Why did Joseph Smith make changes to the Doctrine and Covenants??? Ep. 182

Across the editions of The Doctrine and Covenants, a lot of changes have been made to the text. Most are small things, but in some early cases, entire paragraphs were added or deleted by Joseph Smith or under his direction. Some see these changes and wonder if these are the inspired words of God, why have changes been made? In this episode, Dave tackles this question and more.

Video transcript: https://saintsunscripted.com/faith-and-beliefs/the-restoration-of-christs-church/why-did-joseph-smith-make-changes-to-the-doctrine-and-covenants/
— 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
— 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. Winford (1984 Ensign): https://bit.ly/3T1n94O

Notes:

— From Elder Richard G. Scott (emphasis mine): “When I am faced with a very difficult matter, this is how I try to understand what to do. I fast. I pray to find and understand scriptures that will be helpful. That process is cyclical. I start reading a passage of scripture; I ponder what the verse means and pray for inspiration. I then ponder and pray to know if I have captured all the Lord wants me to do. Often *more impressions come* with increased understanding of doctrine. I have found that pattern to be a good way to learn from the scriptures.” Source: https://bit.ly/3wnTB7U

— Also from Elder Scott: “In that environment, strong impressions began to flow to me again. I wrote them down. The message included specific counsel on how to become more effective as an instrument in the hands of the Lord. [I continued to write the feelings that flooded into my mind and heart. As faithful as possible, I’d reach powerful impressions recorded.] I pondered the feelings I had received to determine if I had accurately expressed them in writing. As a result, I made a few minor changes to what had been written. Then I studied their meaning and application in my life. Subsequently I prayed, reviewing with the Lord what I thought had been taught by the Spirit. When the feeling of peace came, I thanked him for the guidance given.” Source: https://bit.ly/3dKGK9j

— Steven Harper: “It is important that the revelations are true, not that they are flawless.” Source: “Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants,” Harper, pg. 6.

— Elder John A Widtsoe: “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.”

— For the record, I acknowledge that while the vast majority of revelations in our modern D&C come from Joseph Smith, we’ve also got pieces of content from Joseph Fielding Smith (Section 138), Wilford Woodruff (OD1), and Spencer W. Kimball (OD2).

— In the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants we read that the revelations “…were given unto [God’s] servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.”

— As we discussed in a past episode, plenty of small changes and corrections were made to the Book of Mormon text, but Joseph seems to feel much more comfortable and liberal when it comes to making changes to his revelations.

— Steven Harper: “Joseph recognized as a result of the revelatory process that the texts of his revelations were not set in stone. Rather, he felt responsible to revise and redact them to reflect his latest understanding. He was always open, in other words, to receive more revelation.” Source: https://bit.ly/3PFPsTG

— Richard Bushman: “The revelations were not God’s diction, dialect, or native language. They were couched in language suitable to Joseph’s time … 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. With each edition, he patched pieces together and altered the wording to clarify meaning. The words were both his and God’s.” Source: “Rough Stone Rolling,” Bushman, pg. 174.

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