DC 17:Intro SECTION 17
This section is a compilation of instructions received from time to time in connection with the organization of the church. The "Book of Commandments" describes the section as "the Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ, given in Fayette, New York, June, 1830," but that part of the instruction which set the date for the organization of the church was given prior to April 6, 1830.
Joseph wrote in "Times and Seasons" (3:928):
"In this manner did the Lord continue to give us instructions from time to time concerning the duties which now devolved upon us, and among many other things of the kind, we obtained of him the following, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which not only gave us much information, but also pointed out to us the precise day upon which according to his will and commandment, we should proceed to organize his church once again, here upon the earth."
All editions of the Doctrine and Covenants include paragraphs 16 and 17 of this section, which did not appear in the "Book of Commandments." This further instruction was probably received after July 20, 1833, and selected for inclusion with related
material in this section on the same principle as other
material received at different times.
DC 108:Intro SECTION 108
Revelation received through Joseph Smith, Jr., prophet and seer to the church, November 3, 1831, at Hiram, Ohio. The revelation, originally given as the "Preface" to the "Book of Commandments,"* given November 1, 1831, is now Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The following revelation was to constitute the "close" or "appendix" to the "Book of Commandments." The "Book of Commandments" was never completed; the printing press was destroyed by a mob while the book was in the process of being printed, and the printed
material was scattered in the street. This revelation was not included in the incomplete copy. However, it was included in the revelations contained in the 1835 edition as the "appendix." It will be better understood if read in connection with the revelations given prior to November 1831. To follow the precedent of previous editions, it is retained in this place as Section 108.
*A number of bound copies of the "Book of Commandments" are in the Historian's Library of the Reorganized Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints.
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