"Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments." — Doctrine and Covenants 1:17¹

In November 1831, Joseph Smith called a council to address concerns over publishing the revelations he had received. Despite opposition from some members, the council decided to publish the Book of Commandments to help spread the gospel and clarify church teachings.² William W. Phelps set up the church's printing office in Independence, Missouri, and began the work of printing the book.³ On July 20, 1833, hundreds of Missourians attacked Phelps’ print shop, destroying the building and scattering the unbound sheets of the Book of Commandments.⁴ Many of the pages were burned.⁵ Mary Elizabeth Rollins and her sister, Caroline, gathered up as many pages as they could and hid from the mob in a cornfield.⁶ A few copies of the Book of Commandments were bound from these pages and given out for personal use.⁴ These books had about 160 pages.⁷

1. Doctrine and Covenants 1

2. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 13, 140-143

3. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 14, 148

4. Historical Introduction, Book of Commandments, 1833, josephsmithpapers.org

5. “Book of Commandments,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 138

6. Saints, Volume 1, Chapter 16, 178-181

7. Source Note, Book of Commandments, 1833, josephsmithpapers.org