JSP Research Helps Update Doctrine and Covenants Section Introductions

Last month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints updated several introductions to sections in its Doctrine and Covenants to integrate valuable insights from the Joseph Smith Papers Project. These new introductions corrected facts, added context, and in one case, clarified church doctrine.

While the JSP is primarily aimed at scholars, context uncovered by the project continues to inform church members’ views of Joseph Smith and prophetic callings. Matthew C. Godfrey, a general editor for the project, explained, “In 1831, Joseph Smith described the revelations he had received as ‘the riches of Eternity to the church.’ Church members today regard the scriptures in the same way, and the work of the JSP has helped ensure that the section headings we have for these revelations are accurate and useful.”

The Joseph Smith Papers team knew their research had value for the church’s scriptures. The JSP contributed to Doctrine and Covenants updates once before, in 2013. In that update, research from the first eight volumes of the Papers was integrated into 78 section introductions in the Doctrine and Covenants. After the final volume of the Documents series was printed in 2023, JSP leadership compiled a list of potential additional adjustments from historians of the Documents volumes. These adjustments were rooted in research about the revelations that was conducted as the texts arose in that series. Some historians proposed new language; others simply identified areas that might need revision. These recommendations were sent to the church’s Scriptures Committee and were ultimately approved by church leaders.

Most of the 2025 adjustments were minor. Of the 25 updated section introductions, 15 corrected factual inaccuracies and 10 clarified historical context. For example, an update to Section 128 corrected its source letter’s date from 6 September 1842 to 7 September 1842. More substantially, Section 119’s new introduction adds context about the Saints’ financial difficulties and removes language that could possibly be misread to mean that the law of consecration was replaced by the law of tithing and is no longer in effect.

Readers interested in the 2013 and 2025 adjustments can visit the church’s “Adjustments to the Scriptures” page and the Joseph Smith Papers’ “Explanations for the Doctrine and Covenants Section Headings” for more detailed explanations of the revisions.