have been
extensively modified in Doctrine and Covenants.
with Doctrine and Covenants Cross-Reference
Last updated 09/08/98
First published in 1833, the Book of Commandments was scheduled for a print run of 10,000. It is unknown how many copies were printed, as the printing press was destroyed by an anti-Mormon mob in Independence, Missouri, when the printers had reached only chapter 65. Church members managed to salvage enough of the loose leaves to bind several copies of the book. Original copies of the Book of Commandments are extremely rare today.
The book was reprinted in 1835 under the title Doctrine and Covenants. The expanded edition contained a large number of new revelations, as well as some modified copies of the older revelations. Inserted into the Doctrine and Covenants were some new tenets of the evolving Mormon doctrine, such as the Melchizdekian Priesthood (see Chapter XXVIII).
Interestingly, most of the revelations collected in the Book of Commandments were first printed in the Church periodical The Evening and Morning Star. When Doctrine and Covenants was printed, the first fourteen issues of The Evening and Morning Star were reprinted so as to agree with the revised revelations.
All sixty-five chapters of the Book of Commandments
are listed below. Those chapters marked with have been
extensively modified in Doctrine and Covenants.