Section 93
Overview
Section 93 of the 1835 Doctrine and Covenants (canonized as Section 92 in modern LDS editions) is a brief but historically and theologically significant revelation given by Joseph Smith in March 1833. Historically, it addresses the 'United Order' (or United Firm), an early Mormon communitarian economic system designed to manage church properties, publish revelations, and provide for the poor. The text utilizes code names—'Enoch' for Joseph Smith and 'Shederlaomach' for Frederick G. Williams—a practice implemented in early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants to protect church leaders and their financial assets from creditors and anti-Mormon opposition. The revelation explicitly commands the existing members of the order to receive Williams into their ranks as a 'lively member.' Theologically, the text is highly significant for its soteriological assertion in verse 2. The Lord promises Williams that he will be 'blessed forever,' but this eternal blessing is strictly conditional: 'inasmuch as you are faithful in keeping all former commandments.' This establishes a clear works-righteousness paradigm where eternal security and divine favor are contingent upon comprehensive and sustained obedience to the law, contrasting sharply with the evangelical understanding of unconditional grace and justification by faith alone.
Key Figures
- The Lord: The claimed divine author of the revelation, speaking in the first person to direct the economic and spiritual affairs of the church.
- Enoch (Joseph Smith): The prophetic recipient of the revelation, acting as the mediator between God and the church's economic order.
- Shederlaomach (Frederick G. Williams): The subject of the revelation, commanded to be integrated into the United Order and promised eternal blessing conditional upon his strict obedience.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Conditional Eternal Blessing (Works-Righteousness)
Assertion
Eternal blessing and divine favor are contingent upon a believer's faithfulness in keeping all previously given commandments.
Evidence from Text
inasmuch as you are faithful in keeping all former commandments, you shall be blessed forever.
Evangelical Comparison
In this text, the promise of being 'blessed forever' is explicitly tethered to a conditional clause: 'inasmuch as you are faithful in keeping all former commandments.' This establishes a soteriological framework where eternal security is maintained through human effort and strict adherence to the law. The burden of eternal blessing rests squarely on the believer's ability to perform and obey without failing in 'all former commandments.' Evangelical Christianity, rooted in Sola Fide and Sola Gratia, fundamentally rejects this premise. According to the biblical baseline, justification and eternal blessing are granted entirely apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28). If eternal blessing required keeping 'all former commandments,' humanity would be universally condemned, as 'whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it' (James 2:10). The evangelical gospel asserts that Christ perfectly kept all commandments on behalf of the believer, and His righteousness is imputed to the believer by faith alone (2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:8-9).
Continuing Revelation and Prophetic Micro-Management
Assertion
God continues to give new, binding scriptural revelations through a modern prophet, even regarding administrative and economic church matters.
Evidence from Text
Verily, thus saith the Lord, I give unto the united order... a revelation and commandment
Evangelical Comparison
The text presents itself as a direct, verbatim dictation from God ('Verily, thus saith the Lord') given to a modern prophet to manage the specific membership of an economic organization (the United Order). This demonstrates the Mormon epistemological reliance on an open canon and continuous, authoritative prophetic direction that carries the same weight as ancient scripture. Evangelical Christianity operates on the principle of Sola Scriptura. While Evangelicals believe God still leads and guides His church through the Holy Spirit, they reject the idea that new, infallible, binding scriptural revelation is being given today. The biblical canon is viewed as closed and entirely sufficient for all matters of faith and practice (Jude 1:3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). The idea that God would issue new canonical scripture to dictate the administrative onboarding of a specific individual into a financial order contradicts the evangelical understanding of the sufficiency and finality of God's revelation in Jesus Christ and the apostolic witness (Hebrews 1:1-2).
