Learning to Love
Doctrine and Covenants

Section 43: Spurious Revelations By Michael J. Preece

Section 43: Spurious Revelations


By the spring of 1831, the number of church members in Kirtland and its vicinity had increased to more than a thousand. These saints met in more than twenty branches of the Church.

As the Church grew in size, so did the intensity of persecution felt by the members. The Church existed in a highly charged and critical environment where local journalists were quick to pounce upon and criticize anything they could get their hands on, such as the doctrinal content of Joseph’s revelations and/or those individuals whose names appeared in the revelations. For this reason Joseph began to identify certain persons in the revelations by code names such as “Enoch” for Joseph Smith, “Ahashdad” for Newell K. Whitney, and “Pelagoram” for Sidney Rigdon. Journalists were also anxious to write about the failings of individual members of the Church and thus produce evidence that Mormonism was a deluded sect.

In April 1830, ten months prior to Joseph’s receiving section 43, the Lord had instructed the saints that it was only through Joseph Smith that revelation would come for the building of Zion. Speaking of Joseph, the Lord said, “Him have I inspired to move the cause of Zion in mighty power” (D&C 21:7). The Lord reiterated this doctrine at the time of the Hiram Page affair in D&C 28:2: “But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., for he receiveth them even as Moses.”

This instruction was difficult for some of the saints to follow since many had come from religious backgrounds that permitted any member of the congregation to proclaim doctrine for the entire assembly. These were Protestant churches that were very democratic in their structure, working from the bottom up, and the new converts were mostly unfamiliar with the idea of a priesthood order working from the top down or a hierarchy of spiritual authorities over the Church. Thus, the Lord needed to make clear to the Kirtland saints how he would reveal his will to them in his restored Church. Also, section 28, with its clear statement concerning the unique role of the Prophet in receiving revelation for the Church, had been given in Fayette, and very few of the New York saints had arrived in Kirtland. The revelations did not yet exist in printed form and were accessible to the Kirtland saints only, if at all, by private, handwritten copies. Most of the Kirtland saints may therefore have simply been unfamiliar with the information in section 28.

Spurious revelations and visions claimed by early converts to the Church provided critics further fuel for inflammatory articles which were written to cast doubt on the unusual beliefs of the Mormons. For example, one of the early converts, Heman Basset, claimed to have received a revelation in Kirtland from an angel. After reading this revelation to others, Basset would show them a picture of what he claimed to be a group of angels. Another person known as Black Pete claimed to have received messages from heaven in the form of letters floating across the sky. While seeking to obtain a closer look at one of these traveling messages, he “ran off a steep wash bank twenty-five feet high, passed through a tree top” growing parallel with the water below and fell into the Chagrin River. Black Pete emerged from the stream with only a few scratches, but “his ardor had somewhat cooled” (JD, 11:3-4). John Whitmer recorded in his history of the Church an account of one of the early converts, a woman known only as Mrs. Hubble. He wrote: “About these days there was a woman by the name of Hubble who professed to be a prophetess of the Lord, and professed to have many revelations, and knew the Book of Mormon was true, and that she should become a teacher in the Church of Christ. She appeared to be very sanctimonious and deceived some who were not able to detect her in her hypocrisy: others however had the spirit of discernment, and her follies and abomination were made manifest” (Early Latter Day Saint History, 42-43).

Some other church members also began teaching incorrect principles. In a discourse given years later in Ogden, Utah, Elder George A. Smith commented on this problem that existed in the early Church: “There was a prevalent spirit all through the early history of this Church, which prompted the elders to suppose that they knew more than the Prophet. Elders would tell you that the prophet was going wrong” (JD, 11:7). Many members became confused and bewildered by the different claims. Under these circumstances the Prophet went to the Lord for guidance and in February 1831, a few days after he had received section 42, Joseph received section 43 which warned against the counterfeit claims and false teachings of these misguided church members. This revelation emphasized that the Lord had appointed only one person, Joseph Smith, to receive revelation for the Church. Other members might receive revelation for their own needs, stewardships, and specific callings, but they did not have authority to receive revelation for the Church.

Section 43 was directed to the elders of the Church—those directing church affairs in the branches and preaching the gospel among nonmembers—that they might have insight regarding these spurious revelations coming forth from some misguided saints.

