View source for Book of Commandments

{{Short description|Mormon scriptural text}}{{Infobox religious text|religion=[[Latter Day Saint movement]]|image=Book of Commandments.jpg|caption=Title page of a 1903 reprint|chapters=65|wikisource=Book of Commandments|period=19th century}}
{{for|Jewish book by Maimonides|Sefer Hamitzvot}}
The '''Book of Commandments''' is the earliest published book to contain the revelations of [[Joseph Smith Jr.]] Text published in the Book of Commandments is now considered [[scripture]] by [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) as part of the larger [[Doctrine and Covenants]].

== History of the Book of Commandments ==
{{Doctrine and Covenants}}The Book of Commandments was planned as a compilation of  [[Joseph Smith Jr.]]'s early [[Prophecy|prophecies]]. Smith, leader of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], gathered several of his revelations for a [[High priest (Latter Day Saints)|High Priests]] council in November 1831. The ten-man council voted to print 10,000 copies, but the actual number of prints was reduced to between three and five thousand.

[[William Wines Phelps|W.&nbsp;W. Phelps]], publisher of the book, ran a press in [[Independence, Missouri]]. A faithful Mormon, Phelps also edited an historically important Mormon periodical, ''[[The Evening and Morning Star]]'' from September 1831 to July 1833. Most revelations in the Book of Commandments had been previously published by Phelps in the ''Star''.

On July 20, 1833 an [[anti-Mormon]] and pro-[[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] mob destroyed the press. The mob, purportedly frightened of Mormon political power, was incensed by an editorial in Phelps's ''Evening and Morning Star'' perceived to be [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]]. Breaking down the door, they razed Phelps's home and business. At that point, 65 revelations of the Book of Commandments, about two thirds the total, were already printed. Totaling 160 pages, most of the uncut and unbound sheets were destroyed in the ensuing fire. However, some neighbors including teenage sisters Caroline and [[Mary Elizabeth Rollins]]<ref name=salvaging>{{cite book | last = Carter | first = Kate | title = Our Pioneer Heritage | publisher = Daughters of Utah Pioneers | year = 1962 | location = Salt Lake City, UT | pages = 308}}</ref> saved remnants of nearly 100 copies.

Fewer than 30 are known to exist today, including several incomplete versions. Further enhancing the book's scarcity, several copies of the ''Book of Commandments'' are held in permanent collections. For example, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) and the [[Community of Christ]] have multiple copies, and the rare books divisions of the [[University of Utah]] [[J. Willard Marriott Library|Marriott Library]], [[Brigham Young University]] [[Harold B. Lee Library]], [[The Library of Congress]], and the [[New York Public Library]] each own a copy. When sold on the open market, the book regularly fetches over $100,000. An incomplete copy changed hands for $200,000 in 2001, and a complete volume sold at auction for $391,000.<ref>{{cite news |title= LDS book fetches $391,000 at sale |url= http://www.deseretnews.com/article/871733/LDS-book-fetches-391000-at-sale.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140312203112/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/871733/LDS-book-fetches-391000-at-sale.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= March 12, 2014 |date= 2001-10-30 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]]}}</ref> Rare books dealer [[Ken Sanders (book dealer)|Ken Sanders]] claims a copy was sold privately in Utah for $500,000.<ref>{{cite news |title= 1835 hymnal sold at auction for $273,600 |url= http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650212769,00.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061208000058/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C650212769%2C00.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= December 8, 2006 |last= Arave |first= Lynn |date=2006-12-06 |newspaper= [[Deseret News]]}}</ref>

== Content of the Book of Commandments ==
{{see also|Criticism of Mormon sacred texts#Doctrine and Covenants}}
Many of the revelations in the Book of Commandments were also printed in the official church newspaper ''[[Evening and Morning Star]]'', with relatively superficial and typographical edits.

A much more ambitious revision was made in 1835, when all the revelations contained in the Book of Commandments were edited for inclusion in a larger text of Mormon scriptures called the [[Doctrine and Covenants]]. In addition to many superficial changes, this latter work contains significant redactions, deletions, and additions of new material to the older revelations, and the nature of these changes has been controversial, in part because these changes are not widely known by Mormon adherents, and in part because the changes have been used by secular Mormon scholars to support a hypothesis that Mormon theology developed gradually, and underwent theological reversals and significant changes. Apologetic scholars tend to minimize the significance of these changes, or to read the two editions of scripture in a way that makes them roughly consistent.

