While the primary purpose of Doctrine and Covenants 132 is to explain the practice of plural marriage (D&C 132:1–2), the Lord began by outlining the new and everlasting covenant, which includes eternal marriage. The new and everlasting covenant is a theme throughout the revelations of the Restoration. The covenant is ancient, going back to Adam and Eve, but also “new” in the sense that restoring the covenant was the culmination of all the revelations given to Joseph Smith. In their first appearance to Joseph Smith in 1820, the Father and the Son stated that one of their purposes was to restore the new and everlasting covenant. In an account of the First Vision recorded by Levi Richards on June 11, 1843, Joseph Smith told Levi that he “went into the grove and enquired of the Lord which of all the sects were right—[he] received for [an] answer that none of them were right, that they were all wrong, and that the Everlasting covena[n]t was broken.”¹

The ultimate aim of the new and everlasting covenant is to allow men and women to become like God and become “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17). When performed by the proper authority, marriage is a part of this new and everlasting covenant, which encompasses all of the ordinances and covenants a person can enter into with God. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith the day the Church was organized, the Lord referred to baptism as “a new and everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning” (D&C 22:1). Marriage, baptism, and all the gospel covenants and ordinances are how we come unto the Father and receive of His fulness (D&C 84:38). If we do not receive these ordinances, we are damned, or inhibited from progressing further toward exaltation. The Lord warns three different times in these verses (D&C 132:3–6) that those who know the law will be damned if they do not obey it.

1. Levi Richards, Journal, 11 June 1843, extract, p. 16, JSP.

In Doctrine and Covenants 132:7–14 the Lord emphasized that for any covenant to be eternal, it must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. This includes all the ordinances of the gospel. If a baptism, endowment, marriage, or any kind of covenant is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, the ordinance is not in force when we are dead. To be sealed means that the covenants are made eternally binding so they continue after a person’s mortal life has ended. To receive this seal is, in effect, to receive the Lord’s seal of approval and His blessing for our covenants to continue beyond the grave.

Elder David A. Bednar explained, “The Holy Spirit of Promise is the ratifying power of the Holy Ghost. When sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, an ordinance, vow, or covenant is binding on earth and in heaven. (See D&C 132:7.) Receiving this ‘stamp of approval’ from the Holy Ghost is the result of faithfulness, integrity, and steadfastness in honoring gospel covenants ‘in [the] process of time’ (Moses 7:21). However, this sealing can be forfeited through unrighteousness and transgression. Purifying and sealing by the Holy Spirit of Promise constitute the culminating steps in the process of being born again.”² The ratifying seal of the Holy Spirit is necessary for all ordinances of the gospel, including eternal marriage. They must be performed by one with authority—someone “who is anointed” (D&C 132:7)—and be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise to last in the eternities.

2. David A. Bednar, “Ye Must Be Born Again,” April 2007 General Conference.

In Doctrine and Covenants 132:15–20 the Lord provided three scenarios to illustrate the importance of the proper authority in marriage and the ratifying seal of the Holy Ghost. First, the Lord described a marriage performed by someone who does not have the sealing power: “if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word” (D&C 132:15). This kind of marriage serves to legally bind husband and wife to each other while they are in this life but is of no effect in the life to come. Most marriage ceremonies performed outside the temple acknowledge this limitation, usually ending with the phrase “till death do us part.” Even Latter-day Saint bishops who perform marriages outside the temple inform couples that they are “legally and lawfully wedded for the period of [their] mortal lives.”³

The second scenario describes a situation in which “a man marr[ies] a wife, and make[s] a covenant with her for time and for all eternity” but “that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power” (D&C 132:18). In this scenario the marriage is also not in force when the couple leaves this life. Even if the couple aims to create an eternal marriage, without proper authority, the marriage is dissolved at death. In addition, if the individuals in the marriage do not live so that the Holy Spirit can provide His ratifying seal to a marriage, it is also not in force when they are dead. President Joseph Fielding Smith explained, “If one or both of these covenanting persons break that covenant by which they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, then the Spirit withdraws the deal and the guilty party, or parties, stands as if there had been no sealing or promise given. All covenants are based on faithfulness.”⁴

These verses (D&C 132:15–20) do not imply a cruel or harsh punishment for those who do not enter into eternal relationships in this life, for whatever reason. But those individuals cannot enter into the same kind of life that God lives. Instead, they serve as ministering angels and assist in the work of salvation in their own way. Joseph Smith taught, “Gods have an ascendancy over the Angels who are ministering servants, in the resurrection some are raised to be angels, others are raised to become Gods.”⁵

3. General Handbook, 38.3.6.

4. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1954–56, 2:98.

