Section 101
Overview
Doctrine and Covenants Section 101 (1835 edition) serves as the early Mormon church's official declaration on marriage. Historically, it was presented to the church assembly by Oliver Cowdery while Joseph Smith was away, but it was canonized and published in the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants under Smith's prophetic authority. The text outlines the liturgical requirements for a Mormon wedding, including the necessity of a public gathering, the specific positioning of the bride and groom, the exact vows to be exchanged, and the requirement that an ordained priesthood holder (or other legal authority) officiate. It establishes that marrying outside the faith, while permitted, is a sign of spiritual weakness. Furthermore, it sets boundaries on evangelism within households, forbidding the baptism of wives or children without the consent of the husband or parents. Most significantly for textual and historical criticism, Verse 4 contains a vehement denial of polygamy, stating unequivocally that 'one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband.' This section was later removed from the Doctrine and Covenants in 1876 by Brigham Young and replaced with what is now D&C 132, which authorized and mandated plural marriage, creating a profound historical and theological friction point regarding the immutability of Mormon scripture and prophetic integrity.
Key Figures
- Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Invoked as the authority under whose name marriages are pronounced and whose faith adherents are measured against.
- Presiding High Priest, High Priest, Bishop, Elder, or Priest: The specific hierarchical priesthood offices authorized to solemnize marriages.
- Husbands and Parents: Established as the authoritative heads of their households, whose consent is required before wives or children can be baptized into the church.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Strict Monogamy
Assertion
Marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman, explicitly denying and condemning the practice of polygamy.
Evidence from Text
Inasmuch as this church of Christ has been reproached with the crime of fornication, and polygamy: we declare that we believe, that one man should have one wife; and one woman, but one husband, except in case of death...
Evangelical Comparison
In this specific text, the doctrine of marriage aligns with the traditional, biblical, and Evangelical understanding of monogamy as established in Genesis 2:24 and reaffirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:4-6. The text explicitly labels polygamy as a 'reproach' alongside 'fornication.' However, from an apologetic and comparative standpoint, this text creates massive internal friction within Mormonism, as it was secretly being violated by early church leaders at the time of its publication and was eventually decanonized to make way for D&C 132, which commands plural marriage. Evangelicals view marriage as a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, making this 1835 text biblically accurate but historically problematic for LDS truth claims.
Hierarchical Priesthood Authority
Assertion
Marriages within the church should ideally be solemnized by specific, tiered priesthood offices.
Evidence from Text
...the solemnization should be performed by a presiding high priest, high priest, bishop, elder, or priest...
Evangelical Comparison
The text lists specific offices (presiding high priest, high priest, bishop, elder, priest) that hold the authority to solemnize religious rites. While Evangelicalism recognizes pastoral leadership and civil authority in marriage, it rejects the concept of a restored Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood operating in a hierarchical fashion. According to 1 Peter 2:9 and Hebrews 7-10, Christ is the final High Priest, and all believers constitute a holy priesthood. The requirement of specific LDS priesthood keys for valid spiritual ordinances is a significant departure from Sola Scriptura and the sufficiency of Christ's mediation.
Household Headship and Consent
Assertion
Wives and children cannot be lawfully or justly baptized into the church without the explicit consent of the husband or parents.
Evidence from Text
It is not right to persuade a woman to be baptized contrary to the will of her husband... All children are bound by law to obey their parents; and to influence them to embrace any religious faith, or be baptized... without their consent, is unlawful and unjust.
Evangelical Comparison
The text places a hard boundary on evangelism and conversion, subordinating a woman's or child's ability to be baptized to the will of the husband or parents. While Evangelical Christianity highly values parental authority (Ephesians 6:1) and marital harmony (1 Peter 3:1-2), it fundamentally asserts that the call of the Gospel demands individual response. Jesus explicitly taught that faith in Him might cause division within households (Matthew 10:34-37). In Evangelical theology, a person's primary allegiance is to Christ; therefore, an adult woman or a child of age to understand the Gospel does not need a human mediator's permission to follow Christ in baptism.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
While the moral definition of marriage in this specific text aligns with Evangelicalism, the underlying ecclesiology (priesthood hierarchy) and the historical reality of the text's later decanonization reveal a fundamental gap in how scripture and prophetic authority are viewed.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The theological gap here is less about the immediate moral content of the text and more about the nature of scripture, truth, and prophetic authority. In Evangelical theology, grounded in Sola Scriptura, the Word of God is immutable, breathed out by God, and cannot contradict itself (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:18). This 1835 text explicitly condemns polygamy and establishes strict monogamy as the law of the LDS church. However, historical evidence confirms that the author/approver (Joseph Smith) was secretly engaging in plural marriage at this time. Furthermore, the LDS Church later removed this section entirely from their canon in 1876, replacing it with Section 132, which claims that God commands plural marriage and threatens destruction for those who reject it. This creates an irreconcilable epistemological gap: Evangelicalism relies on a God who does not author confusion or deceit, whereas the history of this text requires adherents to accept that God either changed His mind drastically, or that His prophets used canonized scripture to publicly deceive the world about their private practices. Additionally, the text's reliance on a restored, hierarchical priesthood to validate the marriage ordinance conflicts with the biblical doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers.
