Section 43
Overview
Doctrine and Covenants Section 43 was dictated by Joseph Smith in February 1831 during a period of internal crisis in Kirtland, Ohio. Several church members, notably a woman known as 'Mrs. Hubble,' had begun claiming to receive their own revelations for the church, threatening Smith's authority. In response, this text is presented as the direct voice of Jesus Christ, establishing a permanent law of church polity: only one person (Joseph Smith, or his designated successor) is appointed to receive commandments and revelations for the entire church. The text explicitly commands the church to reject competing revelators, to purge iniquity, and to provide material support (food, raiment, and necessities) to Smith so he can accomplish his work and reveal 'mysteries.' The second half of the revelation shifts dramatically from administrative polity to urgent eschatology. It commands the elders to go forth not to be taught, but to teach and cry repentance to the nations. The text utilizes vivid apocalyptic imagery, warning of the imminent 'great day of the Lord,' accompanied by natural disasters, the resurrection of the saints, the binding of Satan during the Millennium, and the ultimate destruction of the wicked in unquenchable fire. For the believer, this text cements the absolute centralization of prophetic authority and creates an urgent, works-oriented mandate to obey the prophet and keep all commandments to escape impending judgment.
Key Figures
- Jesus Christ: The claimed speaker of the text, identified as the Savior of the world, who dictates church law, warns of judgment, and demands obedience.
- Joseph Smith, Jun.: The 'appointed' servant, established as the sole legitimate channel for divine revelation and commandments to the church, whom the members are commanded to uphold and materially support.
- Elders of the Church: The primary audience, commanded to hearken, instruct one another, reject false revelators, and preach repentance to the world.
- Satan: The adversary who is prophesied to be bound during the Millennium and loosed for a 'little season' before the end of the earth.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Exclusive Prophetic Mediation
Assertion
Only one appointed individual (Joseph Smith) has the authority to receive commandments and revelations for the church, and no one else can possess this gift unless appointed by him.
Evidence from Text
there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken... none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him (vv. 3-4)
Evangelical Comparison
In Evangelical theology, the canon of Scripture is closed, and God's special revelation to humanity is complete in the 66 books of the Bible (Jude 1:3, Revelation 22:18-19). Furthermore, through the New Covenant, every believer has direct access to God through the sole mediation of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:16), and the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scriptures for all believers (1 John 2:27). Doctrine and Covenants 43 establishes a radically different paradigm by inserting a mandatory human mediator—the President/Prophet of the Church—between God and the believer for the reception of new, binding commandments. This creates an open canon dependent entirely on a single, fallible human office, effectively nullifying Sola Scriptura and severely compromising Solus Christus by making the Prophet the gatekeeper of divine instruction.
Material Support for Spiritual Mysteries
Assertion
The church must provide food, clothing, and material needs to the prophet in order to receive the 'mysteries of the kingdom' and to prevent God from rejecting them.
Evidence from Text
if ye desire the mysteries of the kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth... And if ye do it not he shall remain unto them that have received him, that I may reserve unto myself a pure people (vv. 13-14)
Evangelical Comparison
While the New Testament teaches that those who preach the gospel should make their living by the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14), it strictly forbids the transactional exchange of money or material goods for spiritual power, revelation, or esoteric knowledge (Acts 8:20 - the sin of Simony). In D&C 43, the reception of the 'mysteries of the kingdom' is explicitly conditioned upon the members providing for Joseph Smith's material needs. Furthermore, the text threatens that failure to do so will result in the prophet being taken away so God can find a 'pure people.' This creates a coercive financial dynamic where access to divine truth is held hostage to the material support of a specific human leader, contrasting sharply with the free grace of the Gospel (Isaiah 55:1, Romans 3:24).
Conditional Sanctification and Glory
Assertion
Believers are sanctified by their actions, specifically by binding themselves to act in holiness and keeping all commandments, which adds glory to their kingdom.
Evidence from Text
ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me—That inasmuch as ye do this, glory shall be added to the kingdom... Inasmuch as ye do it not, it shall be taken (vv. 9-10)... Keep all my commandments. (v. 35)
Evangelical Comparison
Evangelical theology distinguishes between justification (the one-time, legal declaration of righteousness based solely on Christ's imputed righteousness through faith) and sanctification (the ongoing process of being made holy by the Holy Spirit). D&C 43 conflates human effort with spiritual standing, demanding that believers 'bind themselves to act in all holiness' and 'keep all my commandments' to secure 'glory' and avoid having their kingdom 'taken' away. This places the burden of maintaining salvation and spiritual status squarely on the believer's performance. In contrast, Evangelicalism teaches that while good works are the necessary fruit of true faith (Ephesians 2:10), they are not the root or sustaining cause of our justification or ultimate glorification, which are secured entirely by Christ (Romans 8:29-30).
