Early Latter-day Saints understood “shaking the dust off your feet” as a ritual curse adapted from Jesus’s New Testament command to His disciples. Joseph Smith revealed the practice as a form of priesthood cursing in several revelations, now canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants (sections 24, 60, 75, 84, and 99). Missionaries most often performed the rite after rejection or persecution. While rarely expected to bring immediate consequences, it symbolized divine judgment reserved for Christ’s Second Coming. In this interview, historian Samuel R. Weber explains how the practice largely disappeared by the early 1900s.
Sign up to be notified when we publish new content, like articles about Joseph Smith, the Kirtland Endowment, and the White Horse Prophecy.
Biblical Origins of Shaking the Dust Off Your Feet
Where does the Bible teach to “shake the dust off your feet”?
Joseph Smith likely learned about ritual cursing by reading the New Testament. In Mark 6:11, Jesus instructed the disciples:
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mark 6:11
Some apostles performed the shaking of dust later in the New Testament. After enemies “raised persecution against Paul and Barnabus, and expelled them out of their coasts,” the apostles “shook off the dust of their feet against them” (Acts 13:50-51).
Bible verses about shaking the dust off your feet
Five biblical passages referencing this practice seemed to provide ample material for Joseph Smith to draw inspiration from:
- Matthew 10:14
- Mark 6:11
- Luke 9:5
- Luke 10:10–12
- Acts 13:51
By comparison, baptism for the dead had just a single New Testament verse as precedent!
You might wonder whether Joseph Smith received this revelation as part of his project to retranslate the New Testament. However, Joseph’s first recorded revelation on the subject dates to July 1830 (now canonized in D&C 24:15), but he did not start translating the New Testament until March 1831.
Doctrine and Covenants references to shaking the dust off your feet
Joseph Smith went on to produce four additional revelations pertaining to ritual cursing, all dating between 1830–1832:
- Doctrine and Covenants 60:15
- Doctrine and Covenants 75:20-22
- Doctrine and Covenants 84:92-95
- Doctrine and Covenants 99:4
These revelations echoed Jesus’ words that divine punishment awaited those who spurned God’s servants.
What are the ancient roots of shaking the dust off your feet?
Bible scholar T. J. Rogers pointed out that the biblical practice of shaking the dust off the feet is best contextualized within ancient hospitality customs.
For Middle Easterners alive at the time of Jesus, it was common for hosts to provide their guests with water to wash their feet. This act symbolized a transition from stranger to guest in the home of the host.
To leave with one’s feet still covered in dust indicated that hospitality was not offered to the stranger. For the apostles, to shake the dust from their feet would have been evidence that hospitality was refused to servants of God. It was implied that God would take notice and punish those who rejected His servants.
Early Latter-day Saint Practice
What did “shake the dust off your feet” mean in early Latter-day Saint history?
Shaking the dust off one’s feet was a ritual practice common in the early Latter-day Saint movement. The basic idea of the ritual was to invoke a curse on individuals who rejected the message or messengers of the restored gospel.
Christ’s words here are repeated in Matthew 10:14 and Luke 9:5, and similar instruction is given in His commission to seventy others in Luke 10:10-12.
Similar to other Latter-day Saint rituals and ordinances, it was a practice intended to call down God’s power on behalf of His servants. Although no longer practiced today, ritual cursing is found in scripture and church history, making it a topic of continued interest for Latter-day Saints.
How prominent was ritual cursing in pioneer times?
Although it is difficult to quantify, the most frequent use of the ritual appears to have been during Joseph Smith’s lifetime, prior to the westward migration to Utah. This was a time in which Joseph was regularly introducing new rituals and ordinances, and his followers were eager to practice them all!
This was also a time in which church members sought to proselytize others and were frequent recipients of persecution, the combination of which provided regular opportunities to exercise the cursing ritual.
Which Latter-day Saint demographic most often practiced ritual cursing?
