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Doctrina y Convenios | La Perla de Gran Precio
The Doctrine and A collection of latter-day divine revelations and inspired declarations. The Lord gave these to Joseph Smith and several of his successors for the establishment and regulation of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days. The Doctrine and Covenants is one of the standard works of scripture in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price. The Doctrine and Covenants is unique, however, because it is not a translation of ancient documents; the Lord gave these revelations to His chosen prophets in this modern day in order to restore His kingdom. In the revelations one hears the tender but firm voice of the Lord Jesus Christ (D&C 18:35–36). Joseph Smith’s history says that the Doctrine and Covenants is the foundation of the Church in the last days and a benefit to the world (D&C 70 heading). The revelations in it initiate the work of preparing the way for the Lord’s Second Coming, in fulfillment of all the words spoken by the prophets since the world began. The Pearl of Great The kingdom of God on earth is likened to a “pearl of great price” (Matt. 13:45–46). The Pearl of Great Price is also the name given to one of four volumes of scripture called the “standard works” of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first edition of the Pearl of Great Price was published in 1851 and contained some material that is now in the Doctrine and Covenants. Editions published since 1902 contain (1) excerpts from Joseph Smith’s translation of Genesis, called the book of Moses, and of Matthew 24, called Joseph Smith—Matthew; (2) Joseph Smith’s translation of some Egyptian papyrus that he obtained in 1835, called the book of Abraham; (3) an excerpt from Joseph Smith’s history of the Church that he wrote in 1838, called Joseph Smith—History; and (4) the Articles of Faith, thirteen statements of belief and doctrine.
1235 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
March 19, 2021
Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormons) should have a copy of this book in their home library. It is one of the standard works that should help govern their way of life.
To those unfamiliar with the LDS, this religion believes in modern day revelations as delivered by the prophets, just like in ages past. Many, but not all such revelations were printed and published in this book. To quote Oliver Cowdery, "For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based , built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on the earth?" The importance of these revelations to LDS members is as it is stated in one section that the Lord says that he is bound when you do as He says, but not bound when you don't do what He says.
One example of a revelation is in what is referred to as the Word of Wisdom where LDS members were warned long ago to abstain from smoking. Decades later, when I was growing up, TV commercials told you how smoking was good for you. I remember seeing the small packs of cigarettes in the army K-rations.
Another revelation is the promise of the Lord opening the windows of Heaven to shower blessings on those who pay tithing to the church and give to the poor. I have experienced this, but I am not saying that I am rich as to material wealth. This revelation might also protect one from the purification burning at the Lord's Second Coming. Sometimes this is referred to as fire insurance.
Of course, most of the revelations have to do with the organization of the church in the early days. But it still makes interesting reading. Included are Joseph Smith's translation of ancient papyrus that are the writings of Moses and Abraham, as well as a recount of Joseph Smith's first vision.
I think it is pretty neat to read such things. Aren't you interested?
To those unfamiliar with the LDS, this religion believes in modern day revelations as delivered by the prophets, just like in ages past. Many, but not all such revelations were printed and published in this book. To quote Oliver Cowdery, "For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based , built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on the earth?" The importance of these revelations to LDS members is as it is stated in one section that the Lord says that he is bound when you do as He says, but not bound when you don't do what He says.
One example of a revelation is in what is referred to as the Word of Wisdom where LDS members were warned long ago to abstain from smoking. Decades later, when I was growing up, TV commercials told you how smoking was good for you. I remember seeing the small packs of cigarettes in the army K-rations.
Another revelation is the promise of the Lord opening the windows of Heaven to shower blessings on those who pay tithing to the church and give to the poor. I have experienced this, but I am not saying that I am rich as to material wealth. This revelation might also protect one from the purification burning at the Lord's Second Coming. Sometimes this is referred to as fire insurance.
Of course, most of the revelations have to do with the organization of the church in the early days. But it still makes interesting reading. Included are Joseph Smith's translation of ancient papyrus that are the writings of Moses and Abraham, as well as a recount of Joseph Smith's first vision.
