This week, let’s examine two important aspects of studying the Doctrine and Covenants: our methods of interpretation (hermeneutics) and the artifactual history of the book itself (provenance).

Interpretation

In the lesson outline and audio discussion, I cover hermeneutics, specifically exegesis and eisegesis. These methods of interpretation have to do with either drawing meaning out of the text (exegesis) or reading meaning into the text (eisegesis). Latter-day Saints rarely have exegesis modeled for them. I hope this discussion at least suggests why exegesis is a valuable method for our study of the D&C and why I believe it must precede any eisegetical reading. (TLDR;—it’s about accuracy!)

We also must remember at least two types of context: historical context and literary context. The historical context will include the setting in which the text was produced, the circumstances surrounding the production of the text. Passages often make reference to something outside of themselves, something initial readers would recognize as part of their situation. For us, we must ascertain what those references could be pointing to, and this will require some engagement with the historical setting to build that context. The literary context will include the surrounding text for any given passage. For any textual unit we read, we’ll need to remember the larger corresponding unit. A verse in the Book of Isaiah appears within what originally was a longer prophetic treatise: the whole Book of Isaiah. It was not originally composed of chapters and verses, so to maintain the literary context of a verse or a passage, we would need to be aware of the larger text, its themes and settings, its references and topics. In the case of the D&C, each section represents a discrete (usually revelatory) event, and so the surrounding text will almost always mean the whole of the section at hand.

But we’re not done with establishing the basic parameters of interpreting a D&C revelation—we must also be aware of interpretive error and the provenance of the document itself. I explain these in more detail in the audio, but put simply, there is one type of error that runs rampant in our common class settings: anachronism, or placing things in the wrong historical sequence. Words don’t always maintain their definitions across centuries. Readers often assume present meanings when reading the D&C, which can introduce an interpretive error. A major example from the D&C: the word apostle underwent significant change between D&C 18 (in 1829) and D&C 107 (updated in 1835). Our present meanings depart significantly from both D&C 18 and D&C 107. When we read these revelations, we shouldn’t retroject our assumed meanings backward. That would be an anchronism.

Provenance is a more technically demanding enterprise that justifies the expertise and work of archivists and historians. I’ll leave my audio discussion to explain why this matters for our study and how non-specialists can benefit from a minor awareness of provenance.

History of the D&C

The Joseph Smith Papers Project has already provided the best introductions to the history of the D&C. I talk briefly about the later editions (1844, 1876, 1921, 1981, and 2013) that came after JS’s life, but if you would like a full tour through the production of the published revelations and the D&C itself, I strongly recommend reading the JSP’s articles Introduction to the Manuscript Revelation Books and JS–Era Publications of Revelations. Having an awareness of these developments usually provides enough provenance to recognize where a particular section of the D&C may present some unique interpretive challenges.

(Podcast) Audio

I’ve posted audio to the podcast feed that should update automatically if you’ve subscribed to it in a podcast app. To set this up if you haven’t already, usually all it takes is pasting the following URL when adding a new feed:

https://davidgolding.com/dc/2021/podcast.xml

Likewise, some browsers will open your podcast app automatically by tapping on this link; but I’ve also encountered browsers that don’t, so don’t be surprised if this link displays an error message of some kind:

podcast://davidgolding.com/dc/2021/podcast.xml

Alternatively, you can download the audio here:

Interpretation and History of D&C [mp3]

Don’t forget to consult the updated lesson outlines:

D&C Lesson Schedule and Notes

Critical Text Update

I’ve also made excellent progress on the Critical Text Edition of the D&C. The same link as previously will give a continuously updated PDF file.

D&C Critical Text Edition (Draft)

Some improvements in this file since last time:

  • The introduction offers an improved explanation of how to read the textual changes notes.
  • The list of sources includes more source items including manuscript sources.
  • Overall typesetting is improved, with cleaner spacing and line endings in the apparatus.
  • Sections 4, 5, and 93 have been processed and added. Section 5 experienced some of the most drastic redactions and changes of any section of the D&C; this offers a complex example of how texts of the D&C have been altered between inception and the 2013 edition. The manuscript for D&C 93 is a fairly strong candidate for being a dictation manuscript, meaning, it was potentially the very manuscript of JS’s first dictation of the revelation. It is also a rich revelation that discusses concepts of grace, intelligence/spirit, and christology. I wanted a critical-text example of a theologically deep revelation in this growing sample of D&C sections, so I skipped ahead to D&C 93.

Next week—D&C 3, the first surviving revelation of JS on record. I can’t wait to explore that wonderful revelation with you.