Without Disclosing My True Identity
They pressed the need for it upon Joseph in September of 1834 and “appoint[ed] a
committee to arrange the items of doctrine of Jesus Christ, for the government of his church
of the Latter Day Saints.”^46 The nature of the D&C is utterly corruptive—in that the
LDS/Mormon leaders misuse and misrepresent the words that Joseph did speak to the
people. Because of this, one of the primary directives and overall objectives of this, Joseph’s
authorized and official, biography is to correct the records of history with regard to his
name and the words attributed to him as “scripture.” Furthermore, the purpose is to reveal
Joseph’s intent in delivering those words to the LDS/Mormon people in the first place.
From the time that Joseph turned over the Church to the priesthood councils after
the dedication of the Kirtland Temple in 1836, until Joseph fled his creditors and the city of
Kirtland in 1838, only two more revelations surfaced. Those that came about thereafter were
revised, added to, spliced, and altered from the notes that various listeners made of
speeches Joseph gave. During the majority of his life, Joseph had turned over his history
(that no man would ever know) to his clerks and scribes, who wrote his diaries and
compiled revisions of notes gathered from his speeches. Although Joseph complied with his
role and gave his opinion on which of the many revelations should be included in the Book
of Commandments, he took literary license of modifying, adding to, editing, and revising any
revelation he felt necessary to better “cause the Saints to stumble.”^47
In August of 1835, while Joseph was away in Michigan, Rigdon and Cowdery
presented the concept of a book composed of church-sanctioned doctrine and covenants to
a general assembly of the priesthood bodies of the church to “become a law and a rule of
faith and practice to the Church.”^48 Without Joseph being present, the Church leaders,
under Cowdery’s and Rigdon’s direction, created a protocol and procedure for
introducing new doctrines and revelations into the Church. They used this procedure
many times thereafter when important issues were discussed and voted on by the
Church^49 —usually, again, while Joseph was away. Joseph had nothing to do with the
acceptance and canonization of the Book of Commandments, which later was added upon
by other revelations and eventually became the official Doctrine & Covenants.
Each priesthood group, from the Deacons to the Apostles, would vote on an issue and
attest to it being a new church doctrine or principle.^50 This is the way the Book of Commandments
was introduced into Church canon as the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) in 1835. Some church
members fought the introduction of the D&C because Joseph was not in attendance when the
priesthood councils voted on it. Many others felt, correctly, that the Church leaders were
aggrandizing their authority to issue articles of faith and doctrine that established a religious
creed that was far from Christ’s original intentions.^51
The 1835 edition of the D&C included a compilation of lessons given in the
School of Prophets called “The Lectures on Faith.”^52 Although he gave his approval for
the Lectures’ creation, according to the mandates of his role, Joseph had nothing to do
with writing them. They were written exclusively by Sidney Rigdon. Because Joseph was
not present, Rigdon (the Associate President of the Church of Christ) presided over the
general assembly. When they convened to approve and canonize the Book of
Commandments as the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, Rigdon wanted to make sure
Joseph’s wisdom would continue with the Saints forever in concert with his own.
Brigham Young’s LDS/Mormon church later made its members understand that
Rigdon’s “Lectures on Faith” were not their God’s will. Later leaders thought that
Rigdon’s writings were somewhat too orthodox Protestant in nature. So they eventually
had them removed in their 1921 edition of their own version of the Doctrine and