A respected and prosperous farmer from Palmyra, New York, Martin Harris left his home in the spring of 1828 and traveled southeast until...

When Joseph Smith left the grove after seeing the Father and the Son, he was not a prophet. He had no calling—and had no idea that he...

The Doctrine and Covenants is a problem solver. Every section in it resolves a problem or a dilemma. Joseph Smith learned as a youth that...

Section 137 Soteriology (so·te·ri·ol·o·gy) is theology about salvation. Christianity’s  soteriological problem is based on three...

Section 135 It was “a deliberate political assassination, committed or condoned by some of the leading citizens of Hancock County.” [1] ...

Section 133 Section 133 ends what section 1 began. The November 1831 conference at Hiram, Ohio planned to publish 10,000 copies of...

Section 129 Section 129 is esoteric. It can only be understood by people with temple knowledge. It is also euphemistic. It’s no more...

Section 125 From the confines of a jail cell in Liberty, Missouri, Joseph wrote to Bishop Partridge in Illinois that the saints could buy...

Section 124 Joseph emerged from the depressing jail in Liberty, Missouri with an undaunted spirit. He had known since January 1838 that...

Section 121 Section 121 puts a counterintuitive twist on the age-old problem of suffering and power. If God is benevolent and powerful,...

Section 115 Revelation, 26 April 1838 [D&C 115]. Image courtesy of josephsmithpapers.org. In December 1836, the Missouri state...

Section 111 The revelation of section 111 on August 6, 1836 reoriented Joseph and his companions. They had been preoccupied with paying...

Section 109 Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836. Joseph’s cousin George A. Smith reported that “When the dedication prayer was read by...

Section 106 Warren Cowdery, Oliver’s older brother, ledged and fed Joseph and his companions when the were recruiting for the Camp of...

Section 102 Joseph Smith convened councils to arbitrate and adjudicate church decisions, especially disciplinary decisions. These...

Section 98 Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson County, Missouri, 18 August 1833. Image courtesy of josephsmithpapers.org In the summer of...

Section 94 Section 94 may make more sense after you have studied sections 95 and 96 and 97, because it was actually revealed right after...

Section 93 In his inimitable way, BYU philosophy professor Truman Madsen related an anecdote during a presentation he gave at the Yale...

Section 89 Most everyone drank in the 1820s and 1830s, Joseph Smith included. [1]  Distillers in his upstate New York neighborhood made...

Section 88 Samuel H. Smith, Journal entry describing Section 88, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Three months after receiving...