The New and Everlasting Covenant

The longest section in this cluster, and the one that legislates most and hedges least. It opens as an answer to a question about the marriages of six named men, states a general law of binding and loosing that reaches every contract a person makes, and ends in a set of case rulings, several of them addressed to a woman named in the verse text.

What this page maps. Modern revelation, reported as the text gives it. The section speaks in a first-person divine voice throughout and addresses a servant named in the verse text. Dates, places, and occasions are not in this wiki’s source text and are not stated, and nothing about how, when, or whether any of this was practised is available to this page. What the section says is reported; what it means, and what it has meant, are questions the wiki leaves with the reader.

Standing disclosure — KJV-overlap material. This page reports verbal correspondence with the King James text as textual fact, including where the correspondence follows the KJV’s English translation. What that correspondence implies about the origin of the Doctrine and Covenants text — in any direction — is an external question outside this wiki’s scope.

Account

The question the section says it is answering

The section states its own occasion in its first verse, and the statement is unusually specific: the servant addressed “inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines” (D&C 132:1). Six men are named; the subject is stated; and the promise to answer follows at once: “I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.” (D&C 132:2).

The answer, when it comes thirty-six verses later, is treated in its own section below. What comes first is a general law.

The general law: what remains, and what does not

The covenant is named and its stake is stated in one verse: “I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.” (D&C 132:4). The phrase “new and everlasting covenant” stands at seven distinct frozen verses in the corpus, six of them in this section (D&C 132:6, 132:19, 132:26, 132:27, 132:41, 132:42) and the seventh at D&C 131:2.

The law’s operative clause is the section’s longest sentence, and its reach is the widest thing in it: “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise… are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.” (D&C 132:7). The same verse states the channel and its exclusivity in a parenthesis: “there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred” (D&C 132:7).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:7: “…that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity…” - Ephesians 1:13: “…in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”

Divergences reported: preposition and article — “sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise” in the revelation against “sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” in the epistle (D&C 132:7; Ephesians 1:13); capitalization of “holy”; and, substantively, the epistle names believing as what precedes the sealing, where the revelation names an anointed officer through whom it is done. The phrase “holy Spirit of promise” stands at eight distinct frozen verses in the corpus: Ephesians 1:13, D&C 76:53, D&C 88:3, D&C 124:124, and four in this section (D&C 132:7, 132:18, 132:19, 132:26). The epistle is the only non-Doctrine-and-Covenants witness and is paired for that reason; the rest are disclosed.

The consequence for marriages made outside the covenant is stated twice, once for time-only marriages (D&C 132:15) and once for eternity-claiming marriages not sealed by the named power (D&C 132:18) — and in between, the section states what those who are not so joined become.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:16: “Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants…” - Matthew 22:30: “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”

Divergences reported: the gospel’s verse states a fact about everyone in the resurrection; the revelation states it of a subset — those whose covenants were not sealed — and the difference is carried entirely by context, not by the shared words. “are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30) becomes “are appointed angels in heaven” (D&C 132:16), a change from simile to appointment, and the revelation’s next verse presses it further: “from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever” (D&C 132:17). The run “neither marry nor are given in marriage” stands at four distinct frozen verses in the corpus: D&C 132:16, Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, and Luke 20:35. Matthew is paired because its verse alone ends on the angels-in-heaven clause the revelation reworks; Mark and Luke are disclosed.

The two gates, with their adjectives exchanged

The section states the alternative outcomes with a figure taken from a sermon, and it makes two changes worth noticing: it swaps the adjectives on the second gate, and it puts both nouns in the plural.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:22: “For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.” - Matthew 7:14: “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

Divergences reported: the revelation drops the second “is” (“narrow the way”); the destination changes from “life” to “the exaltation and continuation of the lives” (Matthew 7:14; D&C 132:22); and the revelation supplies a reason the sermon does not, “because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me”. The run “few there be that find it” stands at four distinct frozen verses in the corpus: 3 Nephi 14:14, 3 Nephi 27:33, D&C 132:22, and Matthew 7:14. Matthew is paired because 3 Nephi 14:14 belongs to the sermon-at-the-temple block already mapped on Sermon at the Temple; both 3 Nephi verses are disclosed.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:25: “Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in thereat, because they receive me not, neither do they abide in my law.” - Matthew 7:13: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”

Divergences reported: the two adjectives are exchanged — the sermon has “wide is the gate, and broad is the way” and the revelation “Broad is the gate, and wide the way” (Matthew 7:13; D&C 132:25), so the shared run is broken at the point where the words swap, which is why this is registered on the clause as a whole rather than on a single unbroken run. The destination changes from “destruction” to “the deaths”; the plural form “the deaths” stands at three distinct frozen verses in the corpus — D&C 132:25, Ezekiel 28:8, and Ezekiel 28:10, the last two in an oracle where the sense is a manner of dying rather than a destination. Its opposite, “eternal lives”, stands at exactly two distinct frozen verses in the corpus, both in this section (D&C 132:24, 132:55).