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text replaces the sufficiency of Christ and Scripture with a mandatory human mediator (the Prophet) whose material support and ongoing revelations are required for spiritual standing and access to divine mysteries.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The fundamental theological gap between D&C 43 and Evangelical Christianity lies in the doctrines of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) and Solus Christus (Christ alone). Evangelicalism teaches that the canon of Scripture is closed and sufficient for all faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Furthermore, Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5); there is no need for an earthly high priest or exclusive prophet to dispense God's grace or truth. D&C 43 systematically dismantles both of these pillars. It establishes an open canon where God continually speaks new, binding laws through a single human office. It elevates Joseph Smith to a mediatorial role, stating that the church cannot receive commandments except through him. Furthermore, it ties the reception of spiritual 'mysteries' and the retention of God's favor to the material and financial support of this specific leader. This creates a highly centralized, authoritarian religious structure that binds the believer's conscience to a fallible man rather than to the finished work of Christ and the objective truth of the Bible.
For All Ages
Imagine you have a direct phone line to your best friend, Jesus. The Bible says everyone who trusts Jesus gets this direct line, and Jesus has already told us everything we need to know in the Bible. But this text says only one person (Joseph Smith) has the special phone. If you want to know what Jesus is saying, you have to listen to Joseph, obey his rules, and even buy his groceries. This goes against the Bible's teaching that Jesus is our only mediator and that His words in the Bible are enough for us.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
Establishes an ongoing, open canon of scripture dictated by a modern prophet.
Solus Christus / Universal Priesthood
Inserts a mandatory human mediator (Joseph Smith) between God and the church for the reception of truth.
Sola Gratia
Conditions the reception of spiritual mysteries and God's favor on providing material support (food/raiment) to the prophet.
Sola Fide
Demands that believers 'keep all my commandments' and 'sanctify yourselves' to secure glory and avoid judgment.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Mysteries of the kingdom"
In This Text
Esoteric knowledge, new revelations, and advanced doctrines dispensed exclusively through the prophet.
In Evangelicalism
Truths once hidden but now fully revealed to all believers through the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:26).
"Sanctify yourselves"
In This Text
A self-directed effort to purge sin, act in holiness, and keep all commandments to earn glory.
In Evangelicalism
The positional reality of being set apart by Christ's blood, and the progressive work of the Holy Spirit transforming the believer.
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Being redeemed, reigning with Christ on earth during the Millennium, and escaping the unquenchable fire.
How Attained: By hearkening to the prophet, repenting, acting in all holiness, and keeping all commandments.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is based on strict obedience to church law, loyalty to the prophet, and personal performance in purging iniquity.
Comparison to Sola Fide: The text stands in direct opposition to Sola Fide. Verse 35 explicitly commands, 'Keep all my commandments,' and verse 10 warns that failure to act in holiness will result in having one's kingdom 'taken.' This is a works-righteousness system, whereas Romans 3:28 declares that 'a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.'
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Hearken and give ear to the words spoken
- Receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments
- Instruct and edify each other when assembled together
- Bind yourselves to act in all holiness
- Purge out the iniquity which is among you
- Sanctify yourselves before me
- Appoint Joseph Smith, Jun., and uphold him by the prayer of faith
- Provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he needeth
- Teach the children of men the things put into your hands
- Gird up your loins
- Lift up your voices and spare not
- Call upon the nations to repent
- Labor in my vineyard for the last time
- Treasure these things up in your hearts
- Let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds
- Be sober
- Keep all my commandments
Implicit Obligations
- Absolute submission to the authority of Joseph Smith
- Rejection of any spiritual experiences or claims that bypass the established church hierarchy
- Financial and material sacrifice to support church leadership
- Maintaining a state of constant readiness and anxiety regarding the imminent apocalypse
Ritual Requirements
- Ordination 'at the gate' as prescribed by the church (v. 7)
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- In verse 13, the Lord says that receiving the 'mysteries of the kingdom' is tied to providing food and clothing for Joseph Smith. How do you reconcile this with the biblical idea that God's grace and truth are free gifts?
- If 1 Timothy 2:5 says there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, why does D&C 43 say we must have an appointed earthly prophet to receive commandments?
- Verse 35 commands us to 'Keep all my commandments.' Have you kept all of them? If not, how do you find peace and assurance of your standing before God?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The Gathering Hen
This beautiful imagery, borrowed directly from Jesus in Matthew 23:37, shows God's deep, compassionate desire to protect and save His people. We can agree on God's loving nature and pivot to how He ultimately provided that protection: by taking the wrath we deserved upon Himself on the cross.
The Urgency of the Great Day of the Lord
Both Evangelicals and Latter-day Saints feel an urgency about Christ's return and the reality of judgment. This shared urgency can be used to ask: 'If He returned today, on what basis would you be allowed into His presence? Your obedience, or His perfection?'
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The absolute command to 'Keep all my commandments' (v. 35) and 'act in all holiness' (v. 9) places an impossible burden of perfection on the believer. Because human beings inevitably sin, this creates a constant cycle of striving, failing, and feeling unworthy of the 'glories of the kingdom.'
Verse 13 explicitly ties spiritual progression ('mysteries of the kingdom') to the material support of the church leadership. This creates a transactional relationship with God where believers may feel they must pay or sacrifice materially to prove their worthiness or unlock spiritual blessings.
By warning that believers will be deceived unless they strictly follow the one appointed prophet (vv. 5-6), the text fosters a deep distrust of one's own spiritual discernment and an unhealthy, absolute dependency on church hierarchy. Believers become afraid to question the leadership lest they be found 'deceived.'