5. JS History, 1838–1856, volume D-1 [1 August 1842–1 July 1843], p. 1575, JSP.

The final scenario given by the Lord is what occurs “if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood” (D&C 132:19). In this case, a man and a woman are married by one who holds the sealing keys and their union is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. The list of blessings promised to those who honor this covenant constitutes one of the longest verses in all of recorded scripture (D&C 132:19) and continues on through several more verses (D&C 132:20–24). It is enough to summarize that those who receive the blessing of eternal marriage become like God and will receive the opportunity of enjoying an endless posterity in the eternities.

Family relationships stemming from eternal marriages continue after death, and those who honor their sacred covenants are given the opportunity after their mortal existence to create new family relationships with a posterity that endures forever. This opportunity is not just limited to eternal life. The Lord refers to this as “eternal lives” (D&C 132:24), the chance to experience the kind of life that God and Jesus Christ know and live. President Brigham Young taught in an 1876 discourse:

The great and grand secret of salvation, which we should continually seek to understand through our faithfulness, is the continuation of the lives. Those of the Latter-day Saints who will continue to follow after the revelations and commandments of God to do them, who are found to be obedient in all things, continually advancing little by little towards perfection and the knowledge of God, they, when they enter the spirit world and receive their bodies, will be able to advance faster in the things pertaining to the knowledge of the Gods, and will continue onward and upward until they become Gods, even the sons of God. This I say is the great secret of the hereafter, to continue in the lives forever and forever, which is the greatest of all gifts God has ever bestowed upon his children. We all have it within our reach, we can all attain to this perfected and exalted state if we will embrace its principles and practice them in our everyday life.⁶

6. Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 18:257.

These verses (D&C 132:26–27) have at times been misunderstood to imply that a person’s exaltation is assured if they enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and do not commit murder or commit the unpardonable sin of denying the Holy Ghost. President Joseph Fielding Smith became so frustrated with this misinterpretation that he declared, “Verse 26, in section 132, is the most abused passage in any scripture. The Lord has never promised any soul that he may be taken into exaltation without the spirit of repentance. While repentance is not stated in this passage, yet it is, and must be, implied. It is strange to me that everyone knows about verse 26, but it seems that they have never read or heard of Matthew 12:31–32, where the Lord tells us the same thing in substance as we find in verse 26, section 132.” Matthew 12:31–32 reads, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

President Smith continued, “So we must conclude that those spoken of in verse 26 are those who, having sinned, have fully repented and are willing to pay the price of their sinning, else the blessings of exaltation will not follow. Repentance is absolutely necessary for the forgiveness, and the person having sinned must be cleansed.”⁷

7. Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:95–96.

In verses 28–36 of Doctrine and Covenants 132, the Lord explained a few of the principles behind the practice of plural marriage. First, plural marriage is biblical. It was practiced by the men and women in the early histories of Genesis as a way of fulfilling the Lord’s promises to them of a posterity “as innumerable as the stars” (Genesis 15:5; 22:17–18; 26:4; Abraham 3:14; D&C 132:30). Abraham, considered the father of the faithful, practiced plural marriage. The Savior Himself taught that Abraham was one of the few people, along with Isaac and Jacob, who were already in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 8:11; Luke 16:22). Anyone who reads the scriptures seriously has to reckon with the exalted status of Abraham, a righteous man who also practiced plural marriage.

It is also fitting that the Lord invoked the example of Abraham in section 132 because it appears that one of the primary purposes of commanding the early Saints to practice plural marriage was to test their faithfulness. Abraham underwent a painfully severe test—he was commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22; D&C 132:36). The men and women of the early Restoration lived in a period in which chastity and fidelity were held in high esteem. Asking these people to enter into a new system of marriage was an Abrahamic test of sorts. Brigham Young, who was one of the most ardent defenders of plural marriage in his later life, recalled, “My brethren know what my feelings were at the time Joseph revealed the doctrine; I was not desirous of shrinking from any duty, nor of failing in the least to do as I was commanded, but it was the first time in my life that I had desired the grave, and I could hardly get over it for a long time. And when I saw a funeral, I felt to envy the corpse [and] its situation, and to regret that I was not in the coffin.”⁸

