Doctrine and Covenants Introduction

To properly begin the Doctrine and Covenants, one must first look at the beginnings of Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth through the prophet, Joseph Smith.  The Great Apostacy began with the loss of priesthood authority from the earth.  The early apostles did not pass the keys of authority on to their predecessors.  The early Christian Church was doomed.  Yet the Bible survived and with it the precious knowledge of Jesus the Christ and his gospel.  Nevertheless, without priesthood keys and authority the Church of Christ was not able to survive intact from about 100 A.D. to 1830.  There were many valiant reformers who were able to bring the gospel doctrines to light.  And the United States of America was formed providing the fertile soil upon which the Restoration seeds could be planted.
In 1820 a young boy named Joseph Smith was living on a small farm near Palmyra, New York.  At the time there was a great excitement regarding religion in his part of the country.  He and his family studied, prayed and attended several religious meetings and congregations seeking for truth.  Their seeking led Joseph to a desire to know for himself which church to join.  One day he was reading from the Gospel of James, chapter 5, verse one.  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and abraideth not; and it shall be given him."   This was Joseph's tipping point.  He knew what he needed to do for the scripture had entered deep into his heart and compelled him to action.
He walked from his cabin to the nearbye woods seeking solitude.  He went to a private place and kneeled down to pray.  As he attempted to speak aloud, a powerful adversary from hell seized him and would not allow him to begin his prayer.  Satan did not want this prayer to happen and he tried to overpower and destroy Joseph.  But just at the moment when he was about to give up, Joseph found himself delivered from the evil spirit.  A light appeared above his head in the trees directly over his head.    In the light he saw two heavenly personages!  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ had come from heaven to answer his simple prayer of faith.
Heavenly Father spoke first introducing his son to Joseph:  "Joseph, this is my Beloved Son.  Hear him."  Jesus then spoke to Joseph and told him that he was not to join any of the churches.  He told Joseph that the Church of Jesus Christ, with all of the keys and authority, was not found on the earth.  Joseph was to become a prophet for the restoration of the gospel.
It would take three more years before Joseph would be visited again by a heavenly messanger.  This time it was the angel, Moroni.  An ancient prophet who had lived in the Americas in 400 A.D.  The resurrected Moroni told Joseph that he (Moroni) and many other prophets had kept a record on gold plates of their dealings here in America.  The highlight of the record was the visit of Jesus Christ to America after his death and resurrection in the old world.
After four more years of preparation, Joseph was allowed to receive the plates from Moroni.  He translated them by the gift and power of God.  The record is known as the Book of Mormon, named for Mormon who was Moroni's father.  Mormon had done an abridgement of records from six hundred B.C. down to 400 A.D..  The record also contained Moroni's abridgement of another record he had obtained from the "Jaredites."  The Jaredites had sailed to America much earlier--about 2200 B.C., at the time of the Tower of Babel.
The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  It contains sacred scriptures testifying of Jesus Christ.  Together with the Bible it contains the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Other scripture was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith as well.  Sacred instructions given to him were compiled into the book now called the Doctrine and Covenants.
In this blog, I will take selected verses from each section of the Doctrine and Covenants and apply them to everyday life.