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Video Transcript:
Fun fact: across the various editions of The Doctrine and Covenants, a whole lot of changes have been made to the text. Most changes are small things — spelling, grammar, copyist errors, etc. — but in some early cases, entire paragraphs were added or deleted by Joseph Smith or under his direction. Some people see these changes and wonder, if these are the inspired words of God, why have changes been made? Shouldn’t it come out right the first time?
The short answer can be found in the introduction to our current edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, which says, “Joseph and the early Saints viewed the revelations as they did the Church: living, dynamic, and subject to refinement with additional revelation.”
In 1857 Orson Pratt taught that “… at the time of compilation, the Prophet was inspired in several instances to write additional sentences and paragraphs to the earlier revelations. In this manner, the Lord did truly give ‘line upon line….’” We see perhaps a similar pattern in the Old Testament: In Jeremiah 36, after the king burns Jeremiah’s prophesies, the Lord commands the prophet to write them down again, except this time, we also read that “many similar words were added to them.” Similarly, Joseph wasn’t afraid to go back and edit, expand, contract, or combine revelations inasmuch as he felt inspired to do so.
And frankly, I love this approach to revelation. For example, if I’m writing a talk for sacrament meeting, I might occasionally have a thought that I feel is inspired. I’ll write it down and try to express it as best I can, but I will almost always revisit it later and feel prompted to make adjustments or flesh out ideas in a different way, or more fully. Elder Richard G. Scott taught on multiple occasions that receiving revelation is often a “cyclical” process. He described how he would receive impressions, write them down, perhaps edit what he’d written, and then he’d ask God, “Was there yet more to be given?” Oftentimes there would be, and he’d start the process over again.
BYU Professor Grant Underwood said that “Some Latter-day Saints may assume that the Prophet was not involved in any way whatsoever with the wording of the revelation texts, that he simply repeated word-for-word to his scribe what he heard God say to him, but our investigation has suggested otherwise. Examination … [of the revelations] leads us to a richer, more nuanced view, one that see[s] Joseph as more than a mere human fax machine … Joseph had a role to play in the revelatory process.”
Here’s the way Orson Pratt put it in 1872: “Joseph the Prophet, in writing the Doctrine & Covenants, received the ideas from God, but clothed those ideas with such words as came to his mind[.]” John Widtsoe said something similar in 1937: “Seldom are divine revelations dictated to man. . . Instead, ideas are impressed upon the mind of the recipient, who then delivers the ideas in his own language.”
Richard Bushman wrote, “Recognizing the pliability of the revealed words, Joseph freely edited the revelations ‘by the Holy Spirit,’ making emendations with each new edition. He thought of his revelations as imprinted on his mind, not graven in stone.”
Steven Harper wrote that “…as a mortal decoder imprisoned by a broken language, Joseph originally received the revelations imperfectly. ‘He never considered the wording infallible,’ and he continued to revise and amend his revelation texts throughout his life to reflect his latest understanding and to increase their ability to communicate the mind of God.”
Brigham Young echoed that sentiment in 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… He has to speak to us in a manner to meet the extent of our capacities…. The laws that the Lord has given are not fully perfect, because the people could not receive them in their perfect fulness; but they can receive a little here and a little there… if they make a wise improvement upon every little they receive….”
As the Church progressed, “…the editors of the Doctrine and Covenants also made a focused effort to update the revelations to reflect changes in church government, structure, and doctrine that had occurred since the revelations were first dictated.”
For example, here’s a block of text from a revelation as printed in the 1833 Book of Commandments versus the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants. As you can see, this entire chunk has been added. Why? Because after receiving the initial revelation, Joseph received additional revelation regarding priesthood offices. So he incorporated that later revelation into the earlier revelation. He was not trying to make it look like he’d received this additional revelation earlier; he was just keeping things up-to-date and relevant.
Now, perhaps the most controversial change in the Doctrine and Covenants has to do with what is currently D&C section 27, so let’s dig in a little deeper. The priesthood was restored in 1829 by angelic messengers. These angelic experiences were not published for the public in the 1833 Book of Commandments, but they were published in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants.
Critical works like the CES Letter suggest that Joseph and Oliver made these experiences up and were trying to slip this later narrative into earlier revelations. If that was the case, they did a pretty poor job of it. These specific changes were not subtle additions, and like all of the other changes, they were out there and published for the whole world to see. We’ve also got an 1832 handwritten reference to these angelic visitations in Joseph Smith’s history, indicating that this was not an 1835 invention. Why weren’t the details published earlier? I think it was probably some combination of the following 3 reasons:
Number 1: Sacredness. Richard Bushman wrote that Joseph “may have felt the visions were too sacred to be discussed openly.” Similarly, after the angelic experience of Peter, James, John, and Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration in Luke chapter 9, the apostles “kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.” In Mark’s account of the same event, Jesus specifically instructs them not to tell anyone until the time was right.
Number 2: Safety. Joseph’s 1838 history notes that initially, “we were forced to keep secret the circumstances of our having been baptized, and having received this priesthood; owing to a spirit of persecution … We had been threatened with being mobbed, from time to time….”
Number 3: Organization. Joseph might have initially been simply planning on publishing these experiences later with his history (which is where the 1832 reference is found) instead of with his revelations. And Orson Pratt did confirm that some revelations were not published for precisely this reason.
Now, I do also want to mention that while these kinds of larger additions, deletions, and expansions are found in the Doctrine and Covenants, they are not found in the Book of Mormon. It seems that Joseph recognized the limits of his editorial jurisdiction, and respected the Book of Mormon as simply not his to edit in that way. Thanks for watching! You might as well check out this video while you’re here, and have a great day!
Learning More:
— The introduction to our current version of the Doctrine and Covenants: https://bit.ly/3ps141H
— “Relishing the Revisions: Joseph Smith and the Revelatory Process,” by Grant Underwood, BYUH: https://bit.ly/3TjStfs
— “That They Might Come to Understanding”: Revelation as Process,” by Steven Harper, BYU Studies: https://bit.ly/3PFPsTG
— 1833 Book of Commandments (JSPP): https://tinyurl.com/49nn9ck6
— 1835 Doctrine and Covenants (JSPP): https://tinyurl.com/yhrsprc5
— Historical Introduction to the 1835 D&C, via Joseph Smith Papers: https://bit.ly/3CnbZRZ
— “Preparing Early Revelations for Publication,” by Melvin J. Peterson (Feb. 1985 Ensign): https://bit.ly/3CkVYvR
— “Why and how revelations were modified in the Doctrine and Covenants,” via FAIR: https://bit.ly/3QxzM66
— “Changes in the Doctrine and Covenants: What the Mormon Church is Hiding from You!” via Stephen Smoot’s blog, Ploni Almoni: https://bit.ly/3ADz4yR
— Far West Record meeting minutes in which Joseph is asked to correct errors in revelations: https://bit.ly/3QGETkA
— “The Story of the Doctrine and Covenants,” Robert J. Woodford (1984 Ensign): https://bit.ly/3T1n94O
— “Great and Marvelous are the Revelations of God,” by Gerrit Dirkmaat (Jan. 2013 Ensign): https://tinyurl.com/ycxyf9mn
— “Part 44: CES Letter Priesthood Restoration Questions [Section B],” by Sarah Allen (published by FAIR): https://tinyurl.com/4ntehufm