Doctrine and Covenants/Lectures on Faith

FAIR Answers—back to home page

Teachings contained within

Is the Father embodied or a spirit?

Summary: When the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was published in 1835 it portrayed God the Father as a personage of spirit whereas Jesus Christ was portrayed as a personage of tabernacle, or one having a physical body. Yet the official LDS First Vision story portrays the Father as a physical Being. Critics claim that this is evidence of an evolution of story; and that the evolution of this story is evidence of fraud.

God a personage of spirit?

Summary: Lectures on Faith, which used to be part of the Doctrine and Covenants, teach that God is a spirit. Joseph Smith's later teachings contradict this. More generally, critics argue that Joseph Smith taught an essentially "trinitarian" view of the Godhead until the mid 1830s, thus proving the Joseph was "making it up" as he went along.

As part of the Doctrine and Covenants

Lectures on Faith removed from Doctrine and Covenants

Summary: Critics argue that the Lectures on Faith were "quietly" removed from the Doctrine and Covenants without general church membership consent, 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 (despite their availability at Deseret Book).