Church History
Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65


Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources (2025)

Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources

Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65

Photograph of the loft bedroom of the reconstructed home of the Joseph Smith Sr. family

The loft in the reconstructed log home on Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith’s farm, Palmyra, New York, USA. While living in the log home, Joseph Smith Jr. was first visited by the angel Moroni on September 21, 1823.

Historical Background

Revelations in Context

Essays on the background of each revelation

An Angel and a Promise

D&C 2

Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days

Narrative history of events surrounding the revelations

Volume 1, Chapter 3

Plates of Gold

Black and white photo of a prominent hill rising in a relatively flat landscape.

Photograph by George Edward Anderson of the Hill Cumorah, 1907, Church History Library, PH 679.

Volume 1, Chapter 4

Be Watchful

Painting of Moroni and Joseph Smith

Gary E. Smith, Joseph Smith Receives the Plates, 2019, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist.

Volume 1, Chapter 5

All Is Lost

Wooden box with a hinged lid.

Alvin Smith’s wooden lap desk, possibly used by Joseph Smith to hold the plates. Inset shows Alvin’s name carved into the rim. Church History Museum.

People

Biographical facts and historical images of individuals associated with the revelations

Places

Maps and information about places associated with the revelations from The Joseph Smith Papers, Historic Sites, and other helpful sources

Events

Timeline placing each revelation in the context of key events in the Church’s first century

View the chronology

Topics

Essays on subjects related to the revelations

Angel Moroni

Book of Mormon Translation

Gold Plates

Joseph and Emma Hale Smith Family

Joseph Smith’s 1826 Trial

Martin Harris’s Consultations with Scholars

Seer Stones

Treasure Seeking

Sources

Historical background and the earliest version of each section of the Doctrine and Covenants, as published in The Joseph Smith Papers and the Church History Library catalog

Excerpt from Joseph Smith’s History, vol. A-1, circa May 1838–A

Painting of Moroni appearing to Joseph Smith kneeling by his bed.

Gary E. Smith, Moroni Appears to Young Joseph Smith, 2019, oil on canvas, courtesy of the artist.