I think it is pretty neat to read such things. Aren't you interested?
May 20, 2025
Overall 6/10.
8/10 for the Doctrine and Covenants.
It's a collection of writings of various kind. The more it progressed the more it got complicated and "fullfilling". It had some randomness to it that, in my opinion, impaired the religious message it was trying to convey.
4/10 for the Pearl of Great Price.
Sadly, a bad ending for the four scriptures.
Repetitive, incoherent and extremely simplistic.
8/10 for the Doctrine and Covenants.
It's a collection of writings of various kind. The more it progressed the more it got complicated and "fullfilling". It had some randomness to it that, in my opinion, impaired the religious message it was trying to convey.
4/10 for the Pearl of Great Price.
Sadly, a bad ending for the four scriptures.
Repetitive, incoherent and extremely simplistic.
April 6, 2022
I always enjoy listening to unself-aware pontificators criticizing Mormons for their foibles when they do not align with their firmly held religious beliefs. The irony just oozes out of the situation to the point of absurdity and makes me want to learn a little bit more about why they think the Mormons are wrong and they are right when they special plead for their beliefs but not for others.
I once read an evangelically strange book called Book of Cults by Bob Larson. In this 1980s book he had placed Mormons in it as a cult. He defined religion to be ‘the collective search for the truth’, as if anyone could be against knowing the truth and implicitly assuming that evangelical religions where actually searching for the truth (they might think they are but aren’t for all I know), and more interestingly he made any religion that did not hold to a firm but never really fully defined version of the trinity as a cult. He even put my favorite religion, The Quakers in as a cult.
Under his poorly laid out criterion he made the Mormons a cult since they did not adhere to his version of the trinity. I don’t want to dwell on how nonsensical Larson really was but I want to note briefly that Erasmus could never find the trinity in the bible, Isaac Newton could not and nor can evangelicals such as Larson and they unknowingly rely on extra-biblical tradition for their support. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong when you claim sole-scripta as your starting principle and you mock the Mormons for not believing as you do, and they will mock Mormons as they use a different set of standards while judging them differently as they do their own beliefs (i.e., special pleading).
Not only does the bible not have the evangelical’s formation for the trinity, the bible itself does not have its definition of what constitutes the bible. Sole-scripta presumes that scripture is well defined. It is not: individuals, committees, and consensus determined the bible’s composition and the evangelicals under Luther removed Revelations and then put it back in and took out some of the other books considered canonical from the Old Testament because they felt like it (feelings play a big part with revisionist), and from the Evangelical’s perspective it was the dreaded papist who give them the trinity and even the shape of the bible until Luther mucked around and re-shaped it.
All of the above is just a little motivation for why I ended up reading these two books.
There are some things in these books that did get past me since there is an obvious appeal to esoterica that is probably commonly known to all faithful Mormons but not to an outsider such as me. Out of nowhere he brought up ‘baptism for the dead’ and that caught me by surprise. He also brought up ‘terrestrial, celestial, and spiritual’ and used them appropriately but it seemed obvious that they meant something beyond how they are commonly used. There was pre-existence and post-existence and heavenly bodies and words such as ‘ye are gods’ would have a different meaning in another context such as when the Lord spoke it in the Old Testament, or when Jesus said ‘does not scripture say ye are Gods’ in the New Testament.
Smith did get strangely specific in some of his revelations from God and would name names and talk about specific amounts of money and so on. Though, actually that doesn’t bother me since most religions have a version of that in them anyways. Paul of Tarsus murders people and then hears voices claiming they are from Jesus and Paul mostly talks about the vicarious sacrifice Jesus made for the remission of sins, and in Acts the holy spirit kills a couple for claiming they gave 100% of their wealth to the church when they only gave most of their wealth but not all. (I had a history professor a long time ago who said that Paul of Tarsus was the most important person ever in Western History, and I think he was right).
