Revelations in Context

by Matthew S. McBride (Editor), James Goldberg (Editor)

The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Lds, History, Church, Reference, Church History

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this alongside the Doctrine and Covenants this year. It helped explain the background behind many of the revelations as well as give insights into the lives of the Saints at that time.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a companion with my Doctrine and Covenants study this year. Fascinating to learn the back story of the revelations. Helped me learn a lot, and appreciate the Doctrine and Covenants more.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice companion to the Doctrine and Covenants, with personal stories and histories to help the reader connect better to what was happening at the time. Well organized and clear, it's more of a study help than something I would read for enjoyment, and in that capacity it gets 4 stars.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of commentaries on the revelations in The Doctrine and Covenants! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to understand The Doctrine and Covenants better.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very helpful and insightful. Most of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants are just revelation without context. There is some context given at the beginning of each section, but it is minimal. I've been acquainted with Church history my whole life, and I still learned new things from this book and enjoyed the perspective it gave on the revelations. It is a book I will read again next time I study the Doctrine and Covenants.

[Andrew Brady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good insight, tough read through.

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great companion book.

[Jamie Huston · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best church history books I've ever read! It doesn't try to explain what each section means (it doesn't even cover every section), but instead takes a narrative approach, often couching multiple sections in stories based on united themes or events. Though it might be confusing for someone wanting a purely chronological or orderly presentation, it's a great way to approach the material.

A book like this, written for a very general audience, is going to be written at a relatively low reading level, but the many authorial voices here add some variety to the proceedings.

But the best thing here is the many otherwise anonymous lives that are revealed! Time and again I was introduced to men and women whose service and sacrifice were new to me. These many great rue stories can not only put these revelations in context, but themselves inspire us here in the 21st century.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was loaded onto my IPAD by surprise. I didn't order it but have read it very much by choice.

Every Latter Day Saint who has attended Sunday School is familiar with the Story of Martin Harris. We learn that Martin was a relatively wealth man for the area in which he lived and that he mortgaged his farm to finance the publication of the Book of Mornon. The importance of this act cannot be underestimated.
"The cost of printing 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon was $3,000--a huge sum (approximately $73,000 in today's economy). It was simply impossible for the Smith family to raise even a small fraction of that amount. But Martin... proved his devotion once again by pledging his valuable to cover the tremendous expense.
We also learn of Martin's honesty. Despite his support for the prophet, Martin still wanted assurance that Joseph Smith was truly able to translate he ancient record contained on the gold plates. Martin carried a transcription of some of the characters from the plates to Charles Anthon, and Dr. Anthon fulfilled Biblical prophecy by claiming that he could not read a sealed book.
We also know that Martin was far from perfect. He was in fact, referred to several times in the
Doctrine of Covenants.

Each of the Sections are discussed and how they came about. Quite interesting if we didn't know the history behind it. This book contains stories told from the point of view of those who experienced the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, giving us insight into their meaning. While the section headings provide context for the revelations, they don't tell the complete story. What questions prompted the revelations? What did the Lord's responses mean to those He addressed? How did they respond? This book is perfect for study with the Doctrine and Covenants. There is a ton more content, but wanted to show what some of it is like.

This book came out in 2017 and has been studied in LDS Sunday School classes if we got one. Or it can be ordered through Deseret Book. Highly Recommend.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I didn't exactly read every single chapter of this book...I'm sort of cheating to mark it as "read." I used it as a supplement to the Sunday School lessons about the Doctrine & Covenants, so I read the chapters relevant to the lessons. They are well-written, incredibly informative chapters, each one going into great detail on the history of the revelations received in the Doctrine & Covenants. I will pull it out again next time I study the D&C!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I often wonder what became of the people mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants. This book gives some useful background and explanation about them.

This book may be read electronically on devices using the free Gospel Library app, or online at https://history.lds.org/section/revel...

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5ish stars.

[Olea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading the stories of the saints associated with the different sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. It helped bring the sections to life.

[Magila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed the effort the church has made to put out materials that support individual learning. As has been made abundantly clear, it is up to each individual to ground their own understanding in personal growth and learning. A few years old, this book was released for the collective study of the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.

Overall, it is not as good as some things that are out there, and the rating is against spending one's time to read it, or, for example, The Standard of Truth: 1815–1846. However, I'd strongly recommend using it to learn more about the D&C, as it is intended. Anecdotally, I would say that one of the great benefits we have is not having lost all of the "behind the scenes" details of modern revelation. It's in the Gospel library and an audiobook is available.

This is one man's opinion: Like The Bible, Book of Mormon, and other texts, understanding the cast of characters, cultural nuances and historical information from whence they came is the key to understanding both the material information as well as what can be spiritually divined.

[Dustin Tyler Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revelations in Context is, hands down, the best supplemental manual for the Doctrine and Covenants that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has ever published. Each essay offers much deeper context than the headers for each section in the Doctrine and Covenants, and I learned so much more about both the context in which each section was given as well as the broader social and cultural context in which the Restoration took place. It is also notable that, in contrast with most manuals published by the church, Revelations in Context identifies the author of each essay and provides extensive endnotes that reference primary sources. Yet the text is also approachable, with easy-flowing narrative rather than academic language. While the essays are written from a church perspective, they don’t shy away from temporal and spiritual challenges and crises of faith early Latter-day Saints faced — or, in the case of Official Declaration 2, challenges faced by contemporary Latter-day Saints as they dealt with racism and prejudice in and out of the church. Highly recommended.

