Section 40
Overview
Doctrine and Covenants Section 40 is a brief, three-verse revelation delivered by Joseph Smith in January 1831. It serves as a direct theological and historical follow-up to Section 39. In the preceding section, a Methodist minister named James Covel was commanded by revelation through Smith to be baptized into the newly formed Church of Christ and to relocate to Ohio. When Covel ultimately rejected this directive and returned to his former congregation and beliefs, Section 40 was produced to explain his departure. The text asserts that Covel initially had a 'right' heart and made a genuine covenant with God, receiving the word with gladness. However, it claims that Satan immediately tempted him, and that the 'fear of persecution and the cares of the world' caused him to break his covenant and reject the word. Consequently, the text declares that Covel is left to God's judgment. Historically and literarily, this section functions as an apologetic mechanism for the early Mormon church, explaining away a failed prophetic directive by placing the blame entirely on the moral and spiritual failure of the recipient. It heavily borrows the language and imagery of Jesus Christ's Parable of the Sower from the New Testament to frame Covel's brief interest and subsequent departure.
Key Figures
- God (The Lord): The first-person speaker of the text, who judges Covel's heart, acknowledges his initial covenant, and pronounces his broken status.
- James Covel: A Methodist minister who briefly investigated Joseph Smith's movement, covenanted to obey, but ultimately rejected the message and returned to his former faith.
- Satan: The adversary who is explicitly credited with tempting Covel immediately after he received the word.
- Joseph Smith: The prophet through whom this revelation is delivered, acting as the mouthpiece for God.
- Sidney Rigdon: Co-recipient of the revelation alongside Joseph Smith, serving as a leading figure in the early church.
Doctrines Analyzed
Key theological claims identified in this text:
Prophetic Explanation of Spiritual State
Assertion
God reveals the hidden spiritual state, motivations, and divine judgment of specific individuals directly through the living prophet.
Evidence from Text
Behold, verily I say unto you, that the heart of my servant James Covel was right before me... but straightway Satan tempted him
Evangelical Comparison
In this text, Joseph Smith speaks in the first-person voice of God ('verily I say unto you', 'my servant'). This establishes the doctrine that the Mormon prophet has access to the omniscient perspective of God regarding the internal motivations and spiritual standing of individuals. When James Covel rejected Smith's previous revelation (D&C 39), Smith produced this text to authoritatively explain Covel's heart and actions. In Evangelical Christianity, while leaders may exercise spiritual discernment, the canon of Scripture is closed (Sola Scriptura). No modern leader can claim to speak the exact, infallible words of God to definitively declare someone's internal spiritual state or to add to the canon of scripture. Evangelicals rely on the completed 66-book Bible as the sole infallible rule of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and judge a person's standing based on their confession of Christ and the fruit of the Spirit, rather than new prophetic utterances.
Conditional Covenants and Apostasy
Assertion
A person can have a 'right' heart before God, make a valid covenant, receive the word with gladness, and yet immediately fall away and break that covenant due to worldly pressures.
Evidence from Text
he covenanted with me that he would obey my word. And he received the word with gladness... Wherefore he broke my covenant
Evangelical Comparison
The text asserts that James Covel's heart was genuinely 'right' before God and that he made a valid covenant, but he lost this standing almost immediately due to the 'fear of persecution and the cares of the world.' This aligns with the Mormon view of conditional covenants, where human agency and ongoing obedience are required to maintain standing before God. In Evangelical Christianity, particularly within Reformed theology, true saving faith is a work of God that perseveres to the end (Philippians 1:6). If someone falls away quickly, it is evidence they were never truly regenerate (1 John 2:19). Even in Arminian evangelical traditions that allow for the possibility of apostasy, salvation is rooted in faith in Christ's finished work, not in a 'covenant' to obey the specific directives of a modern prophet (such as moving to Ohio, as was commanded of Covel in D&C 39).
Comparative Analysis
Theological Gap (Summary)
The primary gap lies in the nature of prophetic authority and the definition of the 'word' being rejected. In this text, rejecting Joseph Smith's specific commands is equated with rejecting God's word and breaking a divine covenant.
Theological Gap (Explained)
The theological gap between D&C 40 and Evangelical Christianity centers on epistemology, authority, and covenantal theology. In Evangelicalism, the 'word of the Lord' refers to the closed canon of Scripture and the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Covenants in the New Testament era are viewed through the lens of the New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ's blood, where God writes His law on the hearts of believers and promises to keep them (Hebrews 8). In contrast, D&C 40 operates within a framework of continuous revelation where the 'word of the Lord' includes immediate, specific, and binding directives given through Joseph Smith (such as the command for Covel to move to Ohio in D&C 39). Furthermore, the text demonstrates a fragile covenantal framework. Covel's heart was 'right' and he made a covenant, but he was immediately overthrown by fear. This contrasts sharply with the Evangelical doctrine of the perseverance of the saints or the assurance of salvation. If a believer's standing before God is based on their ability to perfectly obey ongoing prophetic directives and resist all worldly cares, the burden of salvation rests heavily on human performance rather than the finished, sufficient work of Christ (Sola Fide). The text effectively equates obedience to Joseph Smith with obedience to God, a conflation that Evangelicals reject as a violation of the sole authority of Scripture.