The introduction of plural marriage was perhaps an even greater trial for the faithful women of the Church. Phebe W. Woodruff, the wife of Wilford Woodruff, later wrote about her introduction to the practice:

When the principles of polygamy was first taught[,] I thought it the most wicked thing I ever heard of; consequently I supposed it to the best of my ability, until I became sick and wretched. As soon, however, as I became convinced that it originated as a revelation from God through Joseph, and knowing him to be a prophet, I wrestled with my Heavenly Father in fervent prayers—, to be guided aright at that all important moment of my life. The answer came. Peace was given to my mind. I knew it was the will of God; and from that time to the present[,] I have sought to faithfully honor the patriarchal law. Of Joseph, my testimony is that he was one of the greatest prophets the Lord ever called; that he lived for the redemption of mankind, and died a martyr for the truth.⁹

The Saints were not freed from the trial of plural marriage at the last moment the way that Abraham was, but they followed through with the Lord’s commands and endured the trial. Helen Mar Kimball later said, “The Prophet said that the practice of this principle would be the hardest trial the Saints would ever have to test their faith.”¹⁰ She also recalled: “I did not try to conceal the fact of its having been a trial, but confessed that it had been one of the severest of my life; but that it had also proven one of the greatest of blessings. I could truly say it had done the most towards making me a Saint and a free woman, in every sense of the word; and I knew many others who could say the same, and to whom it had proven one of the greatest boons—a ‘blessing in disguise.’”¹¹

8. Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 3:266.

9. “Autobiographic Sketch of Phebe W. Woodruff, Salt Lake City, 1880,” Phebe W. (Carter) Woodruff, in “Utah and Mormons” collection, Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley; microfilm copy in Church History Library, MS 8305, Reel 1, Item 7.

10. Jeni Broberg Holzapfel and Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, eds., A Woman’s View: Helen Mar Whitney’s Reminiscences of Early Church History, 1992, 142–43.

11. Helen Mar Kimball Whitney, Why We Practice Plural Marriage, 1884, 23–24; see also page 8.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:37–39 mentions two of the most controversial aspects of plural marriage as it was practiced in the Old Testament. The Lord speaks of Abraham, David, Solomon, and Moses as having “wives and concubines” (D&C 132:37–39). A concubine was seen as a secondary wife. One biblical scholar has noted, “The biblical narratives demonstrate that another major motivating factor [for plural marriage] was the securing of offspring.”¹² For instance, the form of plural marriage practiced by Abraham appears to have been an exception to the law of marriage that a man should have one wife (D&C 49:16; Jacob 2:27–30). He acted so that he could secure his posterity (see Genesis 15).

Abraham’s engagement in the practice of plural marriage took place under the guiding hand of revelation. Joseph Smith taught, “Abraham was guided in all his family affairs by the Lord; was told where to go, and when to stop; was conversed with by angels, and by the Lord; and prospered exceedingly in all that he put his hand unto; it was because he and his family obeyed the counsel of the Lord.”¹³ The practice of concubinage is mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 132, but it was part of the cultural environment of the early biblical period, not part of marriage relationships in the eternities.¹⁴

David and Solomon also had many wives. Speaking of them, the Lord declares, “In nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me” (D&C 132:38). Both of these Israelite rulers took the practice too far because they were later condemned in the Book of Mormon by the Prophet Jacob, who rebuked the Nephites for invoking David and Solomon to justify “whoredoms” (Jacob 2:23). Jacob taught, “David and Solomon had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord” (Jacob 2:24). In the same discourse, Jacob established that monogamous marriage was the rule in God’s kingdom, while plural marriage was an exception granted under unusual circumstances. He specified:

Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none; For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes. For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things. (Jacob 2:27–30)

12. Lexham Bible Dictionary. 

13. Editorial, 15 July 1842–A, p. 857, JSP.

14. Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4:244, 255.

