This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Doctrine and Covenants 64-66, which includes the commandment to “forgive all men” (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10).
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about these sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Doctrine and Covenants 64
“None of us can control nations or the actions of others or even members of our own families. But we can control ourselves. My call today, dear brothers and sisters, is to end conflicts that are raging in your heart, your home and your life. Bury any and all inclinations to hurt others — whether those inclinations be a temper, a sharp tongue or a resentment for someone who has hurt you. The Savior commanded us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies and to pray for those who despitefully use us.
“It can be painfully difficult to let go of anger that feels so justified. It can seem impossible to forgive those whose destructive actions have hurt the innocent. And yet, the Savior admonished us to ‘forgive all men’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10).
“We are followers of the Prince of Peace. Now more than ever, we need the peace only He can bring. How can we expect peace to exist in the world when we are not individually seeking peace and harmony? Brothers and sisters, I know what I’m suggesting is not easy. But followers of Jesus Christ should set the example for all the world to follow. I plead with you to do all you can to end personal conflicts that are currently raging in your hearts and in your lives.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, Church President, April 2022 general conference, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum”
“Today, as in the times of Jesus, there will be those who will turn back, unwilling to accept the price of discipleship. As harsh and hateful criticism is increasingly leveled at the Savior’s Church and those who follow Him, our discipleship will require a greater willingness to straighten and strengthen our spiritual spines and heed them not.
“If our spiritual foundation is built solidly on Jesus Christ, we will not fall and we need not fear.
“‘Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:34).”
— Elder Kevin W. Pearson, General Authority Seventy, October 2022 general conference, “Are You Still Willing?”
“The Lord teaches us that forgiving others is a universal commandment: ‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10). Extending forgiveness can take tremendous courage and humility. It can also take time. It requires us to put our faith and trust in the Lord as we assume accountability for the condition of our hearts. Here lies the significance and power of our agency.”
— Sister Amy A. Wright, then the second counselor in the Primary general presidency, April 2022 general conference, “Christ Heals That Which Is Broken”
“Most of us do not face decisions of giant proportions, like leaving our homes to pioneer an unknown land. Our decisions are mostly in the daily routines of life, but as the Lord has told us, ‘Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33).”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, October 2020 general conference, “Be of Good Cheer”
“‘Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven,’ Christ taught in New Testament times (Luke 7:37). And in our day: ‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:10). It is, however, important for some of you living in real anguish to note what He did not say. He did not say, ‘You are not allowed to feel true pain or real sorrow from the shattering experiences you have had at the hand of another.’ Nor did He say, ‘In order to forgive fully, you have to re-enter a toxic relationship or return to an abusive, destructive circumstance.’ But notwithstanding even the most terrible offenses that might come to us, we can rise above our pain only when we put our feet onto the path of true healing. That path is the forgiving one walked by Jesus of Nazareth, who calls out to each of us, ‘Come, follow me,’ (Luke 18:22).”
— President Jeffrey R. Holland, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2018 general conference, “The Ministry of Reconciliation”
“The Savior made a clear connection between being forgiven of our sins and forgiving others who have wronged us. Sometimes the wrongs others have done to us are very, very painful and very hard to either forgive or forget. I am so grateful for the comfort and healing I have found in the Lord’s invitation to let go of our hurts and turn them over to Him. In Doctrine and Covenants, section 64, He said:
“‘I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.
“‘And ye ought to say in your hearts — let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds’ (verses 10-11).
“Then we must drop the matter completely, letting the Lord take it from there, if we desire to be healed.”
— Elder J. Devn Cornish, then a General Authority Seventy, October 2011 general conference, “The Privilege of Prayer”
“September 1832 was a busy season of preparation for the early Saints. The Prophet was preparing to move to the John Johnson home southeast of Kirtland, Ohio; other brethren were preparing to leave for Missouri. In the midst of these preparations, Joseph Smith received the revelation that we now know as section 64 of the Doctrine and Covenants. After instructing the men going to Missouri, the Lord reminded them: ‘But all things must come to pass in their time. Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great’ (Doctrine and Covenants 64:32-33).
“These verses are a guide for us as we prepare ourselves and our families to live in ‘perilous times’ (2 Timothy 3:1). We must not become weary of doing good, and we must not become impatient; the changes we seek will come about ‘in their time.’ Most important, the great work we wish to do will proceed from ‘small things.’”