The elders were told in section 43 that they are sent forth to teach and not be taught, and they were given a warning which they were to deliver to the nations of the earth regarding the Lord’s second coming and millennial reign (verses 20-26).

John Whitmer recorded the effect that section 43 had upon the Kirtland saints: “After this commandment was received, the saints came to understanding on this subject, and unity and harmony prevailed throughout the church of God: and the saints began to learn wisdom, and treasure up knowledge which they learned from the word of God, and by experience as they advanced in the way of eternal life” (Early Latter Day Saint History, 44).


Scripture Mastery

D&C 43:15-16 Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach.


1 O hearken, ye elders of my church, and give ear to the words which I shall speak unto you.

verse 1 Section 43 was apparently delivered to Joseph directly in response to his inquiry about Mrs. Hubble and her “revelations.” It was received in the presence of twelve elders, who represented all of the elders of the Church.


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.

verse 2 “ye have received a commandment for a law unto my church” This phrase refers to section 42. The Lord seems to imply, “You have received an important revelation from my authorized servant Joseph, and now you are inclined to believe the rantings of someone like Mrs. Hubble?”


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.

verse 3 Here, then, is the Lord’s clear statement on the matter: Only the prophet speaks to the Church for the Lord. As one might expect, there have been many Mrs. Hubbles in the Church since 1831. President Joseph F. Smith wrote, “Whenever you see a man rise up claiming to have received direct revelation from the Lord to the Church, independent of the order and channel of the priesthood, you may set him down as an imposter” (JD, 24:188-90).


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.

verses 3-4 The Reorganized LDS Church bases its law of succession to the presidency upon these verses. In their church the president appoints his own successor. Later on, the appropriate law of succession to the presidency will be made clear. The Lord will reveal that the “keys of presidency” after the death of the president lie with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (section 107).

Between 1831 and 1835 these verses do define the law of succession to the presidency of the Church. It is interesting to note that if Joseph Smith should have fallen because of iniquity, he still would have been the only one authorized to appoint his successor.

An interesting historical point is that Joseph, perhaps because of this verse, in July 1834 ordained David Whitmer to be “President of the Church of Christ.” Actually Brother Whitmer was ordained to be president of the Church in Missouri and president of the high council. We would now consider this office analogous to that of the stake president. Whitmer thought he was the president in Missouri just as Joseph was the president in Ohio, and that the two of them were thus equal in rank. When he was excommunicated by the high council in Missouri, he didn’t believe they had the power to excommunicate him because only the “common council of the church” can excommunicate the president (see D&C 107:82). Whitmer’s objections evidence that he misunderstood what office he was being called to accept. This misconception likely helps explain why he was the only one of the three witnesses to never come back to the Church after his excommunication. He must have reasoned, “I hold the keys of the presidency. The Church should come back to me—not me to the Church.”

President Joseph Fielding Smith explained the order of priesthood succession as follows: “We frequently hear discussions in our classes and between brethren to the effect that any man could be called, if the authorities should choose him, to preside over the Church, and that it is not the fixed order to take the senior apostle to preside, and any member of that quorum could be appointed. The fact is that the senior apostle automatically becomes the presiding officer of the Church at the death of the president. If some other man were to be chosen, then the senior would have to receive the revelation setting himself aside” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:189).


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;

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.

verse 7 “he that is ordained of me . . . and be ordained” The first use of the word ordained here probably means something like “called,” “directed,” or “approved.” The second use of ordained carries the usual, more specific, meaning.

Those who are truly acting under God’s direction will come into the Church through the gate of baptism and then be ordained to teach what the Lord has already given through the Prophet.


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.

verse 8 The Lord instructs the leaders of his Church, in this case the elders, in what they should do when they meet together. We may well expand the applicability of this verse to all assemblies of the saints.

“ye shall instruct and edify each other” To instruct is one thing, but to instruct and edify is something more. Edify comes from the same root as edifice and means “to build up.” Both of these are accomplished if the saints are taught by the influence of the Spirit of God. Today this instructing and edifying may take place in priesthood meetings, Relief Society meetings, and auxiliary class meetings.


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—

verse 9 “ye shall bind yourselves” The Lord refers to the principle of covenant making. What is a covenant? Is covenant-making a pertinent topic even today?

