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Joseph Smith Papers Project Publishes Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion

The Joseph Smith Papers Project has released a historical study aid for the Doctrine and Covenants. Available as an e-book only, Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers is a compilation of most of the earliest versions of Joseph Smith’s revelations now found in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The e-book was compiled from previous publications of the Joseph Smith Papers and is designed for people looking to better understand the original text and historical background of these revelations. The e-book will be particularly useful for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaching or studying the Doctrine and Covenants in Gospel Doctrine, seminary, or Institute courses. Because the content is based on rigorous scholarship from the Joseph Smith Papers, the book will also be helpful to historians, religious studies specialists, and other scholars looking for information on this unique volume of Latter-day Saint scripture.

Included in the volume are transcripts of the revelations and annotation that provides historical context of the revelations. Introductions to each revelation give such details as when and where a revelation was given, the question or other circumstances that led to the revelation, how it was originally recorded and disseminated, and how early church members responded to the revelation. Readers will also learn about the relationship between a revelation and other events and documents from the period, or about other cultural and religious movements of the time. In addition, footnotes provide textual analysis that allow readers to see how and to what degree these revelations changed in the early years of the church. Two appendixes explain how Joseph Smith’s revelations were first recorded, circulated, and published.

This volume also includes new features to help readers using the volume as a study aid, including added versification that corresponds to the modern (2013) Latter-day Saint edition of the Doctrine and Covenants and a chart that lists in chronological order all of the revelations and other texts that make up the Doctrine and Covenants. The contents of this book are organized by section number as found in the 2013 edition.

With this e-book, much of the information on the revelations previously published by the Joseph Smith Papers is made conveniently accessible in one location. Helpful to both scholar and Latter-day Saint alike, this study companion provides valuable insight into Joseph Smith’s role as a revelator and into many of the texts that form the bedrock of Latter-day Saint history.

Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion from the Joseph Smith Papers is available for purchase at Deseret Book and on Amazon. For more information, visit the Purchase page on the Joseph Smith Papers website.