“Washing of Feet,” Church History Topics
“Washing of Feet”
Washing of Feet
During the Last Supper, Jesus took a towel and a basin of water and washed the feet of the disciples.1 Some Christian groups followed this New Testament precedent, washing feet as a token of humility or brotherhood.2 A revelation to Joseph Smith in December 1832 required participants in the School of the Prophets to participate in the washing of feet. The Lord commanded the elders to “clean your hands, and your feet, before me” as witness that they were “clean, from the blood of this, wicked generation.”3 Joseph Smith and other members of the school first participated in this ordinance during the school’s first session in January 1833.4 As the construction of the Kirtland Temple neared completion, Joseph Smith explained to members of the school that the “ordinance of washing of feet” was a restoration of the New Testament practice “calculated to unite our hearts” and prepare the elders for an endowment of spiritual power.5 He further taught that the ordinance needed to be performed in a place “aside from the world.”6 Accordingly, on March 29 and 30, 1836, about 300 priesthood holders from the Kirtland area, including Joseph Smith and other Church leaders, met to wash one another’s feet.7
Related Topics: School of the Prophets, Endowment of Power