What is the Doctrine and Covenants? What is it not?
Sometimes we like to have everything spelled out for us. We want to see the end from the beginning; this is natural, since this is the way God sees and we, consciously or unconsciously, want to be like Him. Yet our spiritual development prevents this. We must have milk before meat, we must learn here a little, there a little, bit by bit for all of eternity until we know all and are like Him.
So it should come as no surprise that this is precisely the way the Lord gives us knowledge. Rather than dumping huge amounts of knowledge on us, or presenting us with the whole picture, he lets us digest each small bit before proceeding to the next one.
To answer the question above, the Doctrine and Covenants is a volume of scripture which captures exactly this phenomenon. It is not an attempt to paint a philosophically complete theology, nor is it an attempt by the Lord to educate the Saints in everything they need to know. It does not correct all the errors in which we believe, nor is it a definitive summary of the entire gospel. Like the Epistles of the New Testament, or the many prophetic histories and testimonies of the Old Testament, the Doctrine and Covenants is nothing more or less than a list of what God said, rather than an analysis or synopsis of His Word.
In a very real sense, the Doctrine and Covenants is a written recording of a stream of revelation. It is not an ocean of knowledge; rather, it is evidence of the Fountain that can accompany us should we accept Him. The knowledge that these revelations give us is important, but perhaps just as important is the way in which that knowledge is given.
Only after the Saints decided to write and publish the Book of Commandments was a preface given. Only after Brother Joseph started to question the wisdom of certain substances was the Word of Wisdom given. Only after the temple in Kirtland was dedicated did the Lord descend and be seen on the breastwork of the pulpit. Little by little, the revelations came as the Saints needed and asked for them. This was not the Lord granting the Saints a supermarket from which they could choose what to eat; rather, it was Him granting them their daily bread.
Those looking for the Lord to give them the infinitely complex gospel wholesale will be disappointed. This is because learning the gospel isn't something that can be done in a day or in a classroom; instead, it is learned as one learns to ride a bike: with practice, dedication, and repetition. Only by living the gospel can you truly learn it.
Thus, when the Lord gives us further light and knowledge we may have to wait many days before He tries again. Even then, we still yet have no other answer than, "I know not, save the Lord commanded me," as Adam did. And, as Adam did, we may yet then learn the purposes of God. What we learn is dependent on how hard we work to conform to God's will.
Yet that light and knowledge will come; that revelation will be given. All we need to do is use the knowledge we have, and little by little, step by step, keep on the path the Lord has given us.
