Commentary for Doctrine and Convenants: Section 29

Section 29

Background Information 

This revelation was received some in September of 1830 in Fayette, New York. According to the heading written by John Whitmer, this revelation was given during the gathering of "six elder of the Church & three members." who "understood from Holy Writ that the time had come that the People of God should see eye to eye." According to the Joseph Smith papers, Whitmer's description in heading "indicate[s]...that a small group, believing that the Book of Mormon prophecy about Zion would soon be fulfilled, therefore 'enquired of the Lord & thus came the word of the Lord through Joseph the seer." 

Accordingly, this revelation addressed the interest some of the members had in Christ's prophecy that He gave in the Book of Mormon. It addresses the prophecies of the "remnant of Jacob", which the early church identified as the American Indians, and also the gathering of the House of Israel. This revelation also confirmed the "imminent advent of the Millennium and declared that members of the Church of Christ were called to help gather God's people before the great event." 

But besides addressing end time events and the role of the church in those events, this revelation also discusses the creation of the world and the "nature of Adam's fall," something JS had recently taken up in his inspired translation of the Bible. 

In fact, as we read this section it's important to appreciate the larger context occurring in the background when JS received this revelation. During the summer and fall of 1830, JS began his inspired translation of the Bible. His undertaking would require his focus from June 1830 until July 1833, with him taking some breaks during the course of the translation. This means that JS received section 29 while he was translating the Bible. Why this is interesting is because most sources indicate that JS had finished translating Genesis 1-3 (comprising of Moses 1-4 in the Pearl of Great Price). Thus when section 29 turns to discussing the creation and the fall, it's likely because these events were on the minds of JS and other who knew about his work. Moreover, the heading from Whitmer indicates that a small group had differing views about "the death of Adam (that is his transgression)." 

As John Fielding McConkie and Craig J. Ostler noted, 

“In the Prophet’s translation of Genesis 1-5, principles are woven into a story line relating the events of the Garden of Eden, Satan’s rebellion, his temptation of Adam and Eve, their eating the forbidden fruit, and their being ushered out of the garden. In contrast, the material in Doctrine and Covenants 29:30-45 is a brief statement of doctrinal principles— without the story—actually a summary of the doctrine found in the longer narrative of Joseph Smith’s translation of Genesis 1-5. Thus, for maximum comprehension, the Prophet’s translation of Genesis 1-5 (Moses 2-5) should be read just prior to a study of Doctrine and Covenants 29, since that appears to be the order in which they were received." (Emphasis added) 

And I might add, that everyone should link section 29 to Moses 2-5. As Robert J. Matthews explained, “The Doctrine and Covenants and it its relationship with the Joseph Smith Translation... are not two entirely separate books. They are interwoven.”

In addition to this, another notable feature of this revelation is that is features both the Son and the Father speaking. Christ begins the revelation and then it changes to the Father in verse 18 until the end. This switch in voices evident because the Lord refers to Christ in the third person ("mine only begotten"). 

Section 

I. Christ Introduces Himself and His Purpose 

1 Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am, whose arm [figurative: power] of mercy hath atoned for your sins [mercy, not justice, makes the atonement work]; 2 Who will gather his people even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, even as many as will hearken to my voice and humble themselves before me, and call upon me in mighty prayer [those who are gathered by the Lord under his "wing" are those who "hearken" (obey) His voice, are humble, and call upon Him in mighty prayer].  3 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you [the small group who are receiving the revelation ("small group")], that at this time your sins are forgiven you [Christ must forgive their sins, otherwise he couldn't communicate further with them. Hence why we need to also scrutinize ourself to ensure we have repented of all sins we're aware of], therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.

4 Verily, I say unto you that ye [small group] are chosen out of the world to declare my gospel with the sound of rejoicing, as with the voice of a trump [Christ has called the small group out of the world so they can teach the world. Everything that God does it for the benefit of humanity]. 5 Lift up your hearts and be glad, for I am in your midst [having the assurance that Christ is near them gives them confidence to endure], and am your advocate with the Father; and it is his good will to give you the kingdom. 6 And, as it is written—Whatsoever ye shall ask in faith, being united in prayer according to my command, ye shall receive.

