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Corresponding Section Numbers in Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants

The most important Joseph Smith–era sources for studying the texts and the textual history of Joseph Smith’s revelations are Revelation Book 1, a manuscript compilation of revelations created circa March 1831 to July 1835; Revelation Book 2, a manuscript compilation created circa February 1832 to circa November 1834; The Evening and the Morning Star (1832–1833), a church newspaper that published a number of Joseph Smith’s revelations; the Book of Commandments (1833), the first compilation of Joseph Smith’s revelations; Evening and Morning Star (1835–1836), an edited reprint of the earlier newspaper; the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1835), an expanded compilation; and the second edition of the Doctrine and Covenants (1844). For more information about these sources and the textual history of Joseph Smith’s revelations, consult the first two volumes of the Revelations and Translations series.
In annotation in The Joseph Smith Papers, source citations identify revelations by their original date and by a citation of the version most relevant to the particular instance of annotation, which is generally one of the versions identified in the preceding paragraph. (Occasionally, a citation may reference a Joseph Smith–era version of a revelation other than the versions identified above, such as a loose manuscript copy or a version published in a newspaper not published by the Latter-day Saints.) The following table is provided to help readers refer from the cited version of a revelation to other versions of the same revelation.
The table includes revelations announced by Joseph Smith—plus letters, records of visions, articles, minutes, and other items, some of which were authored by other individuals—that were copied into Revelation Book 1 or Revelation Book 2, or that were published in the Book of Commandments or Doctrine and Covenants in or before 1844, the year of Smith’s death. The table also includes material originating with Joseph Smith published in the Doctrine and Covenants after 1844. Such later-canonized material includes, for example, extracts of Joseph Smith’s 20 March 1839 letter written from the jail in Liberty, Missouri. These extracts, first canonized in 1876, are currently found in sections 121 through 123 of the Latter-day Saint edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.
The 1835 and 1844 editions of the Doctrine and Covenants included a series of lectures on the subject of faith, which constituted part 1 of the volume. Only part 2, the compilation of revelations and other items, is represented in the table.
Some material was significantly revised after its initial publication in the canon. For instance, the revelation in chapter 28 of the Book of Commandments included twice as much material when it was republished in the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835. As another example, chapter 65 of the Book of Commandments stops abruptly before the end of the revelation because publication of the volume was disrupted; the revelation was not published in its entirety until 1835. These and other changes of greater or lesser significance are not accounted for in the table.
The far left column of the table gives the standard date of each item, based on careful study of original sources. The “standard date” is the date a revelation was originally dictated or recorded. If that date is ambiguous or unknown, the standard date is the best approximation of the date, based on existing evidence. The standard date provides a way to identify each item and situate it chronologically with other documents, but it cannot be assumed that every date corresponds to the day an item was first dictated or recorded. In some cases, an item may have been recorded without a date notation. It is also possible that a few items were first dictated on a date other than the date surviving manuscripts bear. The dates found in this table were assigned based on all available evidence, including later attempts by Joseph Smith and his contemporaries to recover date, place, and circumstances.
