The Charge to the Ministry

How those sent out are to travel, what they may carry, what they are promised, and what they are to do at a door that closes. More of this charge is quoted from the Gospels than is original to it — and the revelation says so, twice, in the act of quoting.

What this page maps. Modern revelation, reported as the text gives it. This page covers the charge to those sent out — its conditions, promises and procedures — not the individual calls by name that other revelations issue. Dates, places, and occasions are not in this wiki’s source text and are not stated.

Account

The charge states its own precedent

Twice the revelation frames its instruction as a repetition of instruction already given. “And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God’s high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends” (D&C 84:63); “Therefore, as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost” (D&C 84:64). And again at the end of the section: “Behold, this is the way that mine apostles, in ancient days, built up my church unto me” (D&C 84:108). That the text presents its own charge as a re-issue is a fact of the text; the connections below show where the earlier wording stands in the corpus.

The signs

The promise list is introduced in words that stand in two other corpus books.

[Textual] — verbatim quotation. () - D&C 84:65: “And these signs shall follow them that believe—” - Mark 16:17: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”

Seven words identical. The revelation then unrolls its own list one item to a verse: “In my name they shall do many wonderful works” (D&C 84:66); “In my name they shall cast out devils” (D&C 84:67); “In my name they shall heal the sick” (D&C 84:68); “In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf” (D&C 84:69); “And the tongue of the dumb shall speak” (D&C 84:70). Two of those five have no counterpart in the Gospel verse — the wonderful works and the blind, deaf and dumb — and the Gospel’s “they shall speak with new tongues” (Mark 16:17) has no counterpart in the revelation. The sentence “And these signs shall follow them that believe” stands at three distinct frozen verses in the corpus: these two and Mormon 9:24.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () The third carrier of the same sentence, with its own list: - D&C 84:65: “And these signs shall follow them that believe—” - Mormon 9:24: “And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover;”

The introducing sentence is identical in all three carriers; what differs is punctuation and the list that follows. Moroni’s list matches the Gospel’s item for item — devils, tongues, serpents, deadly drink, the sick — where the revelation’s does not. Reported as a textual fact about three verses; the wiki does not assert which stands behind which.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () The one item where the revelation follows the Gospel’s wording closely: - D&C 84:71: “And if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them;” - Mark 16:18: “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Divergences reported: the revelation makes the poison something administered by another — “if any man shall administer poison unto them” (D&C 84:71) — where the Gospel makes it something drunk, “if they drink any deadly thing” (Mark 16:18). The revelation adds a serpent clause of its own in the next verse: “And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them” (D&C 84:72). “it shall not hurt them” stands at three distinct frozen verses in the corpus — these two and Mormon 9:24. A limit follows immediately: “But a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world” (D&C 84:73).

What they may carry

“For I suffered them not to have purse or scrip, neither two coats” (D&C 84:78); and, made a command for the present: “Therefore, let no man among you, for this commandment is unto all the faithful who are called of God in the church unto the ministry, from this hour take purse or scrip, that goeth forth to proclaim this gospel of the kingdom” (D&C 84:86). “purse or scrip” stands at exactly two distinct frozen verses in the corpus, both of them in this section; the corpus’s other carrier of the pairing reads “Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way” (Luke 10:4), which adds shoes and is disclosed here rather than paired.

The reason given is provision rather than austerity: “Behold, I send you out to prove the world, and the laborer is worthy of his hire” (D&C 84:79); “And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst” (D&C 84:80); “Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you, and clothe you, and give you money” (D&C 84:89). And the surplus is directed: “And if any man shall give unto any of you a coat, or a suit, take the old and cast it unto the poor, and go on your way rejoicing” (D&C 84:105).

Money that reaches a preacher with a family attached to him is directed back to it: “inasmuch as they have families, and receive money by gift, that they should send it unto them or make use of it for their benefit, as the Lord shall direct them” (D&C 84:103); money reaching one without a family goes to the bishop and to printing (D&C 84:104). Elsewhere in the corpus the obligation is stated from the church’s side rather than the preacher’s: “it is the duty of the church to assist in supporting the families of those, and also to support the families of those who are called and must needs be sent unto the world to proclaim the gospel unto the world” (D&C 75:24); “let all such as can obtain places for their families, and support of the church for them, not fail to go into the world” (D&C 75:26); with the reverse case protected as well — “every man who is obliged to provide for his own family, let him provide, and he shall in nowise lose his crown; and let him labor in the church” (D&C 75:28). The two mechanisms are different — a preacher remitting what he receives, and a church supporting those he leaves — and no record is proposed pairing them; they are set side by side as textual facts.