— Sister Kathleen H. Hughes, then the first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, October 2004 general conference, “Out of Small Things”
Doctrine and Covenants 65
“In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel interpreted a dream about a stone that would be cut out of a mountain without hands and fill the entire earth. One year after the organization of the Church, the Lord instructed Joseph Smith that the keys of the kingdom of God had again been ‘committed unto man on the earth’ and the ‘gospel [of Jesus Christ would] roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands’ (Doctrine and Covenants 65:2).
“I testify: The Lord is fulfilling His promise. The Savior’s restored Church is being established throughout the world and is the instrument by which God will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him’ (Ephesians 1:10).”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2025 general conference, “The Times of Restitution of All Things”
“Daniel, who staved off lions by his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the intercession of God’s ministering angels, was one who saw our day in vision. Interpreting a dream for Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel prophesied the Lord’s Church would rise in the last days as a small stone ‘cut out of the mountain without hands’ (Daniel 2:45; see also Doctrine and Covenants 65:2). ‘Without hands,’ meaning by divine intervention, the Lord’s Church would increase in magnitude until it fills the whole earth, ‘never [to] be destroyed … [but to] stand for ever’ (Daniel 2:44).”
— Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2020 general conference, “Fulfillment of Prophecy”
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will go forward ‘until it has filled the whole earth’ (Doctrine and Covenants 65:2) and the great Jehovah announces that His work is done. The Church is a safe harbor. We will be protected by justice and comforted by mercy. No unhallowed hand can stay the progress of this work.”
— The late President Boyd K. Packer, then the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2004 general conference, “Do Not Fear”
“The Church is the way by which the Master accomplishes His work and bestows His glory. Its ordinances and related covenants are the crowning rewards of our membership. While many organizations can offer fellowship and fine instruction, only His church can provide baptism, confirmation, ordination, the sacrament, patriarchal blessings and the ordinances of the temple — all bestowed by authorized priesthood power. That power is destined to bless all children of our Heavenly Father, regardless of their nationality:
“‘The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth’ (Doctrine and Covenants 65:2).”
— President Russell M. Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 1990 general conference, “Thus Shall My Church Be Called”
“I think we will witness increasing evidence of Satan’s power as the kingdom of God grows stronger. I believe Satan’s ever-expanding efforts are some proof of the truthfulness of this work. In the future, the opposition will be both more subtle and more open. It will be masked in greater sophistication and cunning, but it will also be more blatant. We will need greater spirituality to perceive all of the forms of evil and greater strength to resist it. But the disappointments and setbacks to the work of God will be temporary, for the work will go forward (see Doctrine and Covenants 65:2).”
— The late President James E. Faust, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 1987 general conference, “The Great Imitator”
Doctrine and Covenants 66
“Within two months of his baptism on Aug. 20, 1831, William E. McLellin, a former schoolteacher, became deeply involved in the Restoration story. Following his conversion, McLellin was ordained an elder and preached the gospel with Hyrum Smith for a few weeks before traveling to Orange, Ohio, in late October for a general conference of the Church. …
“After the conference, McLellin traveled to Kirtland and, in the course of his journey, ‘stepped off of a large log and strained my ankle very badly’ — so much so that he petitioned Joseph to heal him. ‘He laid his hands on’ the ankle, McLellin wrote in his journal, ‘and it was healed although it was swelled much and had pained me severely.’ Just a few days later, McLellin decided to test Joseph Smith’s calling. After going to Joseph’s home in Hiram, Ohio, on Oct. 29, McLellin ‘went before the Lord in secret, and on my knees asked Him to reveal the answer to five questions through His Prophet.’ Without letting Joseph know what these five questions were, McLellin asked Joseph to provide to him God’s will. The resulting revelation — now known as Doctrine and Covenants 66 — answered McLellin’s five questions to his ‘full and entire satisfaction.’ Even after he later fell away from the Church, McLellin stated that he still considered this revelation an evidence of Joseph’s prophetic calling, ‘which,’ he said, ‘I cannot refute.’”
— Matthew C. Godfrey, senior managing historian for outreach and engagement in the Church History Department, in “Revelations in Context: William McLellin’s Five Questions”
“In saying to William E. McLellin, ‘Blessed are you for receiving mine everlasting covenant, even the fulness of my gospel’ (Doctrine and Covenants 66:2), the Lord identified the gospel as the great and all-embracing covenant. As a matter of fact, the Lord had Himself presented it as such to us, His spirit children, in the great pre-earth Council in Heaven.”
— The late President Marion G. Romney, then the second counselor in the First Presidency, April 1981 general conference, “Gospel Covenants”