For All Ages
Imagine you have a teacher who gives you a rulebook on the first day of school. Christians believe that rulebook (the Bible) is finished and has everything you need to know. But in this story, a man named Joseph Smith said he was a new teacher who could hear God's voice directly. He told another man, James, that God wanted him to do specific things, like move to a new state. When James got scared and said no, Joseph Smith wrote down a new message, saying God was upset with James for breaking his promise. The big difference is that Christians don't believe God gives new, secret messages to leaders today to tell people where to move or to judge them if they get scared. Christians trust the finished Bible and believe God's promises to us depend on Jesus, not on how perfectly we follow a modern leader's instructions.
Friction Points
Sola Scriptura
The text claims to be direct, first-person revelation from God, adding to the canon of scripture and establishing Joseph Smith as the infallible mouthpiece of God.
Sola Fide / Assurance of Salvation
The text implies that one can have a right heart and make a valid covenant with God, but lose that standing immediately due to fear or worldly cares, undermining the security of the believer in Christ's finished work.
Semantic Warnings
Terms that have different meanings between traditions:
"Covenant"
In This Text
A two-way promise where an individual agrees to obey specific directives given by God through the modern prophet (in this case, baptism and relocation).
In Evangelicalism
A binding agreement initiated by God. In the Christian era, the New Covenant is established by Christ's blood, granting forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith, not through ongoing works or obedience to modern prophets.
"The Word"
In This Text
The specific, immediate revelations and commands given by Joseph Smith.
In Evangelicalism
The Holy Scriptures (the Bible) and Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:1).
Soteriology (Salvation)
Salvation Defined: While not explicitly defining eternal salvation, the text defines spiritual standing as having a 'right heart' and being in 'covenant' with God.
How Attained: Standing is attained by making a covenant to obey the word of the Lord (as delivered by the prophet).
Basis of Assurance: Assurance is entirely dependent on the individual's ongoing ability to resist temptation, overcome the fear of persecution, and ignore the cares of the world in order to keep the covenant.
Comparison to Sola Fide: This text stands in opposition to Sola Fide. Covel's standing was based on his covenant to *obey* (works/actions). When he failed to perform the required actions (moving to Ohio, facing persecution), he broke the covenant and faced judgment. Evangelicalism teaches that justification is a one-time legal declaration by God based on faith alone (Romans 5:1), and while true faith produces works, failures and fears do not break the believer's New Covenant standing, because Christ perfectly kept the law on their behalf.
Mandates & Requirements
Implicit Obligations
- Adherents must obey the word of the Lord as delivered by Joseph Smith.
- Adherents must resist Satan's temptations.
- Adherents must not allow the fear of persecution to dictate their spiritual decisions.
- Adherents must not allow the cares of the world to cause them to reject the gospel.
Evangelism Toolkit
Practical tools for engagement and dialogue:
Discovery Questions
Open-ended questions to promote reflection:
- When you read about James Covel, how does it make you feel about your own covenants? Do you ever worry that the 'cares of the world' might cause you to lose your standing with God?
- If a modern leader gives a specific command (like moving to a new state) and a person decides not to do it, how can we tell if they are rejecting God, or just exercising their own God-given wisdom and agency?
- In the New Testament, Jesus promises that no one can snatch His sheep out of His hand (John 10). How does that promise compare to the idea that a covenant can be broken so quickly by fear?
Redemptive Analogies
Bridges from this text to the Gospel:
The Parable of the Sower
This shared biblical imagery can be a bridge. You can agree with the LDS friend that the 'cares of the world' are dangerous. Then, transition to discussing what the 'good soil' looks like in the Bible—it is a heart prepared by God that rests entirely on Christ's finished work, producing fruit not out of fear of breaking a covenant, but out of gratitude for a salvation that is already secure.
Spiritual Weight
Burdens this text places on adherents:
The text teaches that even if your heart is 'right' and you make a sincere covenant with God, you are only one moment of fear or worldly distraction away from breaking that covenant and facing God's judgment. This places an immense psychological burden on the believer to constantly monitor their obedience and suppress any natural fears or doubts, lest they be accused of yielding to Satan and losing their spiritual standing.
Because rejecting Joseph Smith's specific command was equated with rejecting God's word and breaking a divine covenant, believers carry the burden of having to obey church leadership unquestioningly. Any hesitation or refusal to follow a leader's directive can be framed as a spiritual failure caused by Satan, stripping the believer of the freedom to exercise personal, biblically-informed conscience.