Section 16
Overview
This text, originally given in March 1831 (known as Section 46 in modern editions of the Doctrine and Covenants), addresses early Mormon concerns regarding the conduct of church meetings and the manifestation of spiritual gifts. Historically, early Latter-day Saint gatherings in Kirtland, Ohio, experienced enthusiastic and sometimes chaotic spiritual manifestations, prompting Joseph Smith to seek regulatory revelation. The text establishes an open-door policy for public, sacrament, and confirmation meetings, explicitly forbidding the exclusion of earnest seekers, while maintaining that unrepentant members should not partake of the sacrament. The core of the revelation is a systematic theology of spiritual gifts, heavily mirroring the Apostle Paul's discourse in 1 Corinthians 12. It asserts that gifts are distributed by the Spirit so that all may profit, listing gifts such as knowledge of Christ, belief in others' testimonies, healing, miracles, prophecy, and tongues. Crucially, it introduces a hierarchical safeguard: the bishop and ordained elders are granted a specific, overarching gift to discern all other gifts, ensuring that false spirits or deceptive manifestations are identified and managed. Furthermore, it posits that a 'head' may possess all gifts. The text intertwines the reception of these gifts with conditional obedience ('keep all my commandments') and conditional salvation ('if they continue faithful'), diverging significantly from evangelical concepts of unmerited grace and eternal security.
Key Figures
- Jesus Christ: The divine voice of the revelation, identified as the Son of God crucified for the sins of the world, in whose name all things must be done.
- The Holy Spirit / Holy Ghost: The active agent who guides meetings, testifies of truth, and distributes diverse spiritual gifts to individuals.
- The Bishop: A specific priesthood office granted the unique spiritual gift to discern all other gifts to protect the church from deception.
- Elders: Church leaders commanded to conduct meetings by the Spirit and, alongside the bishop, ordained to watch over the church and discern gifts.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Distribution of Spiritual Gifts (Charismata)
Assertion
The Spirit of God gives various spiritual gifts to every man so that all may profit, including unique LDS additions like the gift to 'believe on their words'.
Evidence from Text
for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God... to others it is given to believe on their words
Evangelical Comparison
This doctrine closely parallels 1 Corinthians 12, affirming that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts such as healing, miracles, prophecy, and tongues for the edification of the body. However, it diverges from evangelical theology in two key ways. First, it introduces novel gifts not found in the biblical canon, such as the gift to 'believe on their words' (referring to believing the testimony of church leaders). Second, verse 4 explicitly conditions the reception and benefit of these gifts on human performance: 'they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments.' In evangelical theology, while unconfessed sin can grieve the Spirit, charismata are distributed by God's sovereign grace (Sola Gratia), not earned through perfect commandment-keeping.
Hierarchical Discernment
Assertion
The bishop and ordained elders possess a specific, overarching spiritual gift to discern all other gifts to prevent deception in the church.
Evidence from Text
And unto the bishop of the church, and unto such as God shall appoint and ordain... are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts, lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God.
Evangelical Comparison
In evangelical ecclesiology, the 'discerning of spirits' is a gift distributed among the body, but the responsibility to 'test the spirits' (1 John 4:1) and evaluate prophecy belongs to the entire congregation using the objective standard of the closed biblical canon (Acts 17:11). This text shifts the locus of epistemological certainty from the Word of God to the institutional hierarchy. By granting the bishop an exclusive, institutional gift to validate or invalidate the spiritual experiences of the laity, it violates the doctrine of the Universal Priesthood and subjugates the Holy Spirit's manifestations to human priesthood authority.
Conditional Eternal Life
Assertion
Eternal life is granted to those who believe, contingent upon their continuous faithfulness.
Evidence from Text
to others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life, if they continue faithful.
Evangelical Comparison
The phrase 'if they continue faithful' introduces a works-righteousness paradigm that is fundamentally incompatible with the evangelical doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone (Sola Fide). In evangelical theology, eternal life is a present, irrevocable possession granted the moment a person believes (John 5:24, Romans 8:1). While true faith inevitably produces good works (James 2), the works themselves—or the 'continuing faithful'—are not the meritorious condition for retaining eternal life. This text places the burden of maintaining salvation squarely on the believer's performance.
Sacramental Worthiness
Assertion
Members who have trespassed are forbidden from partaking of the sacrament until they have made reconciliation.
Evidence from Text
nevertheless, if any have trespassed, let him not partake until he makes reconciliation.
Evangelical Comparison
This aligns conceptually with 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, where Paul warns against partaking of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner. Both traditions require self-examination and repentance. However, the theological gap emerges in application: in evangelicalism, this reconciliation is primarily between the individual and God (and the offended party), whereas in Mormonism, 'reconciliation' for serious trespasses requires confession to and absolution from the very bishop mentioned later in this text, acting as a necessary mediator.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text shifts the locus of spiritual discernment from the Word of God and the universal priesthood to a specific hierarchical office (the Bishop). It also conditions eternal life on continuous faithfulness rather than the finished work of Christ.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The primary theological gap lies in ecclesiology and soteriology. While the text borrows heavily from Pauline pneumatology (1 Corinthians 12), it centralizes the charismata under a rigid hierarchical structure. In evangelical theology, the discernment of spirits is a gift distributed within the body, but all believers are commanded to 'test the spirits' (1 John 4:1) using the objective standard of Scripture. Here, the Bishop and elders are granted an exclusive, institutional gift of discernment to police the other gifts, effectively subjugating the Holy Spirit's manifestations to priesthood authority. Furthermore, the text explicitly conditions eternal life on human perseverance ('if they continue faithful') and restricts the benefit of spiritual gifts to those who 'keep all my commandments.' This introduces a works-righteousness paradigm that directly contradicts Sola Fide and the evangelical understanding of justification as a definitive, unrepeatable legal declaration by God (Romans 3:28, 8:1).
For All Ages
Imagine you have a rulebook (the Bible) that tells everyone how to spot a fake dollar bill. In this text, instead of everyone using the rulebook, only the bank manager (the Bishop) is given a special magic power to know if the bill is fake. Also, the Bible says God gives us eternal life as a free gift because of what Jesus did. This text says you only get to keep that gift if you keep being good and faithful.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
Introduces new revelation to regulate church practice and adds non-biblical spiritual gifts.
Sola Fide
Conditions eternal life on 'continuing faithful' and the benefit of gifts on keeping 'all my commandments'.
Universal Priesthood
Grants the bishop an exclusive, institutional gift to discern all other gifts, placing him as a mediator of spiritual truth.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Sacrament"
In This Text
The ordinance of bread and water, administered by priesthood authority, from which trespassers are excluded until reconciled.
In Evangelicalism
The Lord's Supper (Communion), an ordinance instituted by Christ to remember His death, open to all baptized believers who examine themselves, not requiring mediation by a hierarchical priest.
"Eternal Life"
In This Text
A conditional state achieved by believing and 'continuing faithful'.
In Evangelicalism
A present, secure possession granted immediately upon faith in Christ (John 5:24).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Referred to as 'salvation' (v. 3) and 'eternal life' (v. 5).
How Attained: By believing on the words of those who know Christ, and by continuing faithful.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is conditional, based on walking uprightly, keeping all commandments, and practicing virtue continually.
Comparison to Sola Fide: Directly contradicts Sola Fide. Verse 5 states eternal life is granted 'if they continue faithful,' and verse 4 limits the benefit of gifts to those who 'keep all my commandments.' Justification by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9) offers assurance based on Christ's perfect faithfulness, not the believer's continuous, imperfect performance.
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Hearken, O ye people of my church
- Conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit
- Never cast any one out from your public meetings
- Not to cast any one, who belongeth to the church, out of your sacrament meetings
- Let him not partake until he makes reconciliation (if trespassed)
- Ye shall not cast any one out of your sacrament meetings, who is earnestly seeking the kingdom
- Ye shall not cast them out (of confirmation meetings)
- Ask of God who giveth liberally
- Do in all holiness of heart
- Walking uprightly before me
- Considering the end of your salvation
- Doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving
- Beware lest ye are deceived
- Seek ye earnestly the best gifts
- Always remembering for what they are given
- Always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are
- Ask in spirit
- All things must be done in the name of Christ
- Ye must give thanks unto God in the spirit
- Ye must practice virtue and holiness before me continually
Implicit Obligations
- Submit to the bishop and elders' judgment regarding the validity of spiritual manifestations
- Maintain continuous faithfulness to secure eternal life
- Keep all commandments to qualify for the benefit of spiritual gifts
Ritual Requirements
- Sacrament meetings (partaking of the Lord's Supper)
- Confirmation meetings (laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost)
- Reconciliation (repentance/confession) prior to partaking of the sacrament if one has trespassed
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- How do you personally know if a spiritual manifestation is truly from God versus a deception?
- When verse 5 says we have eternal life 'if we continue faithful,' how faithful is faithful enough to have absolute assurance of your salvation today?
- Why do you think the gift of discernment was specifically given to the bishop in this text, rather than relying on the scriptures to test the spirits as the Bereans did in Acts 17?
- If the gifts are given for the benefit of those who 'keep all my commandments' (v. 4), what happens when we inevitably fall short?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The desire for authentic spiritual experience and the fear of deception.
Evangelicals also deeply value the genuine work of the Holy Spirit and warn against deception. We can bridge this by showing that God has not left us vulnerable; He gave us the ultimate, unchanging safeguard against deception—the Bible. We don't need to rely on a human bishop's subjective discernment when we have the objective Word authored by the Spirit Himself.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text explicitly demands that believers 'keep all my commandments' (v. 4) to benefit from spiritual gifts and 'continue faithful' (v. 5) to have eternal life. It ends with a mandate to 'practice virtue and holiness before me continually' (v. 9). This places an immense, crushing burden of perfectionism on the adherent, as there is no grace articulated for when they inevitably fail to be 'continual' in their holiness.
Because the ultimate discernment of spiritual truth is locked behind the office of the Bishop, the individual believer cannot have absolute confidence in their own spiritual experiences or reading of Scripture. They must constantly look to the hierarchy to validate their standing and their spiritual reality.