[Textual] — verbatim quotation. () The argument against anxiety is quoted almost whole: - D&C 84:82: “For, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these.” - Matthew 6:28: “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:”

Thirteen words identical apart from punctuation. Divergences: the revelation drops the Gospel’s opening question and adds the comparison clause — “and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these” (D&C 84:82) — which corresponds in sense to the Gospel’s following verse rather than to the one quoted. The surrounding commands match too: “Therefore, take ye no thought for the morrow, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed” (D&C 84:81); “Therefore, let the morrow take thought for the things of itself” (D&C 84:84).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () The corpus’s third carrier of the figure: - D&C 84:82: “For, consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these.” - 3 Nephi 13:28: “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;”

The Book of Mormon verse stands nearer to the Gospel than to the revelation — it keeps the opening question the revelation drops. “consider the lilies of the field” stands at exactly three distinct frozen verses in the corpus: these two and Matthew 6:28.

Two further clauses of the charge follow known wording. “And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power” (D&C 84:77).

[Textual] — paraphrase / allusion. () - D&C 84:77: “And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends, it is expedient that I give unto you this commandment, that ye become even as my friends in days when I was with them, traveling to preach the gospel in my power;” - John 15:15: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

Both verses turn on the word “henceforth” and on the naming of friends; the Gospel verse sets the name against “servants” (John 15:15), which the revelation does not, and the revelation adds a comparison the Gospel lacks — that its hearers are to become “even as my friends in days when I was with them” (D&C 84:77). The runs “henceforth I call you not servants” and “I have called you friends” each stand at exactly one distinct frozen verse in the corpus, John 15:15.

At a door that closes

“He that receiveth you not, go away from him alone by yourselves, and cleanse your feet even with water, pure water, whether in heat or in cold, and bear testimony of it unto your Father which is in heaven, and return not again unto that man” (D&C 84:92); “And in whatsoever village or city ye enter, do likewise” (D&C 84:93); “Nevertheless, search diligently and spare not; and wo unto that house, or that village or city that rejecteth you, or your words, or your testimony concerning me” (D&C 84:94). A separate revelation gives the travelling arrangement: “Let them go two by two, and thus let them preach by the way in every congregation, baptizing by water, and the laying on of the hands by the water’s side” (D&C 52:10), with a boundary on territory — “let all these take their journey unto one place, in their several courses, and one man shall not build upon another’s foundation, neither journey in another’s track” (D&C 52:33) — and a boundary on content: “And let them journey from thence preaching the word by the way, saying none other things than that which the prophets and apostles have written, and that which is taught them by the Comforter through the prayer of faith” (D&C 52:9).

The same section attaches a standing obligation to the labor: “And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple” (D&C 52:40). And another states that those sent are sent to teach rather than to be taught: “Ye are not sent forth to be taught, but to teach the children of men the things which I have put into your hands by the power of my Spirit” (D&C 43:15); “And ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves and ye shall be endowed with power, that ye may give even as I have spoken” (D&C 43:16).

The song at the end of the charge

The section closes the missionary charge with a promise and a song. “Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:” (D&C 84:98), and the song’s first line follows: “The Lord hath brought again Zion; The Lord hath redeemed his people, Israel, According to the election of grace, Which was brought to pass by the faith And covenant of their fathers.” (D&C 84:99).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 84:98: “Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:” - Isaiah 52:8: “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.”

Three clauses of the prophetic verse stand in the revelation, in reversed order — the revelation puts seeing eye to eye first and the singing last, where Isaiah’s verse sings first and sees last. The revelation drops Isaiah’s watchmen, and its “this new song” (D&C 84:98) has no counterpart in the Isaiah verse. Isaiah’s closing clause reappears as the song’s own opening line — “The Lord hath brought again Zion” (D&C 84:99) against “when the LORD shall bring again Zion” (Isaiah 52:8) — a tense shift from future to perfect. “see eye to eye” stands at seven distinct frozen verses in the corpus: these two, Mosiah 12:22, Mosiah 15:29, Mosiah 16:1, 3 Nephi 16:18, and 3 Nephi 20:32 — the Book of Mormon carriers quoting the Isaiah verse more fully than the revelation does. Disclosed; not paired.

