Daniel H. Ludlow - Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants

Preface

Preface

Preface

A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants is designed to be of maximum use to the reader and student of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is arranged to provide helpful background and supplementary information on the sacred scripture as it is read page by page and section by section.

Part I provides information on the purpose and coming forth of the Doctrine and Covenants. A few of the subjects discussed are the principles of revelation; the importance of this method of communication of God with his prophets; the relationship of prophecy to scripture; a definition of scripturespoken, written, and canonized; why, how, when, and where the revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants were received; the procedures followed in publishing A Book of Commandments and the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants. Several topics concerned with the historical background of the Doctrine and Covenants are also discussed in this first part.

Part II provides basic and essential information on each of the sections in the Doctrine and Covenants. The following order is used in providing this information:

1. Background information for each section. The superscription of each section in the Doctrine and Covenants includes some historical background on that section, but the information is often scanty and the reader is frequently referred to the appropriate material in History of the Church. This Companion provides additional historical background and generally includes essential reference materials from History of the Church and other sources.

2. Definitions, explanations, and resource materials pertaining to some of the more difficult verses and passages in each section. Illustrative materials are usually provided from the writings and sermons of General Authorities, who, in the opinion of the author, receive at the time of their setting apart a special gift to interpret and teach the scriptures.

The Appendixes will save the student of the Doctrine and Covenants hundreds of hours of research in finding resource materials related to the Doctrine and Covenants. Appendix A includes definitions, explanations, selected quotations, and selected scriptural references on over 200 key words and terms that are used frequently throughout the Doctrine and Covenants. These key words and terms are listed alphabetically for ease in quick reference. Appendix B contains a list of all the persons who are referred to in the Doctrine and Covenants or for whom a section in the Doctrine and Covenants is given. Biographical information is also given on 50 persons, particularly those mentioned several times in the revelations.

This Companion does not include verbatim the text from the Doctrine and Covenants. The reader will probably want to read a particular section in the Doctrine and Covenants first; then he may wish to refer to this Companion for additional helps pertaining to the contents of that particular section. In the discussions of the verses of that section, references may also be included to additional information in the Appendixes concerning key words, key terms, or individuals. If this book is properly used in this manner, it should truly be a companion to your study of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Acknowledgments

Two firm convictions helped the author determine the format and decide on the contents of this volume.

1. The Doctrine and Covenants is a divinely inspired scripture and thus is one of the most important books ever to be published; it represents teachings directly from God through his prophets to the people of this generation.

2. The General Authorities, at the time of their setting apart, receive a special gift of discernment that helps them understand and teach the scriptures; also, members of the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Patriarch to the Church are prophets, seers, and revelators with a special responsibility to interpret and teach the principles of the gospel.

When the author was first asked to prepare this volume, his original intent was to write most of the material himself and to include only a few brief selected quotations from the General Authorities to supplement, reinforce, and strengthen his own explanations and commentaries. However, it soon became apparent that the General Authorities throughout the decades have thoroughly covered most of the topics he intended to cover. In addition, the special gift of discernment enjoyed by them was evident in the quality and thoroughness of the choice quotations. Some of these resource materials were difficult to find, however, as they were scattered throughout scores of volumes and publications and were often interspersed with other materials not directly related to the Doctrine and Covenants.

The challenge then became to select, compile, and arrange the numerous resource materials so they would be readily available and to organize them so they would be of most use to the student and teacher of the Doctrine and Covenants.

To help accomplish these purposes, the author read thousands of pages of material from the sermons and writings of the General Authorities in such publications as Conference Reports, Church magazines, Journal of Discourses, compilations of statements by the presidents and other leaders of the Church, and their personal books. Materials from these voluminous sources that were related to the Doctrine and Covenants and its teachings were then carefully selected and organized. More than 3,000 pages of these selections were then abridged and trimmed, maintaining the original words and meanings of the author to form these volumes.

Of necessity, this research has criss-crossed the paths of those who have published earlier materials on the Doctrine and Covenants. Because of the thorough research of these earlier writers and compilers, it was not unusual to find the same choice statement from a General Authority in several compilations and publications. This not only helped confirm the author's feeling on the significance of the statement, but verified the importance of the utterances of authorized servants who have spoken by the power or under the direction of the Holy Ghost.

Special appreciation is expressed for the following publications: Church History and Modern Revelation, by Joseph Fielding Smith; Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, by Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl; Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine and Covenants, by Roy W. Doxey; Doctrine and Covenants: Institute of Religion Self-instruction Program, published by the Church Educational System.

Appreciation is gratefully extended to

My wife, Luene, and our three daughters who are still at homeKathy, Shauna, and Michellefor their invaluable help, support, and understanding. Particular thanks to Kathy for her hundreds of hours of around-the-clock typing during the last two months of preparation of the manuscript.