes or declarations that ended plural marriage.

Strangite and Cutlerite groups also preserve forms of the Doctrine and Covenants within their own restorationist traditions, though their accepted editions and authority claims differ from the LDS Church and Community of Christ.

Used by: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Community of Christ, Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Restoration Branches, Restoration Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Cutlerites, some Strangites, and many Mormon fundamentalist groups.

The Book of Commandments (affiliate link) was an early collection of Joseph Smith’s revelations. It was prepared for publication before the Doctrine and Covenants and represents one of the first attempts to gather Joseph Smith’s revelations into a printed scripture collection.

The printing took place in Independence, Missouri, in 1833. The work was being printed by William W. Phelps when conflict between Latter Day Saints and their Missouri neighbors escalated. A mob destroyed the church’s printing office before the full book could be completed. Some printed sheets were saved, and a small number of incomplete copies survived.

The Book of Commandments included revelations dealing with church organization, missionary work, baptism, priesthood authority, spiritual gifts, church discipline, and the duties of early church members and leaders. Many of these revelations were later printed in the Doctrine and Covenants.

When the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835, it included many revelations that had appeared, or were intended to appear, in the Book of Commandments. Some of those revelations appeared with revisions, additions, or expanded wording. Because of this, the Book of Commandments is often used for comparison with later editions of the Doctrine and Covenants.

The Book of Commandments was connected to the early Church of Christ under Joseph Smith before the larger Latter Day Saint movement divided into separate branches. Later groups have treated it in different ways. Some use the Doctrine and Covenants instead of the Book of Commandments. Others preserve or study the Book of Commandments because it contains earlier forms of Joseph Smith’s revelations.

Used by: The early Church of Christ under Joseph Smith. It is also preserved, studied, or used by some restorationist groups focused on early Joseph Smith revelation texts.

Lectures on Faith (affiliate link) is a set of seven theological lectures first published in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. In that edition, the lectures formed the “doctrine” portion of the volume, while Joseph Smith’s revelations formed the “covenants” portion.

The lectures were connected with the School of the Elders in Kirtland, Ohio, during the winter of 1834–1835. They were prepared as instructional material for early church leaders and missionaries. The lectures discuss faith, the character and attributes of God, the relationship between knowledge and salvation, sacrifice, revelation, and the conditions required for exercising faith.

When the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835, Lectures on Faith appeared at the front of the book. Their placement gave the original volume its full title: doctrine, meaning the lectures, and covenants, meaning the revelations and commandments. The lectures were accepted with the book by the church in 1835.

The authorship of Lectures on Faith has been discussed by historians. Joseph Smith was involved in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants publication, but Sidney Rigdon is often associated with the composition or preparation of at least some of the lectures. The final text reflects the theological language of the Kirtland period.

Lectures on Faith remained in LDS editions of the Doctrine and Covenants through the nineteenth century. The LDS Church removed them from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1921. Community of Christ also does not include Lectures on Faith in its current Doctrine and Covenants.

Some Restorationist groups continue to publish or use Lectures on Faith. For those groups, the lectures remain connected to the early Doctrine and Covenants and to the theological instruction of the Kirtland period.

Used by: The early Church of the Latter Day Saints through the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, Remnant Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Restoration Branches, Cutlerites, and some conservative restorationist groups.