“Lesson 23—Doctrine and Covenants 11:8–30: ‘Unto All Who Have Good Desires,’” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“Doctrine and Covenants 11:8–30,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 23: Doctrine and Covenants 10–11
Doctrine and Covenants 11:8–30
“Unto All Who Have Good Desires”
As the Restoration of Jesus Christ’s gospel began to unfold, several people desired to know how they might assist. This included members of Joseph Smith’s own family, like his brother Hyrum. The Lord praised Hyrum for his good desires and taught him how to prepare to assist in the work. This lesson can help students seek the Lord’s help to prepare to participate in His work.
Possible Learning Activities
“Even as you desire”
Consider asking students to think of a time when they desired to join or participate in a worthwhile activity or cause. Ideas might include the planning of a youth activity, participating in a service project, or joining a club or organization. Invite students to discuss things they needed to prepare ahead of time to accomplish the activity or serve the cause.
Consider sharing information like the following to help students understand what Hyrum Smith desired to be a part of that led to the revelation in Doctrine and Covenants 11.
In May 1829, Hyrum Smith’s great desire was to participate in the Restoration of the Savior’s Church. He traveled over 250 miles from Palmyra, New York, to Harmony, Pennsylvania, to visit his younger brother Joseph and learn what he could do to help. The Lord revealed Doctrine and Covenants 11 because of Hyrum’s righteous desires.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 11:8, looking for how the Lord would bless Hyrum Smith because he desired to assist in the work. Next, read Doctrine and Covenants 11:27, looking for who else the Savior spoke to in this revelation.
Invite students to identify a truth from these verses and to express it in their own words. They may say something like this: If we desire to serve Him, God can do His work through us.
Give students an opportunity to assess themselves on their preparation to do God’s work. The following is one way they could self-assess.
Using the following scale, select how prepared you feel you are to do God’s work:
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1 = Very unprepared
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2 = Somewhat unprepared
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3 = Somewhat prepared
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4 = Very prepared
Think about what you can do to increase your preparedness. You might record some of your thoughts in your study journal.
Preparing to serve
Consider dividing students into small groups and encouraging them to alternate reading the following verses aloud.
Read Doctrine and Covenants 11:11–26, marking specific phrases of counsel that the Savior gave to help Hyrum prepare to faithfully serve. After studying these verses, select one phrase that suggests how we might prepare. Think of two to three specific ways someone could apply that counsel in their lives.
Consider inviting each group to write on the board the phrase they chose and to share with the class some ways they could apply it. You might ask a follow-up question such as “How could applying that counsel now affect who you become later in life?” Listen closely as students share to discern which phrases to spend more time discussing. The following three sections can be used to help students understand, discuss, and prepare to apply specific phrases.
“Trust in that Spirit that leadeth to good” (verse 12)
Think of some real-life situations where a teenager might have to decide if he or she will trust in the Spirit.
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Why is faith in the Savior required to fully trust in the Spirit in these situations?
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What can we do to learn how to better receive and act on inspiration from the Holy Ghost?
Answers might include worthily taking the sacrament, writing down and acting on promptings that come, and pondering as part of personal prayer or scripture study. Invite students to share experiences when they trusted in the Spirit to do good.
“Keep my commandments, yea, with all your might, mind and strength” (verse 20)
Choose three to four commandments that you feel are especially relevant to teenagers.
For each commandment, write down what it might look like for a teenager to keep it with all their might, mind, and strength.
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Why is striving to keep the Lord’s commandments necessary to better serve Him?
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How have you or someone you know been blessed for diligently striving to keep the Savior’s commandments?
“First seek to obtain my word” (verse 21)
Make a list of things someone might do who is seeking to “obtain [the Lord’s] word” rather than just reading the scriptures.
Answers might include marking passages, recording thoughts that come, searching for answers to questions, and praying during study.
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How could intentionally preparing to be a better missionary, teacher, leader, minister, spouse, or parent in your future change the way you approach gospel study now?
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What is something specific you can do to increase the effectiveness of your daily scripture study? (You may have previously set a similar goal. This may be a good time to review your progress.)
Apply what you have learned
Understanding the Savior’s description of Himself in section 11 could help students feel hope that He will help them apply the invitations in this section. Invite students to read verses 11, 28–30 and to discuss the following questions.
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How can the Savior light your way as you strive to follow His counsel and prepare to serve Him?
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How can you better “receive” the Savior and His counsel into your life?
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What do you think it means to be given power to become the sons and daughters of God?
Provide students some quiet time to ponder the following and apply what they have learned. If students need help thinking of ideas, invite them to choose one phrase listed on the board from earlier in the lesson. Consider sharing your own feelings about how serving the Lord has benefited and blessed your life.
Take a moment to picture the kind of servant you would like to be for the Lord now, in two years, in 10 years, and throughout your life. Choose at least one phrase of counsel from your study today that you would like to focus on and create a plan to act on it. One way to do this is to draw a simple set of stairs with three or four steps. On each step, write something you can do to help you better obtain the Lord’s word, keep His commandments, or apply whichever piece of counsel you decided to focus on.