The original 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, a book of LDS scripture, used code names for certain people and places. These names appear only in seven of the book's sections, mainly those dealing with the United Order (or United Firm). It is believed that their purpose was to avoid the use of these sections in lawsuits by opponents of the Church, since giving the real names might have provided evidence that the United Order was legally a company, with its members financially liable for each other and the whole Order.[1]
The substituted names appear in sections 78, 82, 92, 96, 103, 104, and 105. The earliest is dated 1 March 1832, the last is dated 22 June 1834. All except 103 and 105 were printed in the 1835 edition, and all seven appear in the editions published from 1844 to 1869 with the pseudonyms alone printed. In the 1876 and 1921 LDS editions, the real names were published in parentheses following the code names, and the 1981 LDS edition printed only the real names.[2] The Community of Christ edition still uses the code names, with a key to their identities suggested in the section headings.[3]