Church History
Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75


Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources: Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources (2025)

Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75, Doctrine and Covenants Historical Resources

Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75

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Light filtering through a wooded forest.

The woods near Joseph and Emma Smith’s home in Harmony, Pennsylvania, USA, is where John the Baptist conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829.

Historical Background

Days of Harmony

“And so, my journey to finally meet Joseph Smith began. For nearly three days his brother Samuel and I trekked in the spring rain toward his home. I planned to ask him my questions and then to offer him my help.”

The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast

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Title graphic of the podcast featuring a painting of the Susquehanna River

The Priesthood Restored: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast is a six-part miniseries from the Joseph Smith Papers Project that explores the events and circumstances that played a role in the restoration of the priesthood.

Episode 1: “The Great Strife and Noise”

Episode 2: “Days Never to be Forgotten”

Episode 3: “The Voice of Peter, James, and John”

Episode 4: “The Fulness of the Priesthood”

Episode 5: “The Priesthood Organization”

Episode 6: “Sacred Sites and Ongoing Restorations”

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Close-up photo of a sculpture depicting Peter, James, and John conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood on Joseph Smith.

Avard T. Fairbanks, Restoration of the Priesthood, 1962, cast bronze, Priesthood Restoration Site, Harmony, Pennsylvania, USA.

Revelations in Context

Essays on the background of each revelation

The Knight and Whitmer Families

D&C 12, 14, 15, 16

Oliver Cowdery’s Gift

D&C 6, 7, 8, 9, 13

The Knight and Whitmer Families

D&C 12, 14, 15, 16

The Contributions of Martin Harris

D&C 3, 5, 10, 17, 19

The Experience of the Three Witnesses

D&C 17

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

Narrative history of events surrounding the revelations

Volume 1, Chapter 7

Fellow Servants

A Day for the Eternities

“There are moments in every person’s life that change them forever. This was mine.”

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Painting of the Susquenhanna River.

Glen Hopkinson, The Sacred Susquehanna, 2000, oil on canvas, 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

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Painting of John the Baptist ordaining Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery

Linda Curley Christensen and Michael Malm, Upon You My Fellow Servants, oil on canvas, Church History Museum.

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

Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood

Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood

Early Missionaries

Witnesses of the Book of Mormon

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Pen and ink illustration of the Eight Witnesses viewing the plates

Olinda Hoehne Reynolds, The Eight Witnesses, 2001, pen and ink on paper, Church History Museum.

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

Revelation, May 1829–B [D&C 12]

Excerpt from JS History, vol. A-1, circa May 1838–B [D&C 13]

Revelation, June 1829–A [D&C 14]

Revelation, June 1829–C [D&C 15]

Revelation, June 1829–D [D&C 16]

Revelation, June 1829–E [D&C 17]

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Interior of a log home with a stone fireplace and various old cooking implements

The reconstructed Peter and Mary Whitmer home in Fayette, New York, USA. While living in the Whitmer home Joseph received the revelations now contained in Doctrine and Covenants 14–17.

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