[Wesley Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great guide to enhance my study of the Doctrine and Covenants this year. Sometimes, the section headings don't do enough to really explain what is going on for each chapter, so I really liked getting more backstory. Now I know more about Ezra Booth, William McLellin, and all those other names Church history that you hear but never learn about. I like that this book was willing to talk about "hard" topics like treasure seeking, Church finances, and polygamy in a way that is transparent and also inspiring. Most of the stories in this book were inspiring, like Our Heritage, but there are also people who made mistakes that we can learn from. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who wants more historical context for the Doctrine and Covenants.

[Marj · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it says in the Preface: Latter-day Saints believe in a loving God who speaks to His children 'in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come". Reading this book provided such valuable insight into my reading of the Doctrine & Covenants, the Come Follow Me text for this year.

I found such treasures or additional insight into not only the revelations but insight into the lives of those who received the revelations. Not only do I have a better understanding of the D&C, but I have had powerful and deeply personal readings of each section as a result of reading this book.

[Fiona Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book gradually over the course of the year as we were studying the doctrine and covenants. Every time I read a chapter I was so glad that I had taken the time to learn a little bit more about the background and history and the context of the revelations. I listened to many of them more than once as they were referenced in different sections that we were studying. I don’t know how it would be to read it just straight up, But as an accompaniment to my studies this year I found it fascinating and will remember these stories and thus add meaning to the doctrine and covenants as a whole.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read over the past year, adding context, dimension, and depth to study of the Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The careful attention to sources, including some that have not been widely available, such as journals and letters in the Church History Library, and the inclusion of women's perspectives where possible, enriched the text. An essential companion to one's study--and there is so much more online, in the Gospel Topics and Church History sections of ChurchOfJesusChrist.org--but I like actual paper books, so this was a winner for me.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, with background and stories different from the typical, tired stories that get trotted out all the time alongside the D&C. The footnotes about Oliver Cowdery and "the rod of Aaron" were FASCINATING and I was so excited to see that included, and I loved the chapters by female historians and the different (and needed and powerful) viewpoints they added. So great to read LDS history with women's experienced highlighted instead of ignored. Not every chapter was a home run, but enough of them were that this is a valuable contribution.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource, but for the most part I think they could have done a little more detail. They gave broad strokes of people and basic reasoning behind the revelations given, but could have maybe added or posited a little more on the reason for the desire of the revelations. There were some fabulous chapters, sharing accounts and details I hadn't heard before. But, the majority I felt didn't actually add much context. It was almost an extension of the section headings rather than a resource to turn to for deeper study in the scriptures.

[Caity McPhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it is a good reminder that Revelation comes step by step, little by little, here and there as we ask for it and as God deems us ready for it. There are times when people aren't ready for the changes that need to be made, so time is taken, challenges and trials are given, so then people may be ready. Some changes may seem stark and abrupt, other changes we might see if we are attuned and diligently study the works and scriptures and doctrines we are given.

It is an intersting read and if you're wanting to dig into history a bit, read on.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was glad to see this book when it came out, knowing it would be a helpful resource to understanding the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants. How often do we wish we had greater insights into the Old or New Testaments, or the Book of Mormon, since we don't feel very connected to those events? I wanted to read this in conjunction with my study of the Doctrine and Covenants, but didn't quite make it. I appreciated the perspectives added, and the additional opportunity I received to learn for myself. This is a good resource.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very handy guide for my latest read-through of the Doctrine & Covenants. I thought I knew a lot about church history, but this book was full of stuff I didn't know about or fully understand. It focuses on both broad events and how specific individuals were affected by them, which I appreciated. I really enjoyed having a more thorough background on each section, beyond what's in the section summaries.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was wonderful to read and understand the back story to the revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants. This is a great way to understand how history and religion work together. In our own lives we seek revelation when confronted with the trials and questions prompted by the influence of the world we live in. It makes perfect sense to me that Joseph Smith and other early saints did the same thing. The Lord waits for us to act and ask, very rarely is it the other way around.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a book of scripture, ‘The Doctrine and Covenants’, is unique in that it is a collection of sacred documents that are separated from their historical settings. While each is prefaced with a brief explanatory note, the reader must turn to other sources for a meatier understanding. The editors and authors of “Revelation in Context” fill that gap providing relevant history for each of these revelations. I found the content to be informative imbuing the records with vitality and empathy.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides background information about the people and events in the Doctrine and Covenants. While not all the chapters were as interesting to me as others, I appreciated the overall picture it gave me of the time period and especially loved the stories of conversion, faith, and sacrifice. My favorite sections were on Ezra Thayer, the Whitmer family, the Manifesto, and "Witnessing the Faithfulness" (regarding Official Declaration 2).

[Megan Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Church fellowship offers them the chance to become of one heart and one mind as they minister to each other in love. As they press forward in humility and faith, members of the Church find healing and strength through Jesus Christ, the Savior of us all."

"Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"

"The Lord will never permit me nor any other man who stands as the President of this Church, to lead you astray. It is not in the programme."

[Lynn Acuña Poblete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este es un libro extremadamente útil para acompañar la lectura de Doctrina y Convenios. Presenta el contexto histórico de las revelaciones a través de fuentes primarias y secundarias, más allá de la visión religiosa de la historia. Los ensayos son breves, sin embargo ricos en personajes e historias poco conocidas que nos muestran tanto la fe como las contradicciones de una obra divina llevada a cabo por personas imperfectas.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides important background information on the Doctrine and Covenants in a very easy-to-follow format. I liked how the historians confront somewhat challenging historical narratives and align them with how we know the Gospel in our current times. This approach helps link the past to the present in a helpful manner.