Latter-day Saint missionaries were by far the most common practitioners of ritual cursing. The missionaries were the ones out trying to deliver the gospel message, which meant they also had the most opportunities to be rejected by an unbelieving public. In line with Joseph Smith’s revelations, cursing was often the missionaries’ response to rejection.
Missionaries pronounced curses against individuals, small groups, and entire cities.
In June 1830, Samuel Smith (Joseph’s brother) performed the first recorded instance of modern ritual cursing. He performed it against an innkeeper who rejected the Book of Mormon and denied Samuel room and board during his missionary service.
Cursing Entire Communities
Most often, missionaries pronounced curses against individuals or small groups, but there is also a record of entire cities being cursed.
These include:
- Detroit, Michigan
- Chicago, Illinois
- Sinclairville, New York
- Paris, Arkansas
- Beach Hill, Connecticut
- Collinsville, Connecticut
- Fox Islands, Maine.
The missionaries seemed to sense an urgency to their work, and when they faced overwhelming rejection, they sometimes dusted their feet against the entire community and moved on.
What are some examples of Latter-day Saint missionaries shaking the dust off their feet?
Latter-day Saint curse on an unknown person
A rather curious story involves a curse being pronounced on an unknown person. In 1847, a man in Salt Lake City named Albert Carrington had a cow that was killed. Although the cow killer was not identified, the Salt Lake Stake presidency and high council still met to discuss what should be done. They decided that pronouncing a curse was the most reasonable consequence.
Thus, “Pres. John Smith sealed a curse upon the person or persons who killed Carrington’s cow until they came forward and made restitution. The curse was sanctioned unanimously by the council.”
Even though they did not know who the wrongdoer was, they believed God certainly did.1
Missionary curse resulting in “rot and scabs”
One of the rare instances of a curse producing immediate (and gruesome!) results took place in the West Indies in 1853. The story goes that missionaries cursed Mayor Hector Mitchell, who had apparently been neglectful in his responsibility to protect them and their position as ministers.
After performing the curse, “they learned that the mayor’s toes and fingers rotted off and that he soon died with the rot and scabs.”2
Understanding the Meaning of Ritual Cursing
What is a curse in theological terms?
I would say that a curse is an act of formally calling down God’s wrath upon others. To ritually curse means that there is a specific ceremony—or set of actions—intended to make that curse effective.
To draw an analogy, baptism is a ritual involving both behavior and meaning. The behavior is the specific words used in the baptismal prayer, the person baptizing raising their arm to the square, and the actual submersion of the baptism recipient’s body under water. The meaning is the promise to take upon oneself the name of Christ and receive a remission of sins.
In a similar way, ritual cursing’s behavior involved physically shaking or washing dust off one’s feet, and its meaning was the request for God to punish someone.
How did Latter-day Saints perform the dusting of feet?
There doesn’t appear to be just one way that this ritual was performed. Typically, the individual performing the ritual would say a prayer to “bear testimony” designating the wicked who had rejected them.
Then came the actual removal of dust. This could be done by shaking the feet. It could also be done with water or even alcohol by washing the feet or, occasionally, the entire body.
There are even recorded instances in which the feet apparently weren’t involved at all, but rather articles of clothing were removed and shaken instead. This latter practice also had some New Testament precedent, as in Acts 18:6, Paul shook his raiment against blasphemers who rejected his message.
What are common misunderstandings about “shaking the dust off your feet” in Latter-day Saint practice?
Folklore about instant punishment
People seem to love telling stories about curses that result in immediate, dramatic consequences for the wicked. A well-known example is a bit of modern-day folklore that has circulated through many missions, including where I served in Germany.
In the story, two missionaries leave their garments at a laundromat for cleaning. The laundromat owner steals the garments and hangs them up for public ridicule. In response, the elders shake the dust off their feet, which results in the laundromat burning to the ground.
However, there are very few examples from the historical record in which ritual cursing produced (or was expected to produce) such immediate results.
