This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Doctrine and Covenants 84, which includes the teaching that “the power of godliness is manifest” through priesthood ordinances (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20).
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about this section of the Doctrine and Covenants.
‘Angels round about you’
“When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confidence in approaching God right now. I am referring to praying with confidence that Heavenly Father hears us, that He understands our needs better than we do. I am referring to having confidence that He loves us more than we can comprehend, that He sends angels to be with us and with those we love (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:88). I am referring to having confidence that He yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, April 2025 general conference, “Confidence in the Presence of God”
“Brothers and sisters, the Lord will comfort you too. He will strengthen you. He will bless you with peace, even amidst chaos.
“Please listen to this promise of Jesus Christ to you: ‘I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).
“There is no limit to the Savior’s capacity to help you. His incomprehensible suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary was for you. His infinite Atonement is for you.”
— President Russell M. Nelson, October 2024 general conference, “The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again”
“We were born at this time for a divine purpose, the gathering of Israel. When we serve as full-time missionaries, we will be challenged at times, but the Lord Himself is our great exemplar and guide in such circumstances. He understands what a difficult mission is. With His help, we can do hard things. He will be by our side (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:88), and He will bless us greatly as we humbly serve Him.”
— Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis, General Authority Seventy, April 2022 general conference, “Lift Up Your Heart and Rejoice”
“When it comes to your happiness and salvation, it is always worth the effort to keep trying. It is worth the effort to adjust your lifestyle and traditions. The Lord is aware of the challenges you face. He knows you, He loves you, and I promise He will send angels to help you.
“In His own words, the Savior said: ‘I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).”
— Elder Carlos A. Godoy, General Authority Seventy, October 2020 general conference, “I Believe in Angels”
“When the way is difficult, we can rely on the Lord’s promise … ‘Whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).
“I testify that the Lord goes before your face whenever you are on His errand. Sometimes you will be the angel the Lord sends to bear others up. Sometimes you will be the one surrounded by angels who bear you up. But always you will have His Spirit to be in your heart, as you have been promised in every sacrament service. You have only to keep His commandments.”
— President Henry B. Eyring, then the first counselor in the First Presidency, October 2017 general conference, “Fear Not To Do Good”
‘The power of godliness’
“This is the beauty of the covenant path — the path of worship, love and loyalty to God. We enter that path by baptism, pledging to take upon us the name of Christ and to keep His commandments. We receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the messenger of the Savior’s grace that redeems and cleanses us from sin as we repent. We could even say that in repenting we are worshipping Him.
“There follow additional priesthood ordinances and covenants made in the house of the Lord that further sanctify us. The ceremonies and ordinances of the temple constitute an elevated form of worship.
“President Russell M. Nelson has emphasized that ‘every man and every woman who participates in priesthood ordinances and who makes and keeps covenants with God has direct access to the power of God’ (‘The Everlasting Covenant,’ October 2022 Liahona). This is not only a power we draw upon to serve and to bless. It is also the divine power that works in us to refine and purify us. As we walk the covenant path, the sanctifying ‘power of godliness is manifest’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-21) in us.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2025 general conference, “Worship”
“The covenants we make with God, such as those we make in the ordinance of baptism, give us access to the power of godliness (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:19-21). God’s power is a real power that helps us face challenges, make good decisions and increase our capacity to endure difficult situations. It is a power with which we can grow in the specific abilities that we need.”
— Sister Andrea Muñoz Spannaus, second counselor in the Young Women general presidency, April 2024 general conference, “Faithful to the End”
“Repentance leads us to make and keep covenants through sacred ordinances. The first ordinance of salvation and exaltation is baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Baptism allows us to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and enter into a covenant with the Lord. We can renew this baptismal covenant every week as we take the sacrament. This too is a miracle.
“Brothers and sisters, I invite you to bring this miracle into your life. Come unto Jesus Christ and choose to exercise your faith in Him; repent and make and keep the covenants found in the ordinances of salvation and exaltation. This will allow you to be yoked with Christ and receive the power and blessings of godliness (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:20).”