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:24: “This is eternal lives—to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.” - John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Divergences reported: three, and each changes the sense. The gospel’s “life eternal” becomes the plural “eternal lives” (John 17:3; D&C 132:24). The gospel’s “the only true God” becomes “the only wise and true God”; the phrase “only true God” stands at exactly one distinct frozen verse in the corpus — the gospel’s. And the sender’s person changes: in the gospel a speaker addresses the Father about one “whom thou hast sent”, while in the revelation the speaker identifies himself as the one sent, in two words the gospel verse has no counterpart for: “I am he.” (D&C 132:24).

Binding, loosing, and remitting

One verse states the sealing power in its widest form, and it does so in wording that runs with two separate New Testament verses. Both are registered, because they are different verse pairs.

[Textual] — paraphrase / allusion. () - D&C 132:46: “…whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens…” - Matthew 16:19: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Divergences reported: the gospel’s pair is bind/loose; the revelation’s is seal/bind, dropping loosing and adding sealing, and it inserts a condition the gospel verse does not carry — “in my name and by my word” (D&C 132:46). “shall be bound in heaven” becomes “shall be eternally bound in the heavens”, adding both an adverb and a plural. Registered as allusion rather than shared phrasing: the longest verbatim run common to both is “bind on earth”, three words. That run stands at seven distinct frozen verses in the corpus: Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:18, D&C 124:93, D&C 127:7, D&C 128:8, D&C 128:10, and D&C 132:46. The keys material as a subject is treated on The Committing of Keys, and the sealing material in sections 127 and 128 belongs to another cluster; this verse is flagged to both rather than treated here.

[Textual] — paraphrase / allusion. () - D&C 132:46: “…and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven.” - John 20:23: “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

Divergences reported: the revelation adds a location to both halves (“on earth”) and a destination to both (“in the heavens”, “in heaven”), where the gospel’s verse states the effect without locating it; and the pronoun differs, “you” against “ye”. The run “sins ye remit” stands at exactly one distinct frozen verse in the corpus — the gospel’s — and “sins you remit” at exactly one — the revelation’s. Registered as allusion for that reason: the two verses match in structure and vocabulary but share no run of four words verbatim.

The answer to the opening question

Thirty-six verses after the question, the section answers it, and the answer is that the named men were commanded. “Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law” (D&C 132:37). Then the verse that most directly meets the question as asked:

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:38: “David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.” - Jacob 2:24: “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.”

This is the most substantive correspondence on the page, and the divergence is not a matter of wording. Both verses name David and Solomon; both use the phrase “many wives and concubines”; and the two verses state opposite verdicts on the same fact — “abominable before me, saith the Lord” (Jacob 2:24) against “in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me” (D&C 132:38). The revelation’s next verse states a limit that narrows the distance somewhat, in David’s case: “in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation” (D&C 132:39). Whether the two verdicts can be reconciled — and the Book of Mormon sermon’s own conditional two verses later, “For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people” (Jacob 2:30) — is an interpretive question the wiki does not settle; both texts are quoted so the reader can weigh them directly. The phrase “many wives and concubines” stands at six distinct frozen verses in the corpus: D&C 132:1, D&C 132:38, Ether 10:5, Jacob 1:15, Jacob 2:24, and Mosiah 11:2. Jacob 2:24 is paired because it alone names both David and Solomon as the revelation’s verse does; the treatment of the Book of Mormon side is on Chastity & Marriage, to which this material is flagged.

[Textual] — paraphrase / allusion. () - D&C 132:30: “Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins… both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.” - Genesis 22:17: “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;”

Divergences reported: the promise’s two similes are kept and reworked — the stars become “innumerable as the stars” and the sand becomes a counting the hearer is invited to attempt and fail (“if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them”, D&C 132:30); “sea shore” is written as one word, “seashore”. The revelation adds a clause the promise has no counterpart for — that the seed continue “out of the world” as well as in it. Registered as allusion: the longest shared verbatim run is “as the stars”, three words. The run “sand upon the sea” stands at three distinct frozen verses in the corpus — D&C 76:109, D&C 132:30, and Moses 1:28 — none of them the promise verse, which reads “sand which is upon the sea shore” (Genesis 22:17).

