Jesus is coming, look busy could be seen as the theme to Doctrine and Covenants 133. Near the same time that Section 1 was revealed as a preface to the Book of Commandments, Joseph Smith received Section 133 as an appendix. These closing words to the saints are focused on the coming of Christ and what we need to do to prepare.
God’s goal for His children is to see us with Him again. That eternal life is best described in John 17 and Doctrine and Covenants 132 as “knowing” God. This week’s Come, Follow Me lesson teaches sacred truths restored through Joseph Smith that allow us to know God and bring ourselves closer to Him—in this world and the world to come.
The doctrine of baptism for the dead is one of the ways we are welded together with our ancestors. Doctrine and Covenants 125–128 contains letters from Joseph Smith to the saints where his mind was on this eternal topic. And the people of the church reacted immediately to participate with gladness in this ordinance.
Persecution in Missouri led the early saints to the swamplands of Illinois, and over a year had passed since the last recorded revelation from the Lord. Doctrine and Covenants 124 is a message to the free saints making their way in a new community. It contains blueprints for the important buildings their growing town needs, and instructions for their lives.
Sections 121–123 of the Doctrine and Covenants start with the powerful voice of a prophet crying for God. Joseph Smith knew from first hand experience that the Lord was real and he hears prayers, but he still wasn’t above feeling alone. But God was there for him in his despair, and Joseph learned from that experience. And the letters from Liberty Jail can serve as a lesson for us in good times and a boon for us when times get hard.
In Doctrine and Covenants 115 the Lord revealed that the name of the church would be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a name we take seriously and can take ownership in. The light of that church is to be a standard to the nations. And we have a responsibility as members of that church to be examples everywhere we go.
Section 113 is one of the distinctive sections in the Doctrine and Covenants that reads like a question-and-answer session with God. The beginning introduces us to a pattern with the revelatory formula, “Thus saith the Lord…” To better understand the context behind the questions, the Lord’s answers, and the original text in Isaiah, we invited two biblical scholars to join us on the podcast and answer a few of our own questions.
As of this week’s Come, Follow Me study, there are 208 dedicated temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (including those in operation and those closed for renovation). Each was dedicated, and some re-dedicated, with a prayer after the pattern recorded in Doctrine and Covenants section 109. In this week’s sections, we can read the Lord’s inspired words over the first constructed temple of this dispensation, as well as the visions and miracles that took place in that holy house.
In 2019, President Russell M. Nelson encouraged all of us—but especially the women of the Church—to study the truths of priesthood power found in sections 84 and 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Come, Follow Me study this week falls on that second scripture section, and we are going to take the prophet’s counsel seriously by learning all we can about the two priesthoods, their duties and responsibilities, and councils in the Church. Sections 106–108 truly testify that the blessings of the priesthood are readily available to all of God’s children.
Elder Renlund first suggests making sure we are doing what God has asked of us and “not something extra that we impose on ourselves.”
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Elder Kearon believes this truth “can console all of us.”
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These resources can help any family dive deeper into the Doctrine and Covenants in 2025.
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Doctrine and Covenants 12–17 are about this great and marvelous work we call the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With regards to our time in this ongoing restoration process, President Nelson encouraged us to take our vitamins because we all have a great work to do.
Are you a notetaker during Sunday School or scripture study? Jotting down ideas can be a useful method for remembering your thoughts or asking questions. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had lots of questions during the translation of the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants 10–11 contain the answer to their desires. So, sit down and take note to see the hand of God.
One month into this new year, how are you and your goals doing? Resolutions are often about bringing our lives in line with God’s will and growing closer to Him. But knowing what He has for us and hearing His answers can be difficult. This week’s Come, Follow Me discussion of Doctrine and Covenants 6–9 centers on how one man recognized those answers.
What are some life lessons you learned as a young adult? Consider what you were going through and finding out around the age of 21—because that’s how old the Prophet Joseph Smith was as we begin our study of Doctrine and Covenants 3–5. In these sections, Joseph learned vital spiritual life lessons that all of us can learn from.
It had been three years since God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith, but he hadn’t received any additional revelations. He began to wonder whether the Lord was displeased with him. Like all of us, Joseph had made mistakes, and he felt condemned by them. In this week’s Come, Follow Me study of Joseph Smith History 1:27–65, we feel the relief that God is still there and has a work for all of us to do.
The Doctrine and Covenants is a book of questions and answers, and the Restoration came about because of one specific question. Our discussion of Joseph Smith History 1:1–26 centers on the historical background of Joseph’s life before his prayer in the grove. This context can help when we have questions and give us hope in a God that answers.