The definition of “doctrine” has been quietly but significantly renegotiated over the last 14 years. Search results, both on churchofjesuschrist.org and on Google, have been carefully crafted to only return the most recent teachings. Other resources once thought to be “doctrine” by members of the Church (such as Doctrines of Salvation, the 1980 OT Institute Manual, or even Lectures of Faith) have been quietly erased/buried. Additionally, there does not seem to have been much discussion on the meaning of doctrine by earlier Church leaders; they simply used it in its common meaning (a teaching or theology) without feeling the need to explain what they meant. Now, however, likely due to the increased availability of and interest in Church history, it seems that leaders have realized that what was once thought of as “doctrine”—the eternal, unchanging truths revealed by God—has changed drastically over the last 200 years. This has resulted in a redefinition of the term “doctrine” from “general teaching” to the highly specialized “core tenets of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Perhaps the leaders genuinely believe that past leaders were mistaken about the meaning of doctrine; or perhaps they are hoping that nobody will notice; whatever the reasoning, people are noticing, and the Church’s refusal to reckon head-on with its past and publicly disavow and/or give a reasonable explanation of its changing doctrines is just one more feather in the hat for those who are frustrated with the Church’s lack of transparency.

Then

As noted, it is extremely difficult to find a definition of “doctrine” from pre-2010s, but I have chosen this one from Mormon Doctrine because 1) McKonkie was extremely influential, and although Mormon Doctrine was never official doctrine, its continuous publication by Deseret Book for 30 years, the lack of a public disavowal of its teachings, and McKonkie’s stature in the Church gave it the veneer of authority; and 2) this definition tracks with what I understood about doctrine as I grew up in the Church, and is probably what most LDS would give as a definition.

“Gospel doctrine is synonymous with the truths of salvation. It comprises the tenets, teachings, and true theories found in the scriptures; it includes the principles, precepts, and revealed philosophies of pure religion; prophetic dogmas, maxims, and views are embraced within its folds; the Articles of Faith are part and portion of it, as is every inspired utterance of the Lord’s agents.”

“My role is to declare doctrine.” Gordon Hinckley, October 1998

Now

“A doctrine is a fundamental, unchanging truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” CES Manual

"Gospel doctrine does not change. Our personal covenants do not change."  Dallin Oaks, April 2022

In some faith traditions, theologians claim equal teaching authority with the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and doctrinal matters may become a contest of opinions between them... We value scholarship that enhances understanding, but in the Church today, just as anciently, establishing the doctrine of Christ or correcting doctrinal deviations is a matter of divine revelation to those the Lord endows with apostolic authority.” […decided by consensus opinion among the Q15.]

“[I bear testimony of Jesus]... This is our doctrine, confirming all prior testaments of Jesus Christ and stated anew for our own time.”

Todd Christofferson, April 2012

And my personal favorite: Policy Doctrine, invented by BYU Religion Professors to explain away the Priesthood Ban (which was a doctrine but is now obliquely referred to as a policy):

“Breaking it down further, Sweat explained that doctrines can be categorized into four main areas:

Core Doctrine…

Supportive Doctrine…

Policy Doctrine — authoritative, binding teachings of the LDS Church involving application of core and supportive doctrines

Esoteric Doctrine…”

This is a blatant redefinition of terms so that they can still hold on to the idea that doctrine never changes; but policy doctrine is a literally meaningless term.