D&C 20 and the Book of Mormon

The Lord told Oliver Cowdery, “I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written; For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock” (D&C 18:3-4).  Those “things which are written” included first and foremost the Book of Mormon that he had been writing as a scribe.  Probably with this in mind, Oliver wrote a document entitled ‘Articles of the Church of Christ,’ and one source suggests that about half of it was taken from the Book of Mormon (Largey, Dennis L.. Doctrine and Covenants Reference Companion).   This document is regarded as a precursor to D&C 20: “both list the same instructions, ordinances, and covenants Oliver gleaned from the Book of Mormon.”  D&C 20 is certainly less reliant on the Book of Mormon than Oliver’s document, but we still see the strong influence of the Book of Mormon on the language of D&C 20.

               Moroni 2-6 in particular was quoted or paraphrased extensively in D&C 20.  One of the most obvious places is in the description of the ordinance of the sacrament found in Moroni 4-6.  Moroni recorded, “They did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying: O God, the Eternal Father….”  Section 20 reads similarly, “He shall kneel with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying: O God, the Eternal Father….”  The prayers themselves are nearly identical; the punctuation is slightly different and there is one rather inconsequential word that is changed between the two prayers on the bread: “keep his commandments which he hath given them” in the Book of Mormon was changed to “keep his commandments which he has given them” in the Doctrine and Covenants.  Another principle that is similar in section 20 to the Book of Mormon is about directing meetings.  Moroni recorded, “And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 6:9).  Section 20 says, “The elders are to conduct the meetings as they are led by the Holy Ghost, according to the commandments and revelations of God” (v45).  The Holy Ghost was similarly emphasized in the description of the ordaining of members to the Priesthood.  Moroni recorded, "And after this manner did they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings of God unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them" (Moroni 3:4).  Similarly, section 20 says, "Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in the one who ordains him" (v60).  Both texts emphasize that the “power of the Holy Ghost” is used in the ordaining.  The need to keep track of the names of the members was also highlighted in both.  Moroni recorded, "And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God" (Moroni 6:4). Section 20 similarly reads, "A regular list of all the names of the whole church may be kept in a book by one of the elders, whomsoever the other elders shall appoint from time to time" (v82).  Section 20 clearly reflects the importance of the Book of Mormon in understanding the initial organization of the Church.