In 1835, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants was printed in Kirtland, Ohio. The first part of the volume consisted of the “doctrine” portion of the book, a collection of seven “Lectures on Faith,” prepared for the School of the Prophets in Kirtland. We believe these were largely the work of Sidney Rigdon, but Joseph Smith must certainly have contributed substantially to the project. The second portion was labeled “Covenants and Commandments” ("Cyfammodau a Gorchymynion"). It consisted primarily of revelations to Joseph Smith, including those initially intended for the Book of Commandments along with several additional sections. This constituted the Covenants section of the original Doctrine and Covenants.
The Lectures on Faith remained in the Doctrine and Covenants until 1921. They remain an important source for the church's teachings about faith, the Godhead, and the eternal possibilities of man. However, there are some teachings in the Lectures on Faith that must be reconsidered in light of subsequent revelation.
All early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants, including the 1845 Liverpool edition and the 1851 Welsh Athrawiaeth a Chyfammodau, included the Lectures on Faith. The texts in Word and PDF formats of the these editions are found in the following links.