This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers Doctrine and Covenants 111-114, which includes the promise that “the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10).
Following are a few quotes from past and present leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about these sections of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Doctrine and Covenants 111
“What to say. What to write. Where to go. What to do. Such guidance, if given infrequently for only some of life’s decisions, would be priceless. But the broader promise was given to the Prophet Joseph at Salem, Massachusetts, that ‘for the main’ (or for the most part), the place he should tarry would be signalized to him by the peace and power of the Spirit (see Doctrine and Covenants 111:8). And the Three Witnesses were told that the Holy Ghost would manifest ‘all things which are expedient unto the children of men’ (Doctrine and Covenants 18:18).”
— Elder F. Burton Howard, then a General Authority Seventy, October 1982 Brigham Young University fireside, “The Gift of Knowing”
“We must be ‘wise as serpents’ (Doctrine and Covenants 111:11); for, as the apostle Paul said, we wrestle “against the rulers of the darkness ..., against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).
“We are going through the greatest, most insidious propaganda campaign of all time. Even the character-destroying ‘credibility gap’ seems to be gaining respectability. We cannot believe all we read, and what we can believe is not all of the same value. We must sift. We must learn by study and prayer.
“Study the scriptures and study the mortals who have been most consistently accurate about the most important things. When your freedom and your eternal welfare are at stake, your information best be accurate.”
— Then-Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 1967 general conference
Doctrine and Covenants 112
“Another experience began 48 hours after my wife’s burial. At that time, I was rushed to the hospital in an acute medical crisis. I then spent the first four weeks of a six-week stay in and out of intensive care and in and out of consciousness.
“Virtually all my experience in the hospital during that first period is lost to my memory. What is not lost is my memory of a journey outside the hospital, out to what seemed the edge of eternity. I cannot speak fully of that experience here, but I can say that part of what I received was an admonition to return to my ministry with more urgency, more consecration, more focus on the Savior, more faith in His word.
“I couldn’t help but feel I was receiving my own personal version of a revelation given to the Twelve nearly 200 years ago:
“‘Thou shalt bear record of my name … [and] send forth my word unto the ends of the earth. …
“‘Morning by morning; and day after day let thy warning voice go forth; and when the night cometh let not the inhabitants of the earth slumber, because of thy speech. …
“‘Arise[,] … take up your cross, [and] follow me.’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:4-5, 14).
“My beloved sisters and brothers, since that experience, I have tried to take up my cross more earnestly, with more resolve to find where I can raise an apostolic voice of both warmth and warning in the morning, during the day and into the night.”
— Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, then the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2024 general conference, “Motions of a Hidden Fire”
“On July 23, 1837, the Lord directed a revelation to the then-President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Thomas B. Marsh. It included the following:
“‘And pray for thy brethren of the Twelve. Admonish them sharply for my name’s sake, and let them be admonished for all their sins, and be ye faithful before me unto my name.
“‘And after their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord, will feel after them, and if they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they shall be converted, and I will heal them’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:12-13).
“I believe the principles expressed in these verses apply to all of us. The temptations and tribulations we experience, plus any testing that the Lord sees fit to impose, can lead to our full conversion and healing. But this happens if, and only if, we do not harden our hearts or stiffen our necks against Him. If we remain firm and steadfast, come what may, we achieve the conversion the Savior intended when He said to Peter, ‘When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren,’ (Luke 22:32), a conversion so complete that it cannot be undone. The promised healing is the cleansing and sanctification of our sin-wounded souls, making us holy.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2018 general conference, “Firm and Steadfast in the Faith of Christ”
“Following the feet of the people ahead of you on the path is not enough. We cannot just do and think what others are doing and thinking; we must live a guided life. We must each have our own hand on the iron rod. Then we may go to the Lord with humble confidence, knowing that He ‘shall lead [us] by the hand, and give [us] answer to [our] prayers’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10).”
— Elder Larry Y. Wilson, then a General Authority Seventy, April 2018 general conference, “Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide”
“On July 23, 1837, the Prophet Joseph [Smith] met with Elder Thomas B. Marsh, president of the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Marsh was apparently frustrated that the Prophet had called two members of his quorum to go to England without consulting him. As Joseph met with Elder Marsh, any hurt feelings were put aside, and the Prophet received a remarkable revelation. It is now the 112th section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It gives incredible direction from heaven with respect to humility and missionary work. Verse 10 reads, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.’