— Elder Carlos G. Revillo Jr., General Authority Seventy, October 2021 general conference, “Miracles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ”
“Jesus said, ‘Enter ye in at the strait gate; for strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it’ (3 Nephi 27:33). Figuratively speaking, this gate is so narrow that it allows only one to enter at a time. Each one makes an individual commitment to God and in return receives from Him a personal covenant, by name, that he or she can rely on implicitly in time and eternity. With the ordinances and covenants, ‘the power of godliness is manifest’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20) in our lives.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2021 general conference, “Why the Covenant Path”
“The Restoration of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the organization of the Lord’s living Church on the earth again and its remarkable growth since then have made the blessings of the priesthood available throughout the earth. Sacred ordinances and covenants that bind us to God and set us on the covenant path clearly manifest ‘the power of godliness’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20). As we participate in these sacred ordinances for the living and for the dead, we gather Israel on both sides of the veil and prepare the earth for the Second Coming of the Savior.”
— Elder Alan R. Walker, General Authority Seventy, April 2021 general conference, “The Gospel Light of Truth and Love”
“We do not come to the temple to hide from or escape the evils of the world. Rather, we come to the temple to conquer the world of evil. As we invite into our lives the ‘power of godliness’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20-21) by receiving priesthood ordinances and making and keeping sacred covenants, we are blessed with strength beyond our own to overcome the temptations and challenges of mortality and to do and become good.”
— Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2020 general conference, “Let This House Be Built Unto My Name”
“Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ redeemed us from the consequences of the Fall of Adam and made possible our repentance and eventual exaltation. Through His life, He set the example for us to receive saving ordinances, in which ‘the power of godliness is manifest’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20).”
— Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, General Authority Seventy, April 2018 general conference, “Saving Ordinances Will Bring Us Marvelous Light”
‘All that my Father hath’
“Heavenly Father desires to build a close, personal relationship with each of His spirit children. … The relationship God seeks with each spirit child is one so close and personal that He will be able to share all He has and all He is (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). That kind of deep, enduring relationship can develop only when built upon perfect, total trust.”
— Elder Paul B. Pieper, General Authority Seventy, April 2024 general conference, “Trust in the Lord”
“It has been a privilege to meet women of all ages living in a wide variety of circumstances who are keeping their covenants. Each day, they look to the Lord and His prophet for guidance, rather than to popular media. Despite their individual challenges and the detrimental philosophies of the world that try to dissuade them from keeping their covenants, they are determined to stay on the covenant path. They rely on the promise of ‘all that [the] Father hath’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:38). And whatever your age, each of you women who has made covenants with God has the ability to hold up the Lord’s light and lead others to Him. Through your keeping of covenants, He will bless you with His priesthood power and enable you to have a profound influence on all with whom you interact.”
— Sister Jean B. Bingham, then the Relief Society general president, April 2022 general conference, “Covenants With God Strengthen, Protect and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory”
‘By every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God’
“What are some of the things that we will do if our souls delight in the scriptures? Our desire to be part of the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil will increase. It will be normal and natural for us to invite our family and friends to listen to the missionaries. We will be worthy, and we will have a current temple recommend in order to go to the temple as often as possible. We will work to find, prepare and submit the names of our ancestors to the temple. We will be faithful in keeping the Sabbath day, attending church every Sunday to renew our covenants with the Lord as we participate worthily in taking the sacrament. We will resolve to remain on the covenant path, living by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God (see Doctrine and Covenants 84:44).”
— Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela, General Authority Seventy, October 2021 general conference, “Deepening Our Conversion to Jesus Christ”
‘The Spirit giveth light to every man’
“I remind all that we do not believe that good can be accomplished only through a church. Independent of a church, we see millions of people supporting and carrying out innumerable good works. Individually, Latter-day Saints participate in many of them. We see these works as a manifestation of the eternal truth that ‘the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:46).”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, October 2021 general conference, “The Need for a Church”
