Doctrine and Covenants

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Modifications: Textual changes Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature" Direct quotation from God? Lectures on Faith removed Relationship to the Book of Mormon: Contradiction Sec. 132 and Jacob 2 Other: D&C 84: God not seen w/o priesthood Lamanites in the D&C

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Textual changes

Summary: Joseph Smith and others made revisions, additions, and deletions to his early revelations when preparing them for publication. Critics claim that revelations from God are inerrant and should never be changed, and this proves that Joseph Smith did not receive revelation.

• • Oliver Cowdery and the "rod of nature"—
    Brief Summary: Critics claim that a revelation received by Joseph praised Oliver Cowdery's gift of using divining talents. It is claimed that the revelation was published in the Book of Commandments in its original form, then subsequently modified in the Doctrine and Covenants in order to hide the reference to the "rod of nature." Therefore, Joseph attempted to "cover up" Oliver Cowdery's work with a divining rod by changing a revelation. (Click here for full article)
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Direct quotation from God?

Summary: Is the wording of the D&C revelations a direct word-for-word quotation from God? Critics note that if the Doctrine and Covenants contained quotations from God, why would Joseph Smith later edit God's words?

Lectures on Faith removed

Summary: Critics argue that the Lectures on Faith were "quietly" removed from the Doctrine and Covenants without general church membership consent, and that the Lectures on Faith are not available to the general Church membership through Church sources, and can only be obtained through non-LDS sources. The Lectures on Faith, however, are available in a number of places, including Deseret Book.

Contradiction between Section 132 and Jacob 2

Summary: Critics note that D&C 132 speaks favorably about some Old Testament practitioners of plural marriage, while Jacob 2 is negative. Critics claim that this discrepancy is a contradiction, suggesting that Joseph Smith's ideas about plural marriage changed, and the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants are not inspired.

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Summary: How could Joseph Smith has seen God the Father and Jesus Christ during the First Vision if he had not yet received the priesthood?

References to Lamanites in the D&C

Summary: Since in the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord refers to American Indians in North America as "Lamanites" (e.g., DC 28:8-9,14, DC 30:6, DC 32:2, DC 54:8), does this cause problems for the Limited Geography Theory (LGT) or issues of Amerindian genetic data?