The section also states the Sarah episode as a precedent and names it a law: “God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law” (D&C 132:34); and the name is used again fifty verses later — “he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife” (D&C 132:65). The Abrahamic material as a subject is treated on Abraham, to which these verses are flagged.

The case rulings, and the verse that recalls another law

The section’s last movement is a set of rulings on particular cases: on adultery inside and outside the covenant (D&C 132:41–44); on a man espousing virgins with the first wife’s consent (D&C 132:61–62); on a wife who does not receive the law (D&C 132:64–65). Several of these rulings state destruction as the consequence for a named party, and the wiki quotes them rather than summarizing them away: “if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law” (D&C 132:54); “then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God” (D&C 132:64).

One clause in this run is a formal echo of an earlier revelation’s court procedure: “if a man marry a wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise… and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever” (D&C 132:26). The doubled formula “he or she” stands at twelve distinct frozen verses in the corpus, eleven of them in the court procedure of D&C 42:80–92 — mapped on The Law of the Church — and the twelfth is this verse. Nowhere else in the corpus does the formula appear at all.

One further ruling states a promotion in words drawn from a parable.

[Textual] — distinctive shared phrasing. () - D&C 132:53: ”…I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.” - Matthew 25:21: “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

Divergences reported: order — the parable states the faithfulness first and the promotion second, the revelation the reverse; and the parable’s commendation (“Well done, thou good and faithful servant”) and its closing invitation (“enter thou into the joy of thy lord”, Matthew 25:21) have no counterpart in the revelation’s verse. The run “faithful over a few things” stands at four distinct frozen verses in the corpus: D&C 117:10, D&C 132:53, Matthew 25:21, and Matthew 25:23, the last a near-repetition of the first inside the same parable. D&C 117:10 is registered against Matthew 25:21 separately, on Servants Named in the Calls; D&C 51:19 is already registered against Matthew 25:21 on Consecration and Stewardship for the parable’s closing invitation. Matthew 25:23 is disclosed, not paired.

The verses addressed to a woman named in the text

Six verses of the section address a woman by name — “mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife” (D&C 132:51) — with commandments, a warning, and a promise (D&C 132:51–56). Under this wiki’s one-entity-page rule those verses extend the existing Emma Smith page rather than being restated here; they are flagged to it, and this page states only that they are in the section and cites where.

Significance

The section’s structure is worth stating plainly because the section is long enough to obscure it: a question about six men’s marriages, a general law of binding that reaches every contract a person makes, and only then the answer to the question — which turns out to be a special case of the general law rather than its subject. The reader who arrives expecting the section to be about marriage finds that its widest sentence is about contracts, and that its criterion is uniform across all of them: made by the named word, sealed by the named power, or ended at death (D&C 132:7).

The correspondences with older texts cluster where the section states outcomes — the two gates, the resurrection’s angels, the binding and remitting, eternal life — and each is quoted above with its divergences listed. The one correspondence that is not a matter of wording is the David and Solomon verdict, where two texts in this corpus state opposite judgments about the same men and the same practice. The wiki quotes both and settles neither.

Key references

D&C 132:1–2 — the question, and the promise to answer it
D&C 132:4–7 — the covenant named; the general law of contracts; the one at a time
D&C 132:15–20 — unsealed marriages; angels who are ministering servants; the sealed and their promises
D&C 132:22–27 — the two gates; eternal lives; the “he or she” clause
D&C 132:29–39 — Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and the answer about David and Solomon
D&C 132:46–48 — sealing, binding, remitting, retaining
D&C 132:51–56 — the verses addressed to Emma Smith (treated on Emma Smith)
D&C 132:58–66 — the law of the priesthood, the case rulings, and the law of Sarah

Emma Smith · Chastity & Marriage · Degrees of Glory · Abraham · The Two Priesthoods · The Committing of Keys · The Law of the Church · Index · Connections

Sources

Doctrine and Covenants section 132 throughout (verse text only; headnotes excluded). Ephesians 1, Matthew 7, Matthew 16, Matthew 22, Matthew 25, John 17, John 20, Genesis 22, and Jacob 2 quoted alongside it; Mark 12, Luke 20, 3 Nephi 14, 3 Nephi 27, Ezekiel 28, Jacob 1, Mosiah 11, Ether 10, Moses 1, D&C 42, D&C 51, D&C 76, D&C 88, D&C 117, D&C 124, D&C 127, D&C 128, and D&C 131 are cited, and several 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. Ten connection records are registered on this page, all [textual] and all submitted asserted_by: wiki. Phrase distributions are counts of distinct frozen verses in the corpus, derived by script at the time of writing on the stated basis.