Smith gave the listener a way to tell a true agent of God from the false ones, it had something to do with shaking their hand and how you feel about that when you do that. Feelings seemed to be the guiding principle for finding truth within these books.
Overall, in these books the world is made binary and neatly placed into categories such that men are men and women are women and everyone will have their own world in the afterlife if they are a man and married and the world is assumed to have no shades of grey or the world is not to be understood on a spectrum.
Smith out of nowhere came up with some convoluted prescriptions on virgins and adultery and men and women, I really didn’t follow it and it seemed weird that God would waste his bandwidth on that stuff. Overall, I have a real hard time in seeing the world in binary terms (right/wrong, male/female, good/evil) when there is always an area of greyness for most things such as sexuality.
Smith does pluralize God and makes us into Gods such that he could say ‘ye are Gods’ and gives us responsibility from our previous existence before this earthly existence while once again with certitude assigning our previously held sexuality not as a gender but as biologically assigned and given to us before birth and after death.
I’ve been simultaneously re-reading the obscure book Ye Are Gods by Annalee Skarin written in 1948 who was excommunicated by the Mormons for writing the book and she certainly provides insights into some of the more interesting meanings inherent with the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price and she explains in easy prose what Smith was saying more obscurely in some places.
The last section of this book, the autobiography of Joseph Smith was quite good, not only for illustrating how enemies of the church would twist it foolishly against the Mormons, also it is a good story in itself. Once again, Christians who pick on Smith for his eccentricities need look no further than Paul of Tarsus for his psychotic behavior (for God’s sake, Paul murdered people and saw a vision and heard it speak to him. If you can believe that true for your faith, why can’t you believe it true for the Mormons?).
H.G. Wells called The Koran ‘formless babble’ within his Outline of History. I thought that was a hilarious characterization. These books are not formless and I wouldn’t call it babble, but I think it is an excellent illustration for how non-Mormons love to have special pleading for their own eccentricities but not for those of others.
Sometimes I found the writing cumbersome and I would lose attention, that's partly because I am not that familiar with the beliefs within the Church (it would be as if you were just reading the bible to figure out what Baptist believed in, you couldn't do it), but I clearly can see overall what was going on and didn't mind listening to these books. They are no more a cult than any other main stream religion, and it's just non-sense to not see the special pleading required in doing that.
I once read an evangelically strange book called Book of Cults by Bob Larson. In this 1980s book he had placed Mormons in it as a cult. He defined religion to be ‘the collective search for the truth’, as if anyone could be against knowing the truth and implicitly assuming that evangelical religions where actually searching for the truth (they might think they are but aren’t for all I know), and more interestingly he made any religion that did not hold to a firm but never really fully defined version of the trinity as a cult. He even put my favorite religion, The Quakers in as a cult.
Under his poorly laid out criterion he made the Mormons a cult since they did not adhere to his version of the trinity. I don’t want to dwell on how nonsensical Larson really was but I want to note briefly that Erasmus could never find the trinity in the bible, Isaac Newton could not and nor can evangelicals such as Larson and they unknowingly rely on extra-biblical tradition for their support. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there is something wrong when you claim sole-scripta as your starting principle and you mock the Mormons for not believing as you do, and they will mock Mormons as they use a different set of standards while judging them differently as they do their own beliefs (i.e., special pleading).
Not only does the bible not have the evangelical’s formation for the trinity, the bible itself does not have its definition of what constitutes the bible. Sole-scripta presumes that scripture is well defined. It is not: individuals, committees, and consensus determined the bible’s composition and the evangelicals under Luther removed Revelations and then put it back in and took out some of the other books considered canonical from the Old Testament because they felt like it (feelings play a big part with revisionist), and from the Evangelical’s perspective it was the dreaded papist who give them the trinity and even the shape of the bible until Luther mucked around and re-shaped it.
All of the above is just a little motivation for why I ended up reading these two books.
