Section 88
Overview
Received in April 1832, this revelation (known as Section 88 in the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants and Section 83 in the modern LDS edition) addresses pressing administrative and socio-economic issues within the early Mormon community. At the time, Joseph Smith was navigating the complexities of the 'Law of Consecration' and the United Firm in Missouri and Ohio. A practical problem had arisen: what happens to the wives and children of men who die, or more contentiously, men who apostatize and leave the church? The text establishes a proto-welfare system, declaring that women and children have a primary claim on their husbands and parents for financial maintenance. If the primary provider is lost or unable to provide, dependents have a claim upon the church's 'storehouse.' Crucially, the text draws a sharp distinction between ecclesiastical standing and legal property rights. It dictates that church 'fellowship' is strictly conditional upon a member being 'faithful' and not a 'transgressor.' However, even if a woman loses her fellowship due to unfaithfulness, the church acknowledges her right to remain upon her physical property ('inheritances') according to the secular 'laws of the land.' This text serves as a foundational document for the modern Latter-day Saint welfare system, intertwining divine mandate with practical property law and institutional discipline.
Key Figures
- The Lord: The claimed divine author and speaker of the revelation, asserting authority over church law and property.
- Women/Widows: Identified as a vulnerable class with a divine right to financial maintenance from their husbands or the church.
- Children/Orphans: Identified as dependents with a right to support from parents until of age, and thereafter from the church if necessary.
- Husbands/Fathers: The primary individuals held responsible for the financial maintenance of their families.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Conditional Church Fellowship
Assertion
Church fellowship is strictly contingent upon a member remaining faithful and not being found a transgressor.
Evidence from Text
if they are not found transgressors they shall have fellowship in the church, and if they are not faithful, they shall not have fellowship in the church
Evangelical Comparison
In Evangelical Christianity, church discipline is a biblical mandate (Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5) designed for the restoration of a believer caught in unrepentant sin. However, a believer's ultimate standing before God is secured by the finished work of Christ (Sola Fide), not by their behavioral perfection. True spiritual fellowship is established by the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7). In contrast, this text explicitly conditions 'fellowship in the church' on being 'faithful' and not being 'found transgressors.' In the broader context of Mormon theology, losing church fellowship (through disfellowshipment or excommunication) severs an individual from saving ordinances and temple covenants, directly impacting their eternal trajectory. This creates a paradigm where institutional standing and eternal salvation are heavily dependent on continuous behavioral performance.
The Lord's Storehouse and Consecration
Assertion
The church is commanded to maintain a storehouse funded by the consecrations of its members to provide for the poor, widows, and orphans.
Evidence from Text
And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church, that widows and orphans shall be provided for, as also the poor.
Evangelical Comparison
The biblical mandate to care for widows, orphans, and the poor is a shared value deeply rooted in Scripture (James 1:27, 1 Timothy 5). The early Christian church practiced radical generosity, sharing their possessions so that there were no needy persons among them (Acts 2:44-45, Acts 4:32-35). However, Evangelicalism views this generosity as a voluntary, Spirit-led response to the Gospel (2 Corinthians 9:7), not a formalized, institutionalized legal requirement. This text mandates a specific economic system ('consecrations of the church') which historically required early Mormons to legally deed their property to the Bishop. Evangelicals view this as an extra-biblical imposition that shifts Christian charity from a grace-driven personal conviction to an institutionalized legal requirement.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
While the ethical commands to care for the poor align with biblical mandates, the text embeds these within a system of ongoing extra-biblical revelation and conditional institutional fellowship.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The primary theological gap lies in the source of authority and the nature of ecclesiastical standing. Evangelicals affirm the sufficiency of Scripture (Sola Scriptura), believing that the biblical canon provides all necessary instruction for church governance, charity, and moral living (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This text, however, presents itself as a direct, verbatim dictation from God ('Verily thus saith the Lord'), adding new, binding legislation to the church. This violates the Evangelical understanding of a closed canon. Furthermore, the text conditions 'fellowship in the church' strictly on behavioral faithfulness ('if they are not faithful, they shall not have fellowship'). In Mormon theology, loss of fellowship (excommunication or disfellowshipment) severs a person from saving ordinances and temple covenants. In contrast, Evangelicalism views church discipline as a restorative measure for unrepentant sin (Matthew 18:15-20), but maintains that true fellowship with God is secured eternally by grace through faith (Sola Fide), independent of institutional standing. A believer's justification cannot be lost due to behavioral stumbles (Romans 8:38-39).