Where surviving sources provide conflicting information about dating, editorial judgment has been exercised to select the most likely date (occasionally only an approximate month), based on the most reliable sources. In cases in which two or more items bear the same date, they have been listed in the order in which they most likely originated, and a letter of the alphabet has been appended, providing each item a unique editorial title (for example, Oct. 1830–A or Oct. 1830–B). Information on dating issues will accompany publication of these items in the Documents series.
The second and third columns indicate the manuscript page numbers for each item that appears in Revelation Book 1 or Revelation Book 2. Because Revelation Book 1 is missing several leaves, it is impossible to give inclusive page ranges for some items. In such cases, the beginning page number can be determined from an index written in the original manuscript book, and this number is marked with an asterisk (*).
The fourth column shows the date an item was published in The Evening and the Morning Star. The date given is the date of the issue in which the item was published as a separate document (either completely or in extracted form); issues in which the item was only quoted in editorial matter are not included. Similarly, the sixth column provides the date an item was published in Evening and Morning Star, the edited Ohio reprint of the earlier Missouri periodical.
The fifth column and the seventh through tenth columns provide the number of the chapter (in the case of the Book of Commandments) or section (in the case of editions of the Doctrine and Covenants) in which the item was published in one or more of five different canonical editions, the first three of which were initiated by Joseph Smith.
Key to column titles
RB1: Revelation Book 1
RB2: Revelation Book 2
Star: The Evening and the Morning Star
1833: Book of Commandments
EMS: Evening and Morning Star
1835: Doctrine and Covenants, 1835 edition, part 2
1844: Doctrine and Covenants, 1844 edition, part 2
2004: Doctrine and Covenants, 2004 edition, Community of Christ
2013: Doctrine and Covenants, 1981 and 2013 editions, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Date RB1 RB2 Star 1833 EMS 1835 1844 2004 2013
21 Sept. 1823 2
July 1828 1–2 2 30 30 2 3
Feb. 1829 2–3 3 31 31 4 4
Mar. 1829 3* 4 32 32 5 5
Apr. 1829–A 5* 5 8 8 6 6
Spring 1829 8–12 9 36 36 3 10
Apr. 1829–B 12–13 7 34 34 8 8
Apr. 1829–C 13–14 6 33 33 7 7
Apr. 1829–D 14–15 8 35 35 9 9
15 May 1829 13
May 1829–A 15* 10 37 37 10 11
May 1829–B 11 38 38 11 12
June 1829–A 17* 12 39 39 12 14
June 1829–B 18* 15 43 43 16 18
June 1829–C 20* 13 40 40 13 15
June 1829–D 21* 14 41 41 14 16
June 1829 21–25
June 1829–E 25* 119–120 42 42 15 17
ca. Summer 1829 25–28 16 44 44 18 19
ca. Early 1830 30–31
ca. Apr. 1830 52–58 June 1832, June 1833 24 Jan. 1835, June 1836 2 2 17 20
6 Apr. 1830 28–29 22 46 46 19 21
Apr. 1830–A 29 17 45:1 45:1 21:1 23:1–2
Apr. 1830–B 29 18 45:2 45:2 21:2 23:3
Apr. 1830–C 29–30 19 45:3 45:3 21:3 23:4
Apr. 1830–D 30 20 45:4 45:4 21:4 23:5
Apr. 1830–E 30 21 45:5 45:5 21:5 23:6–7
16 Apr. 1830 32 June 1832 23 47 47 20 22
July 1830–A 32–34 25 9 9 23 24
July 1830–B 34 27 49 49 25 26
July 1830–C 34–35 26 48 48 24 25
ca. Aug. 1830 35–36 Mar. 1833 28 May 1836 50 50 26 27
Sept. 1830–A 36–40 Sept. 1832 29 Apr. 1835 10 10 28 29
Sept. 1830–B 40–41 30 51 51 27 28
Sept. 1830–C 42 31 52:1 52:1 29:1 30:1–4
Sept. 1830–D 42 32 52:2 52:2 29:2 30:5–8
Sept. 1830–E 43 33 52:3 52:3 29:3 30:9–11
Sept. 1830–F 43–44 34 53 53 30 31
Oct. 1830–A 83–84 54 54 31 32
Oct. 1830–B 44–45 35 55 55 32 33
4 Nov. 1830 45–46 36 56 56 33 34
7 Dec. 1830 46–48 37 11 11 34 35
9 Dec. 1830 48–49 38 57 57 35 36
30 Dec. 1830 49 39 58 58 37 37
1830 60–61 94–95, 117 73 74 74 74
2 Jan. 1831 49–52 Jan. 1833 40 Apr. 1836 12 12 38 38
5 Jan. 1831 58–60 41 59 59 39 39
6 Jan. 1831 60 42 60 60 40 40
4 Feb. 1831 61–62 93–94 43 61 61 41 41
