FAIR Topical Guide

Guide Home > Scripture and Influential Writings > Doctrine & Covenants > Changes in the D&C

Additional Topics

The following are additional topic areas related to Changes in the D&C. If there is a bracket number after the topic, that number indicates how many actual articles there are related to that subject. If the link for the topic is not live, it simply means the topic is a 'planned area' for future growth.

Ensign Articles

These articles cited below provide information on the topic of this page. The Ensign is one of the official publications of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When you click on one of the article links below, you are whisked to the article found in the archives of the Church's Web site.

Robert J. Woodford, "The Story of the Doctrine and Covenants," Ensign, December 1984. This article examines the coming forth of the Doctrine and Covenants as well as when and why some of the changes were made to revelations.

Other Resources

The resources listed below are related items available on the Web that should be of interest. These links are to information not located on the FAIR Web site.

Stephen R. Gibson, "Why Did Joseph Smith Make Changes In the Doctrine & Covenants?," One-Minute Answers to Anti-Mormon Questions (Bountiful, Utah: Horizon Publishers) Don't changes in the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants prove Joseph Smith was not a prophet of God?

David J. Whittaker, "Substituted Names in the Published Revelations of Joseph Smith," BYU Studies (1983), 1-9 Until 1981, editions of the Doctrine and Covenants contained seven revelations with pseudonyms of individuals and places, thus cloaking original identities. These substituted names occur in all editions of the D&C from 1835 on, although the practice of bracketing the real names next to the substituted names began with the 1876 edition. By the 1921 edition almost all the real names had been identified. In the 1981 edition the code names were removed from the text in all but four cases, and the identity of one of these four is suggested in a textual note. It is the purpose of this essay to review the history of these substituted names and, based on a recently discovered document, to reveal the identities of the remaining three names. The seven printed revelations which contained the substituted names were received by Joseph Smith between 1832 and 1834.

FAIR is not owned, controlled by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All research and opinions provided on this site are the sole responsibility of FAIR, and should not be interpreted as official statements of LDS doctrine, belief or practice.

If you like what FAIR does and you agree with our mission, we invite you to support FAIR in any way you are able. You can make a donation, or visit our Membership page for additional support ideas. FAIR only succeeds through the efforts of our gracious volunteers.

Welcome | Topical Guide | FAIR Publications | Join & Support FAIR | Message Boards
FAIR LDS Bookstore | News | FAIR Links | Contact FAIR | Home

Last Updated September 28, 2008
Copyright © 2009 by The Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research. All Rights Reserved.
No portion of this site may be reproduced on any other Web site or in any other print publication
without the express written consent of FAIR. You may freely link to this information, however, or you
may print out copies to give to others, provided this copyright notice is included in your printout.

You can send comments/suggestions using our contact page.