Looking For information About the Doctrine and Covenants
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:37 am
In a discussion in a MySpace group regarding the changes in wording to D&C 5:4 (Book of Commandments, 10), an LDS poster suggested, as a possible explanation for the changes, that a scribe misheard the revelation as he was transcribing it, resulting in an erroneous reading that necessitated correction sometime after publication (although the error managed to survive two editions of the Book of Commandments).
This got me to wondering about the publication process of the D&C. Were the manuscripts handwritten by Smith himself, or was the process similar to that of the Book of Mormon, with Smith prattling off to a scribe? Do manuscripts for the D&C/BoC survive today? If so, are they available to the public? Any information (with sources/links, if available) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
PS - If you weren't aware of the changes and are interested, the OP of that MySpace thread reads (with emphasis retained):
This got me to wondering about the publication process of the D&C. Were the manuscripts handwritten by Smith himself, or was the process similar to that of the Book of Mormon, with Smith prattling off to a scribe? Do manuscripts for the D&C/BoC survive today? If so, are they available to the public? Any information (with sources/links, if available) would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
PS - If you weren't aware of the changes and are interested, the OP of that MySpace thread reads (with emphasis retained):
In the original Book of Commandments, a revelation is recorded which states: "And he [Joseph Smith] has a gift to translate the book [of Mormon], and I have commanded him that he shall pretend to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift." (Book of Commandments, p 10)
This revelation was reproduced unchanged in the 1833 edition of the Book of Commandments. However, in the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants published in 1835, the revelation's wording and, more importantly, meaning are changed: "And you have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestowed upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this; for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished." This is how it appears today in D&C 5:4.