New Digital-Edition Of The Scriptures

The Church has just announced a new 2013 digital-edition of the scriptures.  Eight years of work have gone into the project.  I was eager to see just what had been done.  A side by side comparison of the 1981 and 2013 versions, demonstrating each change in the Doctrine and Covenants, and Official Declarations 1 and 2, is available here.  A summary of changes to the standard works can be found here. 

I read these documents last night and was happy to see some of the additions and deletions.  The majority of the changes to the D&C were to the section headings.  Where dates were incorrect, they were adjusted in the new addition.  Where further information has been made available through research done with the Joseph Smith Papers Project, additional context has been added for clarity.  

Though most of the changes are minor, some are helpful in understanding the text of the revelation that follows.  Reading both section headings for D&C 57 side by side made me laugh.  The additions to the D&C 85 section heading were insightful.  The deletion of the last sentence of the D&C 89 section heading was curious to me.  

Contextual introductions were provided for each of the Official Declarations.  A lot could be said about each of them.  The introduction of OD-2 was of interest to me.  The Church has included the fact that multiple black men were ordained to the priesthood during the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.  Additionally, one blatantly false statement was removed from the end of OD-1.  

The internet is a blessing to us when it is used to these ends.  The Church has gone to great lengths to present the changes in a clear manner.  I wonder how many members of the Church will become aware of what changes were made, and how many would be interested.