Timing of divine judgment
More common was the belief that by cursing individuals, they were being designated for destruction at Christ’s second coming. Jesus taught that the righteous must be separated from the wicked, similar to separating wheat from tares. Early missionaries viewed themselves as participating in this separation of good from evil.
This is apparent in the language of some who performed curses, such as when Orson Hyde wrote in his journal that he shook the dust off his feet and “sealed many over to the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out.” In other words, many who performed curses understood that the divine punishment was intended for the future, not the present.
Shifts in Missionary Mindset
Were any individuals ever repeatedly cursed?
There is the interesting case of a Methodist priest by the name of Mr. Douglass.
Douglass was cursed multiple times by Wilford Woodruff during Woodruff’s missionary travels. The first of these took place in September 1837 “for rejecting the Book of Mormon & our testimony,” then in February 1838 for “rejecting our testimony & offending our little ones.”
Woodruff noted in his journal that the 1838 curse was “the third witness borne to heaven against that man.” This is the only example I know of an individual being cursed repeatedly.
When and why did Latter-day Saints stop shaking the dust off their feet?
The historical record demonstrates a pattern: when persecution was high against Latter-day Saints, cursing was more prevalent. When persecution was low, cursing practices subsided.
After the move to Utah and eventual renunciation of polygamy, the church’s enemies became fewer, lessening the incentive to curse. This coincided with a shift in tone in church discourse away from commanding cursing to exercising caution prior to passing judgment.
Additionally, the spirit of liturgical innovation that permeated the early Latter-day Saint movement waned over time as ordinances became more systematized. This led to some rituals being “retired,” such as healing blessings performed by women and baptism for health.
All of these factors contributed to the practice falling into disuse. Ritual cursing was basically extinct by the early 1900s.
Did shaking the dust off your feet require priesthood authority?
No. If there was any priesthood requirement for performing curses, it was never specified.
Missionary Joseph Fielding asked Parley P. Pratt in 1840 about “Elders and Priests” performing curses by washing their feet. It seems likely that his mention of “Elders and Priests” was not because of a required priesthood office, but because they were the ones proselytizing.
Joseph Smith’s revelations on cursing were directed chiefly to missionaries, and they were the ones who most often performed it.
How has the missionary mindset about blessing and cursing changed over time?
Most early Latter-day Saints believed that Christ’s Second Coming was imminent, lending an urgency to their missionary endeavors. As I previously mentioned, missionaries believed they were separating the righteous from the wicked in preparation for the millennium. With the passage of time, the sense of Christ’s impending return began to lessen.
By the 1900s, when missionaries were rejected, most no longer felt that the disbelieving parties had lost their one chance for salvation.
The missionary mindset shifted from one of binding wheat and tares up to the day of destruction to one of returning to homes again and again to give people multiple chances to accept the gospel.
Modern Perspectives
What do modern Latter-day Saint manuals say about shaking the dust off your feet?
The most recent mention of cursing in a church handbook comes from the 1946 edition of The Missionary’s Hand Book, which included as one of forty-two rules, “Bless, but do not curse.” No current handbook or manual lists cursing as an official ordinance.
What can we learn about how Latter-day Saint cursing practices have changed?
Although Latter-day Saint ritual cursing had flourished in the 1800s, in the 1900s its practice was eliminated. The modern church no longer consists of a small group of violently mistreated social outcasts as it once did.
As the church has become more stable and prosperous, its goals seem to be geared toward integration and contribution to the surrounding community rather than separation from and condemnation of unbelieving Gentiles.
The church has experienced a paradigm shift to a more blessing-focused theology. I love the words of Joseph F. Smith from a 1904 general conference that reflect on the practice of cursing while simultaneously looking toward a future of love and redemption:
[I]f they cursed, in the spirit of righteousness and meekness before God, God would confirm that curse; but men are not called upon to curse mankind; that is not our mission; it is our mission to preach righteousness unto them. It is our business to love and to bless them, and to redeem them from the fall and from the wickedness of the world… We are perfectly willing to leave vengeance in the hands of God and let him judge between us and our enemies, and let him reward them according to his own wisdom and mercy.
