Section 53
Overview
Section 53 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants (known as Section 31 in modern LDS editions) is a revelation dictated by Joseph Smith in September 1830, directed to Thomas B. Marsh. Marsh, an early convert who would later become the first President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is commended for his faith and promised that his family will eventually join the church. The text serves as a divine commission, commanding Marsh to leave his family temporarily to preach the 'glad tidings' and specifically 'the things which have been revealed to my servant Joseph Smith, jr.' Theologically, the text makes a significant departure from orthodox Christian soteriology by explicitly conditioning the forgiveness of Marsh's sins upon his missionary zeal ('thrust in your sickle with all your soul; and your sins are forgiven you'). It further establishes a paradigm of conditional standing before God, warning Marsh to pray always lest he enter into temptation and 'lose your reward.' The revelation concludes with a first-person authentication claiming to be the direct words of Jesus Christ, thereby elevating Joseph Smith's prophetic voice to the level of divine, canonical authority.
Key Figures
- Jesus Christ: The claimed author and speaker of the text, who issues commands, promises forgiveness, and authenticates the revelation.
- Thomas B. Marsh: The recipient of the revelation, called to be a missionary, a 'physician unto the church,' and promised family blessings in exchange for faithful service.
- Joseph Smith, Jr.: Identified as God's servant whose specific revelations are mandated to be the content of Marsh's preaching.
- The Comforter: The Holy Spirit, promised to guide Marsh in his travels and actions.
- The Father: Mentioned in the concluding divine signature, validating that Christ speaks by His will.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Forgiveness Contingent on Works
Assertion
The text asserts that the forgiveness of sins is achieved or activated by engaging in intense missionary labor.
Evidence from Text
therefore thrust in your sickle with all your soul; and your sins are forgiven you
Evangelical Comparison
In Evangelical theology, justification and the forgiveness of sins are forensic declarations made by God based entirely on the imputed righteousness of Christ, received through faith alone (Sola Fide). Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 4:4-5 explicitly deny that human effort, labor, or works can merit forgiveness. In stark contrast, this text creates a transactional soteriology where Marsh's sins are forgiven as a direct result of him 'thrusting in his sickle with all his soul.' This shifts the basis of forgiveness from Christ's finished work on the cross to the believer's ongoing evangelistic performance.
Prophetic Exclusivity and Extra-Biblical Revelation
Assertion
The text mandates that the specific revelations given to Joseph Smith are the 'glad tidings' that must be preached to the generation.
Evidence from Text
You shall declare the things which have been revealed to my servant Joseph Smith, jr.
Evangelical Comparison
Evangelical Christianity holds to Sola Scriptura, maintaining that the 66-book Bible is the closed, sufficient, and final revelation of God. The 'glad tidings' (Gospel) is strictly defined by the apostles as the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). By commanding Marsh to preach 'the things which have been revealed to my servant Joseph Smith, jr.' as part of the 'glad tidings,' this text expands the Gospel to include 19th-century extra-biblical revelations, fundamentally altering the content of the Christian message.
Conditional Security and Loss of Reward
Assertion
The text teaches that a believer can lose their spiritual reward if they fail to pray and subsequently enter into temptation.
Evidence from Text
Pray always, lest you enter into temptation, and lose your reward.
Evangelical Comparison
While Evangelicals believe in the necessity of prayer and the reality of temptation, the concept of 'losing your reward' in this context is tied to ultimate spiritual standing ('Be faithful unto the end'). Evangelical theology, particularly in Reformed traditions, emphasizes the eternal security of the believer (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:38-39), where salvation cannot be lost due to entering into temptation, because salvation is secured by Christ's perfection, not the believer's flawless endurance.
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text fundamentally alters the basis of forgiveness from grace through faith alone to a works-based system tied to missionary labor, and it expands the definition of the Gospel to include the modern revelations of Joseph Smith.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The theological gap between this text and Evangelical Christianity is profound, centering primarily on Soteriology and Epistemology. Soteriologically, the text violates Sola Fide (Faith Alone) and Sola Gratia (Grace Alone). By stating 'thrust in your sickle with all your soul; and your sins are forgiven you,' the text creates a synergistic model of justification where human effort (missionary labor) is the instrumental cause of forgiveness. In Evangelical theology, based on passages like Romans 3:24-28 and Titus 3:5, works of any kind—even noble works like evangelism—are explicitly excluded from the justification equation. Forgiveness is secured entirely by Christ's penal substitutionary atonement. Epistemologically, the text violates Sola Scriptura. The command to 'declare the things which have been revealed to my servant Joseph Smith, jr.' as part of the 'glad tidings' fundamentally alters the content of the Christian Gospel. The Apostle Paul warned in Galatians 1:8-9 against preaching any gospel other than what had already been delivered. By elevating Joseph Smith's revelations to the status of divine mandate, this text requires adherents to place their faith in a 19th-century prophet's words alongside, or even above, the closed canon of Scripture.
