In order to gather His people, God had to teach those already gathered true doctrine they couldn’t get from any other source.
As you study this week’s lessons consider how all the doctrines used in Doctrine and Covenants 29 are needed for them to understand the principles being taught. This section, taken as a whole, deepens the Saints’ understanding of the plan of salvation and their role in it.
Introduction of doctrine
Following is a list of 14 doctrines that were either new or a clarification of an old doctrine. The Lord packed all of these, and probably some I have not recognized, into just 50 verses. It is difficult to talk about the gospel without pulling in doctrines that affect what you are talking about. Unless you really understand all or most of what is being discussed, confusion is what follows. Because the Saints had all been raised with many false doctrines and misunderstandings, almost anything the Lord mentions is either new or clarifying in its nature.
We can read Section 29 and most of it looks very familiar and feels comfortable to us. To the early Saints much of what this section contains must have seemed ground shaking, for it would have countered much of what they had been taught since childhood. Yet for all its differences from what was currently taught by Christianity, it all feels very comfortable, for it more correctly matches with the personalities of Christ and God.
Feel free to use this incomplete list as a jumping off point for your studies. Hopefully you will see other doctrines I haven’t included. Be sure to consider their affect on the early Saints.
Verse 3 – Personal forgiveness of sins – “… I say unto you, that at this time your are you” For centuries Christians relied upon their priest to be forgiven of their sins. This is but one of many examples in the revelations of Joseph Smith where the Lord is directly forgiving the Saints of their sins. Forgiveness can come through personal revelation, not just from a priest.
Verse 4 – Members are called to preach the gospel – “I say unto you that ye are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel” Most people felt that to teach the truths of the Bible required schooling from a Divinity college. With the Protestant reformation many felt called to the work, so they took it upon themselves to preach the word of God, but most didn’t believe it was the member’s responsibility to declare the good tidings of the Bible to others, it was their job to just live and keep the commandments. To tell the entire membership of the church that it is the responsibility of every member to share the Lord’s words with others is a new thought altogether.
Verse 7 – Gathering the elect – “And ye are called to bring to pass the of mine
Verse 9 – Second Coming is at the door – “For the hour is nigh and the soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the and they that do wickedly shall be as
Verse 12 – The original 12 Apostles will come with Jesus at his return –
12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine , the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of , being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in even as I am, to the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.
I don’t know how widespread the doctrine was that the original 12 Apostles would come with Jesus at his return, and that they will help judge the righteous children of Israel at that time. Note that Christ specifies that only the righteous of Israel will be judged at that time, “and none else.” I’m not sure, but this feels like there are little details here that are difficult to find in the bible.
Verses 16 and 19 – Hailstorm – Hail is mentioned multiple times in the New Testament in connection with the end times, but this is a confirmation from God that He will send a great hailstorm to punish the wicked. This is mentioned right before the gory details are elaborated about the flies that will consume men’s flesh and cause the eyes to fall from their sockets, etc. He doesn’t mention if this will happen when they are dead or if they will be alive when this happens. He does say “their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not against me.”
Verse 17 – Scope of the Atoning sacrifice of Christ – Christ cannot save those who refuse to repent.
… I will take upon the , for they will not repent; for the of mine is full; for behold, my shall not them if they hear me not.
Christ’s blood only pays for the sins of the repentant soul. Those who refuse his payment on their behalf will be rejected by Christ at the last day. Those who refuse his generous offer to pay for our sins will have to suffer in hell to pay for them ourselves, what part we can pay. If we could pay for all of our sins ourselves then we would have no need for Christ’s atonement, but even those who reject him will be let out of hell eventually, and that is because of Christ’s sacrifice for all of us. The difference here is important. Those who accept Christ’s sacrifice for them and repent of their sins will be forgiven, as though they had never committed the sins. Those who reject him will eventually be forgiven, but will never have the power to live with God and Christ, because they refused to believe in his love and accept his suffering in their behalf. Christ will call them cursed and send them away to live somewhere other than with him and God.
Verses 22-25 – Confirmation of the timeline and the order of some events – This helps to clarify some of what is written elsewhere in the scriptures, especially in the Book of Revelation.
22 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a ;
23 And the shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and , and there shall be a new heaven and a .
24 For all things shall , and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and , the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea;
25 And not one , neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the of mine hand.
Look at verse 25 again. We have all read many times that not one hair of our head will be lost, because God accounts for literally everything, including the number of hairs on our heads. But look at the next phrase – “neither mote, shall be lost.” A mote is a speck of dust. We most often see motes floating in the air in a darkened room through the beams of light that stream through the window. Motes are so tiny and insignificant that we can’t even consider picking up an individual mote. They are just too small and fine for our fat fingers to get ahold of them. Yet God says they are all numbered to Him and that all of them will be restored to their proper place in the end. What an accountant He is! He tracks everything!