9 Feb. 1831 62–67 July 1832 44 Feb. 1835 13:1–19 13:1–19 42:1–19 42:1–73
Feb. 1831–A 67–70 Oct. 1832 45 June 1835 14 14 43 43
Feb. 1831–B 70–71 46 62 62 44 44
23 Feb. 1831 67 117–118 July 1832 47 Feb. 1835 13:21–23, 20 13:21–23, 20 42:21–23, 20 42:78–93, 74–77
ca. 7 Mar. 1831 71–76 June 1832 48 Jan. 1835 15 15 45 45
ca. 8 Mar. 1831–A 76–78 Aug. 1832 49 Mar. 1835 16 16 46 46
ca. 8 Mar. 1831–B 79–80 12–13 50 63 63 47 47
10 Mar. 1831 79 51 64 64 48 48
7 May 1831 80–82 Nov. 1832 52 Sept. 1835 65 65 49 49
9 May 1831 82–85 Aug. 1832 53 Mar. 1835 17 17 50 50
15 May 1831 85 91–92
20 May 1831 86–87 87–89 23 23 51 51
6 June 1831 87–89 54 66 66 52 52
8 June 1831 89–90 55 66 67 53 53
10 June 1831 90–91 56 67 68 54 54
14 June 1831 91 57 68 69 55 55
15 June 1831 91–93 58 69 70 56 56
20 July 1831 93–94 89–91 27 27 57 57
1 Aug. 1831 94–98 59 18 18 58 58
7 Aug. 1831 98–100 July 1832 60 Feb. 1835 19 19 59 59
8 Aug. 1831 100–101 61 70 71 60 60
12 Aug. 1831 101–103 Dec. 1832 62 Apr. 1836 71 72 61 61
13 Aug. 1831 104 63 72 73 62 62
30 Aug. 1831 104–108 Feb. 1833 64 May 1836 20 20 63 63
11 Sept. 1831 108–111 65 21 21 64 64
29 Oct. 1831 111–112 95–97 74 75 66 66
30 Oct. 1831 112 87 Sept. 1832 Apr. 1835 24 24 65 65
1 Nov. 1831–A 113–114 Oct. 1832 June 1835 22 22 68 68
1 Nov. 1831–B 125–127 Mar. 1833 1 May 1836 1 1 1 1
ca. 2 Nov. 1831 (Testimony) 121
ca. 2 Nov. 1831 114–115 25 25 67 67
3 Nov. 1831 116–121; 1–[6] (appendix) May 1833 June 1836 100 108 108 133
11 Nov. 1831–A 122 28 28 69 69
11 Nov. 1831–B 122–123 84–86 3 (partial) 3 (partial) 104 (partial) 107 (partial)
12 Nov. 1831 124–125 26 26 70 70
1 Dec. 1831 134[a] 11–12 90 91 71 71
4 Dec. 1831–A 132 13 Dec. 1832 Apr. 1836 89:1–2 90:1–2 72:1–2 72:1–8
4 Dec. 1831–B 133–134[a] 13–15 Dec. 1832 Apr. 1836 89:3–4 90:3–4 72:3–4 72:9–23
4 Dec. 1831–C 134[a] 15 Dec. 1832 Apr. 1836 89:5 90:5 72:5 72:24–26
10 Jan. 1832 146–147 29 29 73 73
25 Jan. 1832–A 129–131 87:1–3 88:1–3 75:1–3 75:1–22
25 Jan. 1832–B 131–132 87:4–5 88:4–5 75:4–5 75:23–36
16 Feb. 1832 135[a]–139 1–10 July 1832 Feb. 1835 91 92 76 76
27 Feb. 1832 10
1 Mar. 1832 145–146 15–17 75 76 77 78
7 Mar. 1832 147 18–19 77 78 79 80
12 Mar. 1832 147 12 76 77 78 79
15 Mar. 1832 139–140 17–18 79 80 80 81
Between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 141–144 77
Between ca. 4 and ca. 20 Mar. 1832 144
20 Mar. 1832 148 19
26 Apr. 1832 128–129 86 87 81 82
30 Apr. 1832 132 93 Jan. 1833 Apr. 1836 88 89 82 83
29 Aug. 1832 148 19–20 78 79 96 99
22–23 Sept. 1832 149–156 20–31 4 4 83 84
27 Nov. 1832 85
6 Dec. 1832 177 31–32 6 6 84 86
25 Dec. 1832 157; 202–203 32–33 87
27–28 Dec. 1832 158–166 33–46 Feb. 1833 May 1836 7:1–38 7:1–38 85:1–38 88:1–126
3 Jan. 1833 166–167 47–48 Mar. 1833 May 1836 7:39–46 7:39–46 85:39–46 88:127–141
27 Feb. 1833 167–168 49–51 80 81 86 89
8 Mar. 1833 168–170 51–55 84 85 87 90
9 Mar. 1833 55 92 93 88 91
15 Mar. 1833 55 93 94 89 92
6 May 1833 178–181 56–59 82 83 90 93
1 June 1833 181–182 59–60 95 96 92 95
4 June 1833 182–183 60–61 96 97 93 96
2 Aug. 1833–A 171–172 61–64 81 82 94 97
2 Aug. 1833–B 172–173 64–66 83 84 91 94
6 Aug. 1833 173–177 66–71 85 86 95 98
12 Oct. 1833 71–72 94 95 97 100
16–17 Dec. 1833 183–189 73–83 97 98 98 101
17 Feb. 1834 202 (heading only) 111–115 5 5 99 102
24 Feb. 1834 189–192 108–111 101 100 103
23 Apr. 1834 192–198 100–107 98 99 101 104
28 Apr. 1834 198 111
22 June 1834 199–201 97–100 102 102 105
25 Nov. 1834 116 99 100 103 106
Between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835 3 3 104 107
ca. Aug. 1835 (”Marriage”) 101 109 111
ca. Aug. 1835 (”Of Governments and Laws in General”) 102 110 112 134
26 Dec. 1835 108
21 Jan. 1836 137
27 Mar. 1836 109
3 Apr. 1836 110
6 Aug. 1836 111
23 July 1837 104 105 112
Mar. 1838 113
11 Apr. 1838 114
26 Apr. 1838 115
19 May 1838 116
8 July 1838–A 118
8 July 1838–C 107 106 119
8 July 1838–D 120
8 July 1838–E 117
20 Mar. 1839 121–123
19 Jan. 1841 [103] 107 124
ca. Mar. 1841 125
9 July 1841 126
1 Sept. 1842 105 109 127
7 Sept. 1842 106 110 128
9 Feb. 1843 129
2 Apr. 1843 130
16 May 1843 131:1–4
17 May 1843–A 131:5–6
17 May 1843–B 131:7–8
12 July 1843 132
  1. 1