There are some things in these books that did get past me since there is an obvious appeal to esoterica that is probably commonly known to all faithful Mormons but not to an outsider such as me. Out of nowhere he brought up ‘baptism for the dead’ and that caught me by surprise. He also brought up ‘terrestrial, celestial, and spiritual’ and used them appropriately but it seemed obvious that they meant something beyond how they are commonly used. There was pre-existence and post-existence and heavenly bodies and words such as ‘ye are gods’ would have a different meaning in another context such as when the Lord spoke it in the Old Testament, or when Jesus said ‘does not scripture say ye are Gods’ in the New Testament.
Smith did get strangely specific in some of his revelations from God and would name names and talk about specific amounts of money and so on. Though, actually that doesn’t bother me since most religions have a version of that in them anyways. Paul of Tarsus murders people and then hears voices claiming they are from Jesus and Paul mostly talks about the vicarious sacrifice Jesus made for the remission of sins, and in Acts the holy spirit kills a couple for claiming they gave 100% of their wealth to the church when they only gave most of their wealth but not all. (I had a history professor a long time ago who said that Paul of Tarsus was the most important person ever in Western History, and I think he was right).
Smith gave the listener a way to tell a true agent of God from the false ones, it had something to do with shaking their hand and how you feel about that when you do that. Feelings seemed to be the guiding principle for finding truth within these books.
Overall, in these books the world is made binary and neatly placed into categories such that men are men and women are women and everyone will have their own world in the afterlife if they are a man and married and the world is assumed to have no shades of grey or the world is not to be understood on a spectrum.
Smith out of nowhere came up with some convoluted prescriptions on virgins and adultery and men and women, I really didn’t follow it and it seemed weird that God would waste his bandwidth on that stuff. Overall, I have a real hard time in seeing the world in binary terms (right/wrong, male/female, good/evil) when there is always an area of greyness for most things such as sexuality.
Smith does pluralize God and makes us into Gods such that he could say ‘ye are Gods’ and gives us responsibility from our previous existence before this earthly existence while once again with certitude assigning our previously held sexuality not as a gender but as biologically assigned and given to us before birth and after death.
I’ve been simultaneously re-reading the obscure book Ye Are Gods by Annalee Skarin written in 1948 who was excommunicated by the Mormons for writing the book and she certainly provides insights into some of the more interesting meanings inherent with the D&C and the Pearl of Great Price and she explains in easy prose what Smith was saying more obscurely in some places.
The last section of this book, the autobiography of Joseph Smith was quite good, not only for illustrating how enemies of the church would twist it foolishly against the Mormons, also it is a good story in itself. Once again, Christians who pick on Smith for his eccentricities need look no further than Paul of Tarsus for his psychotic behavior (for God’s sake, Paul murdered people and saw a vision and heard it speak to him. If you can believe that true for your faith, why can’t you believe it true for the Mormons?).
H.G. Wells called The Koran ‘formless babble’ within his Outline of History. I thought that was a hilarious characterization. These books are not formless and I wouldn’t call it babble, but I think it is an excellent illustration for how non-Mormons love to have special pleading for their own eccentricities but not for those of others.
Sometimes I found the writing cumbersome and I would lose attention, that's partly because I am not that familiar with the beliefs within the Church (it would be as if you were just reading the bible to figure out what Baptist believed in, you couldn't do it), but I clearly can see overall what was going on and didn't mind listening to these books. They are no more a cult than any other main stream religion, and it's just non-sense to not see the special pleading required in doing that.
February 14, 2019
I listened to the D&C while taking my daughter to seminary in the morning. Parts are awesome but overall it is my least favorite book of scripture. I know I am supposed to give it a 5 but I just can’t :)
December 14, 2021
I'm really glad I had the chance to read this for Come Follow Me this year! When I did the reading I had to, I found a lot of things that helped me out and gave me some much needed revelation. Highly recommended!
December 31, 2018
I consider these books holy scripture. One is composed entirely of modern revelations to the prophet Joseph Smith (Doctrine & Covenants). The other is a conglomeration of revelation, personal history, statement of beliefs, and translation of ancient writings (Pearl of Great Price).