For example, mention of [[Bible|biblical]] [[Twelve apostles|apostles]] [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[Saint James the Great|James]], and [[John the Apostle|John]] imparting [[Joseph Smith Jr.]] with the [[Melchizedek priesthood|Priesthood]] is in section 27 of the Doctrine and Covenants, but is omitted from the equivalent chapter in the Book of Commandments.

Secular Mormon scholars{{which|date=August 2022}} argue that these changes reflect the changing doctrines of Joseph Smith, but Mormon apologetic scholars are more likely to hold{{weasel words inline|date=August 2022}} that the changes are elaborations or clarifications of previously revealed doctrine. For example, a scripture often cited by Mormon critics says,

:"...and he has a gift to translate the book and I have commanded him that he shall pretend to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift." &mdash; Book of Commandments 4:2

This passage refers to Joseph Smith in [[Grammatical person|third person]]. However, the re-numbered Doctrine and Covenants reads:

:"...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." &mdash; Doctrine and Covenants 5:4

== Book of Commandments chapters and Doctrine and Covenants sections ==
Note that the units of the Book of Commandments are chapters, while the Doctrine and Covenants has sections. Chapters of the book correspond exactly to modern D&C sections except for the revisions discussed above.

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-----
! align="center" | Book of Commandments<br>1833<br/>Chapter (out of 65)
! align="center" | [[Doctrine and Covenants|D&C]]<br/>1835<br/> Section (of 102)
! align="center" | [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS]] D&C<br/>1981<br/> Section (of 138)
! align="center" | Notes
|-----
| 1 || 1 || 1
|-----
| 2 || 30 || 3
|-----
| 3 || 31 || 4
|-----
| 4 || 32 || 5
| D&C changes to "and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift ''until my purpose is fulfilled in this''" as discussed above. Also, specific mention of [[Three Witnesses|''three'' witnesses]] removed, perhaps because 8 more witnesses were allowed to view the [[Golden Plates]].
|-----
| 5 || 8 || 6
|-----
| 6 || 33 || 7
| Concurrent with the Book of Mormon, this is the first translation project of a parchment Joseph Smith. It was the translation of a parchment that contained the [[Account of John]] the apostle. The 1835 and later D&C versions were expanded to include prophesies that Peter James and John would restore the priesthood.
|-----
| 7 || 34 || 8
|-----
| 8 || 35 || 9 
| [[Oliver Cowdery]] was told that he had the gift of "working with the sprout, behold it hath told you things. Behold there is no other power save God that can cause this thing of Nature<sic> to work in your hands."<ref name=Marquardt2013>Smith, J., &amp; Marquardt, H. M. (2013). Joseph Smith's 1828-1843 revelations. Xulon Press</ref> This refers to a [[Cunning folk traditions and the Latter Day Saint movement|divining rod]]. Wording was changed in later editions of the Doctrine and Covenants  referring to Cowdery's rod as the "gift of Aaron".<ref name=Marquardt2013 />
|-----
| 9 || 36 || 10
| The term "[[Urim and Thummim (Latter Day Saints) | Urim and Thummim]]" is introduced in the 1835 version, while absent in the 1833 version.
|-----
| 10 || 37 || 11
|-----
| 11 || 38 || 12
|-----
| 12 || 39 || 14
|-----
| 13 || 40 || 15
|-----
| 14 || 41 || 16
|-----
| 15 || 43 || 18
|-----
| 16 || 44 || 19
|-----
| 17-21 || 45 || 23
| These short chapters contained revelations of no more than 4 sentences each directed toward associates of Joseph Smith. They were combined into one D&C chapter.
|-----
| 22 || 46 || 21
|-----
| 23 || 47 || 22
|-----
| 24 || 2 || 20
| The duties of [[Melchizedek Priesthood (Latter-day Saint)#Offices of the Latter-day Saint Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthood|Elders]] in the church and specifics of [[baptism]] elaborated in D&C.
|-----
| 25 || 9 || 24
|-----
| 26 || 48 || 25
|-----
| 27 || 49 || 26
|-----
| 28 || 50 || 27
| Additional material in D&C constitutes more than half of this section. D&C includes new passages about Joseph Smith being visited by [[Elijah]], Elias (who is separate from Elijah in Mormonism), [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[Saint James the Great|James]], [[John the Apostle|John]], [[Michael (archangel)|Archangel Michael]] (who is [[Adam and Eve (LDS Church)|Adam]] in Mormonism), and others. This chapter has the most controversial difference between the Book of Commandments and the Doctrine and Covenants.
|-----
| 29 || 10 || 29
|-----
| 30 || 51 || 28
|-----
| 31-33 || 52 || 30
| Short revelations to [[David Whitmer]], [[Peter Whitmer Jr.]] and [[John Whitmer]] combined into one chapter. It concerns missionary work to the "[[Lamanites]]"
|-----
| 34 || 53 || 31
|-----
| 35 || 55 || 33
|-----
| 36 || 56 || 34
|-----
| 37 || 11 || 35
|-----
| 38 || 57 || 36
|-----
| 39 || 58 || 37
|-----
| 40 || 12 || 38
|-----
| 41 || 59 || 39
|-----
| 42 || 60 || 40
|-----
| 43 || 61 || 41
|-----
| 44 || 13 || 42
| This chapter was combined with chapter 47 in D&C.
|-----
| 45 || 14 || 43
|-----
| 46 || 62 || 44
|-----
| 47 || 13 || 42
| This chapter appended to chapter 44 to become one section of D&C.
|-----
| 48 || 15 || 45
|-----
| 49 || 16 || 46
|-----
| 50 || 63 || 47
|-----
| 51 || 64 || 48
|-----
| 52 || 65 || 49
|-----
| 53 || 17 || 50
|-----
| 54 || rowspan="2" | 66 || 52
| rowspan="2" |Two sections of the 1835 D&C were inadvertently numbered 66. Thus there were actually 103 sections (although they only numbered to 102).
|-----
| 55 || 53
|-----
| 56 || 67 || 54
|-----
| 57 || 68 || 55
|-----
| 58 || 69 || 56
|-----
| 59 || 18 || 58
|-----
| 60 || 19 || 59
|-----
| 61 || 70 || 60
|-----
| 62 || 71 || 61
|-----
| 63 || 72 || 62
|-----
| 64 || 20 || 63
|-----
| 65 || 21 || 64
| This chapter of the Book of Commandments incomplete when the press was destroyed.
|}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{wikisource|Book of Commandments}}

