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Doctrine and Covenants
FAIR Answers Wiki Table of Contents
Doctrine and Covenants
Jump to Subtopic:
- Textual changes in the Doctrine and Covenants
- Criticism of the Doctrine and Covenants
- Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon geography
- The Doctrine and Covenants and polygamy
- Lectures on Faith
Textual changes in the Doctrine and Covenants
Summary: Joseph Smith and others made revisions, additions, and deletions to his early revelations when preparing them for publication. Some claim that revelations from God are inerrant and should never be changed, and that this proves that Joseph Smith did not receive revelation.
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- Why and how revelations were modified in the Doctrine and Covenants
- Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"
Why and how revelations were modified in the Doctrine and Covenants
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- Question: Who made the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?
- Question: What changes were made to the Doctrine and Covenants?
- Question: What are the reasons for the changes to the Doctrine and Covenants?
- Question: How do Mormons understand prophetic revelation?
- Question: Were the changes to the revelations hidden from the Church members?
- Question: Have edits to the revelations been discussed in the present day?
- Brigham Young (1855): "I do not even believe that there is a single revelation, among the many God has given to the Church, that is perfect in its fulness"
- Question: Was the revelation comprising the current Doctrine and Covenants 27 altered to include mention of the priesthood restoration?
- Question: If the Doctrine and Covenants contained quotations from God, why would Joseph Smith later edit God's words?
- Question: Was the removal of the name "Michael" from the original vision of the Celestial Kingdom and attempt to hide a "slip up" by Joseph Smith?
- Ensign, "Great and Marvelous Are the Revelations of God"
Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"
Summary: It is claimed that a revelation received by Joseph praised Oliver Cowdery's gift of using divining talents. It is claimed that the revelation was published in the Book of Commandments in its original form, then subsequently modified in the Doctrine and Covenants in order to hide the reference to the "rod of nature." Therefore, it is claimed that Joseph attempted to "cover up" Oliver Cowdery's work with a divining rod by changing a revelation. Critics also claim that Oliver would ask questions of his divining rod in faith and it would move in response.
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- Revelations in Context on history.lds.org: "Cowdery was among those who believed in and used a divining rod"
- Question: Was Oliver Cowdery a "treasure hunter and 'rodsman'?
- Question: What if the "rod of nature" was indeed a physical object such as a divining rod?
- Question: Did Joseph Smith attempt to "cover up" Oliver Cowdery's work with a divining rod by changing the wording of the revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 8:6–8?
- Question: How was the wording of the "rod of nature" revelation that became Doctrine and Covenants 8:6–8 altered over time?
- Gospel Topics: "the Bible mentions other physical instruments used to access God’s power: the rod of Aaron, a brass serpent, holy anointing oils, the Ark of the Covenant, and even dirt from the ground mixed with saliva"
- Dallin H. Oaks (1987): "It should be recognized that such tools as the Urim and Thummim, the Liahona, seerstones, and other articles have been used appropriately in biblical, Book of Mormon, and modern times"
Criticism of the Doctrine and Covenants
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- Alleged contradictions in the Doctrine and Covenants
- Criticisms of the use of the New Testament in the Doctrine and Covenants
Alleged contradictions in the Doctrine and Covenants
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- Question: Why does Doctrine and Covenants 132 speak favorably about some Old Testament practitioners of plural marriage, while Jacob 2 is negative?
- Question: Does Doctrine and Covenants 84 say that one cannot see God without holding the priesthood?
The Use of the New Testament in the Doctrine and Covenants
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Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon geography
Summary: Proponents of certain Book of Mormon geographical theories attempt to find clues in the Doctrine and Covenants.
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- The Doctrine and Covenants and the Lamanites
- The Doctrine and Covenants and the locations in the Book of Mormon
The Doctrine and Covenants and the Lamanites
Summary: Since in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord refers to American Indians in North America as "Lamanites" (e.g., DC 28:8-9,14, DC 30:6, DC 32:2, DC 54:8), does this cause problems for the Limited Geography Theory (LGT) or issues of Amerindian genetic data?
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The Doctrine and Covenants and the locations in the Book of Mormon
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The Doctrine and Covenants and polygamy
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- 1835 Doctrine and Covenants denies polygamy—D&C 101 (original)
- Scriptural references to plural marriage in the Doctrine and Covenants
1835 Doctrine and Covenants denies polygamy—D&C 101 (original)
Summary: The 1835 edition of the D&C contained a statement of marriage which denied the practice of polygamy. Since this was published during Joseph Smith's lifetime, why might the prophet have allowed it to be published if he was actually practicing polygamy at that time?
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- Question: Why did the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants include a statement of marriage that denied the practice of polygamy at a time when some were actually practicing it?
- Question: Was Oliver Cowdery aware that some in the Church were practicing polygamy in 1835 at the time he authored the "Article on Marriage"?
- Question: Was the practice of polygamy general knowledge among Latter-day Saints in 1835 when the "Article on Marriage" was published?
Scriptural references to plural marriage in the Doctrine and Covenants
Jump to Subtopic:
- Question: Why does Doctrine and Covenants 132 speak favorably about some Old Testament practitioners of plural marriage, while Jacob 2 is negative?
- Question: Since Joseph Smith "married" the wives of 11 other men, why were those women not "destroyed" as specified in the Doctrine and Covenants since they continued to live with their "previous" husbands?
- Question: Under what circumstances was Doctrine and Covenants Section 132 committed to writing?
Lectures on Faith
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- Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
- Removal of the Lectures on Faith from the Doctrine and Covenants
- Noel B. Reynolds, "The Authorship Debate concerning Lectures on Faith: Exhumation and Reburial"
Lecture of Faith 5 teaches the Father is "a personage of spirit"
Summary: Lectures on Faith, which used to be part of the Doctrine and Covenants, teach that God is a spirit. Joseph Smith's later teachings contradict this. More generally, critics argue that Joseph Smith taught an essentially "trinitarian" view of the Godhead until the mid 1830s, thus proving the Joseph was "making it up" as he went along.
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- Question: What are the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: What does Lecture 5 of the Lectures on Faith say about the nature of God?
- Question: How would a statement that "God is a spirit" be interpreted in ancient Judasism?
- Question: Did Joseph began his prophetic career with a "trinitarian" idea of God?
- Question: What are modern Church leader's views on the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: Is the Father embodied or a spirit in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants?
Removal of the Lectures on Faith from the Doctrine and Covenants
Summary: Critics argue that the Lectures on Faith were "quietly" removed from the Doctrine and Covenants without general church membership consent, that the Lectures on Faith are not available to the general Church membership through Church sources, and that they can only be obtained through non-LDS sources (despite their availability at Deseret Book).
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- Question: What are the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: Who wrote the Lectures on Faith?
- Question: Why were the Lectures on Faith removed from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1921?
- Question: Were the Lectures on Faith revelations?
- Question: Are the Lectures on Faith not made available through Latter-day Saint sources?
- Noel B. Reynolds, "The Authorship Debate concerning Lectures on Faith: Exhumation and Reburial"