Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants: A Guided Tour Through Modern Revelations

Have you struggled with understanding the Doctrine and Covenants? As a collection of separate and diverse texts, it can be rather daunting to study. After all, it is the only one of the standard works that does not tell its own story. Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants addresses this challenge in a creative new way. Rather than giving a verse-by-verse commentary, author Steven C. Harper takes readers on a guided tour through the revelations. Drawing on the earliest manuscripts of those revelations, he provides historically grounded insights into why each revelation was given, what it means, and why it matters. Chapters on every section of the Doctrine and Covenants begin by delving into the historical record to recreate the question or problem each revelation resolved and end by showing readers the outcomes for individuals and the Church. Families and scholars alike will relish the depth and accessibility of Making Sense of the Doctrine & Covenants. It is an invaluable addition to any gospel library and a fascinating resource for anyone who wishes to become more closely acquainted with this marvelous book of scripture.

Steven C. Harper is a professor of Church history and doctrine at Brigham Young University. In 2012 Steve was appointed as the managing historian and a general editor of Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days. He was named editor in chief of BYU Studies Quarterly in September 2018. He earned a bachelor’s degree from BYU, an MA in American history from Utah State University, and a PhD in early American history from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He began teaching courses in religion and history at BYU Hawaii in 2000 and joined the Religious Education faculty at BYU in 2002. That year he also became a volume editor of The Joseph Smith Papers and the document editor for BYU Studies. He taught at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies in 2011-2012. He is also the author of several books, including Joseph Smith’s First Vision: A Guide to the Historical Accounts and First Vision: Memory and Mormon Origins, along with dozens of articles. He and his wife, Jennifer Sebring Harper, live in Utah.