*[http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Book_of_Commandments "Book of Commandments"] - article from semi-official ''[[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]]''.
*Melvin J. Petersen, [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1985/02/preparing-early-revelations-for-publication "Preparing Early Revelations for Publication"], ''[[Ensign (LDS Church)|Ensign]]'', February 1985 - sympathetic article explaining changes between the Book of Commandments and Doctrine and Covenants.
*[http://www.watchman.org/lds/doctcovn.htm Changing The Book of Commandments: Revelations: Written, Re-Written and Corrected], Rick Branch (1992), ''The Watchman Expositor'', Vol. 9, No. 9, [[Watchman Fellowship|Watchman Fellowship ministry]] - criticizes the alleged inconsistency of the book.
*Joel A. Kuhn [http://www.joelakuhn.com/dc-compare/ "A comparison tool for the LDS Doctrine and Covenants/Book of Commandments"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120520135750/http://irr.org/mit/boc/default.html Scanned Images of the Entire 1833 Book of Commandments and 1835 Doctrine and Covenants].
*[https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/images/saving-the-book-of-commandments-82832?category=gospel-art/church-history Saving the Book of Commandments] painting by Clark Kelley Price; see also the [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/our-heritage-a-brief-history-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/chapter-four-establishing-zion-in-missouri.p19?lang=eng explanation].
*[http://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=lib_faculty West Virginia and Mormonism Rarest Books] Article from ''West Virginia History'' about the source of paper used to print the Book of Commandments
*[https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/General.25600.1 Digital scanned copy] of an original edition, from [[The Library of Congress]]
*[http://josephsmithpapers.org/paperSummary/book-of-commandments-1833?locale=eng&p=1 Digital scanned copy] of an original edition, from ''[[The Joseph Smith Papers]]'' website
*[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101074864198;view=1up;seq=1 Digital scanned copy] of the 1884 reprint from [[HathiTrust]]

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[[Category:1833 books]]
[[Category:1833 in Christianity]]
[[Category:Doctrine and Covenants]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint texts]]
[[Category:Works in the style of the King James Version]]
[[Category:Revelation in Mormonism]]