Doctrine & Covenants: The Essential Instruction Manual

Before I get into the Doctrine & Covenants being an essential instruction manual, let’s talk about ME! When I was 15, our family moved away from Bountiful, Utah, a land of many Mormons. (It was in the ’70s, so I get a pass on the name.) Our new home was Scottsdale, Arizona, a land of not quite so many Mormons. I’m guessing that the % of LDS to Non-LDS inverted from 90:10 to 10:90.

Even as a teenager, I felt that I had a pretty good grasp on the gospel. (Insert wisened eye-roll here.) I had a testimony and was doing my best to live it. Turns out that I was unprepared for the non-basic-gospel questions about the church that would begin to come my way: Joseph Smith, gold plates, angels, polygamy, etc. Unironically, these are the same questions that many still struggle with today.

Not knowing things bugs me. My curiosity led me to read the Doctrine & Covenants, and the entire seven-volume “History of the Church.” It was a huge undertaking for a flighty teenager, but I really enjoyed it. By the time I was finished, I had a much firmer grasp of how the Restoration unfolded, the structure of, and how things are supposed to work in the Church.

With that came a great love and appreciation for the Church as THE vehicle to administer the gospel, and how church and gospel are intrinsically linked. You still can’t have one without the other. I also gained a greater testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and all of the prophets who have followed.

Yes, I love the Bible. It is the word of God. The New Testament teaches us some of the gospel and a teeny-tiny part of Jesus’s life. (Approximately 0.6% of Christ’s days of earthly sojourn are referenced. The other 99.4% of His life of His mortal life are not addressed.) Thankfully, the root of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is contained in the New Testament teachings in the four Gospels, and is enhanced by teachings from the apostles and missionaries who followed.

But what we learn from the Bible isn’t enough to get the job done by itself. How do I know?

There are approximately 45,000 Christian denominations scattered across the globe that claim to “Follow Jesus.”  Within those denominations, there are more than 2.2 billion people (roughly 30% of the world’s population.)

This means there are 45,000 different “official” interpretations of what Christ’s gospel means, and what His Church should look like. The simple truth? They all can’t be right. Even Jesus himself said, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:14) Joseph Smith found himself mired in that confusion back in 1820. (link)

Not only has the free-wheeling interpretation of the gospel caused much dissension and confusion, it has also resulted in rebellions, Crusades, Witch Trials, Inquisitions, etc. Some very barbaric deeds have been done in the name of Jesus. In some cases, like if you were a King and needed a quickie divorce, you could just start your own Church and appoint yourself the head. (English History, anyone?)

Thankfully, The Book of Mormon does much to help us see a more complete and refined version of what the gospel of Jesus Christ should look like. It teaches principles like the Atonement better than the Bible does. It truly is “another testament of Jesus Christ.”

Joseph Smith offered this familiar quote:

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book,” (link)

I believe this is a true statement.

As wonderful as it is, The Book of Mormon doesn’t do a very good job of describing an organization for the Church, or how it should operate. (Unless you are hiding from an evil King and running your congregation in the wilderness.)

Even though Paul tried, the New Testament only gives us a modest understanding of how the ancient church operated as an “international” church.

Together, the Bible and The Book of Mormon share the heavy lifting in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. But even they are not enough. (Feel free to shout “Heresy!” but keep reading.)

What Joseph Smith and the early Church needed was an instruction manual. The Lord accomplished this through revelations, which the prophet recorded and shared with the church membership. These revelations were – and are – a crucial part of the restoration of the Church.

For example, Doctrine & Covenants helps us understand how the priesthood – God’s authority – makes the LDS Church unique among all Christian denominations. We learn how the priesthood is conferred, what its uses are, and how it is perpetuated. (Something the ancient church couldn’t pull off.) We learn of titles, callings, offices, and ordinances and how they are administered. It teaches priesthood holders how to lead – and how not to lead.

We learn how the Lord uses prophets to deliver his word and will to the members of the church and the entire world. This is one of the crucial teachings of all scripture. If you don’t grasp this concept, then the rest doesn’t really matter. (I wrote about it here.)

That alone is enough to make the D&C an indispensable part of the canon. But wait! There’s more!

Through those revelations, the Lord gave us a greater understanding of this life and of the eternities. The Doctrine & Covenants teaches us how ordinances impact relationships now and forever.

As mentioned in the title of the book itself, covenants play a big part in the teachings. Covenants are what make things eternal. The concept of covenants is taught and expanded on like nowhere else.

Doctrine & Covenants helps us understand the physical nature of God, and the Triinity, which is one of the biggest “oops” most of Christianity wrestles with.

We receive guidance that can bless our lives. You’ve gotta agree that the Word of Wisdom has aged very well. (Just this past week, the Surgeon General released studies that show that alcohol causes cancer.)

Doctrine & Covenants gives us the most romantic thing ever written in 132:19.

I could keep going. There are oodles of examples that demonstrate how crucial the revelations contained in Doctrine & Covenants are to our faith, our salvation, and the organization and operation of the Church. They bring new insight and detail to the limited teachings of the Bible and the expanded teachings of The Book of Mormon. This scripture is an essential part of our canon and our history. It is the revealed how-to guide for the restoration.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I love the Doctrine & Covenants, and I love church history – warts and all. As we delve into this new year’s Come Follow Me studies, I want to fall in love with it all over again, like I did when I was a teenager, and several other times in my life.

The Lord sure knew what He was doing when he had the Prophet Joseph document the revelations that were instrumental in the Restoration. They served as an essential instruction manual to reestablish Christ’s Church, and amplify the understanding of His gospel.

Modern revelation for the win!