Conference Report, October 1904, 5.
Did You Enjoy This?
Editorial FAQs on “Shake the Dust Off Your Feet”
These editorial FAQs provide quick answers about the biblical phrase “shake the dust off your feet,” its references in the Doctrine and Covenants, and its place in early Latter-day Saint history.
What does “shake the dust off your feet” mean in the Bible?
It was a symbolic act taught by Jesus in the New Testament (see Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, and Luke 9:5). Disciples shook dust off their feet as a testimony against those who rejected their message, symbolizing disassociation and leaving judgment to God.
Where in the Bible does Jesus say to “shake the dust off your feet”?
Jesus instructed His disciples to perform this act in Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, and Luke 9:5. Later, the apostles also followed the instruction in Acts 13:51, shaking the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who rejected their message.
What did “shake the dust off your feet” mean to early Latter-day Saints?
In the 1830s and 1840s, early missionaries adopted the biblical practice as a priesthood ritual. They viewed it as a way of calling down God’s judgment on those who rejected the restored gospel. The practice was most common during Joseph Smith’s lifetime and became rare by the early 20th century.
Which sections of the Doctrine and Covenants mention shaking the dust off your feet?
The practice is referenced in multiple revelations: D&C 24:15, D&C 60:15, D&C 75:20–22, D&C 84:92–95, and D&C 99:4. These passages directed early missionaries to shake or wash the dust off their feet as a testimony against those who rejected the restored gospel.
Is “dusting of the feet” still practiced in the Church today?
No. While the ordinance remains in scripture, modern leaders emphasize blessing rather than cursing. The practice fell into disuse by the early 1900s and is no longer taught in church manuals.
How is “shake the dust off your feet” used today?
In modern language, the phrase is often used as an idiom meaning to move on from rejection, negativity, or unproductive situations. Latter-day Saints may reference the scriptural phrase, but they do not practice it as an ordinance.
About the Scholar
Samuel R. Weber is a Utah-based psychiatrist and independent historian of Latter-day Saint religion. His peer-reviewed study, “‘Shake Off the Dust of Thy Feet’: The Rise and Fall of Mormon Ritual Cursing,” appeared in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought (2013) and remains a key reference on New Testament–derived cursing rites among early Latter-day Saints. He has also published in the Journal of Mormon History on temple theology (“The Law of the Gospel: Shifting Interpretations of a Temple Covenant,” 2023). Weber’s work is cited and discussed by Latter-day Saint scholars and venues, and he has been interviewed about his research for public audiences.
Further Reading
- What Is the Law of the Gospel?
- Who Were the Three Nephites?
- What Can We Learn From Wilford Woodruff’s Mission Years?
- What Did Brigham Young Teach About Adam and God?
- What Led to the 1978 Priesthood Revelation?
“Shake the dust off your feet”
- The Rise and Fall of Mormon Ritual Cursing (Dialogue)
- “Those Who Receive You Not”: The Rite of Wiping Dust Off the Feet (BYU Religious Studies Center)
- Shaking the Dust off the Markan Mission Discourse (Journal for the Study of the New Testament)
- Early Missionaries (Church History Topics)
- Continuing Revelation: Essays on Doctrine (Signature Books)
- “Arise from the Dust”: Insights from Dust-Related Themes in the Book of Mormon (Interpreter)
Sources
- Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (chronological scrapbook of typed entries and newspaper clippings, 1830-present), December 18, 1847.
- Journal History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (chronological scrapbook of typed entries and newspaper clippings, 1830-present), February 11, 1853.
Citation information
This post was originally published on July 1, 2022. The most recent update on August 23, 2025, includes updated FAQs, images, resources, relevant links, and an improved online reading experience.