In Doctrine and Covenants 132:40–45 the Lord provided a second reason for the reintroduction of plural marriage. Joseph Smith was given a commission to “restore all things” (D&C 132:40, 45). In an 1840 instruction on the priesthood, Joseph taught, “All the ordinances and duties that ever have been required by the priesthood under the directions and commandments of the Almighty in any of the dispensations, shall all be had in the last dispensations. Therefore, all things had under the authority of the priesthood at any former period shall be had again, bringing to pass the restoration spoken of by the mouth of all the Holy prophets.”¹⁵

The Saints of the early Restoration understood plural marriage as a biblical practice that was part of the prophesied “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:19–21). Benjamin F. Johnson, near the end of his life, recalled, “In 1835 at Kirtland I learned from my sister’s husband, Lyman R. Sherman, who was close to the Prophet, and received it from him. That the ancient order of plural marriage was again to be practiced by the Church.”¹⁶ Helen Mar Kimball remembered, “[Joseph] astonished his hearers by preaching on the restoration of all things, and said that as it was anciently with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so it would be again, etc.”¹⁷

Eliza R. Snow also contextualized plural marriage as part of the restoration of all things. She wrote:

In Nauvoo I first understood that the practice of plurality of wives was to be introduced into the church. The subject was very repugnant to my feelings—so directly was it in opposition to my educated prepossessions, that it seemed as though all the prejudices of my ancestors for generations past congregated around me: But when I reflected that I was living in the Dispensation of the fulness of times, embracing all other Dispensations, surely Plural Marriage must necessarily be included, and I consoled myself with the idea that it was far in the distance, and beyond the period of my mortal existence. It was not long however, after I received the first intimation, before the announcement reach[ed] me that the “set time” had come—that God had commanded his servants to establish the order, by taking additional wives—I knew that God . . . was speaking. . . . As I increased in knowledge concerning the principle and design of Plural Marriage, I grew in love with it.¹⁸

It is also clear from Doctrine and Covenants 132:40–45 that Joseph Smith worried over the possibilities of plural marriage being perceived as adultery. The Lord assured him that such marital relationships are not adultery if they are performed by the proper authority (D&C 132:41). However, if either a husband (D&C 132:43) or a wife (D&C 132:41) enters into a plural marriage without the Lord’s sanction, it is a sin.

The Lord also taught a comforting truth in Doctrine and Covenants 132:44: a spouse who engages in sin does not condemn a spouse who remains faithful to their covenants. The Lord taught that the spouse who has remained faithful can still obtain the blessings of exaltation. President Lorenzo Snow confirmed this teaching, saying, “There is no Latter-day Saint who dies after having lived a faithful life who will lose anything because of having failed to do certain things when opportunities were not furnished to him or her. In other words, if a young man or young woman has no opportunity of getting married, and they live faithful lives up to the time of their death, they will have all the blessings, exaltation, and glory that any man or woman will have who had this opportunity and improved it. That is sure and positive.”¹⁹

15. Instruction on Priesthood, circa 5 October 1840, p. 8, JSP.

16. Dean R. Zimmerman, I Knew the Prophets: An Analysis of the Letter of Benjamin F. Johnson to George F. Gibbs, 1976, 37–38

17. Helen Mar Whitney, Plural Marriage as Taught by the Prophet Joseph: A Reply to Joseph Smith [III], Editor of the Lamoni Iowa “Herald,” 1882, 11

18. Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, ed., The Personal Writings of Eliza Roxcy Snow, 2000, 16–17

19. Clyde J. Williams, comp., The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow,1984, 138; see Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4:244, 255.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:46–50 speaks of the sealing keys, a divine power that makes covenants binding on earth and in heaven, or in this life and the next. In a March 10, 1844, discourse recorded by Wilford Woodruff, Joseph Smith declared:

The doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows: If you have power to seal on earth and in heaven then we should be crafty—the first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory and go ahead and not go back. Seal all you can, and when you get to heaven, tell your father that what you seal on earth should be sealed in heaven. I will walk through the gate of heaven and claim what I seal and those that follow me and my counsel.²⁰

This power to seal is held by the President of the Church and is used under his direction to bless the lives of the members of the Church. In his own lifetime Joseph Smith carefully oversaw the use of the sealing power. His history records, “[I] gave instructions to try those persons who were preaching, teaching, or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives; for according to the law I hold the keys of this power in the last days, for there is never but one on Earth at a time on whom the power and its keys are conferred—and I have constantly said no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord directs otherwise.”²¹

20. Discourse, 10 March 1844, as Reported by Wilford Woodruff, p. 211, JSP, spelling and punctuation modernized.

21. JS History, 1838–1856, volume E-1 [1 July 1843–30 April 1844], p. 1746, JSP.

Doctrine and Covenants 132:51–56 is directed toward Emma Smith. Much of the context of these verses is only known to Emma, Joseph Smith, and the Lord. Plural marriage was a severe test for both of them. One historian noted:

