Lesson 14: Doctrine and Covenants 3-5

Doctrine and Covenants 4

Serve like the Lord

Joseph Smith Sr. wanted to know how he could serve God and others. In response to his father’s desire, the Prophet Joseph sought and received the first of several revelations given to individuals who desired to assist in the Lord’s work (see also Doctrine and Covenants 11–12; 14–16; 25). This lesson can help students serve God and others in Christlike ways.

Possible Learning Activities

Serving like the Savior

Consider beginning class with an activity that helps students ponder their attitude about serving God and others in Christlike ways. The following is one example.

Imagine someone doing one of the following acts of service for you:

• Talking to you to see how you are doing

• Helping you with a task you have to do

• Praying for you

How might it affect you if they served in the following ways? Why?

• Wholeheartedly or half-heartedly

• Patiently or impatiently

• Motivated by love for you or by something else

Now imagine the Savior doing that service for you. How might He do it and what effect might it have?

In this lesson, you will study about service and Christlike attributes the Lord wants us to seek as we serve. As you study, ponder your own desires to serve and why you may want to strive to gain these attributes.

Answering Joseph Smith Sr.’s question

Though he had not yet associated himself with any organized religion, Joseph Smith Sr. believed what his son shared about his heavenly visions and supported him in his translation of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Sr. wanted to serve God but did not know what to do. In February 1829, he and his wife visited Joseph Jr. in Harmony, Pennsylvania. During that visit, the Prophet Joseph received Doctrine and Covenants 4 in answer to his father’s question.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 4:1–4, looking for what the Lord taught about (1) how we should serve Him and (2) why we should serve Him. It may be helpful to know that in verse 4, the Lord compares wheat that is ready to harvest to people who are ready to receive the gospel. A sickle is a tool for harvesting.

Consider inviting students to use different methods to mark how and why we serve. For example, they could underline how to serve God and circle why we should serve Him. Or they could use different colors. Students could then compare what they marked with a partner or in a small group.

• What did you find?

  Consider creating two columns on the board titled How and Why. You could invite students to write what they found on the board in the appropriate column. You might consider writing the words heart, might, mind, and strength on the board and asking students what they think it looks like for someone to serve with “all” of each of these.

• What blessings do these verses contain for those who serve God with all their heart, might, mind, and strength?

After teaching about the blessings of serving God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength, the Lord listed multiple attributes that can help us as we serve. Jesus Christ possesses each of these attributes and invites us to develop them in our own lives. As we do so, we become more like Him and can serve as He serves.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 4:5–6, looking for attributes the Lord wants us to develop as we serve.

Explain that these attributes are how we serve and can be marked the same way as the how insights in verses 1–4. Students can add these attributes to the board in the corresponding column.

• How might you summarize the teachings of this section into one sentence?

One principle we can learn from this section is that as we serve with Christlike attributes, we will stand blameless before God and bring salvation to our souls.

Understanding Christlike attributes

Consider asking which attributes students do not understand. Invite students to look up key words in the Guide to the Scriptures, the Topical Guide, or general conference talks. A dictionary or a search on the Gospel Library app could also be useful.

Invite students to share which Christlike attributes in Doctrine and Covenants 4 they feel are most common for teenagers to have. Consider asking which attributes may be rarer and why. (You could ask which is mentioned twice in section 4 and why they think that is.) Students could share how they have seen these Christlike attributes in their classmates. This can increase class unity and encourage others to develop Christlike attributes.

Seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to select a Christlike attribute that would be most meaningful for you to study. Write it at the top of a page in your study journal. Below the attribute you selected, write the following.

1. Examples: Ponder how the Savior exemplified this attribute anciently or in your life today. If using a scripture example, try to write down a specific story or reference. (The Guide to the Scriptures and the Topical Guide may be useful again.) You could also write a modern-day example of someone serving with this attribute and how it made a difference.

2. What we can do: List one or two steps you could take to develop this attribute more in your life. For ideas, reread Doctrine and Covenants 4:7, ask for advice by texting or asking someone you feel has this Christlike attribute.

Invite several students to share their thoughts. As they share, consider asking if any others chose the same attribute and would like to share their thoughts. Share your own thoughts as well. This can be a great opportunity to understand various Christlike attributes better and feel their importance. Look for ways to emphasize the Savior’s example.

Developing Christlike attributes

To conclude this lesson, make a plan of one or two steps you could take to develop a Christlike trait you studied today. You could include ways to seek the Lord’s help while developing this attribute.