    The 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants included one item written after the death of Joseph Smith (section 111). That item is not included in this table.  

  2. 2

    The 2004 Community of Christ edition of the Doctrine and Covenants includes two extracts from Joseph Smith’s Bible revision (sections 22 and 36) and items written after Smith’s death. Neither the extracts nor the later items are included in this table.  

  3. 3

    The 1981 Latter-day Saint edition of the Doctrine and Covenants includes some items written after the death of Joseph Smith. Those items are not included in this table. Any item for which information appears only in the “1981” column and in the “Date” column is a later-canonized item, as discussed in the third paragraph of the preceding introduction.  

  4. 4

    The 2013 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants maintains the same section numbering found in the 1981 edition.  

  5. 5

    This section, an extract from the history Joseph Smith initiated in 1838, is here dated by the date of the event described in the section rather than the date of the document’s creation.  

  6. 6

    This section, an extract from the history Joseph Smith initiated in 1838, is here dated by the date of the event described in the section rather than the date of the document’s creation.  

  7. 7

    See also the following entry for 23 Feb. 1831. In the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, the last sentence of verse 19 (corresponding to verse 73 in the 1981 edition) was added to the revelation.  

  8. 8

    A portion of this revelation is found on a slip of paper attached to manuscript page 67.  

  9. 9

    The second of two sections numbered 66. Numbering remains one off for subsequent sections within the 1835 edition.  

  10. 10

    See also the following entry for Between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835.  

  11. 11

    Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.  

  12. 12

    Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.  

  13. 13

    Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.  

  14. 14

    Verses 59–69, 71–72, 74–75, 78–87, 89, 91–92, 99–100.  

  15. 15

    See also the preceding entry for 11 Nov. 1831–B.  

  16. 16

    This table skips from 8 July 1838–A to 8 July 1838–C because the revelation not shown here, 8 July 1838–B, does not appear in any of the sources included in this table, nor has it otherwise been canonized.  

  17. 17

    The 2004 Community of Christ edition provides the following note regarding this section: “Placed in the Appendix by action of the 1970 World Conference: the Appendix was subsequently removed by the 1990 World Conference.”  

  18. 18

    The 2004 Community of Christ edition provides the following note regarding this section: “Placed in the Appendix by action of the 1970 World Conference: the Appendix was subsequently removed by the 1990 World Conference.”  

  19. 19

    The 2004 Community of Christ edition provides the following note regarding this section: “Placed in the Appendix by action of the 1970 World Conference: the Appendix was subsequently removed by the 1990 World Conference.”  

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