D&C 129-132 - Eternal Marriage & Plural Marriage

18 snips

Nov 12, 2025

Explore the fascinating keys to discerning heavenly beings and spirits, and the profound teachings on eternal marriage. Delve into why the Lord withholds dates for the Second Coming, emphasizing perpetual readiness. Discover how education impacts our eternal advantage and the significance of temple worthiness. Uncover the complexities of plural marriage, its historical context, and the theological justifications rooted in biblical precedents. Engage with the spiritual logic behind these doctrines, all while wrestling with challenging concepts.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Three Keys To Discern Spirits

Section 129 gives three practical tests to discern heavenly manifestations: offer a hand, feel for a body, and note whether a spirit can physically interact.
Jared Halverson connects this to modern AI and virtual reality as a model for discerning truth from imitation.

ADVICE

Stay Open But Discern Carefully

Offer your hand: remain open to truth while staying discerning and sensitive to the Spirit.
Treasure up the word of God so you can recognize and avoid deception.

INSIGHT

Quit Asking The Exact When

D&C 130 teaches the Lord will not reveal exact timing of the Second Coming and tells Joseph, "trouble me no more."
The emphasis is on perpetual readiness and preparation rather than calendar-keeping.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Discerning spirits, the nature of God, glorious sociality, the timing of the Second Coming, eternal marriage, and plural marriage. In this pivotal lesson, we jump into the deep end of Restoration doctrine, covering Joseph Smith's most profound teachings on the nature of God, our eternal potential, and the covenants that bind us forever. Summary: This episode explores D&C 129–132, revelations containing foundational and high-level doctrine for the Church.

D&C 129: Discerning Spirits. The Lord provides "three grand keys" to distinguish a resurrected being, a righteous spirit, and the devil appearing as an angel of light. This section emphasizes the eternal reality of the body and the importance of discernment.

D&C 130: Eternal Knowledge and Timing. Joseph records several "items of instruction," including the promise that "whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection," providing an "advantage in the world to come." He also recounts the Lord's gentle command to "trouble me no more" about the timing of the Second Coming. Crucially, we learn that the "same sociality" we enjoy here, "coupled with eternal glory," will exist in the world to come.

D&C 131: The New and Everlasting Covenant. This section reveals that in the celestial glory, a man "must enter into this order of the priesthood [the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]" to obtain the highest degree and have an eternal "increase."

D&C 132: Eternal Marriage and Law. This essential revelation lays out the foundational law of eternal marriage, which must be "sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise" and entered into by revelation through the authorized servant. We discuss the stark difference between marriages that "have an end when men are dead" and those that lead to "thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers." We also examine the difficult topic of plural marriage, seeing it as an Abrahamic test given by command to "restore all things."

Call-to-Action: What kind of "knowledge and intelligence" are you working to secure for your resurrection? Share your study goals in the comments! If this message helped clarify the path to eternal lives, please like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay "Unshaken" in your faith.

Chapter Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction

7:04 Discerning Spirits in an AI World

19:02 Timing of the Second Coming

29:34 Education for Eternity

43:39 Eternal Relationships

1:08:34 Growing into Godhood

1:17:39 Plural Marriage

1:38:09 Abrahamic Tests

2:02:11 One-Liners