Four years ago, as Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr. studied the Doctrine and Covenants, he found it beneficial to use “Revelations in Context” as a complementary resource.
“Revelations in Context” is a collection of narratives written by historians in the Church History Department that examines what prompted the revelations and what they meant to those to whom they were addressed. It was published by the Church in 2016 and includes references to the Joseph Smith Papers.
“It is just a wonderful experience to see how that expands your vision. And you understand better why the Lord is saying the things He is saying once you see what the Saints were undergoing at that time,” said Elder Curtis, now an emeritus General Authority Seventy, who was serving as Church historian and recorder when speaking to the Church News in 2021.
“Revelations in Context” is one of 15 resources available to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they study the Doctrine and Covenants with the “Come, Follow Me” curriculum in 2025.
Most of the following resources are in the Church History section of the Gospel Library.
1. ‘Revelations in Context’
“Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants”: Contains information about the people, places and context of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Brother Jan E. Newman, who previously served in the Church’s Sunday School general presidency, called “Revelations in Context” the “backstory to what is occurring between the Prophet and the Lord and all the other people who were participating in what was going on,” according to a 2021 Church News article.
2. Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources
Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: a collection of information from the Joseph Smith Papers, short biographies of the people mentioned, background from “Revelations in Context,” relevant Church History Topics essays, and places and chronology for each “Come, Follow Me” lesson.
3. Doctrine and Covenants Scripture Stories
Doctrine and Covenants Scripture Stories: Illustrated stories of the Restoration for children. Coloring books, videos and Doctrine and Covenants Stories for Young Readers are also available.
4. ‘Saints’
“Saints”: The four-volume “Saints” series is the third multivolume official history produced by the Church. Members who read Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 and Volume 4, as well as “Saints Stories,” can see how the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants fit into the Church’s narrative history. Some stories from “Saints” are featured in Saints Videos.
5. Joseph Smith Papers
The Joseph Smith Papers project (josephsmithpapers.org) is an effort to gather together all available documents produced by Joseph Smith himself or by others he appointed as scribes. This comprehensive collection is an essential resource for scholars and students of the life and work of Joseph Smith and early Latter-day Saint history.
The Joseph Smith Papers includes “Joseph Smith’s Revelations: A Doctrine and Covenants Study Companion From the Joseph Smith Papers,” a compilation and historical study of the earliest surviving versions of Joseph Smith’s revelations now found in the Doctrine and Covenants. The Joseph Smith Papers also offers the Joseph Smith Papers Podcasts.
6. Podcasts
Joseph Smith Papers Podcasts: The following are documentary-style podcasts that feature interviews with historians, researchers and Church leaders. Each one is designed to take material from the Joseph Smith Papers and present it in an accessible, digestible way, according to host Spencer McBride, a historian and volume editor on the project.
- The First Vision.
- The Priesthood Restored.
- Kirtland, City of Revelation.
- The Nauvoo Temple.
- Road to Carthage.
7. Accounts of the First Vision
The Church History page of ChurchofJesusChrist.org provides several resources for learning about the life and mission of Joseph Smith, including accounts of the First Vision.
8. Prophets of the Restoration
Prophets of the Restoration: Learn about the lives of each Latter-day Saint prophet who served before President Russell M. Nelson.
9. Gospel Topics Essays
Gospel Topics Essays: Approved by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the purpose of the essays has been to gather accurate information from many different sources and publications and place it where the material can more easily be accessed and studied by Church members and other interested parties.
10. Church History Topics
Church History Topics: An alphabetical list of terms and definitions.
11. Answers to Church History Questions
Answers to Church History Questions: Videos featuring discussions with historians of the Church History Department about various topics.
12. Global Histories
Global Histories: A collection of histories, selected stories of faith and other information that shows how the message of the Restoration has been embraced worldwide.
13. Relief Society and its history
Learn more about the history of the Relief Society and Latter-day Saint women with these resources:
- At the Pulpit: 185 Years of Discourses by Latter-day Saint Women: Sermons that women have given in every decade of the Church’s existence.
- The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: A documentary history of Relief Society.
- “Journals of Early Sister Missionaries”: These digital journals document the day-to-day experiences of Josephine Booth and Eliza Chipman, two of the Church’s earliest full-time sister missionaries.
- “Daughters in My Kingdom”: A historical view of the grand scope of the work of the Relief Society.
- “The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow”: Nearly 1,200 discourses given by Eliza R. Snow, second general president of the Relief Society, between 1840 and 1887 in western Illinois and throughout Utah and Idaho.
- “The Diaries of Emmeline B. Wells”: The diaries of one of the most influential Latter-day Saint women in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.
- “The Prison Journal of Belle Harris”: A journal kept by Isabelle Maria Harris while she spent the summer of 1883 in the Utah Territorial Penitentiary, imprisoned for contempt of court after refusing to answer a grand jury’s questions concerning her former husband’s practice of plural marriage.
14. More journals
- The Journal of George Q. Cannon: Next to Brigham Young, George Q. Cannon was arguably the best-known Latter-day Saint in the last half of the 19th century. His record covers half a century, a period in which he served as an editor and publisher, a businessman, an educator, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, a territorial delegate in Congress and a counselor to Church presidents Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff and Lorenzo Snow.
- The Journal of George F. Richards: For 70 years of his life — from 1880 to 1950 — Apostle George F. Richards kept an almost-daily journal of his activities, bridging the pioneer era and modern era of the Church.
15. Church Magazines
- 2025 Liahona articles on Restoration topics and historical perspectives.
