Section 99
Overview
Doctrine and Covenants Section 99 is a revelation dictated by Joseph Smith in August 1832, directed to John Murdock. Murdock had recently suffered the loss of his wife, Julia, who died after giving birth to twins (whom Joseph and Emma Smith subsequently adopted). The text calls Murdock to an itinerant preaching mission to the 'eastern countries,' commanding him to travel from house to house and city to city. Theologically, the text establishes a strict principle of divine representation: receiving Murdock and his message is equated with receiving Christ and His kingdom, resulting in mercy. Conversely, rejecting Murdock equates to being rejected by the Father. The text institutes a specific ritual of judgment, commanding Murdock to 'cleanse your feet in the secret places' as a testimony against those who reject him, tying this to the imminent eschatological judgment of Christ. Practically, the revelation demonstrates a pastoral concern by mandating that Murdock delay his departure until his remaining children are adequately provided for and sent to the 'bishop of Zion' (Edward Partridge in Missouri). It concludes with a promise of a future inheritance in Zion if he remains faithful in proclaiming the message until the end of his life.
Key Figures
- Jesus Christ: The speaker of the text, who claims imminent return for judgment and identifies Himself with the messenger.
- John Murdock: The recipient of the revelation, called to be an itinerant missionary and promised an inheritance in Zion.
- The Father: God the Father, who is said to reject anyone who rejects John Murdock's message.
- Bishop of Zion: Historically Edward Partridge, tasked with the social and financial care of Murdock's motherless children.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Divine Representation and Exclusivity
Assertion
Receiving the specific Latter-day Saint missionary (John Murdock) is synonymous with receiving Christ, and rejecting him results in rejection by God the Father.
Evidence from Text
And who receiveth you receiveth me... And whoso rejecteth you shall be rejected of my Father and his house
Evangelical Comparison
In Evangelical theology, salvation is mediated solely through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). While believers are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), the authority lies entirely in the biblical message of the Gospel, not in the institutional office of the messenger. D&C 99 elevates the Latter-day Saint missionary to a position where his personal reception or rejection is the hinge of the hearer's eternal standing before the Father. This creates an exclusive ecclesiology where the LDS Church and its ordained ministers become necessary conduits for grace and the kingdom, conflicting with the Evangelical doctrine of the universal priesthood of all believers and justification by faith alone in Christ.
Ritual Condemnation (Washing of Feet)
Assertion
Missionaries are commanded to perform a secret ritual of cleansing their feet as a binding testimony of judgment against those who reject their message.
Evidence from Text
you shall cleanse your feet in the secret places by the way for a testimony against them.
Evangelical Comparison
In Matthew 10:14 and Mark 6:11, Jesus instructs His apostles to shake the dust off their feet when leaving a town that rejects them. Evangelicals interpret this historically as a public, cultural sign of Jewish disassociation from Gentile impurity, applied here to show that the apostles were free from the blood of those who rejected the Gospel (Acts 18:6). D&C 99 transforms this into a literal, formalized ordinance ('cleanse your feet') performed 'in the secret places' to act as a binding legal/spiritual testimony against the rejecters at the final judgment. This introduces a ritualistic mechanism of condemnation foreign to Evangelical theology, which leaves all judgment entirely to God without the need for secret human ordinances.
Physical Zion and Inheritance
Assertion
Faithful adherence to the missionary call will eventually be rewarded with a physical inheritance in the 'goodly land' of Zion.
Evidence from Text
thou mayest go up also unto the goodly land, to possess thine inheritance
Evangelical Comparison
Evangelical eschatology looks forward to the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and an inheritance in the New Heavens and New Earth (1 Peter 1:4, Revelation 21). In early Mormonism, 'Zion' was identified as a literal, geographic location in Jackson County, Missouri, where the saints were commanded to gather and receive physical land inheritances distributed by the Bishop. This localized, physical kingdom-building contrasts with the Evangelical understanding of the Kingdom of God being currently spiritual and universally present among believers, awaiting its global, cosmic consummation at Christ's return.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text diverges by inserting a human messenger and a modern church institution as the necessary mediators for receiving God's mercy, and by instituting a secret ritual of condemnation.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The fundamental theological gap between D&C 99 and Evangelical Christianity lies in ecclesiology and soteriology. Evangelicals hold to Solus Christus (Christ alone) and the universal priesthood of all believers. The authority of the Gospel lies in the message of Christ's finished work on the cross. If someone rejects an Evangelical evangelist, they are rejecting the biblical message, but the evangelist holds no personal, institutional authority over the hearer's soul. In contrast, D&C 99 explicitly ties the reception of God's mercy and the Kingdom of God to the reception of John Murdock, a specific Latter-day Saint elder. 'And who receiveth you as a little child, receiveth my kingdom; and blessed are they, for they shall obtain mercy.' This establishes a mediatorial framework where the LDS priesthood holder is an indispensable link in the chain of salvation. Furthermore, the command to perform a secret ritual ('cleanse your feet in the secret places') as a binding testimony against rejecters introduces a legalistic, ordinance-based system of judgment that contradicts the Evangelical understanding of God's sovereign, unmediated judgment based solely on one's faith in Christ (John 3:18).