For All Ages
Imagine your family has a rulebook that tells you how to love and care for each other. Christians believe the Bible is that complete rulebook. This text is like someone saying, 'God just gave me a new page to add to the rulebook about how we share our money.' Christians don't accept new pages because God said His book is finished. Also, the text says you only get to stay in the church club if you are 'faithful' and don't break the rules. But Christians believe we are kept in God's family because Jesus was perfectly faithful for us, not because we never make mistakes.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
The text claims to be a new, direct revelation from God, adding administrative laws to the church outside of the closed biblical canon.
Sola Fide
Fellowship and standing within the body are explicitly conditioned on behavioral faithfulness and a lack of transgression, reinforcing a works-righteousness paradigm.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Fellowship"
In This Text
Good standing within the institutional church, which is required to participate in saving ordinances and maintain one's eternal trajectory.
In Evangelicalism
Spiritual communion with God and other believers, established by the blood of Christ and shared by all true believers (1 John 1:3-7).
"Consecrations"
In This Text
The formal, often legal, transfer of property and wealth to the church to fund the Bishop's storehouse.
In Evangelicalism
The general setting apart of oneself or one's resources for God's holy purposes (Romans 12:1).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Not explicitly defined in this brief text, but 'fellowship in the church' is a prerequisite for exaltation in broader LDS theology.
How Attained: Maintained through faithfulness, avoiding transgression, and participating in the consecration system.
Basis of Assurance: Adherents find assurance by maintaining their 'fellowship' through obedience and proving they are 'not found transgressors.'
Comparison to Sola Fide: The text's mandate that 'if they are not faithful, they shall not have fellowship' contrasts with justification by faith alone. While Evangelicals expect good works as a fruit of salvation (Ephesians 2:10), standing before God is based entirely on Christ's faithfulness, not the believer's ability to avoid transgression (Philippians 3:9).
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Keep the Lord's storehouse by the consecrations of the church
- Provide for widows, orphans, and the poor
Implicit Obligations
- Husbands must financially maintain their wives
- Parents must financially maintain their children until they are of age
- Members must remain faithful and avoid transgression to maintain church fellowship
Ritual Requirements
- Participate in the 'consecrations of the church' (historically involving legal deeds of property to the Bishop)
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- How does the church balance the requirement to be 'faithful' to maintain fellowship with the reality that we all stumble and sin?
- When you read about the 'Lord's storehouse' here, how does that compare to how the early Christians shared with each other in the book of Acts?
- What happens to a person's relationship with God if they lose their 'fellowship in the church' according to this text?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The Lord's Storehouse
Just as the physical storehouse provides for those who have nothing (widows, orphans, the poor), Christ is the spiritual storehouse who provides His infinite righteousness and grace to those who are spiritually bankrupt.
Claim of the Fatherless
The text recognizes the vulnerability of the fatherless. The Gospel teaches that God is a Father to the fatherless and that through Christ, we are adopted into God's family, giving us a permanent claim on His eternal inheritance.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text explicitly states that if members are 'not faithful, they shall not have fellowship.' This places a heavy burden on the believer to constantly monitor their behavior, avoid 'transgression,' and prove their faithfulness to maintain their standing in the community and, by extension, their standing with God.
The mandate to keep the storehouse through 'consecrations' historically required members to deed their property to the church. This creates a significant material burden and ties spiritual obedience directly to financial surrender to the institution.