Verse 26 – Second resurrection – In these verses we are told of resurrections as specific events, yet other revelations tell us that once a resurrection begins it continues until it is finished. Christ started the first resurrection, but we have already read that all the righteous (who haven’t already been resurrected) will rise at the beginning of the Millennial reign. Now we are reading that all those who have not already been resurrected will now have their turn at the end of the Millennium.
… before the earth shall pass away, , mine archangel, shall sound his , and then shall all the dead , for their graves shall be opened, and they shall forth—yea, even all.
Verses 27-29 – The wicked – We don’t know just from these verses who it is that Christ is referring to as “the wicked.” We would have to look at these verses in connection to other teachings of the prophets, for these verses could be referring to those who weren’t valiant in their testimony of Jesus, those who never made covenants at all, or it could be referring to those being cast out into outer darkness with the devil and his angels. I’m just not sure which group is being referred to here. I welcome your comments and associated scriptures and teachings of the prophets about this issue.
Verse 32 – Order of creation – This is a doctrine that is unknown to the Christian world in general. To accept this doctrine you must first accept that there was life before mortal life. Christ is saying that all things were created spiritually before they were created physically. Most Christians believe that we don’t exist until God thinks of us in His mind. That thought is what creates our spirit. The Bible states in multiple places that we existed before we came here, but the leaders of Christianity taught against that doctrine.
Verses 40-41 – First/Last and Last/First – This doctrine is often difficult to understand, for it is used in a number of instances to teach various parts of God’s plan. It is used to teach the order of who receives the gospel. Originally the gospel was reserved for Abraham’s family. Only after Christ ascended to heaven was the gospel then taken to the gentiles. In the last days this order is reversed. The gospel was revealed to Joseph Smith, who comes from a gentile nation, and God’s word is then taken by the missionaries to the family of Abraham, His ancient covenant people.
In these verses the Lord is referring to spiritual life and death. The first death to be experienced by mankind was spiritual death (separation from God through sin). God ordained that mankind should live long enough to learn of His word so they could repent. Eventually, whether or not we accept God’s word, we die physically, which is the second death. After we have died physically, which is the second death, those who rejected Christ’s sacrifice for their sins will ultimately die spiritually, the first or original death. This second spiritual death happens when Christ declares that their time to repent has expired and that they will have to live outside of his grace and mercy forever. He calls these people cursed, for they are spiritually dead – forever separated from God.
40 Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden and the commandment, wherein he became to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation.
41 Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be from the Garden of , from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became , which is the first death, even that same death which is the last , which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye .
Verses 44-45 – Limits of the Atonement – Christ cannot save someone who refuses to believe in him and be saved through the repentance Christ provides to cleanse our souls from the stains of sin. He cannot control our choice, only make the offer and try to entice us to come to him and be saved. It is, and always has been, our decision as to whether we choose salvation and exaltation or live as we want and accept a lesser glory. That is the nature of moral agency.
44 And they that believe not unto eternal ; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual , because they repent not;
45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their are evil, and they receive their of they list to obey.
Remember that by definition anyone who doesn’t live with God and is able to progress by virtue of their exalted status is damned or blocked like water in a dam, forever unable to move forward. It doesn’t matter which kingdom we are in, if we aren’t with God and Christ we are damned. We don’t have to be with Satan in outer darkness to be damned, just anywhere other than with Christ.
This article discusses this concept much further – Are There Limits to the Atonement?
Verses 46-47 – Accountability of little children – The damnable doctrine of baptizing babies came from St. Augustine, along with Original Sin and the doctrine that women are weak and guilty of the mess we find ourselves in here on earth. St. Augustine was a piece of work. For many centuries everyone who lost a child as a baby, especially those not yet baptized, were taught that they would burn in hell for eternity. Oh the heartache that brought to all those loving families.
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little are from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47 Wherefore, they cannot , for power is not given unto Satan to little children, until they to become before me;
Earlier in this section the Lord says that accountability comes only with the ability to be tempted by Satan. Without that ability to understand the ramifications of temptation and choices we are considered by God to be innocent and unaccountable before the laws of God. Since Satan cannot tempt little children they are pure in the sight of God, and saved through the atonement of Christ. This same doctrine is taught multiple times in the Book of Mormon.
Final thoughts
No doctrine of the gospel stands alone. Every doctrine affects or is affected by another doctrine. This makes it difficult to talk only about one doctrine at a time, for all the doctrines are intertwined. This explains why the gospel can’t be learned from a list of discrete doctrines. An example of this is Christ’s simple statement about the doctrine of first and last found in verse 30. The explanation of just one way of explaining that doctrine or teaching takes discussions of Adam and Eve, the Fall, the Creation, the Judgment, and the use of moral agency. That is a lot! And it isn’t the only way to use that doctrine.
When we learn the gospel we need to have patience, for very little can come in full measure upon first hearing. Most doctrines take a lifetime to more fully comprehend and appreciate, because they are so intertwined with other doctrines. Only living the commandments and keeping our covenants can teach us to more fully appreciate the depth of each commandment/covenant and all the ways they can be lived and broken.
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