7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect [the role of the small group (and we could say for those who convert) is to gather the elect]; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts; [simple as this: the elect are hear the Lord and harden not their hearts] 8 Wherefore the decree hath gone forth from the Father that they [the elect] shall be gathered in unto one place upon the face of this land, to prepare their hearts and be prepared in all things against the day when tribulation and desolation are sent forth upon the wicked [the purpose of being gathered into one land is in order to prepare them for the destruction to come upon the wicked]. 

• Verse 7 -- The Elect 
• Notice that the "elect", while designating a status, is not determined by status. What I mean is that the elect are those who hear the voice of the Lord and not harden their hearts. In other words, they accept light and truth, since Christ is the embodiment of truth. This is important to understand because some members of the church may have a impressive ancestral pedigree of church leaders. They may have strong history in the church through their family. They may even have current living family members serving in church position. But if they harden their hearts to light and truth, then they are not the elect -- according to the Lord's definition. 
• Moreover, the inverse of this fact is also true -- those who don't have an impressive ancestral pedigree or who are new converts, even those who have lived very sinful lives in the past, they are the elect if they respond to light and truth. 
• This is something that Paul worked hard to teach the Jews and Gentiles of his day. The early church deal with division between Jews and Gentiles members, because the Jews claimed based on their ancestral status to be greater than the Gentiles -- you know, those good for nothin' heathens. But Paul taught plainly:
• 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3)
• For Paul, what matters is where one has put on Christ -- that is accepted Christ through repentance and receiving the baptism of fire. 
• Being elect, moreover, is not just important for the obvious reaons (i.e., salvatoin) but because the elect are who the Lord hears
• 5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. 7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? (Luke 18) 
• And according to Paul, the elect have the responsibility to "put on":
• 12...Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3) 
• And as we learn from verse 7, it is the elect who will be gathered. 
• Verse 8 -- Prepare Their Hearts
•  The scriptures show a pattern of how the Lord works. Before he comes, he sends forerunners to prepare the hearts of the people. The people's hearts must be prepared otherwise they would not understand the greater light and truth the Lord is to teach. Math is a relevant analogy to convey this principle. In order to do calculus, one must first have the understanding of arithmetic, geometry, algebra, and trigonometry. If one doesn't understand geometry, then they won't be able to do calculus. Likewise, if one doesn't understand the basic aspects of the gospel, they won't understand the greater and weigher teachings. 
• For this reason, the Lord send forerunners to prepare the way. As we learned in the previous post, John the Baptist served to prepare the way for the Jews to understand Christ. No surprise that when Christ arrived on the scene, John's follower left him and followed Christ. 
• This same principle is present in the Book of Mormon. Alma explains this a few times. 
• 22 Yea, and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it [repentance] unto all nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy; yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they [glad tidings] have come unto us. 23 And they [glad tidings] are made known unto us in plain terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our being wanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard. 24 For behold, angels are declaring it [repentance] unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory [i.e., -- receive the Lord's word when he comes]. (Alma 13) 
• 16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming— 17 That [so that] they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God. (Alma 16) 
• Notice: Once the church was reestablished on the earth, the Lord was able to pour out his Spirit in order to "prepare" their mind to receive the word so that they don't have a hard heart. 
• The fact of the matter is that he end-time judgments will cause many to doubt God. People will witness so much destruction and devastation that their hearts may fail them, questioning how God could allow this to happen (i.e., -- developing a hard heart). Faced with this contradiction, many will turn away from God during this day because they lack greater understanding about God's purpose. Hence, the reason why the Lord will call forerunners to share the light and truth to prepare us. 
• How does the Lord do this? As we've seen in these scriptures, the Lord can use angels and the Spirit. From other passages we also learn that he'll send human messengers. It will come in stages, leading up to the Messiah: 
• "The spirit of Elias is first, Elijah second, and Messiah last. Elias is a forerunner to prepare the way, and the spirit and power of Elijah is to come after, holding the keys of power, building the Temple to the capstone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon the house of Israel, and making all things ready; then Messiah comes to His Temple, which is last of all."(TPJS, 340)
• The Spirit of Elias (Elijah): "The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation of God, which is the Priesthood that Aaron was ordained unto." (TPJS, 335)
• The Power of Elijah: The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelations, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth; and to receive, obtain, and perform all the ordinances belonging to the kingdom of God, even unto the turning of the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers, even those who are in heaven. (TPJS, 336) 
• As things descend to greater and greater chaos, we should be looking for these forerunners to come. Along with their respective powers and duties, the purpose will be to teach us greater light and truth, so that we may abide the day. 

