Doctrine and Covenants Commentary is one
of few official LDS Church produced and approved books. It contains the text of
the scriptural book, The Doctrine and Covenants, and also some commentary. The
first edition (1919) carried the name of Elder Hyrum M. Smith, a member of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles and a son of President Joseph F. Smith (also European Mission
president at the time much of the work was done) as author of the introduction
and explanatory notes; however, most of the actual writing was performed by
Janne M. Sjodahl (editor at the time of the mission periodical Millennial Star), with others also
assisting in various capacities—Orson F. Whitney, Joseph Fielding Smith, John
E. Cottam, George F. Richards Jr., and Junius F. Wells. From the available
historical evidence, it would seem that Janne Sjodahl had the original idea to
write it and got Hyrum M. Smith’s permission and cooperation; then Sjodahl
wrote it and Hyrum Smith approved it (along with other church authorities at
headquarters in Salt Lake City).
Elder
George F. Richards, also of the Twelve, succeeded Elder Smith as president of
the mission when the work was well underway (August 1916) but had little to do
with it. George F. Richards Jr. remembered: “That project had been proceeding
before we came in to the mission. Brother Sjodahl was living at mission
headquarters working in the printers office (the business office at
headquarters) and in his room. Of course then all of his conversions of thought
and extensions and additions and his proof sheets could and were presented to
Brother Hyrum Smith right there. … They may have been sent back to the Church
for others to approve, they probably were. Anyway, all of his work was directly
under the immediate sponsorship of President Hyrum M. Smith. When we got there
that influence no longer prevailed. Father [Elder George F. Richards] didn’t
have anything to do with what Brother Sjodahl was doing on his record. I don’t
think Father was shown the proofs, he could have been; maybe he saw them, but I
don’t think he did. But Brother Cottam and I got everything to proofread and
then the material was sent back to Salt Lake, looked over and approved by
certain other of the authorities, and then sent back. Then Brother Sjodahl was
at liberty to set it up and print it. That’s the way it was done all the time
we were there. Then when he’d get it all set up, I’d have to put his forms in
the press, get them to working. A good bit of that first volume I printed. I
couldn’t say just how much, but I imagine half of it anyway” (George F.
Richards Jr. interview, as cited in Dale C. Mauritsen, A Symbol of New Directions: George Franklin Richards and the Mormon
Church, 1861-1950 [BYU doctoral dissertation, 1982], 177-78).
In 1917,
President Joseph F. Smith wrote the following note to Elder Orson F. Whitney of
the Quorum of the Twelve, inviting him to become part of the reading/correction
committee for the manuscript:
March
22, 1917.
Elder
Orson F. Whitney, City.
Dear
Brother Orson:
I
should be pleased to have you and Joseph F. Jr. act as a committee to hear the
reading of a work on the Doctrine and Covenants by Hyrum M. You will please
render your best assistance to see that no error in doctrine or inaccuracy in
history, should there be any, escapes notice. Hyrum will confer with you as to
the time that will be convenient for the reading.
The review
committee went right to work: “Spent the forenoon in my office, reading with
Hyrum M. and Joseph F. Smith Jr. part of the ms [manuscript] of Hyrum’s work
referred to in his father’s letter. We have had several previous sessions
thereon.” Whitney’s diary indicates the
reading/correcting committee meetings continued into July of 1917.
Issued from
mission headquarters in Liverpool, England, in 1919, it contained 1100 pages
and was the first D&C commentary ever written. The original royalty
agreement was that for the first 15,000 copies sold, Elder Smith, Janne
Sjodahl, and the Church would each get a third of the profits; however, the
financial aspects were complicated when before the book was even published
Hyrum M. Smith died (Jan. 23, 1918); then a short time later his widow and heir
died (Sept. 24, 1918), and then President Joseph F. Smith died (Nov. 19, 1918),
leaving royalty and ownership arrangements in a state of confusion. Only after
Sjodahl returned from England to Salt Lake City were things sorted out and the
ownership of the book given to Sjodahl who by that time had become editor of
the Improvement Era.
Over thirty
years later a new First Presidency (who by then owned the copyright for the book)
assigned the Publication Committee, consisting of Elders Joseph Fielding Smith,
Harold B. Lee, and Marion G. Romney, to “revise the volume” for republishing. (It
seems that Joseph Fielding got to be a part of two different reading committees
for the same book.) The preface to the revised edition states: “while laboring
in the European Missions, Elder Hyrum M. Smith, of the Council of the Twelve
Apostles, and Elder Janne M. Sjodahl, were impressed very fervently with the
desire to prepare a commentary dealing with the revelations given by the Lord
to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In their odd moments, when not otherwise engaged,
during the years 1913-1916, these brethren carried on a careful research and
study and prepared this volume which has met with popular favor.”
