Further Reading Suggestions

Murray Utah Little Cottonwood 18th Ward—Come Follow Me 2025–Doctrine and Covenants

1 Joseph Smith Time Line— https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/2009/01/joseph-smith-timeline?lang=eng

  • At the age of 14, Joseph had a vision of God the Father and His son Jesus Christ
  • At the age of 17, visited by the Angel Moroni; later that year his brother Alvin died.
  • At the age of 21, he married Emma; later that year obtained the gold plates.
  • At the age of 22 ,began translating in the spring; lost 116 pages in the summer;
    • was rebuked by the Lord and could no longer translate for a time. [1828]
  • At the age of 23, in the spring he began translating again with Oliver Cowdery as his scribe;
    • finished nearly all of the Book of Mormon from April to June [1829.]
  • At the age of 24, the Book of Mormon was published and the Church was organized. [1830].

2 During the thirty-nine years of his life, Joseph—https://www.pbs.org/americanprophet/joseph-smith.html#:~:text=During%20the%20thirty%2Dnine%20years,general%20of%20its%20militia%2C%20the

  • established thriving cities in Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois;
  • produced volumes of scripture;
  • sent missionaries throughout the world;
  • he orchestrated the building of temples;
  • served as mayor of Nauvoo, one of the largest cities in Illinois,
  • and as general of its militia, the Nauvoo Legion;
  • and was a candidate for the presidency of the United States.
  • Joseph was persecuted much of his adult life and was killed along with his brother Hyrum by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, on June 27, 1844

3 Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible available online at BYU Religious Studies Center

https://rsc.byu.edu/book/joseph-smiths-translation-bible

As Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon in the late 1820s, he found that more than once the Book of Mormon text indicated that “many plain and precious parts” of the Bible had been lost. (1 Ne 13:28; 1 Ne 14:23; Mormon 8:33)

While the Book of Mormon was being printed at E. B. Grandin’s print shop in October 1829, Oliver Cowdery purchased from Grandin a copy of the King James version of the Bible.

The next summer, in 1830, Joseph used it as he began a new translation of the Bible with the intent to restore some of those plain and precious parts.

This went against the prevailing opinion of the day that the Bible contained the complete word of God. He made additions and changes, through revelation, as he was directed by the Holy Ghost. The effort he put into this work is evident in the Doctrine and Covenants.

The translation process served as the direct catalyst for about a dozen revelations contained in the D&C. He first focused on the text of Genesis, but the following year, in March 1831 he was given a revelation (D&C 45) where the Lord instructed him to put aside the Old Testament for a time and focus on translating the New Testament. Oliver Cowdery helped Joseph for part of this time.

4 Doctrine and Covenants Historical Background for each Section https://gospeldoctrine.com/index.php/doctrine-and-covenants/sections-1-20

5 Doctrine and Covenants Section Situations: https://rsc.byu.edu/sperry-symposium-classics-doctrine-covenants/historical-context-each-section

1 A great and marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.

2 Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word.

3 Behold, the field is white already to harvest; therefore, whoso desireth to reap let him thrust in his sickle with his might, and reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation in the kingdom of God. (Continues through Section 138)

6 Commentaries on each of the D&C Sections https://gospeldoctrine.com/index.php/doctrine-and-covenants/sections-1-20/section-7 (really good—this one from Section 7:2 is an example)

D&C 7:2 Lord, give me power over death–In John’s reply we see the measure of the man; the apostolic witness he desired to bear; the works he desired to do; the souls he desired to save: “Lord, give unto me power over death,” he asked, “that I may live and bring souls unto thee.” Such a request, aside from the perfect faith that knows that such a plea can be granted, is a manifestation of missionary zeal scarce known among men. To preach the gospel and save souls until the Son of Man comes in his glory-what a wondrous work! (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-1981], 4: 291)

7 Elder Bednar teaches 5 lessons: Spirit of Revelation, how it operates in the work of the Lord https://www.thechurchnews.com/2018/7/9/23213980/elder-bednar-teaches-5-lessons-on-the-spirit-of-revelation-and-how-it-operates-in-the-work-of-the-lo/

8 Translated Beings

The following is a brief doctrinal summary of translated beings. To be translated does not mean to go immediately into the presence of God. Rather, it means that one’s body is transformed from a telestial state to a terrestrial state. Just as the earth during the terrestrial Millennium, a translated being is free from the power of Satan. Except for the sins of the world, a translated individual cannot suffer sickness or pain. Accordingly, John was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil and received no harm. On three occasions, the Three Nephites were cast into a furnace of fire without being singed. John and the Three Nephites were to be ministering angels, meaning they were given an assignment to bring souls unto Christ. John was to minister to many nations but had a particular assignment to the House of Israel. The Three Nephites were to preach to the Jews and Gentiles. Unlike those resurrected with a celestial body, a translated being can baptize (3 Ne. 28:18). When Christ said to John, “thou shalt tarry until I come,” He is saying that John will remain in this state until the Second Coming. Some have concluded that translated beings never die, “Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” (John 21:23) Technically, John and the Three Nephites will die—they will undergo a death and resurrection in the “twinkling of an eye” (3 Ne. 28:7). That twinkling will be a transformation from a terrestrial order to a celestial one and constitutes the “greater change” spoken of by Mormon (3 Ne. 28:40). The scriptures don’t say that they will never die, but that they will not “taste of death” (3 Ne. 28:7). (See 3 Nephi 28, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 170-171, David O. McKay, Ancient Apostles [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1964], 135, and Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah, 4: 389) A great mission was given unto John because of his desire, and he is even now laboring as “a flaming fire and a ministering angel, for those who are heirs of salvation….” At a conference of the Church, held June, 1831, Joseph Smith said: “that John the Revelator was then among the ten tribes of Israel who had been led away by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, to prepare them for their return from their long dispersion.” (Doc. Hist. of the Church, Vol. 1:176. Essentials in Church History, p. 126.) (Church History and Modern Revelation, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1946-1949], 1: 44-45.)

9 Jared Halverson Unshaken podcast—Come Follow Me – D&C 10-11