Doctrine and Covenant Gems is a book organized primarily to facilitate a reader's ease in identifying and enjoying the sacred and remarkable revelations recorded in the book Doctrine and Covenants, which the prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. received during the restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ during the early 1800's. This restoration had for centuries been prophesied to take place in the latter days. Doctrine and Covenant Gems follows the original 138 sections, and provides a chronological arrangement of the remarkable revelations of principles, truths, doctrines, proclamations, priesthood keys and authority restored at that time. Each section includes the date, location and circumstances associated with the revelation received. Revelations recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, in the summarizing words of the 1981 Church-authorized edition, include "the nature of the Godhead, the origin of man, the reality of Satan, the purpose of mortality, the necessity of obedience, the need for repentance, the workings of the Holy Spirit, the ordinances and performances that pertain to salvation, the destiny of the earth, the future condition of man after the resurrection and the judgment, the eternity of the marriage relationship, and the eternal nature of the family". Doctrine and Covenant Gems carefully identifies and polishes each scriptural gem in facilitating a reader's ready grasp of the truths therein. It follows the same system used in the 1981 church-authorized publication in, identifying the individual subjects addressed in each section.
The book in no way proposes to replace the value of a person's reading and enjoying the Doctrine and Covenants in its full text. Apology is rendered for any errors or valued scriptural oversights. What makes Doctrine and Covenant Gems particularly valuable in a person's reading about the restoration of the Gospel is the clarity it offers in focusing on just the pertinent scriptural truths found in the Doctrine and Covenants without having to read as well the sometimes more voluminous circumstantial history and extraneous writing experienced in various sections of the original scriptural document itself.