As to the years here mentioned,
“The information in the Millennial Star
and in Sjodahl’s letters during this period, also the fact that Sjodahl did not
arrive in England until September 22, 1914, all point to the fact that the
suggestion that they worked on the book jointly between the years 1913-1916
must be incorrect” (Brent Lundgren, Janne
Mattson Sjodahl…, BYU Masters’ Thesis, 1971, 85). 1915 to 1917 are probably
more accurate.
The 1951 revised edition Publication
Committee editors indicate that at least some of what they updated in the book
included the following: “Since the time of the first publication many
world-wide events of the greatest importance have occurred many of which have a
bearing on the fulfillment of the prophecies found in the Doctrine and
Covenants; these have been noted.” However, again, “It should also be noted
that the most recent edition [1951] of the book is still very much the same as
the original 1919 edition. The changes and revisions have been very minor” (Lundgren,
85). One might wonder about this conclusion since the first edition has about
200 more pages than the revised, although it is also printed on smaller pages.
The new Church Publication
Committee also wrote:
For
a number of years the commentary has been out of circulation, and because of
the increasing demand for it, the First Presidency instructed the Publication
Committee to take the matter in hand and revise the volume ready for a
re-printing. This the committee has done and after many months of labor has
fulfilled the assignment given.…
The
Doctrine and Covenants is a sacred volume of Scripture, and in the revision and
preparation of this book, the members of the committee have felt their weakness
in commenting on these sacred commandments and revelations coming from the
Lord. (Doctrine and Covenants Commentary,
revised edition. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1951], preface to revised
edition.)
A few of the changes between
editions that I have noticed include the following: Sjodahl’s prefatory
comments following Hyrum M. Smith’s preface were omitted from the revised
edition (it is not called a “second” edition, but a “revised” edition)—probably
as part of an effort to emphasize the Church’s current ownership and approval. Sjodahl’s
name was also added as coauthor. The inconvenient and clumsy roman numerals
were changed to modern numbering.
Worth noting theologically, there
is an alteration of the doctrine taught on page 1021 of the first edition and on
829 of the revised edition, in regards to correctly interpreting D&C 132:26,
something Joseph Fielding Smith felt to be a very important correction;
evidently he missed it during the first 1917 readings/corrections (see the
quotations from the book below). Also worth noting, and remaining the same in
both editions— in Isaiah 9:6 among the name-titles given for Jehovah/Jesus
Christ is that of “Wonderful”, and “Counsellor.” In the Commentary, that rendering is given as “Wonderful Counselor” as a
two-word name-title without the coma (see the Commentary for D&C 88:106-7, either edition).
The first edition of Doctrine and Covenants Commentary has
become collectible because of its history, scarcity, and approved status; the
revised edition has been reprinted a number of times but has not seemed to
catch on as a commonly used or cited reference work among church members.
D&C 132:26 has been called one
of the most misinterpreted and misunderstood verses of scripture. There is
little doubt that Joseph Fielding Smith himself wrote the revised commentary for
this verse: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according to
my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine
appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and
everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they
commit no murder wherein they shed innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in
the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation; but they shall be
destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan
unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God.”
The first edition of Doctrine & Covenants Commentary contained
this explanation of the verse:
[D&C
132:]26. Any sin or transgression] In
this paragraph, the great and glorious truth is revealed that the adversary has
no permanent power over those who have entered the new and everlasting marriage
covenant, under the celestial law, unless he can prevail upon them to shed
innocent blood. He may, possibly, lead them into temptation and cause them to
do wrong; even to blaspheme. In that case they will be destroyed in the flesh
and left to the buffetings of Satan till the day of redemption. But they will
come forth in the first resurrection and enter into their exaltation. Paul
teaches the same truth when he urges the Corinthians to separate from them a
certain licentious member and deliver him to Satan, “for the destruction of the
flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5).
The destruction here referred to is aimed at the “flesh,” which means the
carnal lust, and not the body and the purpose of it is the salvation of the
spirit. (Doctrine and Covenants
Commentary, 1st ed., 1021.)
The revised edition removed the
above and replaced it with this language:
[D&C
132:]26. Any sin or transgression]
This verse has been greatly misunderstood and by some grossly abused. Unfortunately
there are some who seem to think that after they are married for time and all
eternity, the Lord, in this passage, grants them immunity against sin, as long
as they do not shed innocent blood or deny the Holy Ghost. It should be
remembered that the Lord taught during his ministry this same doctrine as given
in the Doctrine and Covenants. (Matt. 12:31-32.) He has never granted to any
person the privilege of sinning willfully and then obtaining the reward of
faithfulness without repentance. John said:
“If
any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he
shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto
death; I do not say that he should pray for it.” (1 John 5:16.)