For All Ages
Imagine you broke a really expensive window, and you owe a million dollars to fix it. In the Bible, Jesus says, 'I already paid the million dollars for you. Just believe in me, and you are forgiven.' It's a free gift. But in this text, Jesus is supposedly saying, 'If you go out and work really, really hard telling people about my new church, THEN I will forgive you for breaking the window.' That changes forgiveness from a free gift into something you have to earn by working hard. Also, the Bible says we have everything we need to know about God in the Bible. But this text says you have to go tell everyone the new things Joseph Smith said, which adds new rules that aren't in the Bible.
Friction Points
Sola Fide (Justification by Faith Alone)
The text conditions the forgiveness of sins on the act of thrusting in the sickle (missionary work) with all one's soul.
Sola Scriptura (Sufficiency of Scripture)
The text commands the preaching of extra-biblical revelations given to Joseph Smith as part of the divine message.
Assurance of Salvation
The text threatens the loss of reward if the believer enters into temptation, undermining the security of the believer in Christ.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Glad tidings"
In This Text
The restored gospel, which explicitly includes the new revelations given to Joseph Smith Jr.
In Evangelicalism
The historical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
"Forgiven"
In This Text
A state achieved conditionally through intense labor ('thrust in your sickle... and your sins are forgiven').
In Evangelicalism
A state declared by God instantly upon faith in Christ, apart from works (Romans 4:5).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: In this specific text, salvation is framed as the forgiveness of sins and the receiving of a 'reward' at the end of one's faithfulness.
How Attained: Attained through a combination of faith, intense missionary labor ('thrust in your sickle with all your soul'), and enduring faithfulness to the end.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is highly conditional, based on continuous prayer, avoiding temptation, and maintaining steadfastness. There is no resting in a finished work.
Comparison to Sola Fide: This text stands in direct opposition to Sola Fide. Romans 4:4-5 states, 'Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.' This text, however, explicitly tells Marsh to work (thrust his sickle) so that his sins will be forgiven.
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- Lift up your heart
- rejoice
- declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation
- declare the things which have been revealed to my servant Joseph Smith, jr.
- begin to preach from this time forth
- thrust in your sickle with all your soul
- go from them [family] only for a little time
- declare my word
- establish a church by your hand
- strengthen them
- prepare them against the time when they shall be gathered
- Be patient in afflictions
- revile not against those that revile
- Govern your house in meekness
- be steadfast
- Go your way whithersoever I will
- Pray always
- Be faithful unto the end
Implicit Obligations
- Accept Joseph Smith Jr. as a true prophet of God
- Trust that God will provide for the family left behind
- Rely on the Comforter for daily guidance on where to go and what to do
- Maintain personal worthiness to act as a 'physician unto the church'
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- In verse 2, it says 'thrust in your sickle with all your soul; and your sins are forgiven you.' How do you understand the relationship between our hard work and God's forgiveness?
- If forgiveness requires us to thrust in our sickle with 'all our soul,' how can we ever be sure we have worked hard enough to be forgiven?
- How does the promise of forgiveness in this verse compare to Paul's teaching in Ephesians 2:8-9, where he says salvation is not a result of works?
- Verse 4 warns about losing your reward. What gives you peace and assurance about your standing with God today?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The desire for family salvation and unity
Marsh's deep desire for his family to know the truth is a universal human longing. We can bridge this to the biblical promise that God desires households to be saved, but this salvation comes through faith in the Lord Jesus, not through joining a specific earthly organization.
The Physician
While Marsh is called to be a spiritual physician to the church, we can point to Jesus Christ as the ultimate Great Physician who heals our deepest spiritual disease (sin) completely and permanently, without requiring our labor as payment.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text places a heavy burden on the believer by tying the forgiveness of their sins to the intensity of their labor ('with all your soul'). This creates a perpetual treadmill of performance, where the believer can never be certain if they have worked hard enough to truly secure forgiveness.
The command to 'go from them only for a little time' establishes a precedent that true devotion to God requires leaving one's family to serve the institution. This can create emotional strain and a false dichotomy between family duties and spiritual faithfulness.
The warning 'lest you enter into temptation, and lose your reward' strips the believer of the peace that comes from eternal security. It fosters a low-level, constant anxiety that a moment of weakness could forfeit their eternal standing.