From a time even before the creation of the earth, God has made covenants with his children (Abraham 3:24-28). In each dispensation the making of eternal covenants has been God’s method of binding us to gospel principles essential to our spiritual progress and eventual exaltation. In entering into a covenant, a person tends to bind himself by his own integrity. He feels a sense of responsibility to act in a certain way. As the Lord enters into covenants with a people, he acknowledges that people as “his people.” Covenants are equally important to us today in this final dispensation as they have been to the saints of dispensations past. Today we are said to be a “covenant people.” We enter into sacred and binding commitments and obligations with the Lord. What are these covenants? We begin with the baptismal covenant. Men receive the Melchizedek priesthood only after agreeing to accept the “oath and covenant” of that priesthood. We then continue on to enter into those covenants available to us in the temple including the endowment and the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.

We must not enter into these covenants lightly as they involve solemn obligations. There are unimaginable blessings reserved for those who keep their covenants. These blessings will be realized both in the eternities and here on earth. There are also damning penalties or “cursings” which await those who break their covenants. As we progress in mortality through the sequence of available covenants, the potential blessings increase for those who keep them, as does the gravity of the punishment for those who do not. Today a special caution or warning is issued by the ecclesiastical leader to the man who is about to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. The man to receive the Melchizedek does so by entering into the “oath and covenant of the priesthood.” In D&C 84 the Lord has warned that if a man should enter into this covenant and later fail to live up to it, it would have been better for him in the eternities if he had never made the covenant in the first place. The ultimate covenant man may enter into here on earth is likely the blessing of having his calling and election made sure. And what is the potential penalty for those who turn all together from this covenant? They have committed the unpardonable sin and are banished to live with Satan forever.

While making a covenant involves a two-way promise made equally between God and man, it is God, not man, who fixes the terms of the agreement. He is the author of the covenant and the guarantor of its terms. Angels function as witnesses. It is man’s role to accept or reject the terms of the covenant.

Since Old Testament times, covenants have been entered into with solemn ceremonies or rituals. In making a covenant, the individual takes an oath that includes a conditional cursing: “May thus and such befall me if I should violate this obligation.” Animal sacrifices also often accompanied the swearing of oaths. One scholar explained that anciently the sacrificial animal was cut in two, and the individual making the covenant passed between the two pieces (Genesis 15:10, 17; Jeremiah 34:18). This implied that the violator of the covenant would be treated like the sacrificial animal that is cut in two! (M.H. Pope. “Oaths” in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. 1962. 3:576). This ritual imagery implied the Lord’s warning that a covenant-breaking Israel might fall victim to the punishing sword. For ancient Israel this warning proved to be more than just metaphorically valid.

In the scriptures there are other words and phrases that are used synonymously with “covenant” and “entering into covenants.” Examples include the term “word” and the phrase “obey my word” (Numbers 30:2; 1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalm 105:8). Phrases such as “take upon us the name of Christ” (Alma 46:18), “keeping the commandments” (Alma 48:15), and “maintenance of the sacred word of God” (Alma 44:5) are all the scriptural equivalents of entering into a covenant with the Lord. For further discussion of covenants in the Lord’s earthly kingdom, see Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 2, chapter 3, Covenants and Covenant Making.


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.

11 Purge ye out the iniquity which is among you; sanctify yourselves before me;

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.

verse 12 “appoint ye my servant Joseph Smith, Jun.” This is a command for the Church to “provide” for Joseph’s temporal support (see verse 13). Larry E. Dahl explains: “Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language and modern dictionaries agree that one of the meanings of the word appoint is to ‘furnish; equip with things necessary.’ That seems to be the intent of these verses. Joseph Smith needed, in addition to a house, the faith and prayers of church members, and provisions of ‘food and raiment’ so that he could accomplish what the Lord had commanded him to do” (Joseph Smith Translation and the Doctrine and Covenants, 111).

“uphold him before me by the prayer of faith” Daily prayer for church leaders ought to be part of every saint’s spiritual life “if ye desire the glories of the kingdom.” But the expression “prayer of faith” (emphasis added) implies more than simple prayer. It requires the prayerful individual to get up off his or her knees and work to do whatever they can to support the leader.


