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Corresponding Section Numbers in Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants

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

Date	RB1	RB2	Star	1833	EMS	1835	1844	2004	2013 4 The 2013 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants maintains the same section numbering found in the 1981 edition.
21 Sept. 1823									2 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.
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 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.
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 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.	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 8 A portion of this revelation is found on a slip of paper attached to manuscript page 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 9 The second of two sections numbered 66. Numbering remains one off for subsequent sections within the 1835 edition.	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 10 See also the following entry for Between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835.	122–123	84–86				3 (partial) 11 Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.	3 (partial) 12 Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.	104 (partial) 13 Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.	107 (partial) 14 Verses 59–69, 71–72, 74–75, 78–87, 89, 91–92, 99–100.
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 15 See also the preceding entry for 11 Nov. 1831–B.						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 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.							107	106	119
8 July 1838–D									120
8 July 1838–E									117
20 Mar. 1839									121–123
19 Jan. 1841							[103]	107 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.”	124
ca. Mar. 1841									125
9 July 1841									126
1 Sept. 1842							105	109 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.”	127
7 Sept. 1842							106	110 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.”	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
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
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
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
The 2013 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants maintains the same section numbering found in the 1981 edition.
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
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
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
A portion of this revelation is found on a slip of paper attached to manuscript page 67.
9
The second of two sections numbered 66. Numbering remains one off for subsequent sections within the 1835 edition.
10
See also the following entry for Between ca. 1 Mar. and ca. 4 May 1835.
11
Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.
12
Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.
13
Verses 31–33, 35–42, 44.
14
Verses 59–69, 71–72, 74–75, 78–87, 89, 91–92, 99–100.
15
See also the preceding entry for 11 Nov. 1831–B.
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
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
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
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.”

Corresponding Section Numbers in Editions of the Doctrine and Covenants

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