In both books, I was struck by how much God loves his children and knows them individually. Much of the instruction in the Doctrine and Covenants is delivered to individuals. Pearl of Great Price contains accounts of God's direct interactions with prophets like Moses, Enoch, and Abraham. Although any person of faith can derive great council from anything included here, these writings demonstrate the poignant truth that God continues to speak with (and to) men and women.
It was a blessing for me to read/hear these books in their entirety this year. I learned much about LDS history and doctrine from these two short books. They supplement the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon nicely in the canon of scripture. Recommended for all.
In both books, I was struck by how much God loves his children and knows them individually. Much of the instruction in the Doctrine and Covenants is delivered to individuals. Pearl of Great Price contains accounts of God's direct interactions with prophets like Moses, Enoch, and Abraham. Although any person of faith can derive great council from anything included here, these writings demonstrate the poignant truth that God continues to speak with (and to) men and women.
It was a blessing for me to read/hear these books in their entirety this year. I learned much about LDS history and doctrine from these two short books. They supplement the Holy Bible and Book of Mormon nicely in the canon of scripture. Recommended for all.
December 23, 2021
Scripture study for 2021, onto the Old Testament! Naturally the focus and takeaway was continuous revelation. Heavenly Father still speaks to his children and desires us to follow His son Jesus Christ. The restoration of his church is still unfolding and we have so much more to learn.
March 18, 2022
Another one where I don't want to give a worldly review but I do want to say how amazing this is. And I love how much insight we get for the Old Testament from this.
April 30, 2023
Spirit babies.
Eternal marriage (as opposed to what Jesus said).
Eventual godhood.
Baptism for the dead.
But mostly the rambling of about current views sealed as revelation from God.
If you take this in you clearly throw the Old Testament and New Testament out and just wait for what your prophet comes up with next instead.
Respectfully, your ceremonies and church will never earn you favor. Christ has earned it and you must turn from your sin (and your perceived righteousness) and trust Christ alone.
Then you have the Bible to train you in walking with a gracious God. You don’t need prophets and presidents dictating your actions when you’re enjoying His grace. Please read the New Testament!
Eternal marriage (as opposed to what Jesus said).
Eventual godhood.
Baptism for the dead.
But mostly the rambling of about current views sealed as revelation from God.
If you take this in you clearly throw the Old Testament and New Testament out and just wait for what your prophet comes up with next instead.
Respectfully, your ceremonies and church will never earn you favor. Christ has earned it and you must turn from your sin (and your perceived righteousness) and trust Christ alone.
Then you have the Bible to train you in walking with a gracious God. You don’t need prophets and presidents dictating your actions when you’re enjoying His grace. Please read the New Testament!
February 8, 2021
AMAZING!
September 2, 2016
I actually started this about a year ago. About halfway through I decided to enter it into goodreads.
When I first started this I REALLY struggled. I couldn't understand why this is one of the standard works. Why do we need to know who was chastised, who is going on a mission? I wasn't enjoying it. One day I was talking to my friend and she said I really need to read the institute manual along with the D&C. Let me just say it really changed my reading. I understood better what was said and why. I got some background into what was going on at the time which made everything make more sense. I actually began enjoying reading the Doctrine and Covenants instead of just trying to get through it. So if I have any advice for someone who is going to read the Doctrine and Covenants is to ready the study manual along with it. You'll definitely get more out of it and enjoy it.
When I first started this I REALLY struggled. I couldn't understand why this is one of the standard works. Why do we need to know who was chastised, who is going on a mission? I wasn't enjoying it. One day I was talking to my friend and she said I really need to read the institute manual along with the D&C. Let me just say it really changed my reading. I understood better what was said and why. I got some background into what was going on at the time which made everything make more sense. I actually began enjoying reading the Doctrine and Covenants instead of just trying to get through it. So if I have any advice for someone who is going to read the Doctrine and Covenants is to ready the study manual along with it. You'll definitely get more out of it and enjoy it.
