Sample Source Report

Title:
Cowan, Richard O. "How Our Doctrine and Covenants Came to Be." The Capstone of Our Religion, ed. Robert L. Millet and Larry E. Dahl (Bookcraft, 1989): 1-16.

Summary:
In this article, Richard Cowan outlines the major editions of the Doctrine and Covenants since 1830, illustrating his argument that the development of this book illustrates how “this canon of scripture has responded to the needs of the Saints at various times.” The revelations we now know as Sections 20 and 22 were originally canonized in 1830 as the “Articles and Covenants” of the Church and were used by early missionaries in teaching the gospel. A conference in November 1831 approved publication of the Book of Commandments; however, the press in Independence, Missouri, was destroyed in1833 before it could be completed. That edition left off in the middle of Section 64; it is not known how many more revelations would have been included at that time.

In 1835, the Doctrine and Covenants was first published under its current title. “Doctrine” referred to the Lectures on Faith, which were published in the first part of the book; “Covenants” referred to the revelations that were published in the second part. This edition included 45 additional revelations and was the first to label them “sections.” A new edition published after Joseph Smith’s death in 1844 added eight more sections. A major revision of the Doctrine and Covenants appeared in 1876 under the direction of Brigham Young. Twenty-five revelations given to Joseph Smith were added, as was the revelation to the pioneers (Section 136) given through Brigham Young. A statement on marriage, written by Oliver Cowdery, was deleted, the sections were reordered chronologically, and the verse divisions were shortened.

This edition stood, with only the addition of the Manifesto in 1908, until 1921 when another significant edition was prepared. At this time, the Lectures on Faith were deleted. No new revelations were added, and some formatting changes were made, including double-column pages and new section headings. In 1930, extracts from the D&C, entitled Latter-day Revelations, were published, and this was the only version of the D&C available in some languages for years to come. Finally, in 1981, the current edition included two new numbered sections (137 and 138) and Official Declaration 2 announcing President Kimball’s revelation on priesthood. Expanded historical notes, content summaries for each section, and a new cross-referencing system helped to integrate the D&C with the other scriptures and to fulfill President Kimball’s charge to improve gospel scholarship in the church.

Insights:
Brother Cowan talks about how the development of the Doctrine and Covenants has responded to the needs of the people at the time. This seems like a good way to think about it. After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, for example, it makes sense that the Saints would have wanted to include the tribute to him written by Elder John Taylor (now Section 135). Cowan also points out that the revelations on salvation for the dead and the priesthood (Sections 137, 138, and Offical Declaration 2) were included in 1981, at a time of unprecedented international growth of the church and accelerated temple building.

Quote:
Brother Cowan quotes Elder Packer, who said of the 1981 edition of the scriptures, “With the passing of years, these scriptures will produce successive generations of faithful Christians who know the Lord Jesus Christ and are disposed to obey his will…. They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that which their forebears could achieve. They will have the testimony that Jesus is the Christ and be competent to proclaim Him and to defend Him.”

Response:
One thing that I found interesting was to think about the impact not only of the development of the doctrinal content of the D&C, but also the physical form and format of the text. As Elder Packer said, the modern editions of the scriptures have made it much easier to learn what is there and to put all the scriptures together in meaningful ways. I have to wonder what the digital revolution is going to mean for future editions of the scriptures!  Brother Cowan’s point that the changes in the scriptures have responded to the needs of the Saints suggests that future changes in the scriptures will surely include changes in format and accessibility, not just in content.