“This revelation occurred the exact same day that Elders Kimball, Hyde and John Goodson, full of humility, were declaring the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Vauxhall Chapel in Preston, England. This was the first time missionaries had proclaimed the restored gospel outside of North America in this dispensation. Their missionary effort resulted in almost immediate convert baptisms and led to numerous faithful members.
“Subsequent parts of the revelation guide the missionary effort in our day. They read, in part, ‘Whosoever ye shall send in my name … shall have power to open the door of my kingdom unto any nation … inasmuch as they shall humble themselves before me, and abide in my word, and hearken to the voice of my Spirit’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:21-22).
“The humility that undergirded this incredible missionary effort allowed the Lord to establish His Church in a remarkable way.”
— Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, October 2017 general conference, “The Eternal Everyday”
“When the gospel was first preached in England in July 1837, the Lord revealed, ‘Whosoever ye shall send in my name, by the voice of your brethren, the Twelve, duly recommended and authorized by you, shall have power to open the door of my kingdom unto any nation whithersoever ye shall send them’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:21). …
“The Lord then gave the conditions for this promise to be fulfilled. He said, ‘Inasmuch as [which means the promise will be fulfilled ‘if’] they [meaning the missionaries who are sent] shall [1] humble themselves before me, and [2] abide in my word, and [3] hearken to the voice of my Spirit’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:22).
“The Lord’s promises are clear. In order to have the spiritual power necessary to open the door of the kingdom of God in the nation to which you are sent, you must be humble and obedient and have the ability to hear and follow the Spirit.”
— Elder Randy D. Funk, then a General Authority Seventy, October 2013 general conference, “Called of Him To Declare His Word”
“Reinforced constantly during my own review of the years has been my knowledge that our prayers are heard and answered. We are familiar with the truth found in 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon: ‘Men are, that they might have joy’ (2 Nephi 2:25). I testify that much of that joy comes as we recognize that we can communicate with our Heavenly Father through prayer and that those prayers will be heard and answered — perhaps not how and when we expected they would be answered, but they will be answered and by a Heavenly Father who knows and loves us perfectly and who desires our happiness. Hasn’t He promised us, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers’ (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10)?”
— The late President Thomas S. Monson, October 2012 general conference, “Consider the Blessings”
Doctrine and Covenants 113
“We have talked about prayer, scripture study and obedience. Of what value are they unless they are accompanied by a commitment to serve others, to build the kingdom of God as Daniel saw it, and to ‘bring again Zion’ (see Doctrine and Covenants 113:8)?
“So many of us say, ‘I know the gospel’s true, but …’ This is a terrestrial kind of thinking. We place barriers between what we believe and what we are willing to do to apply it. The Lord has made it abundantly clear that we are to do the work we have seen him do. We demonstrate a celestial attitude when we can truly say, ‘I know the gospel’s true. Therefore …’ You see the difference? It is precisely because of our faith and testimony of our Savior that we are willing to do what He asks us to do, even to do what needs to be done without being asked.”
— The late Sister Barbara W. Winder, then the Relief Society general president, March 1990 Brigham Young University devotional, “Enjoy Your Journey”
“My brethren and sisters, the priesthood is upon the earth, the power of God given to men to act in His name and for His purposes. It carries with it ‘the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering’ of the people of the Lord in the last days (Doctrine and Covenants 113:6).
“My co-workers in this great cause and kingdom, you and I are weaving the grand design of that standard to the nations. It waves to all the world. It says to men and women everywhere: ‘Come, walk with us and learn of the ways of the Lord. Here is the priesthood given to men in these last days. Here are the great keys for the redemption of the dead. Here is the authority to carry the gospel to the nations of the earth.’
“We do not say it selfishly. We do not say it with egotism. We do not say it boastfully. We say it as those charged with a great and compelling responsibility. We say it with love in our hearts for the God of heaven and the risen Lord, and with love for the children of men everywhere.”
— The late President Gordon B. Hinckley, then the first counselor in the First Presidency, October 1989 general conference, “An Ensign to the Nations”
