Doctrine and Covenants: Questions and Notes

Come Follow Me Lesson 52: The Living Christ Read and posted on Christmas, 25 December 2021. (Still posting in blog on the 26th) I read this lesson and this document with Bob as he was working on some of his photos. Then I also read this message from our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson: While we read the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke, we find the true meaning of Christmas in the gospel of John. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The first and greatest gift of Christmas was neither gold, nor frankincense, nor myrrh. It was the willing gift from a loving Heavenly Father of His Beloved, Only Begotten Son. On that first Silent Night, I can only imagine the holy mixture of emotions that our Heavenly Father must have experienced, watching from heaven as His Beloved Son entered a fallen world in the lowliest and most indigent of circumstances. Go...

  Come Follow Me Lesson 51: The Family: A Proclamation to the World (I read this on 26 December 2021; now I'm finished with 2021 course of study) Are we standing firm in defense of the Proclamation? It is a test for our generation. (President Oaks) Families are part of God’s grand plan and design. We lived in heaven with Him and our Heavenly Mother as our parents. We are born here on earth into families, and through the gift of Jesus Christ and the power of the atonement, we can be blessed in our families here on earth, receiving forgiveness, healing, direction and progression; and we can be blessed to continue our association with our earthly families throughout eternity, through the sealing power of the priesthood performed in holy temples. The family is central to God’s plan. Marriage and family are essential to our eternal progression. Never let a problem to be solved become more important that a person to be loved. (President Monson) Don’t just think you love others, expr...

  Come, Follow Me Lesson 50: Articles of Faith and Declarations 1 and 2  Come, Follow Me Lesson 50: Articles of Faith and Declarations 1 and 2 Introduction: Personal reading beginning on 13 December 2021 Bob and I read and discussed this lesson on Sunday afternoon, 12 December. He had some good insights to share. We had previously read the sections, and I am finishing them on my own two. Yesterday we watched the video found in the lesson link, “Break the Soil of Bitterness.” Julia Mavimbela was an incredible black sister who had much influence in the church and the community in South Africa. A very touching story of what the people had to deal with in and after apartheid, and of the healing that the gospel brings. I’m thankful to the two very white missionaries who taught her. I still have to read the Declarations on my own as well as other lesson links. I am very grateful for the gospel study that has increased my testimony this year. Come, Follow Me has been a blessing to o...

Come, Follow Me Lesson 48: Doctrine and Covenants 137-138 Introduction: How has your understanding of the truths taught in D&C 137-138 blessed your life? 137 received in unfinished Kirtland Temple. (What happens to the righteous who die without baptism?) 138 received in Salt Lake City. (What do the righteous do when they leave this live?) Joseph Smith lost many children. Joseph F. Smith’s father died when he was 5; his mother when he was 13; and when he received the revelation recorded in 138, he had mourned the passing of 13 children. What truths do these sections contain? They both answer questions about the destiny of God’s children in the next life. They testify of the great and wonderful love the Father and the Son have for us. How can pondering and meditating invite the Spirit and open the doors of revelation? What was President Joseph F. Smith doing when “the eyes of his understanding were opened”? What do you need to do to follow his example? 1. pond...