This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Doctrine and Covenants 77-80, which includes the Lord’s promise that “I will lead you along” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about those sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Doctrine and Covenants 77
“The term ‘latter-day’ is an expression especially difficult for translators who labor in languages in which there is not a good equivalent term. Some translations may suggest ‘last day.’
“It is true that scriptures foretell the final days of the earth’s temporal existence as a telestial sphere. The earth will then be renewed and receive its paradisiacal, or terrestrial, glory (see Articles of Faith 1:10). Ultimately, the earth will become celestialized (see Revelation 21:1; Doctrine and Covenants 77:1; 88:25–26). But its last days must be preceded by its latter days.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 1990 general conference, “‘Thus Shall My Church Be Called’”
Doctrine and Covenants 78
“This week, I’m studying section 78 from the Doctrine of Covenants, and I thought that I’d like to share a scripture that has been meaningful to me in my ministry. All of us have experienced challenges and afflictions as part of mortality. There are some verses in this section that I love that address this. This has been really a strength for me.
“‘Very, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:17).”
“I think the Lord is teaching us here that there are many things that maybe we don’t even see yet. Part of those are great blessings that he has in store for us. And then he describes, ‘And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
“Have you ever felt this yourselves? That sometimes things seem so difficult and challenging that you just don’t know whether you can bear it or not? Well, the Lord knows that we face these things and He gives us some wonderful counsel. ‘Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.’
“And then He promises blessings. He says, ‘The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18). And then more promised blessings: ‘And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more. Wherefore, do the things which I have commanded you, saith your Redeemer, even the Son’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19-20).
“And so I think this speaks directly to each and every one of us, and is indicative of some of the beautiful doctrine and counsel and guidance that come to us through the Doctrine and Covenants. The words that are ours, these divine revelations that come through the Doctrine and Covenants, are the word of God. I offer my testimony of that, and my testimony of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer.”
— Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in the 2025 Insights from the Apostles video “I Will Lead You Along”
“The Lord declared, ‘And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:19). Perhaps this is because gratitude gives birth to a multitude of other virtues.
“How our awareness would change if every morning we awoke with only the blessings we were grateful for the night before. Failure to appreciate our blessings can result in a sense of dissatisfaction, which can rob us of the joy and happiness that gratitude engenders. Those in the great and spacious building entice us to look beyond the mark, thereby missing the mark entirely.”
— Elder Gary B. Sabin, General Authority Seventy, October 2023 general conference, “Hallmarks of Happiness”
“My beloved brothers and sisters, I pray that we will ever stand in awe of Jesus Christ and His complete, infinite and perfect love. May the remembrance of what our eyes have seen and our hearts have felt increase our amazement at the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, which can heal us of our spiritual and emotional wounds and help us to draw closer to Him. May we marvel at the great promises that the Father has in His hands and that He has prepared for those who are faithful:
“‘The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
“‘And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18-19).”
— Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2022 general conference, “In Awe of Christ and His Gospel”
“The pure doctrine of Christ is powerful. It changes the life of everyone who understands it and seeks to implement it in his or her life. The doctrine of Christ helps us find and stay on the covenant path. Staying on that narrow but well-defined path will ultimately qualify us to receive all that God has (See Ether 4:14; Doctrine and Covenants 78:17–18; 84:38). Nothing could be worth more than all our Father has.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, October 2021 general conference, “Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation”
“I know the Lord has great and marvelous plans for us — individually and collectively. With compassion and patience, He says:
“‘Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath … prepared for you;
“‘And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-18).”
“My dear brothers, I testify that He has been, and is, indeed leading us along, as we seek to hear Him. He wants us to grow and to learn, even through — perhaps especially through — adversity.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, April 2021 general conference, “What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget”
“I bear you my testimony that He lives. He will hear your prayers and guide your steps. Jesus Christ is our Exemplar and our Guide. Stay on the path. Be modest. Cleave to your covenants, and be worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. The Lord promises: ‘Be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).”
— Sister Elaine S. Dalton, then the first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 2007 general conference, “Stay on the Path”
“Let us trust the Lord and take the next steps in our individual lives. He has promised us that He will be our tender tutor, measuring what we are ready for:
“‘And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18).
