The Book of Commandments was printed and published by W.W. Phelps, an early Mormon printer who had also published a Mormon newspaper, The Evening and the Morning Star. Certain sections had been printed in this newspaper prior to their inclusion in the Book of Commandments.

BC - Book of Commandments Chapters, KE - Sections of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants, IE - the RLDS Independence Edition

The Book of Commandments was not complete, as the printing press was destroyed by a mob during the Mormon’s time in Missouri. The final section is cut off after verse 47  (64:36 in today’s LDS editions).

The Book of Commandments is reprinted by Hearld Publishing House, PO Box 390, 1001 W. Walnut, Independence, MO 64051 (800) 767-8181 or (816) 521-3015. Below are photographs of my copy.

The Front Cover

The Binding

The book is a rather small volume, about 3″ wide and 4.75″ tall. It is 160 pages long (plus a few pages of introduction in the reprint).

The Value of the Book of Commandments in Apologetics

The Book of Commandments is valuable to apologists who are interested in studying the development of the text of the Doctrine & Covenants. The LDS Church has made many changed to their scripture over the years and this practice is clearly patterned after the earliest treatment of their first revelations. If God spoke to Joseph Smith in English and he was able to write it down and print it, then this eliminates any doubts that something was lost in the transmission or translation of the text. Since Joseph lived until 1844 he had ample opportunity to sound the alarm if any changes were made to what he claimed God had spoken to him. In 1835 the Book of Commandments was republished as the Doctrine and Covenants with many changes that have been included in modern printings. Without of the Book of Commandments, the nature of these changes might be otherwise unknown to us.

Since the LDS Church does not alert the reader of the current Doctrine and Covenants that there have been many changes since Joseph took pen to paper, it is the duty of the Christan apologist to show our Mormon friends this truth. As you notice discrepancies, ask if they alter the original meaning? Ask how this change happened? Was it diliberate, or was it the mistake of a printer? If you honestly examine the changes and think through how they came to be, you can not help but conclude that Joseph not only felt that he spoke for God, but that he was at liberty to edit what God had already spoken as he saw fit.

What if God told Joseph to make those changes? If this were the case then why did he reveal such contradictory and different revelations only a few years prior? Since much of the material in the Book of Commandments/Doctrine and Covenants is related to specific historical situations in early Mormonism, are we to believe that God mis-spoke in his initial revelation, but had Joseph secretly alter it later on? If one objects that Joseph was told to alter his initial revelations then they must also admit that God 1) makes mistakes and 2) has difficultly communicating.