For All Ages
Imagine if a club made a very strict rulebook, and Chapter 10 said, 'We promise we only eat one cookie a day, and anyone who says we eat more is lying!' But secretly, the leader of the club was eating ten cookies a day. Years later, the club took Chapter 10 out of the rulebook and put in a new rule that said, 'You MUST eat ten cookies a day.' As Christians, we believe God's Word, the Bible, never changes and God doesn't lie. But this text shows that the early Mormon leaders wrote a rule they were secretly breaking, and later changed their scripture to fit what they were doing.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura / Immutability of God's Word
The text was canonized as scripture, then later decanonized and replaced with a contradictory revelation (D&C 132) regarding polygamy.
Universal Priesthood
Requires specific hierarchical priesthood offices to officiate spiritual rites.
Sola Fide / Individual Soul Liberty
Subordinates an individual's ability to respond to the Gospel (baptism) to the permission of a human mediator (husband or parent).
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Priest / High Priest"
In This Text
Specific offices within the restored Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood hierarchies required to officiate ordinances.
In Evangelicalism
In the Old Testament, a mediator between God and man. In the New Testament, Christ is the final High Priest, and all believers are part of a 'royal priesthood' (1 Peter 2:9).
"Covenants"
In This Text
Specific, conditional promises made during ordinances that must be fulfilled to maintain standing or achieve exaltation.
In Evangelicalism
A binding agreement, primarily referring to God's unilateral promises to His people (New Covenant in Christ's blood) which secures salvation by grace.
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Not explicitly defined in this text, though it mentions answering for the 'sin' of preventing others from embracing the truth.
How Attained: Implies that 'embracing the truth' and being 'baptized' are necessary steps, which aligns with LDS works-based soteriology.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is tied to keeping covenants ('fulfill your covenants from henceforth and forever') and remaining strong in the faith (not marrying outside the church).
Comparison to Sola Fide: While not a primary soteriological text, the warning that marrying outside the church makes one 'weak in the faith' and the emphasis on fulfilling covenants points toward a performance-based standing before God, contrasting with justification by faith alone (Romans 4:5).
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Solemnize marriages in a public meeting or feast.
- The clerk of every church must keep a record of all marriages solemnized in his branch.
- Hold sacred and fulfill all legal contracts of marriage made before baptism.
- One man should have one wife, and one woman but one husband (except in case of death).
- Do not persuade a woman to be baptized contrary to the will of her husband.
- Do not influence a woman to leave her husband.
- Children must obey their parents.
- Do not influence children to embrace a faith, be baptized, or leave parents without parental consent.
Implicit Obligations
- Members are expected to marry within the church; failing to do so marks them as 'weak in the faith'.
- Husbands and parents are expected to exercise spiritual gatekeeping over their households.
- Those who exercise control over others must not prevent them from embracing the truth, lest they answer for that sin.
Ritual Requirements
- Marriage must be celebrated with prayer and thanksgiving.
- The man must stand on the right, and the woman on the left.
- The officiant must address the couple as directed by the Holy Spirit.
- The officiant must call each by their names.
- The couple must agree to the specific vow: 'keeping yourselves wholly for each other, and from all others, during your lives.'
- The couple must answer 'Yes'.
- The officiant must pronounce them husband and wife in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The officiant must pronounce a specific blessing: 'may God add his blessings and keep you to fulfill your covenants from henceforth and forever. Amen.'
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- I was reading through some of the original 1835 Doctrine and Covenants and found Section 101 on marriage. It says very clearly that one man should have one wife. Why do you think this section was removed from the D&C in 1876?
- How do you reconcile the strong denial of polygamy in this 1835 text with the historical fact that Joseph Smith and others were practicing it during this time?
- If a canonized scripture can be completely removed and replaced with its exact opposite (like D&C 132), how can we have confidence in the permanence of God's truth?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The Vow of Exclusivity
This beautiful picture of marital exclusivity is exactly how God views His relationship with His people. Just as a husband and wife forsake all others, Christ asks us to forsake our own works and false gods, trusting wholly in Him for salvation.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
For an LDS member studying church history, discovering that their canonized scripture was used as a deliberate public cover-up for secret polygamy creates severe cognitive dissonance and a crisis of trust in prophetic authority.
If scripture can be added, completely reversed, and deleted based on the shifting behaviors of church leadership, the believer has no solid foundation for knowing what God actually requires of them today.
The mandate that wives and children cannot be baptized without the husband's/parent's consent places the spiritual destiny of the individual in the hands of a human gatekeeper, potentially causing spiritual anxiety for those in unequally yoked households.