In
this passage we are taught that all manner of sin which is forgivable on
repentance, or “not unto death,” may be forgiven on repentance, but some sins
may call for a most dreadful punishment even then—the destruction in the flesh
and being turned over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption. This
punishment is most severe. The Lord has not at any time contradicted Himself
and he has said: “And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore
nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments
in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and
their faithfulness unto the end. (2 Nephi 9:38. Compare Mormon 9:3-4.) (Hyrum
M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine
and Covenants Commentary, revised edition, 829; italic in original. See
also Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to
Gospel Questions, 5 vols. [Salt
Lake City : Deseret Book, 1957-66], 1:68-74.)
While reviewing
this subject it is worth noting this further comment from Elder Bruce R.
McConkie, President Smith’s son-in-law, who was as emphatic about correcting the
errant doctrine as President Joseph Fielding Smith was:
The fact that you
are married in the temple does not guarantee exaltation. The fact that you are
married in the temple opens the door to exaltation, on condition of subsequent
conformity. That is vital [to understand]. I don’t know how common this [misunderstanding]
is in the Church; it doesn’t seem to be quite as common as it was a few years
ago. A few years back there were clusters of people all over who were preaching
and believing and supposing and thinking, that Oh well, we have been married in
the temple now, and it would be a good idea if we did right, we know that; but
on the other had we have been married in the temple, and so even though we
commit all manner of sin, eventually we are going to get the blessing anyway.
That kind of a doctrine is a deterrent to personal righteousness. It really is
a doctrine of the devil because it is an enticement, in a manner of speaking,
to live contrary to the principles of personal righteousness that the gospel
requires.
I
remember going to a stake in central Utah years ago, where someone had been
preaching this to the extent that they had most everybody converted and this
just casually came up in the leadership meeting, and I said this was wonderful,
except that it was the doctrine of the devil, and forthwith I had carloads of
people traveling hundreds of miles to Salt Lake City [Church headquarters], to
weep and condemn me for preaching that people have to keep the commandments to
be saved. You can get all kinds of nonsense into your thinking if you don’t
have an overall perspective. (Bruce R. McConkie, University of Utah Institute,
“Holy Spirit of Promise,” unpublished lecture, 22 April 1968.)
A similar work to Doctrine and Covenants Commentary is
Joseph Fielding Smith’s Church History
and Modern Revelation (4 vols. paperback; 2 vols. hardback) which was used
as an official study manual for the Church in the mid-1950s. This Doctrine and
Covenants study guide was published by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
through Deseret Book and copyrighted by President David O. McKay, making it another
of the relatively few official authored book publications of the Church. The
two-volume hardbound edition is the rarest and most sought after by collectors.
Because the dates (around 1950) wherein Joseph Fielding Smith served on the
second D&C Commentary reading
committee was near the time (1953) that his Church
History and Modern Revelation work was issued, one wonders if there was
some correlation or overlap with the work involved.
As an item relating to the above
quotations, one of the more interesting statements that I have found in Church History and Modern Revelation is
the following: “It is a far more serious matter for a husband and wife to seek
a separation [divorce] than many seem to think. The words of the Lord as recorded
in Matthew 19:3-9, should be carefully considered. I am convinced that the Lord
will force some couples who separate, without justification after they have
been sealed in the House of the Lord, back again to each other, or else they
will lose their reward” (2:359).
Both of these lesser-known
church-approved publications on the Doctrine and Covenants were largely written
or influenced and approved by apostle sons of President Joseph F. Smith. Hyrum
M. Smith is far less well-known, almost unknown, in the Church today, than was
his younger brother Joseph Fielding Smith, who later became its President.
As a side note, Elder Orson F.
Whitney’s diary recorded some of the last days of Elder Hyrum M. Smith’s life:
At about 1 am was
summoned to the bedside of Elder Hyrum M. Smith, who was seriously ill at his
home. . . . Dr. James E. Talmage was with me. We hired a taxi from the Hotel
Utah, the electric cars having stopped running for the night, and were soon at
Bro. Smith’s residence. The family were much agitated and Bro. Hyrum was
suffering great agony. We blessed him repeatedly, and he went to sleep. We
stayed till 6:30 am, and then took car for home. . . . I went back to bed and
slept till noon, and after eating went to the LDS Hospital to see Bro. Smith who
had been taken there. He was in the operating room just about to be operated on
for appendicitis. . . . Returning, went again to Hospital and administered to
Hyrum M. [Smith]. (January 20, 1918)
Also, speaking of January 23, 1918:
“A sad day for Israel. Elder Hyrum M. Smith died last night at the LDS
Hospital. I did not learn of it until this morning.” (January 24, 1918)
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