It may be useful to invite students to record their goal in their study journal or Personal Development: Youth Guidebook. In a future lesson, ask students to report how they are doing. Consider setting a personal goal and sharing with your students how you are seeking the Lord’s help.

Additional Resources

Where can I learn more about Joseph Smith Sr.?

The following resources may be helpful:

• Church History Topics, “Joseph Smith Sr.,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org/study/history/topics

• Church History Topics, “Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org/study/history/topics

• “Joseph Smith Sr.“ (biographical entry), the Joseph Smith Papers, josephsmithpapers.org/person/joseph-smith-sr

• “The Joseph Smith Sr. Family,” Past Impressions (audio series), ChurchofJesusChrist.org

How did Joseph Smith Sr. obey the revelation and serve?

Joseph Smith Sr. went on to serve in Christlike ways throughout his life. Shortly after this revelation, he shared the gospel with Oliver Cowdery. Joseph Sr. continued to support his son and was baptized into the Church soon after it was organized. He also became one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Joseph Sr. worked on the Kirtland Temple and served in various callings, including Patriarch and assistant counselor to the First Presidency. At age 63, he served a mission to the Eastern United States.

Why should I serve God?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

“If Ye Had Known Me”

Serving Him requires all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. Consequently, selflessly serving others counteracts the self-centered and selfish tendencies of the natural man. We grow to love those whom we serve. And because serving others is serving God, we grow to love Him and our brothers and sisters more deeply. Such love is a manifestation of the spiritual gift of charity, even the pure love of Christ. (David A. Bednar, “If Ye Had Known Me,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2016, 104)

Why should I study Doctrine and Covenants 4?

President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) wrote:

[Doctrine and Covenants 4] is very short, only seven verses, but it contains sufficient counsel and instruction for a lifetime of study. No one has yet mastered it. It was not intended as a personal revelation to Joseph Smith [Sr.], but to be of benefit to all who desire to embark in the service of God. It is a revelation to each member of the Church. … Perhaps there is no other revelation in all our scriptures that embodies greater instruction pertaining to the manner of qualification of members of the Church for the service of God, and in such condensed form than this revelation. It is as broad, as high and as deep as eternity. No elder [or sister] of the Church is qualified to teach in the Church, or carry the message of Salvation to the world, until he [or she] has absorbed, in part at least, this heaven-sent instruction. (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation [1953], 1:35)

How can I develop Christlike attributes?

Consider watching or reading “Becoming like Him” by Scott D. Whiting of the Seventy (Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 12–15).

Becoming Like Him

Supplemental Learning Activities

Alternate beginnings

Consider beginning class by inviting students to close their eyes and imagine what it would be like if the Savior Jesus Christ lived in their city. How would He act? How would He treat others? What would He do?

After students share some of their thoughts, invite them to brainstorm several ways someone today could try to serve God and others like the Savior might. As students brainstorm, you could remind them that the Savior served and befriended those who were looked down upon or known as sinners (see Matthew 9:10–11; John 8:1–11). He lifted and guided others to believe and trust God in greater ways. He healed and blessed others with His words and deeds. Consider asking what effect these actions might have and why.

Another way to begin class could be to invite students to answer this question: “If you could create the ideal [athlete, musician, artist, teacher, or spouse], what qualities would they have?” Then students could read Doctrine and Covenants 4 looking for how the ideal servant of God is described.

To stand blameless before God

After discussing verse 2, consider inviting students to imagine what it might feel like to stand in God’s presence and be “blameless.” Then ask the following: What does it mean to be blameless? Why do you think the Lord would want you to serve Him and others in order to be blameless? Students could find verses in the scriptures that indicate the importance of serving or how the Savior helps us become blameless.

Why we serve

Consider inviting students to look at the answers they found for why we should serve God. If it would be useful for students to study other reasons why we serve, consider inviting them to read Matthew 25:34–45; Mosiah 2:17; Doctrine and Covenants 76:5; or Dallin H. Oaks, “Why Do We Serve?,” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 12–15. Invite students to share which reasons are most motivating to them and why.

The example of Jesus Christ

To illustrate the Savior’s example of the attributes found in Doctrine and Covenants 4, consider watching “Christlike Attributes” (2:53). Students could identify additional Christlike attributes listed in the video that are not found in Doctrine and Covenants 4.

Christlike Attributes