Plural marriage opened the door to Emma’s personal Abrahamic sacrifice, namely her own marriage. [Joseph and Emma] had been sealed for eternity, a deep, intimate bond between them, but a bond that was severely tested in unimaginable ways. Over time, Emma expressed her hope to understand: “I desire a fruitful, active mind, that I may be able to comprehend the designs of God, when revealed to his servants without doubting.” Somehow, sometime, before Joseph died, Emma was reconciled in her own way. Although very little is sure about Joseph’s practice of plural marriage and Emma’s experience, two things are certain: no children resulted from Joseph’s plural wives, and Emma was pregnant with Joseph’s son when he died.²²

After Joseph Smith’s martyrdom, Emma did not follow Brigham Young and the Twelve to the Great Basin. Beginning in 1860, she supported her sons as they affiliated with the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (today named Community of Christ). Emma remained a faithful witness of the Restoration and the divine calling of Joseph Smith, though her statements on plural marriage contradict accounts given by dozens of other witnesses from the same time period. It is best to reserve judgment on Emma and to honor her as a stalwart supporter of the Restoration and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Plural marriage was one of many trials faced by Emma because of her faith. In an 1869 letter to her son Joseph Smith III, she wrote, “I have seen many, yes very many, trying scenes in my life which I could not see . . . where any good could come of them.” She then added this testimony: “But yet I feel a divine trust in God, that all things shall work for good.”²³

22. Jennifer Reeder, First: The Life and Faith of Emma Smith, 2021, 30.

23. Emma Smith Bidamon to Joseph Smith III, 1869, quoted in Gracia N. Jones, “My Great-Great Grandmother, Emma Smith,” Ensign, August 1992.

The final verses of Doctrine and Covenants 132 contain references to the “law of Sarah,” or a reference to Sarah’s consent when Abraham entered into a relationship with Hagar to have a son. The biblical account teaches that this action took place at Sarah’s bidding (Genesis 16:1–2). Doctrine and Covenants 132 adds that the Lord commanded Abraham to take Hagar as a wife (D&C 132:65). Abraham and Sarah both obeyed the Lord’s command in this case. In section 132, the law of Sarah is invoked in the context of the difficulties Joseph and Emma Smith experienced with the command to practice plural marriage. Again, we possess very little information about the private discussions Joseph and Emma held about the doctrine and its practice. Given the timeline presented by different sources, it is likely that they wrestled with the doctrine for years before Joseph was given an exemption from the law of Sarah. We also know that Emma vacillated between acceptance of the practice and opposition to it for the rest of Joseph Smith’s life.²⁴

The Lord’s stern warning to Emma that she would be “destroyed” (D&C 132:54) must also be taken in proper context. Several scriptural commentators have pointed out that the use of the word destroyed here is the same as its use in Peter’s prophecy of Moses and those who would reject Christ. Peter taught, “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people” (Acts 3:22–23). When the same prophecy of Moses was cited by Nephi in the Book of Mormon, instead of “destroyed,” Nephi said those who refused to listen would be “cut off from among the people” (1 Nephi 22:20).²⁵

Questions of Emma’s struggles with plural marriage cannot be resolved with the current sources at hand. It is also improper to speculate about Emma’s salvation. An incident told by Emma’s nurse, Elizabeth Revel, illustrates Emma’s relationship with God near the end of her life. According to Revel, a few days before Emma’s death,

Joseph came to her in a vision and said, “Emma, come with me, it is time for you to come with me.” As Emma related it, she said, “I put on my bonnet and my shawl and went with him; I did not think that it was anything unusual. I went with him into a mansion, and he showed me through the different apartments of that beautiful mansion.” And one room was the nursery. In that nursery was a babe in the cradle. She said, “I knew my babe, my Don Carlos that was taken from me.” She sprang forward, caught the child up in her arms, and wept with joy over the child. When Emma recovered herself sufficient[,] she turned to Joseph and said, “Joseph, where are the rest of my children.” He said to her, “Emma, be patient and you shall have all of your children.” Then she saw standing by his side a personage of light, even the Lord Jesus Christ.²⁶

24. Linda King Newell and Valeen Tippetts Avery, Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith, 1984, 145; see also 142.

25. Joseph Fielding McConkie and Craig J. Ostler, Revelations of the Restoration, 2000, 1075–76; Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, 4:244, 255.

26. Alexander Hale Smith, sermon given 1 July 1903, Bottlineau, North Dakota, quoted in Gracia N. Jones, “My Great-Great Grandmother, Emma Smith,” Ensign, August 1992.