August 2, 2017
The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations and some history of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, that were mostly received by Joseph Smith, only the last few received by other prophets. Some were originally given to individuals who asked Joseph to ask God for answers and direction, some were given to help Jospeh know how to organize the early church, but my favorite parts are the sections that teach about Jesus Christ and the nature of God. A beautiful and inspiring book of scripture, and I am grateful for the teachings found within.
The Pearl of Great Price is a collection of scripture, including the Book of Moses, The Book of Abraham, and Joseph Smith History (a brief history of Joseph Smith and what led him to organizing the church).
The Pearl of Great Price is a collection of scripture, including the Book of Moses, The Book of Abraham, and Joseph Smith History (a brief history of Joseph Smith and what led him to organizing the church).
July 12, 2016
I've been slowly making my way through this for over a year now, maybe closer to two, reading a bit here and there (and other times, reading from The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ or Holy Bible: King James Version). Now that I've finished this, I'll focus more on The Book of Mormon and the Old Testament, or perhaps I'll also start rereading the New Testament.
March 8, 2016
This was my first time reading cover to cover through the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. I usually focus on reading the Book of Mormon and studying parts of other scriptures. It was nice to read it straight through. The main theme I picked up from the D&C was that God is waiting for us to be specific in our prayers. So much knowledge, help, and many blessings are waiting for us. We need to ask.
July 16, 2025
I'm actually reading this in Spanish, but I couldn't find the Spanish version so this will have to do.
It was a great experience going through the Spanish version. Every time I read it my understanding expands. I am particularly fond of the books of Abraham and Moses.
For my reference only, this time through I'm reading it and marking it in my 6 color system.
It was a great experience going through the Spanish version. Every time I read it my understanding expands. I am particularly fond of the books of Abraham and Moses.
For my reference only, this time through I'm reading it and marking it in my 6 color system.
December 7, 2021
God wants to answer our questions. He wants us to know we are loved and that He has a perfect plan for us that we may return to Him. That is why I read His words and study them in my heart. This helps me on my journey here in life so that I may do my best and one day return to live with my Heavenly Parents and my Savior Jesus Christ.
December 31, 2021
Finished in preparation for Seminary 2014 ... with three days to spare. This is the first time I've read this all the way from cover to cover. Loved it, and can't wait to dig deeper as we study it this year!
Another year of seminary ... 2018-2019!
Seminary again -- 2021!
Another year of seminary ... 2018-2019!
Seminary again -- 2021!
July 7, 2020
Revelation given to our prophets from Joseph Smith's time and beyond. D&C.
The Pearl of Great Price is a combination of old scriptures from Moses' time and it includes J.S.'s account of his first vision.
The Pearl of Great Price is a combination of old scriptures from Moses' time and it includes J.S.'s account of his first vision.
September 19, 2025
I've completed another journey through the The Pearl of Great Price and recently finished The Doctrine and Covenants once again (December 2021). Great stuff! I testify that these books are Scripture! They teach about Jesus Christ.
Currently reading
August 12, 2010I'm preparing for home school. Gabe and I are doing church history this year.
November 13, 2017
I love re-reading this wonderful book of scripture and pondering on the truths and instruction contained in it.
May 19, 2015
a definite recommendation for all members of the LDS church and those interested in the background of the church.
February 1, 2015
This is a wonderful part of the Gospel.
September 8, 2015
I haven't read this in a while and was glad to find insights into the time it was written and thing I could apply to my own life. I mustn't wait so long to read it again.
December 28, 2016
read the D&C for companion study over the last 6 months
haven't read it since high school!!!
haven't read it since high school!!!
May 2, 2018
I especially loved the Joseph Smith history.
June 4, 2018
Love this book!
October 18, 2018
One of my favorite books of scripture, I'd have to say. I especially love sections 1, 88, 121, and the Kirtland temple dedicatory prayer (117?)
May 15, 2019
I finished reading it for seminary this year. I learned a lot and it was amazing!
September 19, 2019
Interesting from a historical perspective and to understand how various essential church doctrines came to be.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews