Section 70
Overview
Given in August 1831, this text (which corresponds to Section 60 in the modern LDS Doctrine and Covenants) addresses a group of Mormon elders preparing to return to Ohio after dedicating the land of Zion in Independence, Missouri. The revelation serves as both a logistical itinerary and a sharp spiritual rebuke. The Lord expresses displeasure with certain elders who have failed to preach the Mormon message due to the 'fear of man,' warning that His anger is kindled against them and threatening the removal of their spiritual gifts if they do not improve. The text outlines specific travel routes, directing Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Oliver Cowdery to Cincinnati to preach, while others are to travel two-by-two from St. Louis. Financial instructions are given regarding Bishop Edward Partridge funding the journey. Theologically, the text intertwines the forgiveness of sins with the active performance of missionary work. Most notably, it introduces a unique ritualistic mandate: elders are commanded to 'shake off the dust' of their feet and 'wash their feet' as a secret testimony of judgment against those who reject them, repurposing biblical imagery into a covert ordinance of condemnation for the Day of Judgment.
Key Figures
- The Lord: The claimed divine author of the text, who expresses anger at unfaithful missionaries, dictates travel plans, and promises forgiveness of sins.
- Joseph Smith, Jr.: The prophet and mouthpiece through whom the revelation is given, and who is commanded to travel to Cincinnati to preach.
- Sidney Rigdon: A prominent early Mormon leader commanded to accompany Joseph Smith to Cincinnati to declare the word.
- Oliver Cowdery: The 'Second Elder' of the church, commanded to travel and preach with Joseph and Sidney.
- Edward Partridge: The first presiding bishop of the church, commanded to impart money to fund the elders' return journey.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Conditional Standing and Divine Wrath for Inaction
Assertion
God's anger is kindled against believers who fail to evangelize due to fear, and they will lose what they have if they do not become more faithful.
Evidence from Text
with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have
Evangelical Comparison
In this text, God's disposition toward the believer is highly conditional and performance-based. The 'fear of man' and subsequent failure to preach kindles God's 'anger' and results in a 'Wo' (a pronouncement of doom or deep sorrow) against the believer. This contrasts sharply with the Evangelical understanding of justification and adoption. In Evangelical theology, based on Romans 8:1 ('There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'), a believer's failure to evangelize may result in a loss of eternal rewards or fatherly discipline, but it does not kindle God's wrath against them, because Christ has fully absorbed God's wrath on the cross (1 John 2:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The text places a heavy burden of works-righteousness on the believer to maintain God's pleasure.
Ritualistic Condemnation (Secret Foot Washing)
Assertion
Missionaries are to perform a secret ritual of shaking off dust and washing their feet as a binding testimony of judgment against those who reject their message.
Evidence from Text
shake off the dust of thy feet against those who receive thee not, not in their presence, lest thou provoke them, but in secret, and wash thy feet as a testimony against them in the day of judgment.
Evangelical Comparison
This text introduces a severe distortion of two distinct biblical concepts. In the New Testament, Jesus commanded His apostles to 'shake off the dust' of their feet (Matthew 10:14) as a public, prophetic sign to Jewish towns that they were rejecting their Messiah, effectively treating the town as Gentile territory. Foot-washing (John 13:1-17) was demonstrated by Jesus as the ultimate act of humble, self-sacrificial service and love. This Mormon text conflates and twists these into a covert ritual ('in secret, lest thou provoke them') where foot-washing becomes a weaponized 'testimony against them in the day of judgment.' Evangelical theology rejects the idea that believers possess the authority to perform secret rituals that bind eternal judgment upon unbelievers, emphasizing instead that judgment belongs solely to Christ (John 5:22) and that believers are called to love and pray for their enemies (Matthew 5:44).
Continuous Prophetic Revelation
Assertion
God continues to give binding, authoritative revelation and logistical commands through the mouth of Joseph Smith.
Evidence from Text
And by the mouth of my servant Joseph Smith, jr. it shall be made known concerning Sidney Ridgon and Oliver Cowdery, the residue hereafter; even so. Amen.
Evangelical Comparison
The text explicitly establishes Joseph Smith as the ongoing conduit for divine revelation. The phrase 'by the mouth of my servant Joseph Smith, jr. it shall be made known' asserts that God's voice is actively and exclusively channeled through this specific individual for the governance of the church. This violates the Evangelical pillar of Sola Scriptura, which maintains that the 66 books of the Bible are the final, complete, and sufficient revelation of God to humanity (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Jude 1:3, Hebrews 1:1-2). Evangelicals reject the concept of an open canon or a modern prophetic office that adds binding scripture or doctrine to the church.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text diverges fundamentally from Evangelicalism by establishing an open canon through Joseph Smith, conditioning God's favor on missionary performance, and instituting a secret ritual of condemnation against unbelievers.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The theological gap between this text and Evangelical Christianity is profound, centering on authority, justification, and the nature of Christian witness. First, the text violates Sola Scriptura by asserting that God is actively dictating new, binding commandments through Joseph Smith. This establishes a paradigm of continuous revelation that undermines the sufficiency and finality of the biblical canon. Second, the text violates Sola Fide and Sola Gratia by portraying God's favor as highly conditional. The Lord's 'anger is kindled' against believers who struggle with the 'fear of man,' threatening to take away their spiritual standing. This creates a works-righteousness paradigm where justification and divine approval must be maintained through relentless evangelistic performance, directly contradicting Romans 8:1 and Ephesians 2:8-9. Finally, the text introduces a deeply unbiblical practice by commanding missionaries to perform a secret ritual of washing their feet as a 'testimony against them in the day of judgment.' This weaponizes a biblical symbol of humble service (John 13) into a covert ordinance of condemnation, violating the New Testament ethic of enemy-love (Matthew 5:44) and usurping Christ's exclusive role as Judge (John 5:22).
For All Ages
Imagine you have a completed puzzle, and that puzzle is the Bible. Evangelical Christians believe the puzzle is finished and shows us exactly how to be saved. This text says the puzzle isn't done, and Joseph Smith has new pieces that God is giving him right now. Also, the text says that if you don't do your chores—like going out and preaching to people—God gets very angry with you and might take away your blessings. The Bible teaches something different: God loves us and forgives us simply because we trust in Jesus, not because we do a perfect job at preaching. Finally, this text tells missionaries to do a secret foot-washing ritual to curse people who don't listen to them, but Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for them, not curse them in secret.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
Claims new, binding divine revelation through a modern prophet, adding to the canon of Scripture.
Sola Fide / Sola Gratia
Conditions God's pleasure and the retention of spiritual gifts on the successful performance of missionary work, threatening divine wrath for failure.
Christology / Final Judgment
Grants mere men the authority to perform secret rituals (foot washing) that act as binding testimonies of condemnation for the Day of Judgment.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"The Word / My Gospel"
In This Text
The specific teachings, revelations, and authority claims of the newly formed Mormon church.
In Evangelicalism
The good news of Jesus Christ's sinless life, substitutionary death, and resurrection for the justification of sinners by faith alone (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
"The Wicked"
In This Text
Non-Mormons; specifically, the general population of the United States who have not accepted the Mormon message.
In Evangelicalism
All humanity in their unregenerate state before God, prior to salvation through Christ (Romans 3:10-12).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: In this specific text, salvation is framed as being made 'holy' and having 'sins forgiven' (v. 2), as well as escaping the 'anger' of the Lord.
How Attained: Forgiveness and holiness are promised by the Lord, but they are contextually linked to obedience—specifically, the command for Joseph, Sidney, and Oliver to go to Cincinnati and preach.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is fragile; it is based on continuous obedience and overcoming the 'fear of man.' If one hides their talent, God's anger is kindled and their standing can be 'taken away.'
Comparison to Sola Fide: The text stands in opposition to Sola Fide. While it states 'I am able to make you holy, and your sins are forgiven you,' this is spoken to specific leaders in the context of their obedience to a new command. For the rest, the threat of God's wrath for failing to preach (v. 1-2) nullifies the concept of resting in the finished work of Christ (Romans 4:4-5).
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Return speedily to the land from whence they came.
- Make or buy a craft (boat) for the journey.
- Take the journey speedily to St. Louis.
- Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith Jr., and Oliver Cowdery must journey to Cincinnati.
- Lift up their voice and declare the word with loud voices in Cincinnati.
- Preach without wrath or doubting.
- Lift up holy hands upon the people.
- The residue (remaining elders) must journey from St. Louis two by two.
- Preach the word among the congregations of the wicked (non-Mormons).
- Do not preach in haste.
- Edward Partridge must impart a portion of money to the returning elders.
- Elders who are able must return the money by way of the agent.
- Thou shalt not idle away thy time.
- Thou shalt not bury thy talent.
- Speedily return proclaiming the word after arriving in Zion.
- Do not preach in wrath nor with strife.
- Shake off the dust of thy feet against those who receive thee not.
- Perform the shaking of dust in secret, not in their presence.
- Wash thy feet as a testimony against them in the day of judgment.
Implicit Obligations
- Submit to the authority and ongoing revelations of Joseph Smith.
- Overcome the 'fear of man' through sheer willpower and obedience to avoid God's wrath.
- View non-Mormon congregations as 'the wicked'.
Ritual Requirements
- Secretly shaking off the dust of the feet against those who reject the Mormon message.
- Secretly washing feet as a binding testimony of judgment against rejecters.
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- When you read verse 1, how does it make you feel to know that God's anger is kindled against missionaries who struggle with the fear of man?
- In the New Testament, Jesus washed the disciples' feet as a symbol of ultimate love and service. How do you reconcile that with verse 4, where foot-washing is used as a secret testimony of judgment against people?
- If our sins are forgiven completely by Christ's sacrifice, why would God threaten to take away our standing if we don't preach enough?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The desire for holiness and forgiveness
The text rightly identifies that only God is able to make a person holy and forgive sins. We can agree with our LDS friends on this deep need. The bridge is discussing *how* that happens—not through our successful missionary journeys to Cincinnati, but entirely through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The believer is bound to the absolute authority of a human leader (Joseph Smith) for ongoing, logistical, and spiritual directives, creating a dependency on the institution rather than the Holy Spirit.
The text explicitly states that God's anger is kindled against those who do not perform their preaching duties adequately. This places a crushing burden on the believer to constantly produce results to maintain God's favor.
The threat that 'it shall be taken away, even that which they have' instills a deep-seated fear of losing one's spiritual standing or salvation due to moments of human weakness (the 'fear of man').
By labeling non-Mormons as 'the wicked' and instituting secret rituals of judgment against them, the text fosters a profound psychological barrier between the believer and the outside world.