Joseph Smith Clearly Did NOT Understand This Verse

Matthew 16

Did Jesus really give Peter the authority to perform marriages that last for all eternity? In Matthew chapter 16, Jesus says to Peter, "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." For many Latter-day Saints, this authority to bind and loose refers to the authority to seal people together for time and all eternity. That's at least what the Doctrine and Covenants section about polygamy seems to teach. But I don't think that the binding and loosing authority refers to marriage at all.

Let's take a closer look at Matthew 16, this often discussed section where this binding and loosing authority first shows up. In this section, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" Peter responds by saying, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." Jesus says several things in response to this. "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Then he goes on to say that he'll give Peter these keys, this authority to bind and loose.

There are several different really important parts of this. First, Peter's confession that Jesus was the Christ, the son of God. Second, that this truth was revealed to Peter by the Father. Third, Jesus' response that he will build his church on this rock. Fourth, a promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church. And fifth, a promise that Peter will receive these keys. So, Jesus is going to build his church. And his church is going to be filled with people who make the same profession that Peter made. Jesus ensures that he himself will build the church, he will establish it, he will preserve it, and he will ensure its successful growth.

Matthew 18

And he does all of this by giving these keys to Peter, and I think by extension the other apostles. Now, Jesus does not in this section explain what he means when he refers to binding and loosing. But just think about what Jesus is talking about here. He's talking about the establishment and the growth of his church. So, why would he throw in this random statement about marriage ceilings in this section? Given that he doesn't define bind and loose here, isn't it just more likely that he's referring to something having to do with Peter, Peter's confession, or the establishment, growth, or protection of his church?

Thankfully, these ideas show up just a couple chapters later. And I think that that really helps us understand a little bit more about what Jesus is referencing here in Matthew 16. Matthew 18 provides further clarity on what Jesus is talking about. Here's what he says in this text. "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses." So, here's the context. Jesus is explaining what you should do if a fellow professing Christian sins against you.

You should ordinarily go right to him, tell him his fault, and see if he's repentant. If he doesn't repent, then you should go and bring two or three others along with you. He goes on to explain what we should do if the professing Christian still doesn't listen. "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." There are some serious similarities here to Matthew 16, but there's also some important differences. First, Jesus says, "If a professing Christian still will not repent of his sin, let him be to you a Gentile and a tax collector." Jesus is saying that that person should be excommunicated. They should no longer be publicly identified with Christ's church. And then he says the same thing he said earlier to Peter. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. It is almost the exact same thing he said earlier with one critical difference.

When Jesus says to Peter, whatever you bind and whatever you loose, he was using the singular version of the word you. He was referring to one person, to Peter. But here in Matthew 18, he changes it. He uses actually the second person plural. You might say y'all. So, he says in Matthew 18, whatever y'all bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever y'all loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. So, he's not just referencing one person anymore. He's referencing a multitude of people. So, who is this y'all that binds and looses? Well, it's the church or the assembly of verse 17. And the word church literally means assembly.

So, these keys are given to Peter, yes. But in Matthew 18, that is expanded. Jesus seems to give this authority to the assembly of believers, to his church. The same group of people that you would bring the unrepentant sinner before. And what is this authority to bind and loose? Well, here it's the authority to determine if someone is in or out of the church. It's the authority to recognize someone as belonging to Christ's people. Jesus actually attaches his own presence and authority to the formal gathering of two or three people in his name. If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven.

Helaman 10 · D&C 132

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them. Mormonism presumes first that this authority is only ever granted to the apostles. But here in Matthew 18, we see that the group that holds this authority has clearly expanded. It now includes the church, the formal gathering of at least two or three Christians together in Christ's name. Second, many Latter-day Saints believe that this binding and loosing is the authority to seal people together. Yet, Jesus says absolutely nothing that would make us think this. These two sections are the only two spots in the entire Bible that use the language of binding and loosing.

In both cases, Jesus is talking about the life of the church and his presence with his people. Just to prove that this really is how Latter-day Saints have understood the concept of binding and loosing, here's what 10th president Joseph Fielding Smith said. These keys of the binding or sealing power are keys which make valid all the ordinances of the gospel. These keys hold the power to seal husbands and wives for eternity as well as for time. They hold the power to seal children to parents, the key of adoption by which the family organization is made intact forever. Even if we were just to broadly say that the authority to bind and loose refers to the authority to exercise the ordinances, this still just isn't what Jesus is referencing.

In the Book of Mormon, in Helaman 10, the authority to bind and loose is presumably the authority to bring great destruction or great peace upon the land. That doesn't seem to have anything to do with ordinances. I tend to think that later in life Joseph repurposed this language to eventually refer to ordinances and then specifically sealing. We see this in Doctrine and Covenants section 128 and especially in the plural marriage section of Doctrine and Covenants section 132. In D&C 132, the authority to seal and loose is contextually referencing the authority to seal multiple women to one man. I really think that D&C 132 is more or less the only place in LDS scripture that links binding and loosing with marriage.

Malachi 4

I know some people see this idea as the fulfillment of Malachi 4, at least one part of the fulfillment, but that's just not what Malachi 4 is referencing at all. The authority to bind and loose is important, but it simply isn't about sealing. Christ grants this authority to his gathered people, to the church, and he gives them the authority to establish boundaries or borders for these local gatherings. This is the authority to recognize the validity of someone's confession that Jesus really is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And it's the authority to put someone out of the church if they deny this confession or persist in unrepentant sin.

So, do Matthew 16 and 18 teach that the apostles have been given the authority, the keys to perform sealings? No, that's just not what this text is about. If you want to learn more about what we think about eternal marriage, about priesthood authority, or about the great apostasy, topics which are very much related to this one, be sure to check out these videos. Thanks so much for watching.