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;

verse 13 “if ye desire the mysteries of the kingdom” Providing Joseph with the necessary support would free him to provide the saints with revelations, scriptures (such as working on the JST), commandments, etc.


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.

verse 14 Sacrifice does bring forth the blessings of heaven, and those who supported Joseph did aid materially in the establishment of Zion, while those who neglect this duty are not worthy of Zion. Though many of the Kirtland Saints sacrificed much for Zion, in the long run and as a group they failed to keep this commandment of the Lord. Consequently, the blessings they and the Church after them might have received through Joseph, had he not been forced to stop work on the JST in order to support his family, were never received (HC, 136-37). This verse also implies the threat of excommunication or disfellowship for those members not worthy of Zion.


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;

verse 15 “hearken ye elders of my church, whom I have appointed: Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach” The world has neither the power nor the knowledge to instruct the Latter-day Saints in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Babylon cannot instruct Zion in the things of God. God has called us to teach them. We are the teachers of the world.


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.

verse 16 The term “endowed with power” seems to refer to those ordinances which will later be received in the Kirtland Temple and the keys of the priesthood which will be restored there.


17 Hearken ye, for, behold, the great day of the Lord is nigh at hand.

verse 17 The Savior’s second coming in glory is near.


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.

verse 18 This verse and the next refer to the Lord’s second coming.

“the trump of God shall sound both long and loud” The horn or trumpet that will blow to signal the return of Christ and the resurrection of the just (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Alma 29:1).

“Ye saints arise and live” At the Lord’s second coming, those who have been born again and sanctified by the gospel covenant will be resurrected to receive the Lord in their glorified flesh. If the reader wishes to review the complete sequence of the resurrection, see the introductory commentary for Alma 40:16-20.


19 Wherefore gird up your loins lest ye be found among the wicked. verse 19 “gird up your loins” See the commentary for D&C 36:8.

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;

verse 20 This dispensation is known as the times of the Gentiles when the gospel will be preached to all the nations of the earth, sparing none. Toward the end of this dispensation, the Gentiles will have had their chance, and the times of the Gentiles will end. Then the gospel will be taken primarily to covenant Israel. Thus, in this dispensation, the first (covenant Israel) will be last (to receive the gospel).


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?

verse 21 This verse is a continuation of the previous verse (note the colon following the word saying in verse 20). Thus, the speaker here is not the Lord, but rather the collective missionaries of the latter-day Church.

In effect, the missionaries say, “If you hate and reject me, a mere mortal, for saying these things, what will you do when God himself says them to you with the voice of overwhelming natural disasters until you either repent or die?”


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?

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!

verse 24 The Lord’s desire to gather the Gentile nations is just as strong as his desire to gather Israel (see Matthew 23:37).


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!

verses 17-25 The Lord will use all kinds of natural phenomena to convince the people of the earth to repent and prepare for his second coming. Speaking of this method of warning the people of earth, Brigham Young said:

Do you think there is calamity abroad now among the people? Not much. All we have yet heard and all we have experienced is scarcely a preface to the sermon that is going to be preached. When the testimony of the elders ceases to be given, and the Lord says to them, “Come home; I will now preach my own sermons to the nations of the earth,” all you now know can scarcely be called a preface to the sermon that will be preached with fire and sword, tempests, earthquakes, hail, rain, thunders and lightnings, and fearful destruction. . . You will hear of magnificent cities, now idolized by the people, sinking in the earth, entombing the inhabitants. The sea will heave itself beyond its bounds, engulfing mighty cities. Famine will spread over the nations (JD, 8:123; see also D&C 88:88-92).

See Ye Shall Know of the Doctrine, volume 3, chapter 26, Sign’s of the Lord’s Second Coming—Those that Punish and Cleanse.


26 Behold, the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full.

verse 26 “the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full” The Lord is fully ready to punish the wicked. The Lord’s wrath and indignation are neither wrong nor unjust. He metes out punishment to satisfy the demands of justice so that the wicked may be forgiven and eventually receive some degree of glory.

For those who have repented and come to the Savior, he has already drunk for us the bitter cup of God’s wrath—he has suffered the agony of the atonement. Those who will not repent must drink it themselves at some future time (D&C 19:16-19). What form does the Lord’s punishment take? It obviously results in suffering by those who receive it. Is this really punishment in the purest sense? Please remember that in God’s universe, there is nothing of suffering that is purely punitive. All suffering experienced by any individual as the result of God’s justice is inevitably for the eternal betterment of that individual.