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The text conditions eternal blessing on the strict keeping of all commandments, establishing a works-based soteriology that directly opposes the evangelical doctrine of justification by faith alone.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The fundamental theological gap between this text and Evangelical Christianity lies in the realm of soteriology, specifically the doctrine of justification. Verse 2 explicitly states: 'inasmuch as you are faithful in keeping all former commandments, you shall be blessed forever.' The phrase 'inasmuch as' creates a strict conditional covenant. The eternal blessing is entirely dependent upon the believer's sustained performance in keeping 'all' former commandments. This is a classic articulation of works-righteousness, where human obedience is the meritorious cause, or at least the necessary sustaining condition, of eternal salvation. Evangelical theology, grounded in the Reformation pillars of Sola Fide and Sola Gratia, categorically rejects this framework. According to the Apostle Paul, 'by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight' (Romans 3:20). The evangelical position is that humanity is totally depraved and incapable of keeping 'all former commandments.' Therefore, salvation must be a monergistic work of God—a free gift received by faith alone, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9). If eternal blessing is conditioned upon our faithfulness to the law, then Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21). The text's demand for comprehensive obedience as a prerequisite for eternal blessing places an impossible burden on the believer and nullifies the biblical concept of grace.
For All Ages
Imagine you are given a wonderful, priceless gift—a ticket to the best theme park forever. In the Bible, God says, 'Here is the ticket, it's a free gift because I love you and Jesus paid for it. Just trust me and take it.' But in this text, the rule is different. It says, 'You can have this ticket and be blessed forever, BUT only if you perfectly follow every single rule I've ever given you.' Evangelical Christians believe that because we are human, we make mistakes and can never follow every single rule perfectly. If our eternal blessing depended on us keeping all the rules, we would all fail. That's why Jesus came to keep the rules for us. We get the blessing because of what Jesus did, not because of how perfectly we follow the rules.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
The text claims to be a new, binding revelation from God, adding to the closed canon of Scripture.
Sola Fide
The text conditions eternal blessing on the believer's faithfulness in keeping all former commandments, denying justification by faith alone.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Blessed forever"
In This Text
In Mormon theology, this points toward exaltation and eternal life in the highest degree of glory, which is conditional upon strict obedience to laws and ordinances.
In Evangelicalism
Eternal life and spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, which is a present possession and guaranteed future reality for all who believe, secured entirely by Christ's work.
"United Order"
In This Text
A specific, divinely mandated economic and administrative organization within the early LDS church requiring consecration of property.
In Evangelicalism
The Bible does not mandate a specific, named economic system for the universal church, though it encourages voluntary generosity and sharing (Acts 2:44-45).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: Being 'blessed forever' (eternal life/exaltation).
How Attained: By being a lively member of the church's order and being faithful in keeping all former commandments.
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is entirely dependent on the believer's ongoing performance and obedience. If they fail to keep the commandments, the blessing is implicitly revoked.
Comparison to Sola Fide: This text stands in direct opposition to Sola Fide. It explicitly requires works (keeping all commandments) as the condition for eternal blessing. 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 treats eternal blessing as a wage due for keeping commandments.
Mandates & Requirements
Explicit Commands
- The United Order must receive Shederlaomach (Frederick G. Williams) into the order.
- Shederlaomach must be a 'lively member' in the order.
- Shederlaomach must be faithful in keeping all former commandments.
Implicit Obligations
- Members must submit their economic and professional lives to the authority of the prophet's revelations.
- Members must accept the validity of the 'united order' as a divinely mandated institution.
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- Verse 2 says you will be blessed forever 'inasmuch as you are faithful in keeping all former commandments.' How do you know if you have been faithful enough?
- Have you ever failed to keep a former commandment? If so, how does that affect the promise in this verse?
- If eternal blessing requires keeping all commandments, how does that compare to what Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 about salvation being a gift, not of works?
- Why do you think God used code names like 'Shederlaomach' in the original revelation, and how do you feel about the church later changing the text to put the real names back in?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The United Order for the benefit of the poor
The desire to care for the poor and live in a unified, loving community is a beautiful, biblical desire. In Acts 2 and 4, the early Christian church shared their possessions to care for the poor. However, they did this voluntarily out of the overflow of God's grace, not because they were mandated to join a specific 'order' to earn eternal blessings. The gospel frees us to love and serve the poor joyfully, without the pressure of trying to earn our salvation through it.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text places an immense psychological burden on the believer by conditioning eternal blessing on 'keeping all former commandments.' This creates a treadmill of performance where the believer can never be truly certain of their standing before God, as any failure to keep a commandment theoretically jeopardizes their eternal future. This leads to spiritual exhaustion and anxiety.
Because the blessing is conditional ('inasmuch as'), the believer lacks the objective assurance of salvation provided by the biblical gospel. They must constantly look inward at their own performance rather than outward to Christ's finished work, resulting in a fragile faith built on personal merit.