Those who are interested in the Doctrine and Covenants need to roll up their sleeves and begin to mine the treasure in the latest volume of The Joseph Smith Papers, released a little over a month ago on September 22, 2009. This stunning oversized volume, Manuscript Revelation Books (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2009), reproduces the original revelation manuscripts in actual size and color. The binding and design are excellent. The book is a treasure in itself, but the content is pure gold.

Robin Scott Jensen, Robert J. Woodford, and Steven C. Harper, my Religious Education colleague, edited this particular volume. The introductory essays alone are worth the hundred-dollar price tag.

This week, BYU Studies released its latest issue (48, no. 3), containing excellent essays by the editors and by Grant Underwood (BYU History Department) highlighting the discovery of the manuscript for “A Book of Commandments and Revelation” (pp. 7–17), a review of the history of the manuscript through publication of the 1833 Book of Commandments and the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants (18–52), a discussion of the significance the manuscripts (53–66), and a review of how the manuscript can help us understand the “process by which Joseph Smith received, recorded, and published” his revelations (67–84). Added to these four outstanding essays is a response by the former archivist of the Community of Christ, Ron Romig (85–91).

Steve Harper notes, “The Book of Commandments and Revelations (BCR) will have an immense influence on the scholarly study of early Mormon revelations” (53). That is definitely true. His work, along with that of his coeditors, will provide current and future historians an opportunity to examine these important primary sources without traveling to Salt Lake City, Independence, or Provo. The publication’s impact on our understanding of Joseph Smith’s prophetic career cannot be fully appreciated now. However, BYU Studies has begun providing the kind of thoughtful consideration of the Book of Commandments and Revelation manuscript that will appear during the next few years and decades. If you own Manuscript Revelation Books, you need to get a copy of the latest BYU Studies—an important and valuable contribution to our understanding of The Joseph Smith Papers.

This month’s National Geographic magazine features a fascinating article by Peter Miller (”Before New York: Rediscovering the Wilderness of 1609,” 122–37). The article opens a window to the past—when the first European settlers began to explore and settle the island of Manhattan. Robert Clark provides stunning photographs, and Markley Boyer and Philip Staub add important illustrations to re-create the natural landscape of Manhattan before it changed forever. Certainly native peoples left their footprints on the land as they interacted with the flora and fauna, but European settlement impacted the land in profound ways.

On my next visit to the Big Apple, I am tucking this article in my bag so I can pull it out as I walk around the city to see beyond the concrete and asphalt to a world that once existed in the same geographical location. I am going to visualize New York before Henry Hudson arrived in 1609, looking for hints of that time and place.

The settling of much of New York State was a pivotal time in U.S. history. It witnessed the creation of a new nation (1776–87), the religious revivals known as the Second Great Awakening (1816–26), and the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ (1820–30).

This past weekend I invited a small group from BYU to visit New York State to envision a specific point in early Church history: the spring morning in 1820 when Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove. Along with Kent P. Jackson, associate dean of Religious Education, and Brent Nordgren, production manager for the Religious Studies Center, I invited Larry C. Porter, professor emeritus of Church history; Donald L. Enders, senior curator of historic sites; and Robert F. Parrot, Sacred Grove manager, to discuss the history and meaning of the Sacred Grove. During our two-day trip, we visualized that important spring morning when Joseph Smith walked from his family’s log home to a place in the nearby woods to pray. Unlike New York City, the Sacred Grove is closer to the condition it was in when Joseph Smith knelt to pray. The story of the efforts to preserve the grove will be told in a future article for the Religious Educator based on the interviews conducted this past weekend.

Although we do not know the exact spot where Joseph knelt to pray, the woodlands near the Smith home remind us of the event and allow us to connect to the past. Visitors to the grove walk where young Joseph Smith worked and prayed. Such explorations help us place diaries, letters, and histories of the past into their real-world context, allowing us to appreciate the story more fully.

Photo of Sacred Grove by Brent Nordgren

We are now in our tenth year of publishing the Religious Educator (TRE). When Robert L. Millet (then dean of Religious Education at BYU) asked me to take the lead in this new venture, it forced me to think about the niche TRE might fill. Over the years, I found that it was important to recruit specific authors to prepare contributions to enhance the regular submissions.

Last year, as we approached our tenth year of publication, I decided it might be good to identify some of the best articles in TRE and republish them in a paperback volume. First, it could introduce a new audience to TRE, and second, it would allow those most-requested articles to see the light of day without people having to pay a lot of money to obtain out-of-print back issues of TRE.

Eventually I decided on two separate volumes, the first (Teach One Another Words of Wisdom: Selections from the Religious Educator; published February 2009) focusing on devotional and teaching articles, and the second (By Study and by Faith: Selections from the Religious Educator; published March 2009) focusing on doctrinal, historical, and scriptural content.

This second volume was released this past week. As is my tradition, I took the time to thumb through it, and when I was done about an hour later, I said out loud, “Wow! This is a great volume.” I was surprised at both the quality and quantity of excellent and thoughtful articles that had appeared in TRE over the years. Some of them have become classics, and this new publication will highlight others.

Elders David A. Bednar, D. Todd Christofferson, Jay E. Jensen, and Neil A. Maxwell have given us some things to consider. My colleagues Richard E. Bennett, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Kent P. Jackson, Frank F. Judd Jr., Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, Kerry Muhlestein, Paul H. Peterson, Dana M. Pike, David R. Seely, and Thomas A. Wayment have given us some thoughtful things to think about that will certainly expand our understanding of the things of God.

I am going to use some of these articles in my classes. For example, Kent P. Jackson, Frank E. Judd Jr., and David R. Seely have provided us a wonderful resource that every person who reads the King James Bible will certainly want to read, “Chapters, Verses, Punctuation, Spelling, and Italics in the King James Version” (203–30). This may be one of the most important helps any student of the KJV could read to help them understand the printed word. In the end, entering into dialogue with these authors can help us appreciate the scriptures and Restoration in new ways and, more importantly, inspire us to greater discipleship.