The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday it has made minor adjustments to 25 section introductions in the Doctrine and Covenants and two chapter summaries in the Book of Mormon, with the approval of the church’s First Presidency.
Many of the adjustments made in the Doctrine and Covenants were informed by recent findings from the Joseph Smith Papers Project and “involve clarifications or corrections to dates, locations and minor factual errors,” states a Thursday release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“These adjustments bring the section introductions in line with what we have learned from more than 20 years of careful study of Joseph Smith’s documents,” said church historian and General Authority Seventy Elder Kyle S. McKay.
“The minor changes to dates and places reflect the careful attention with which we believe this remarkable legacy of divine revelation ought to be treated,” he continued. “We hope the contextual additions help readers better understand why and how the Lord communicated with the church through his prophet (Joseph Smith).”
All of the adjustments made are now available on ChurchofJesusChrist.org and the church’s Gospel Library app for most languages, with additional languages to follow. Printed copies will begin reflecting these adjustments in the coming months, but members are “not expected to obtain new scriptures” as a result, the church’s release states.
See samples and more details of the recent adjustments made in the Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon below. For a more comprehensive summary of the specific adjustments made, visit this PDF link provided by the church.
Changes made to the Doctrine and Covenants section introductions
A page on ChurchofJesusChrist.org titled “Adjustments to the Scriptures” notes that throughout the history of the church, its scriptural canon has undergone “careful revisions and subtle improvements, introduced gradually through numerous editions.”
The last revisions made before the most recent adjustments were released in 2013 and included corrections in spelling and punctuation, as well as “contextual adjustments” in select section introductions of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Likewise, the bulk of the adjustments that the church announced Thursday, Oct. 23, focus on adding context and reflecting the “latest historical findings” in the section introductions of the Doctrine and Covenants.
For instance, in the introduction of Doctrine and Covenants section 89 — a section widely known among church members for revealing the Word of Wisdom — the church changed “As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, the Prophet was led to ponder upon the matter; consequently, he inquired” to “As a consequence of the early brethren using tobacco in their meetings, and how that concerned his wife, Emma Smith, the Prophet inquired.”
This change was made to acknowledge Emma Smith’s role in the inquiry and consequent revelation of the Word of Wisdom, according to the church’s detailed summary of adjustments.
Another one of adjustments included removing the “implication that the law of consecration (as talked about in Doctrine and Covenants section 119) was replaced by the law of tithing and is no longer in effect.”
This was done by removing text in the section’s introduction, which said: “The Lord had previously given to the Church the law of consecration and stewardship of property, which members (chiefly the leading elders) entered into by a covenant that was to be everlasting. Because of failure on the part of many to abide by this covenant, the Lord withdrew it for a time and gave instead the law of tithing to the whole Church. The Prophet asked the Lord how much of their property He required for sacred purposes. The answer was this revelation.”
And instead adding text which now says: “This revelation came after the Saints had suffered financial challenges in Missouri and Ohio due to the construction of the Kirtland Temple; persecutions in Jackson County, Missouri; and a nationwide financial crisis. The Saints were also continuing to build up communities in Missouri.”
Of the 25 Doctrine and Covenant section introductions that were adjusted, 15 were adjusted for minor factual corrections and 10 were adjusted to provide contextual clarity.
Examples of the minor factual corrections made to these introductions include changing the date “July 1833” to “July 20, 1833,” in the introduction of Doctrine and Covenants section 98, and updating the introduction of Doctrine and Covenants section 121 from “written by Joseph Smith the Prophet in an epistle to the Church … dated March 20, 1839,” to “excerpted from two epistles to the Church dictated by Joseph Smith the Prophet … the first dated March 20, 1839, and the second composed around March 22.”
Changes made to two Book of Mormon chapter summaries
The adjustments made to two chapter summaries in the Book of Mormon “help to clarify the Savior’s ministry to the people of Nephi and the importance of calling the church in his name,” according to the church’s release.
The first of these clarifying adjustments changed the words preceding 3 Nephi 11 from “Comprising chapters 11 through 26” to “Beginning with chapter 11.” This was done to reflect the fact that Jesus continued to minister to the people of Nephi after 3 Nephi 26.
The second adjustment changed the words found in the chapter summary of 3 Nephi 27 from “Jesus commands them to call the Church in His name” to “Jesus commands that the Church be called in His name.” And this change was done to clarify that the command to call the church in Jesus’s name applies to Latter-day Saints today as well as to the people of Nephi.
See a church-produced timeline of the history of the scriptures here.