The Doctrine and Covenants
The voice of the Lord to His latter-day Church — scripture by His own definition.
What the Doctrine and Covenants Is
The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors in the presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unlike the Bible and the Book of Mormon, which record the dealings of God with peoples in the ancient world, the Doctrine and Covenants is a book of modern revelation — the Lord speaking directly to His Church in the latter days. The Church has accepted these revelations as scripture, binding upon its members.
From the very first section, the Lord declares that the words contained in the book are His own and are directed to all the world:
“Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled. What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants is itself a revelation — the Lord’s own preface to the book, given by revelation in November 1831. In it the Lord declares that the word spoken by His own voice and the word spoken by the voice of His servants are one and the same. This single declaration establishes the foundation for everything the book teaches.
The Lord Declares His Revelations Are Scripture
The claim that modern revelation is scripture does not rest upon the assertion of men — it rests upon the explicit word of the Lord. He defines what scripture is, and by that definition the revelations of the latter days qualify fully. When the Lord ordained the offices of His Church, He gave this commandment concerning what His servants would speak:
“And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.”
Here the Lord gives the very definition of scripture: that which is spoken by men moved upon by the Holy Ghost. By His own measure, the revelations gathered in the Doctrine and Covenants — given by the Spirit through His chosen prophets — are scripture, the word of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
That God would continue to speak and that His words would be written was foretold long before the latter-day revelations came. The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi recorded the Lord’s own promise that He would speak to all nations and that they would write His words:
“For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it … And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.”
The Lord rebukes those who would say, “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3). His pattern is to speak in every age and to command that His words be written. The Doctrine and Covenants is precisely such a written record — the Lord speaking in the dispensation of the fulness of times.
Distinctive Doctrinal Contributions
The Doctrine and Covenants restores and clarifies truths that are found nowhere else in such fulness. Each of the following doctrines is given by direct revelation recorded in the book.
The Degrees of Glory
In a glorious vision, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw that the heavens are not a single undivided place but contain distinct kingdoms of glory — the celestial, the terrestrial, and the telestial — into which the children of God are received according to the law they are willing to obey.
“These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun … And again, we saw the terrestrial world … And again, we saw the glory of the telestial, which glory is that of the lesser, even as the glory of the stars differs from that of the glory of the moon in the firmament.”
The Eternal Priesthood — the Oath and Covenant
The Doctrine and Covenants reveals that the priesthood is eternal, that it administers the gospel, and that it is received by an oath and covenant which men may not break and stand guiltless.
“And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.”
“Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.”
Eternal Marriage and Sealing
The Lord revealed that the marriage covenant, when sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise through the authorized priesthood, endures beyond death and into eternity — a new and everlasting covenant.
“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise … it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world.”
The Word of Wisdom
The Doctrine and Covenants contains the Lord’s law of health, given as a principle with promise — a revelation that men in 1833 could not have framed from the knowledge of their day.
“And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.”
Salvation and Work for the Dead
The Lord revealed that the living may be baptized in behalf of the dead, that the saving ordinances may reach all generations, and that records of these ordinances are kept in heaven and on earth — binding the fathers to the children.
“And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over … For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers — that they without us cannot be made perfect — neither can we without our dead be made perfect.”
The Law of Consecration
The Lord gave His law for the temporal and spiritual ordering of His people — that they should consecrate of their substance to care for the poor and to build up the kingdom of God.
“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.”
Distinctive Doctrines at a Glance
- D&C 76 — the degrees of glory (celestial, terrestrial, telestial)
- D&C 84, 107 — the eternal priesthood and the oath and covenant
- D&C 132 — eternal marriage and the sealing power
- D&C 89 — the Word of Wisdom
- D&C 128 — salvation and work for the dead
- D&C 42 — the law of consecration
The Official Declarations
Two Official Declarations are canonized at the close of the Doctrine and Covenants, each accepted by the common consent of the Church and bound into the standard works as scripture.
Official Declaration 1 — The Manifesto
Issued by President Wilford Woodruff in 1890, the Manifesto announced the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church, in obedience to the will of the Lord and the laws of the land.
“Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages … I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.”
Official Declaration 2 — The Priesthood Extended to All Worthy Men (1978)
In June 1978, by revelation to President Spencer W. Kimball and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the Lord extended the blessings of the priesthood and the temple to all worthy male members of the Church without regard to race or color.
“He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood … without regard for race or color.”
The Voice of the Lord to the Latter-day Church
The Doctrine and Covenants is not a commentary upon scripture — it is scripture. It is the Lord speaking to His Church in our own day, restoring lost truths, clarifying the way of salvation, and ordering the affairs of His kingdom. By the Lord’s own definition, that which His servants speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost is His word, His voice, and the power of God unto salvation (D&C 68:4).
The Lord promised that He would speak to all nations and that they would write His words (2 Nephi 29:12), and in the Doctrine and Covenants that promise is fulfilled. He declared in His own preface that whether by His own voice or the voice of His servants, it is the same (D&C 1:38).
To receive the Doctrine and Covenants as scripture, therefore, is simply to take the Lord at His word. It is the testimony of the latter days that the heavens are not sealed, that God speaks still, and that His voice has been written for the salvation of His people.