II. Revelation About the End Times 

9 For the hour is nigh and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe; and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth; 10 For the hour is nigh, and that which was spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled; for as they spoke so shall it come to pass; 11 For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.

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 apostles, 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 fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else. 

• Verse 12: Robes of Righteousness 
• The writers of scriptures use a interesting expression to signify that one has been saved -- they equate being saved with being clothed. What's going on here? Being clothed represents many things. One representation is clothing us from our nakedness. 
• Recall that from Genesis, Adam and Eve recognized that they were naked after the sinned (nakedness might indicate being exposed). Their nakedness caused them to feel ashamed and to shrink back from the presence of God. Thus the imagery of nakedness represents sin. Just as Adam and Eve were ashamed/embarrassed to be naked before God, sin will cause us to be ashamed before God.
• 5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. (Mormon 9)
• Clothing then represents "covering" our nakedness. As Job remarks, "I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. (Job 29:14)." Interesting to note that one definition for Hebrew word for atonement, kippur, means to cover. Perhaps Biblical writers are playing off this idea. The Lord's atonement covers us from our nakedness.
• But having clothes, doesn't mean we yet have on holy garments. Although we are clothed from our nakedness (sinful nature) we are still sullied by iniquity. Dirty clothes represent iniquity that we have adopted and must overcome through gaining light and truth.
• Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment (KJV garments). (Zec 3:2-3)
• The iniquity passing form Joshua is represented in him receiving new clothes -- robes of righteousness.
• Thus when Christ says that the Twelve will wear robes of righteousness, He is indicating that the Twelve have been removed from all iniquity. The crown signify that they have become kings. This imagery also appears later on in this section.

13 For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me [who remained faithful to the Lord], to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon [again, clothing imagery], even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.

• Verse 13 -- Trump Shall Sound
• After Christ has returned to the earth, a trump will sound signaling the resurrection of the just -- "those that died in the Lord" and received a "crown of righteousness" 

14 But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day [day of Christ's return] shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath; 15 And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men; 16 And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth. 17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not. 18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them; 19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets; 20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up. 21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things [see Ezekiel 38], which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.

• Verse 14: Before This Great Day
• Before Christ returns, events will take place. They are as follows: 
• Sun shall be darkened
• Moon turned into blood
• Stars (asteroids/meteors?) fall from heaven
• Great signs in heaven and in earth 
• Weeping and wailing among the humankind
• Great hailstorm sent for the destroy the crops of the earth 
• Flesh-eating flies
• The casting down of the great and abominable church -- that is, Babylon. 
• Identifying these events are important because if we hear anyone saying that Christ is coming soon, we can compare what they say to what events have happened. 

22 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you that when the thousand years are ended [after Zion has been established], and men again begin to deny their God [despite Zion and peace upon the earth, men will begin to deny God -- similar to what happened to the Nephites], then will I spare the earth but for a little season; 23 And the end shall come, and the heaven and the earth shall be consumed and pass away, and there shall be a new heaven and a new earth [the new heaven and new earth, which is mentioned by Paul and prophesied by John, occurs after Zion has been established and the final battle between good and evil]. 24 For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea; 25 And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand.

26 But, behold, verily I say unto you, before the earth shall pass away [the old earth], Michael [Adam], mine archangel, shall sound his trump, and then shall all the dead awake, for their graves shall be opened, and they shall come forth—yea, even all [the second trump -- signaling the resurrection of the unjust]. 27 And the righteous shall be gathered on my right hand unto eternal life; and the wicked on my left hand will I be ashamed to own before the Father; 28 Wherefore I will say unto them—Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels [apparently hell -- or at least its full extent -- is experienced here].

29 And now, behold, I say unto you, never at any time have I declared from mine own mouth that they [the damned, the unjust] should return, for where I am they cannot come, for they have no power [power comes from knowledge, and knowledge is obtained through our character, which character is build through faith]. 30 But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit.

III. Explication on Spiritual and Temporal Creation 

31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal— 32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work— 33 Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed [because the small group is agreed upon the thing they are inquiring and believe they will receive, the Lord responded]. 34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. 35 Behold, I gave unto him [Adam] that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.

