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D&C 60–62
New from BMC
Watch videos from Gospel scholars and teachers to learn more about these sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Book of Mormon Central produces weekly videos from Tyler Griffin, Taylor Halverson, John Hilton III, Anthony Sweat, Casey Griffiths, Stephanie Dibb Sorensen and Marianna Richardson. Read commentaries and other resources from KnoWhys, Steven C. Harper, Casey Griffiths, and Susan Easton Black.
Overview
Doctrine and Covenants 60
Doctrine and Covenants 61
Doctrine and Covenants 62
Daily Reading Plan
Structure your personal scripture study by following a 15-minute, day-by-day plan. Each day's assignment includes the required scripture passages from the Come, Follow Me curriculum, as well as suggestions for additional resources to bring context and understanding to your study. For the best experience, use our Reading Plan in the free ScripturePlus app! You can track your progress and have access to the best resources.
Monday
- Commentary: Section 60 Context, Steven C. Harper
- Scripture: D&C 60:1–9
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Quote: There has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith, privately and publicly (see D&C 60:2). Though some profess atheism, there are many who are open to additional truths about God. To these sincere seekers, we need to affirm the existence of God the Eternal Father, the divine mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the reality of the Restoration. We must be valiant in our testimony of Jesus. Each of us has many opportunities to proclaim our spiritual convictions to friends and neighbors, to fellow workers, and to casual acquaintances. We should use these opportunities to express our love for our Savior, our witness of His divine mission, and our determination to serve Him. Our children should also hear us bear our testimonies frequently. We should also strengthen our children by encouraging them to define themselves by their growing testimonies, not just by their recognitions in scholarship, sports, or other school activities.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Testimony,” April 2008 General Conference. - Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 60:1–4.
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 60:5–9.
Tuesday
- Scripture: D&C 60:10–17
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 60:10–14.
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Quote: Leisure is not idleness. The Lord condemns idleness. He said, “Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent” (D&C 60:13). Idleness in any form produces boredom, conflict, and unhappiness. It creates a vacancy of worth, a seedbed for mischief and evil. It is the enemy of progress and salvation.
J. Richard Clarke, “The Value of Work,” April 1982 General Conference. -
Quote: Those who teach the gospel are instructed not to preach with “wrath” or “strife” (D&C 60:14), but in “mildness and in meekness” (D&C 38:41), “reviling not against revilers” (D&C 19:30). Similarly, techniques devised for adversary debate or to search out differences and work out compromises are not effective in acquiring gospel knowledge. Gospel truths and testimony are received from the Holy Ghost through reverent personal study and quiet contemplation.
Dallin H. Oaks, “Alternate Voices,” April 1989 General Conference. - Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 60:15–17.
Wednesday
- Commentary: Section 61 Context, Steven C. Harper
- Scripture: D&C 61:1–13
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:1–3.
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:4–12.
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Quote: To be diligent in our work also means to be effective and not just busy. The Lord recognized this difference between just being busy and being effective when in 1831 the elders were traveling down the Missouri River in canoes. The Lord said at that time, “. . . it is not needful for this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief” (D&C 61:3). Just as it was unnecessary for all of the elders to be moving swiftly upon the waters, so it is with us—it is not necessary to do many unessential things that keep us busy but result in little or no real benefit to anyone.
Franklin D. Richards, “Order and Diligence,” October 1964 General Conference.
Thursday
- Scripture: D&C 61:14–22
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:13–16.
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:17–18.
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:19–22.
- Video: Don't Bury Your Talents - John Hilton III (D&C 60)
Friday
- Scripture: D&C 61:23–29
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:23–29.
- Video: Love One Another - Casey Griffiths (D&C 600–62)
Saturday
- Scripture: D&C 61:30–39
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:30–35.
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Quote: My brothers and sisters, we are living in a time in which we shall see things both wonderful and awful. There is no way that we can be a part of the last days and have it otherwise. Even so, we are instructed by our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, to “be of good cheer.” (D&C 61:36; D&C 78:18).
Jesus has given that same instruction to others before, when the stressful circumstances in which they found themselves were anything but cheerful. For instance, he told the original Twelve to be of good cheer when, on the surface, there was nothing to be cheerful about (John 16:33). The indescribable agonies of Gethsemane were imminent. Judas’s betrayal lay immediately ahead. Likewise, Jesus’ arrest and arraignment. The Twelve would be scattered like sheep. Jesus’ unjust and mocking trial and His terrible scourging were but hours away. The shrill and disappointing cry of the mob—to release Barabbas instead of Jesus—would soon echo in the air. Then would come the final, awful moments on Calvary!
Therefore, how could Jesus expect the Twelve to be of good cheer? Because, the Savior said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Neal A. Maxwell, “Be of Good Cheer,” October 1982 General Conference. - Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 61:36–39.
Sunday
- Commentary: Section 62 Context, Steven C. Harper
- Scripture: D&C 62:1–9
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Quote: Our responsibility is to learn to draw upon the power of the Atonement. Otherwise we walk through mortality relying solely on our own strength. And to do that is to invite the frustration of failure and to refuse the most resplendent gift in time or eternity. “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed … and he receive not the gift?” (D&C 88:33) My brother and I would have been foolish to not seek or accept our father’s help when we were stranded. Likewise, the Lord is our advocate, and He “knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted” (D&C 62:1). In other words, He knows how to succor all of us. But we activate the power of the Atonement in our lives. We do this by first believing in Him, by repenting, by obeying His commandments, by partaking of sacred ordinances and keeping covenants, and by seeking after Him in fasting and prayer, in the scriptures, and in the temple.
Sheri L. Dew, “Our Only Chance,” April 1999 General Conference. - Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 62:1–3.
- Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 62:4–9.
Bibliography
Doctrine and Covenants 60
Steven C. Harper, “Section 60,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 145–146.
Susan Easton Black, “The Route to Kirtland - Insight Into D&C 60,” Restoration Voices Volume 2: Insights and Stories of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Matthew McBride, “Ezra Booth and Isaac Morley,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.
“Visions and Nightmares,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:154–155.
“Holy Places,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:166–169.
“Emigration,” Church History Topics.
“Sealing,” Church History Topics.
D&C 60:6–7
Susan Easton Black, “Sidney Rigdon,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Susan Easton Black, “Oliver Cowdery,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
D&C 60:10
Susan Easton Black, “Edward Partridge,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Doctrine and Covenants 61
Steven C. Harper, “Section 61,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 145–146.
Susan Easton Black, “The Missouri River - Insight Into D&C 61,” Restoration Voices Volume 2: Insights and Stories of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Matthew McBride, “Ezra Booth and Isaac Morley,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.
“After Much Tribulation,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:133–134.
“The Gift Has Returned,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:136.
D&C 61:7–12
Susan Easton Black, “William Wines Phelps,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Susan Easton Black, “Algernon Sidney Gilbert,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
D&C 61:23
Susan Easton Black, “Sidney Rigdon,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Susan Easton Black, “Oliver Cowdery,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
D&C 61:39
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Does Jesus Say that “Ye Must Watch and Pray Always”? (3 Nephi 18:15),” KnoWhy 344 (July 26, 2018).
Book of Mormon Central, “Why Must One Pray Always to Endure to the End? (2 Nephi 32:8–9),” KnoWhy 298 (April 10, 2017).
Doctrine and Covenants 62
Steven C. Harper, “Section 62,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 145–146.
Susan Easton Black, “Testimony - Insight Into D&C 62,” Restoration Voices Volume 2: Insights and Stories of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).
Matthew McBride, “Ezra Booth and Isaac Morley,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.
“After Much Tribulation,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:133–134.