The warning the same charge carries

The section that tells the elders they are sent to teach also tells them what to say, and the register changes: “Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying: Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord” (D&C 43:20). The argument is put as a comparison between the messenger and what follows him: “For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying—Repent, and prepare for the great day of the Lord?” (D&C 43:21).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () The lament attached to that call stands in the Gospels, addressed to a city rather than to the nations: - D&C 43:24: “O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!” - Matthew 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

Divergences reported: the addressee is “ye nations of the earth” (D&C 43:24) against “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” and “thy children” (Matthew 23:37); the Gospel’s “even as a hen” loses its “even”; and the closing conjunction shifts from “and ye would not” (Matthew 23:37) to “but ye would not” (D&C 43:24). The figure “hen gathereth her chickens” stands at seven distinct frozen verses in the corpus: these two, 3 Nephi 10:4, 3 Nephi 10:5, 3 Nephi 10:6, D&C 10:65, and D&C 29:2 — the Book of Mormon carriers running the figure through three tenses in three consecutive verses. Disclosed; only the Gospel verse is paired here.

The section’s next verse extends the list of means by which the call has been made — “by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind” (D&C 43:25) — and closes the same way: “but ye would not!” (D&C 43:25).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () The change promised at the end of that passage: - D&C 43:32: “And he that liveth in righteousness shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pass away so as by fire.” - 1 Corinthians 15:52: “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Divergences reported: the epistle’s verse attaches the change to the last trump and to the raising of the dead; the revelation attaches it to living “in righteousness” and pairs it with the earth passing away “so as by fire” (D&C 43:32), neither of which the epistle’s verse carries. “the twinkling of an eye” stands at five distinct frozen verses in the corpus: these two, 3 Nephi 28:8, D&C 63:51, and D&C 101:31 — disclosed, not paired.

Significance

This charge is unusually easy to check, because it says what it is doing. It tells its hearers that they are being given what apostles were given (“as I said unto mine apostles”, D&C 84:63), and the wording bears that out at point after point: the signs sentence, the lilies, the friends, the purse and scrip, the shaken-off welcome. Where it departs from the earlier wording it does so in specific ways — a poison administered rather than drunk, two coats rather than shoes, blind and deaf and dumb added to the list of signs — and those departures are set out above rather than smoothed over.

The one thing the page does not do is rank the carriers. Three corpus books open the same sentence about signs; five books carry the eye-to-eye clause. Which stands behind which is a question about the texts’ production, which is outside this wiki’s scope.

Key references

D&C 43:15–16 — sent to teach, not to be taught; endowed with power
D&C 43:20–25, 43:32 — lift up your voices; the hen and the chickens; the twinkling of an eye
D&C 52:9–10, 52:33, 52:40 — two by two; no man on another’s track; the poor and the afflicted
D&C 84:63–75 — the apostolic precedent stated; the signs; the limit on boasting
D&C 84:77–95 — friends; purse and scrip; the lilies; the closed door
D&C 84:98–102 — the new song

Offices of the Church · The Twelve and the Seventy · The Call to the Labor · Index · Connections

Sources

Doctrine and Covenants sections 43, 52, and 84 (verse text only; headnotes excluded), with D&C 75:24–28 quoted as cross-section evidence on the support of preachers’ families. Cross-references quoted from Mark 16, Mormon 9, Matthew 6, 3 Nephi 13, John 15, Isaiah 52, Matthew 23, and 1 Corinthians 15; Luke 10, Mosiah 12, Mosiah 15, Mosiah 16, 3 Nephi 16, 3 Nephi 20, 3 Nephi 10, D&C 10, D&C 29, 3 Nephi 28, D&C 63, and D&C 101 are cited, not quoted, inside disclosures.

Every quote is verbatim from the frozen source text, cited to its exact reference and checked character-for-character; no quote crosses a verse boundary. Nine connection records are registered on this page, all [textual] and all asserted_by: wiki — the section states a general apostolic precedent but names no source text for any clause paired here. Phrase distributions are counts of distinct frozen verses in the corpus, derived by search at the time of writing.