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Finding Christ

Doctrine and Covenants
Articles by Steven C. Harper about the Doctrine and Covenants


Steven C. Harper
Nov 28, 2021
Section 137 & 138 Context
Section 137 Soteriology (so·te·ri·ol·o·gy) is theology about salvation. Christianity’s soteriological problem is based on three...


Steven C. Harper
Nov 21, 2021
Section 135 & 136 Context
Section 135 It was “a deliberate political assassination, committed or condoned by some of the leading citizens of Hancock County.” [1] ...

Steven C. Harper
Nov 7, 2021
Section 129, 130, 131 & 132 Context
Section 129 Section 129 is esoteric. It can only be understood by people with temple knowledge. It is also euphemistic. It’s no more...

Steven C. Harper
Oct 31, 2021
Section 125, 126, 127 & 128 Context
Section 125 From the confines of a jail cell in Liberty, Missouri, Joseph wrote to Bishop Partridge in Illinois that the saints could buy...


Steven C. Harper
Oct 24, 2021
Section 124 Context
Section 124 Joseph emerged from the depressing jail in Liberty, Missouri with an undaunted spirit. He had known since January 1838 that...


Steven C. Harper
Oct 17, 2021
Section 121, 122 & 123 Context
Section 121 Section 121 puts a counterintuitive twist on the age-old problem of suffering and power. If God is benevolent and powerful,...

Steven C. Harper
Oct 10, 2021
Section 115, 116, 117, 118, 119 & 120 Context
Section 115 Revelation, 26 April 1838 [D&C 115]. Image courtesy of josephsmithpapers.org. In December 1836, the Missouri state...

Steven C. Harper
Oct 3, 2021
Section 111, 112, 113 & 114 Context
Section 111 The revelation of section 111 on August 6, 1836 reoriented Joseph and his companions. They had been preoccupied with paying...


Steven C. Harper
Sep 26, 2021
Section 109 & 110 Context
Section 109 Prayer of Dedication, 27 March 1836. Joseph’s cousin George A. Smith reported that “When the dedication prayer was read by...

Steven C. Harper
Sep 19, 2021
Section 106, 107 & 108 Context
Section 106 Warren Cowdery, Oliver’s older brother, ledged and fed Joseph and his companions when the were recruiting for the Camp of...

Steven C. Harper
Sep 12, 2021
Section 102, 103, 104 & 105 Context
Section 102 Joseph Smith convened councils to arbitrate and adjudicate church decisions, especially disciplinary decisions. These...

Steven C. Harper
Sep 5, 2021
Section 98, 99, 100, 101 Context
Section 98 Letter to Church Leaders in Jackson County, Missouri, 18 August 1833. Image courtesy of josephsmithpapers.org In the summer of...

Steven C. Harper
Aug 29, 2021
Context 94, 95, 96 & 97 Context
Section 94 Section 94 may make more sense after you have studied sections 95 and 96 and 97, because it was actually revealed right after...


Steven C. Harper
Aug 22, 2021
Section 93 Context
Section 93 In his inimitable way, BYU philosophy professor Truman Madsen related an anecdote during a presentation he gave at the Yale...

Steven C. Harper
Aug 15, 2021
Section 89, 90, 91 & 92 Context
Section 89 Most everyone drank in the 1820s and 1830s, Joseph Smith included. [1] Distillers in his upstate New York neighborhood made...

Steven C. Harper
Aug 8, 2021
Section 88 Context
Section 88 Samuel H. Smith, Journal entry describing Section 88, Church History Library, Salt Lake City. Three months after receiving...


Steven C. Harper
Aug 1, 2021
Section 85, 86 & 87 Context
Section 85 The leaders of the church in Missouri grew troubled. Saints were gathering there by the hundreds. Relatively few of them were...


Steven C. Harper
Jul 25, 2021
Section 84 Context
Section 84 In section 57 the Lord identified the site for his temple in Zion. That was the first reference to a specific Latter-day...

Steven C. Harper
Jul 18, 2021
Section 81, 82 & 83 Context
Section 81 Revelation, 15 March 1832. Image courtesy of josephsmithpapers.org. It is very good to have your sins blotted out. It is not...

Steven C. Harper
Jul 11, 2021
Section 77, 78, 79 & 80 Context
Section 77 Having been treated to section 76 in February 1832 for his efforts to understand and revise the Bible, Joseph continued his...