“He will not ask us to bear more than we can bear nor thrust upon us that for which we are not yet ready. But likewise, we must not tarry too long when we are ready to move on. …
“Let us ‘be of good cheer’ (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18), for the Lord will, as He has promised, lead us along and show us the way. He will help us as we decide from day to day on the allocation of our time and talent. We will move faster if we hurry less. We will make more real progress if we focus on the fundamentals. We will even come to know more as we serve more, for as we learn to bear more we are made ready to hear more.
“The Lord has helped to make us ready for major progress. Let us now go to and make the world ready for His coming.”
— The late President Spencer W. Kimball, then the president of the Church, April 1979 general conference, “Let Us Move Forward and Upward”
Doctrine and Covenants 79
“As my 19th birthday approached, I wanted to give my name to go forth and proclaim the Savior’s gospel and serve in His vineyard. I prepared and sent in my mission papers. When my call arrived, I opened the letter signed by President Spencer W. Kimball and read that I would serve in the Uruguay/Paraguay Mission. I was going to serve in my own country. I was happy for the chance to proclaim ‘glad tidings of great joy, even the everlasting gospel’ (Doctrine and Covenants 79:1). …
“Today is the day for us to show character and courage and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today is the day for our young people to prepare to serve in the Lord’s battalion on a teaching or service mission. The world needs you. There are knees to strengthen, hands to raise and truth to preach.”
— Elder Eduardo Gavarret, General Authority Seventy, in the July 2024 Liahona article, “A Wonderful Preparation for Life”
Doctrine and Covenants 80
“In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord occasionally says, ‘It mattereth not’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 27:2; 80:3). It makes me ponder that if some things matter not, or matter less, there must be things that matter most. In our efforts to do something or do anything, we might ask ourselves, ‘What mattereth most?’ …
“It takes effort to stay focused on what is truly essential for lasting joy. Satan would love nothing more than for us to misplace our eternal values, leading us to waste precious time, talents or spiritual strength on things that matter not. I invite each of us to prayerfully consider those things that distract us from doing what mattereth most.”
— Sister Rebecca L. Craven, then the second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 2022 general conference, “Do What Mattereth Most”
“I have talked with many individuals who question the strength of their personal testimony and underestimate their spiritual capacity because they do not receive frequent, miraculous or strong impressions. Perhaps as we consider the experiences of Joseph in the Sacred Grove, of Saul on the road to Damascus and of Alma the Younger, we come to believe something is wrong with or lacking in us if we fall short in our lives of these well-known and spiritually striking examples. If you have had similar thoughts or doubts, please know that you are quite normal. Just keep pressing forward obediently and with faith in the Savior. As you do so, you ‘cannot go amiss’ (Doctrine and Covenants 80:3).”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2011 general conference, “The Spirit of Revelation”
“Section 80 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a record of a mission call to Stephen Burnett extended by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832. Studying this call to Brother Burnett can help us to (1) understand more clearly the distinction between being ‘called to the work’ as a missionary and ‘assigned to labor’ in a particular place and (2) appreciate more completely our individual and divinely appointed responsibility to proclaim the gospel.
“Verse 1 of this section is a call to serve: ‘Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Stephen Burnett: Go ye, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every creature that cometh under the sound of your voice.’
“Interestingly, verse 2 informs Brother Burnett about his assigned missionary companion: ‘And inasmuch as you desire a companion, I will give unto you my servant Eden Smith.’
“Verse 3 indicates where these two missionaries are to labor: ‘Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for ye cannot go amiss.’
“I do not believe that the phrase ‘it mattereth not’ as used by the Lord in this scripture suggests that He does not care where His servants labor. In fact, He cares deeply. But because the work of preaching the gospel is the Lord’s work, He inspires, guides and directs His authorized servants. As missionaries strive to be ever more worthy and capable instruments in His hands and do their best to fulfill faithfully their duties, then with His help they ‘cannot go amiss’ — wherever they serve. Perhaps one of the lessons the Savior is teaching us in this revelation is that an assignment to labor in a specific place is essential and important but secondary to a call to the work.
“The next verse highlights important qualifications for all missionaries: ‘Therefore, declare the things which ye have heard, and verily believe, and know to be true.’
“The final verse reminds Brother Burnett and all of us from whom a call to serve truly comes: ‘Behold, this is the will of him who hath called you, your Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. Amen.’”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2017 general conference, “Called to the Work”
