LDS Doctrine and Covenants Critique
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The Doctrine and Covenants
SECTION 43
Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at
Kirtland, Ohio, in February 1831. At this time some members of the
Church were disturbed by people making false claims as revelators. The
Prophet inquired of the Lord and received this communication addressed
to the elders of the Church. The first part deals with matters of
Church polity; the latter part contains a warning that the elders are
to give to the nations of the earth.
1–7, Revelations and commandments come only through the one appointed;
8–14, The Saints are sanctified by acting in all holiness before the
Lord; 15–22, Elders are sent forth to cry repentance and prepare men
for the great day of the Lord; 23–28, The Lord calls upon men by His
own voice and through the forces of nature; 29–35, The Millennium and
the binding of Satan will come.
1 O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give ear to the words which I
shall speak unto you. 2 For behold, verily, verily, I say unto you,
that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church, through
him whom I have appointed unto you to receive commandments and
revelations from my hand. 3 And this ye shall know assuredly—that there
is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and
revelations until he be taken, if he abide in me.
Note: The New Covenant eliminated the office of prophet.
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. Matthew 11:13
4 But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed
unto this gift except it be through him; for if it be taken from him he
shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead. 5 And this
shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that
shall come before you as revelations or commandments;
Note: The New Covenant eliminated the office of prophet.
“The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom
of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.” Luke 16:16
6 And this I give unto you that you may not be deceived, that you may
know they are not of me. 7 For verily I say unto you, that he that is
ordained of me shall come in at the gate and be ordained as I have told
you before, to teach those revelations which you have received and
shall receive through him whom I have appointed.
Note: The New Covenant eliminated the office of prophet.
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of
the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as
He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews
1:1-4
8 And now, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that when ye are
assembled together ye shall instruct and edify each other, that ye may
know how to act and direct my church, how to act upon the points of my
law and commandments, which I have given.
Note: Jesus Christ gave one commandment.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” John 13:34
9 And thus ye shall become instructed in the law of my church, and be
sanctified by that which ye have received, and ye shall bind yourselves
to act in all holiness before me—
Note: Believers are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.
“And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to
me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So I
said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are
persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to
you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the
things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to
you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the
Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn
them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that
they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
are sanctified by faith in Me.’” Acts 26:14-18
10 That inasmuch as ye do this, glory shall be added to the kingdom
which ye have received. Inasmuch as ye do it not, it shall be taken,
even that which ye have received.
Note: The kingdom of God concerns Jesus Christ.
Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received
all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the
things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one
forbidding him. Acts 28:30-31
11 Purge ye out the iniquity which is among you; sanctify yourselves before me;
Note: Believers are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,
and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, to
those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all
who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both
theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:1-3
12 And if ye desire the glories of the kingdom, appoint ye my servant
Joseph Smith, Jun., and uphold him before me by the prayer of faith.
Note: Joseph Smith was a fraud.
Joseph Smith was involved in roughly 175 to 200 legal actions
throughout his life, spanning civil debt, property disputes, and
criminal charges.
13 And again, I say unto you, that if ye desire the mysteries of the
kingdom, provide for him food and raiment, and whatsoever thing he
needeth to accomplish the work wherewith I have commanded him;
Note: Joseph Smith rarely worked an honest job.
Joseph Smith engaged in "money digging" or treasure seeking during his
youth in New York and Pennsylvania, using seer stones placed in a hat
to locate hidden underground items.
14 And if ye do it not he shall remain unto them that have received him, that I may reserve unto myself a pure people before me.
Note: The righteousness of God is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ.
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there
is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His
forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously
committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that
He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:21-26
15 Again I say, hearken ye elders of my church, whom I have appointed:
Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men
the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit;
Note: Believers will be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
16 And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye
shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken.
Note: Believers are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ.
By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10
17 Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand.
Note: Armageddon did not occur in the 19th century.
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates,
and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east
might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming
out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out
of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons,
performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the
whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty. “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches,
and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” And
they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Revelation 16:12-16
18 For the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of
heaven; the heavens shall shake and the earth shall tremble, and the
trump of God shall sound both long and loud, and shall say to the
sleeping nations: Ye saints arise and live; ye sinners stay and sleep
until I shall call again. 19 Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be
found among the wicked.
Note: Armageddon did not occur in the 19th century.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since
the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; Matthew
24:21-22
20 Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent,
both old and young, both bond and free, saying: Prepare yourselves for
the great day of the Lord;
Note: Believers will preach Jesus Christ.
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths
reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating
that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying,
“This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” And some of them were
persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of
the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. Acts 17:2-4
21 For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to
repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the
thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking
to the ears of all that live, saying—Repent, and prepare for the great
day of the Lord? 22 Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak
forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices
unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying
these words—Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is come?
Note: Believers will preach Jesus Christ.
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your
heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will
not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For
“whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13
23 And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying:
Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who
made you. 24 O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have
gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
but ye would not!
Note: Believers will preach Jesus Christ.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no
effect. 1 Corinthians 1:17
25 How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by
the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of
thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of
tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by
the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great
sound of a trump, and by the voice of judgment, and by the voice of
mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory and honor and the
riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting
salvation, but ye would not! 26 Behold, the day has come, when the cup
of the wrath of mine indignation is full.
Note: Believers will preach Jesus Christ.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know
God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to
save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after
wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block
and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1
Corinthians 1:21-24
27 Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord
your God. 28 Wherefore, labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last
time—for the last time call upon the inhabitants of the earth. 29 For
in mine own due time will I come upon the earth in judgment, and my
people shall be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth.
Note: Believers have been redeemed by Jesus Christ.
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse
for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ
Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:13-14
30 For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my
servants, shall come. 31 For Satan shall be bound, and when he is
loosed again he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh
the end of the earth.
Note: The Millennium did not occur in the 19th century.
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to
them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their
witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the
beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or
on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand
years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy
is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second
death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and
shall reign with Him a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6
32 And he that liveth in righteousness shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pass away so as by fire.
Note: The righteousness of God is obtained through faith in Jesus Christ.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Romans 4:3
33 And the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their end
no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before me
in judgment. 34 Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ,
the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and
let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds. 35 Be sober. Keep
all my commandments. Even so. Amen.
Note: Believers will preach Jesus Christ.
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who
commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:5-6