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.

verse 29 “in mine own due time” No one knows the time of his coming (Matthew 24:36; D&C 49:7), but when he comes, he will come unexpectedly (“quickly”).


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.

verse 31 Apparently Satan’s being bound during the Millennium is the result of two separate phenomena:

  1. Satan will actually be restrained by the power of God. God will mandate that Satan’s freedoms be limited. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught concerning the binding of Satan: “There are many among us who teach that the binding of Satan will be merely the binding which those dwelling on the earth will place upon him by their refusal to hear his enticings. This is not so. He will not have the privilege during that period of time to tempt any man” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:192).

    Apparently, Satan will be bound, at least in part, by priesthood power that will cast him out and will not allow him the exercise of any influence.

  2. The Lord will destroy telestial wickedness from off the earth, and thus there will not be people on the earth who will respond to his promptings. The prophet Nephi wrote, “Because of the righteousness of his [the Lord’s] people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth” (1 Nephi 22:26).

President George Q. Cannon added further insight to divine limitations to be placed upon Satan:

We talk about Satan’s being bound. Satan will be bound by the power of God; but he will be bound also by the determination of the people of God not to listen to him, not to be governed by him. The Lord will not bind him and take his power from the earth while there are men and women willing to be governed by him. That is contrary to the plan of salvation. To deprive men of their agency is contrary to the purposes of our God. . . .

Satan only gains power over man through man’s exercise of his own agency; and when Satan shall be bound, as the Lord says he will be for a thousand years, one of the great powers that will help bring this to pass will be man’s agency. The Lord has never forced men against their will to obey him. He never will do so. If Satan, therefore, has power with man, it is because man yields to his influence. . . .

The time is not far distant when great judgments will be poured out upon the wicked inhabitants of the earth. Every prophet who has looked forward to our day has seen and predicted that the wicked would be destroyed. Their destruction means the destruction of Satan’s power [including the literal destruction of the wicked]. The righteous will be left, and because of their righteousness the Lord will have mercy upon them; they, exercising their agency in the right direction, will bring down his blessings upon them to such an extent that Satan will be bound (Gospel Truth, 1:86-87).

“when he is loosed again he shall only reign for a little season” When the Millennium is over, Satan will be allowed once more to tempt mortals upon the earth and will have influence again for a short time. We may assume that there will appear on the earth mortals who are inclined to respond to his ministrations. There will then be a great last battle, sometimes called the battle of Gog and Magog (see Revelation 20:8) or the battle of the great God (see D&C 88:114), in which Satan and all his servants will be defeated forever. Then the earth will be cleansed once again and will go through a process similar to death and resurrection, at the end of which it will be made a celestial world to be inhabited by all those who lived upon it who are worthy of the celestial kingdom.

“and then cometh the end of the earth” Note, again, that at the onset of the Millennium will come the “end of the world.” And at the end of the Millennium will come the “end of the earth.”


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.

verse 32 “changed in the twinkling of an eye” The “twinkling of an eye” is a blink. When righteous mortals die during the Millennium, they will simply pass from mortality to a resurrected state in the twinkling of an eye.

“the earth shall pass away so as by fire” At the end of the Millennium, the earth will also “die” and be melted down, so to speak (see 2 Peter 3:10-11), just as raw materials are melted down and made pure in the refiner’s fire. The earth will then be “resurrected” as a pure, celestial world.


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.

verse 33 The “wicked” here are those who are “filthy still” at the resurrection of the unjust after the end of the Millennium. These are the ones who still refuse to repent even after suffering hell in the spirit world. They will not receive any degree of glory. They are the sons of perdition (see D&C 76:31-38, 43-48).


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.

verse 34 “let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds” The word “solemnity” means something very serious or sublimely important. The “solemnities of eternity” are the facts of our eternal life. The Lord counsels the saints to let the serious things of eternity, the Lord’s covenants, the great blessings that will be given the faithful, and all matters of a spiritual nature rest on their minds. How marvelous it would be if we would be continually guided by an eternal perspective!


35 Be sober. Keep all my commandments. Even so. Amen.


- Michael J. Preece