• Verse 31 -- All Things Are Spiritual
• When the Lord says he has not given a temporal law, He mean that every commandment has a spiritual purpose. The commandment to not steal, for example, is not confined to earth's existence, but is eternal. Likewise, the commandment to Adam and Eve was spiritually based. The essence of the command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was to teach the principle of waiting upon God's timing and judgment. The day was a day of rest, where man was to rest from his labors. Adam and Eve partook the fruit out of season. 
• In fact, if we think about it, the cause of sin is the result of us thinking we know better than God. Genesis refers to this as being "wise in one's own eyes." Under this thinking, we believe that we know are sufficient to be our own masters, and creating out own happiness.
• “What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea they they could be like gods...be their own masters -- invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside of God, apart from God." (Mere Christianity, 49, C.S. Lewis) 
• Agency is about learning to choose the good over the evil. Good leads to power and greater freedom. Evil leads to the opposite. 

 36 And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he [the devil] rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; 37 And they [third part of heaven] were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; 38 And, behold, there is a place prepared for them [devil and his angels] from the beginning, which place is hell. 

39 And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet—  40 Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation [Yielding to temptation gives the devil power over us and unless we repent, Satan is our master and lord].

• Verse 39 -- Being Agents 
• To be an agent means to exert power. We gain this power by learning how to discern between good and evil. Our degree of power is predicated upon how much good we've obtained. Thus our power was limited in the pre-existence because without a body we were limited in what knew. 
• Often we know what is good by contrast. I know that sacrificing time to study for an exam is good, because I've learned what happened when I didn't. I know -- or I'm least getting better -- that keeping my trap shut and listening to my wife when were in a disagreement is good because I've learned -- repeatedly -- what happens when I try to interject and argue -- hint: nothing productive. 
• Moreover, knowing the "bitter" helps us to value the good. Returning to the above examples,  I enjoy studying and value it because although I might not ace the exam, I won't fail it either -- saving me from unnecessary suffering. I've learned to enjoy service because I've noticed that I'm unhappy and miserable when I'm consumed with myself. Without this mortal experience I either wouldn't have appreciated this fact or it would have taken me a lot longer in spirit wold to learn. I've also learned that having a family is good and brings tremendous joy, despite the sacrifices I have to make on a daily basis. In the pre-existence, I wasn't a father and so couldn't appreciate the goodness of family life. 
• Although mortality is hard and difficult, there is a reason why we shouted for joy when the plan was revealed -- because we realized that coming to earth would teach us things that we either couldn't have learned otherwise or would've taken longer to learn. Moreover, it is in mortality where we can experience a fuller range of sensation than when we were spirits. We can use this for good or evil. 
• Although we tend to define good and evil in abstract terms, it's more simpler than that: Good is what improves and enlightens, evil is what regresses and diminishes. Evil has negatively affects other people. Conversely, good benefits and improves people. People make evil choices because of ignorance. Lacking light and truth, they think the action they've undertaken is correct, failing to appreciate that their action has negatively impacts someone else. Our experience is to help us learn what actions improve us and humanity, and what actions retrogrades and diminishes us and humanity. 
• On this point: Although I don't have any data, I've noticed that people who adopt evil beliefs become narrower in their minds. They think in black and white terms, they over simplify complex matters, and they create us-them categories. It's almost as if their minds become more animal-like than human -- but that's just a thought. 

41 Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead [spiritual death is exile from God's presence], which is the first death [because of Adam and Eve], even that same death which is the last death [it's the last death because everyone will be resurrected], which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed 42 But, behold, I say unto you that I, the Lord God, gave unto Adam and unto his seed, that they should not die as to the temporal death, until I, the Lord God, should send forth angels to declare unto them repentance and redemption, through faith on the name of mine Only Begotten Son. [If Adam and Eve had died without knowing the gospel, the would have been cut off from God's presence in this life and the next]

43 And thus did I, the Lord God, appoint unto man the days of his probation [God gives each of us a time to repent so we avoid the spiritual death that comes from sin]—that by his natural death he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, even as many as would believe; 44 And they that believe not unto eternal damnation; for they cannot be redeemed from their spiritual fall, because they repent not; 45 For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey [failure to repent means that we love darkness over light].

46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; 47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; 48 For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers [parents (particularly fathers) will share the responsibility for raising their children and will be held responsible, see D&C 93]. 49 And, again, I say unto you, that whoso having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent? 50 And he that hath no understanding, it remaineth in me to do according as it is written. And now I declare no more unto you at this time. Amen.