For All Ages
Imagine you want to give your friend a free gift, so you send a delivery driver to their house. In the Bible, the gift is Jesus, and anyone who believes in Him gets the gift. The delivery driver is just a helper. But in this text, it's like saying if your friend doesn't like the specific delivery driver, they are rejecting you completely, and the driver is told to do a secret ritual to make sure your friend gets punished later. Evangelical Christians believe we only need Jesus to be saved, not a specific church's delivery driver.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
The text claims to be new, binding revelation directly from Jesus Christ, adding to the closed canon of Scripture.
Solus Christus
Elevates the human messenger to a mediatorial role where receiving him is required to obtain mercy and the kingdom.
Sola Fide
Introduces a secret ritual (cleansing feet) as a legal testimony of judgment, adding works/ordinances to the spiritual economy of salvation and condemnation.
Eschatology / Kingdom of God
Localizes the Kingdom of God and divine inheritance to a specific geographic location in 19th-century America.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Everlasting Gospel"
In This Text
The specific doctrines, ordinances, and priesthood authority restored through Joseph Smith.
In Evangelicalism
The good news of Christ's incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary death, and resurrection for the justification of sinners by grace through faith (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
"Zion"
In This Text
A literal, physical gathering place for the Latter-day Saints, specifically designated as Jackson County, Missouri, where they would receive land inheritances.
In Evangelicalism
Historically Jerusalem; prophetically and spiritually, the heavenly city, the church, and the future dwelling place of God with His people (Hebrews 12:22).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Obtaining mercy, receiving the kingdom, and ultimately possessing an inheritance in Zion.
How Attained: For the hearer: by receiving the LDS missionary and his message. For the missionary: by faithfully proclaiming the message until death.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is based on obedience to the missionary call and the promise of the prophetic voice (Joseph Smith).
Comparison to Sola Fide: The text directly challenges Sola Fide by making 'mercy' contingent upon how one physically and spiritually receives a specific human representative of a specific church organization, rather than resting solely on faith in the finished work of Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Go into the eastern countries from house to house, village to village, and city to city.
- Proclaim the everlasting gospel unto the inhabitants.
- Cleanse your feet in secret places as a testimony against those who reject the message.
- Provide for your children before departing.
- Send your children kindly unto the bishop of Zion.
- Continue proclaiming the gospel until taken (death).
Implicit Obligations
- Submit to the prophetic authority of Joseph Smith, who dictates this revelation.
- Endure persecution and wickedness without abandoning the mission.
- Trust the institutional church (the bishop) with the care of one's family.
Ritual Requirements
- Cleansing of the feet in secret places as a testimony of judgment.
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- In verse 3, it says that whoever receives John Murdock receives the kingdom and obtains mercy. How do you understand the relationship between receiving a human missionary and receiving God's mercy?
- When you read about the command to cleanse feet in secret as a testimony against people (v. 4), how does that compare to Jesus' teachings on loving our enemies and leaving judgment to God?
- John Murdock had to leave his motherless children to go preach. How do you balance the heavy demands of church service with the biblical call to care for one's family?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The Father's care for the fatherless/orphans.
The text shows a concern for motherless children. This reflects the biblical heart of God, who is a 'father of the fatherless' (Psalm 68:5). We can bridge this to the Gospel by discussing how, spiritually, we are all orphans separated from God by sin, but through Christ, we are adopted into His family and fully provided for.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The missionary is told he must 'continue proclaiming my gospel until thou be taken' (v. 8). This places a lifelong burden of performance on the believer. If their inheritance is contingent on enduring to the end in this specific labor, there can be no true rest or assurance of salvation until death.
Murdock is asked to leave his motherless children in the care of others to go preach. While provision is made for them, the psychological toll of abandoning one's family for the sake of religious duty creates immense emotional strain and potential guilt.
Commanding a missionary to perform a secret ritual to condemn those who reject them forces the believer to actively participate in the spiritual damnation of others. This cultivates an 'us vs. them' mentality and places a heavy, unnatural burden of judgment on a human being.