Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Contents
Title Page
Introduction to the Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Doctrine and Covenants Lessons
- The Restoration Proclamation
- Doctrine and Covenants 1
- Joseph Smith—History 1:1–26
- Doctrine and Covenants 2; Joseph Smith—History 1:27–65
- Doctrine and Covenants 3–5
- Doctrine and Covenants 6–9
- Doctrine and Covenants 10–11
- Doctrine and Covenants 12–17; Joseph Smith—History 1:66–75
- Doctrine and Covenants 18
- Doctrine and Covenants 19
- Doctrine and Covenants 20–22
- Doctrine and Covenants 23–26
- Doctrine and Covenants 27–28
- Doctrine and Covenants 29
- Doctrine and Covenants 30–36
- Doctrine and Covenants 37–40
- Doctrine and Covenants 41–44
- Doctrine and Covenants 45
- Doctrine and Covenants 46–48
- Doctrine and Covenants 49–50
- Doctrine and Covenants 51–57
- Doctrine and Covenants 58–59
- Doctrine and Covenants 60–63
- Doctrine and Covenants 64–66
- Doctrine and Covenants 67–70
- Doctrine and Covenants 71–75
- Doctrine and Covenants 76
- Doctrine and Covenants 77–80
- Doctrine and Covenants 81–83
- Doctrine and Covenants 84
- Doctrine and Covenants 85–87
- Doctrine and Covenants 88
- Doctrine and Covenants 89–92
- Doctrine and Covenants 93
- Doctrine and Covenants 94–97
- Doctrine and Covenants 98–101
- Doctrine and Covenants 102–105
- Doctrine and Covenants 106–108
- Doctrine and Covenants 109–110
- Doctrine and Covenants 111–114
- Doctrine and Covenants 115–120
- Doctrine and Covenants 121–123
- Doctrine and Covenants 124
- Doctrine and Covenants 125–128
- Doctrine and Covenants 129–132
- Doctrine and Covenants 133–134
- Doctrine and Covenants 135–136
- Doctrine and Covenants 137–138
- The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2
- The Family: A Proclamation to the World
- The Living Christ
Life Preparation Lessons
- Doctrinal Mastery: Finding Answers to My Questions
- Scripture Study Skills
- For the Strength of Youth: Making Choices
- Building Self-Reliance
- Physical and Emotional Health
- Preparing for Future Education and Employment
- Succeeding in School
- Missionary Preparation
- Temple Preparation
- Teachings of Church Leaders
Appendix

Lesson 56—Doctrine and Covenants 42: The Lord’s Laws

“Lesson 56—Doctrine and Covenants 42: The Lord’s Laws,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)

“Doctrine and Covenants 42,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Lesson 56: Doctrine and Covenants 41–44

Doctrine and Covenants 42

The Lord’s Laws

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attending the temple

In Doctrine and Covenants 42, the Lord fulfilled His promise to the Saints that He would give them His law after they moved to Ohio. He set forth general laws of conduct for members of the Church. This lesson will help students show their love for the Lord by obeying His commandments.

Possible Learning Activities

Two different perspectives

Begin class by inviting students to ponder and then share their thoughts on the following question:

From what you see in the world today, why do you think we need commandments from God?

Write obey and disobey at the top of two different columns on the board. Students could then list under the corresponding columns reasons why people might obey or disobey the commandments.

Invite students to take a minute to ponder their own reasons for keeping or not keeping God’s commandments.

As you study today, seek the Holy Ghost’s guidance to help you better understand why the Lord gives commandments and how you can continue, or even improve, your obedience.

The Lord’s law

The Lord promised the Saints that He would give them His law as they gathered to Ohio (see Doctrine and Covenants 38:32). Shortly after arriving in Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith and 12 elders united their faith in earnest prayer (Doctrine and Covenants 41:3) and asked the Lord to reveal His law.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 42:1–3 to see the Lord’s response.

What is significant to you in these verses?

The Lord then taught about several commandments He wanted His people to live.

For the following activity, students could choose which verses they will read or you could assign them. Consider inviting students to write on the board the commandments they found and which verse(s) they found them in.

Read at least two of the following sets of verses, looking for the Lord’s commandments:

According to verse 29, why should we keep the Lord’s commandments?

This verse teaches that as we keep the Lord’s commandments, we show our love for Him. Students might mark this truth in verse 29 and cross-reference or link it to John 14:15. Students could also read Doctrine and Covenants 41:5, looking for what else our obedience means to the Lord.

Consider placing students in groups to read and answer the following.

For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices teaches:

To help you make good choices, God gives commandments. He does this because He loves you. And the best reason to obey God’s commandments is because you love Him. Love is at the heart of God’s commandments. (For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices [2022], 11)

How are God’s commandments a manifestation of His love?
How does our obedience to God’s commandments show Him we love Him?

His commandments

You may have some students who would like to complete the following activity using a commandment not listed in Doctrine and Covenants 42. Consider broadening the range of commandments to fit the needs and desires of your students.

Select one commandment from section 42 that you would like to learn more about or ponder.

As you study, prepare to share the following about the commandment you have chosen. You may want to write your thoughts in your study journal.

Other scripture verses, general conference statements, or For the Strength of Youth (booklet) passages that deepen your understanding of this commandment
Reasons you think a loving and all-knowing Heavenly Father would give us this commandment
How you think keeping this commandment helps us follow the Savior, show our love to Him, and become more like Him
Experiences you have had keeping this commandment (optional; share only if they are not too sacred or personal)

Give students an opportunity to share what they have learned. You might have them share their thoughts in small groups.

If students wrote commandments on the board earlier, you might invite them to circle the commandments they just studied. Then invite students to select one or two commandments they think would be most useful to discuss as a class. Ask them to imagine that someone is having a difficult time understanding and keeping this commandment. Invite the class to work together to help this individual. You might begin by inviting students who studied these commandments to share a few insights from their study. Also invite other students to share thoughts that might help. You might ask follow-up questions like the following: “What obstacles might this individual face?” “How can we help them overcome these obstacles?” “How can we help them understand and feel the love of the Lord through this commandment?”

My obedience to God’s commandments

Remembering what you have learned and felt in this lesson, pick a commandment that you feel the Lord would want you to focus on. Respond to the following questions in your study journal:

How can obedience to this commandment bless my life?
How does this commandment help me show my love to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and follow Them?
What is one specific thing I would like to do to show my love to the Lord and keep this commandment?

Encourage students to make a plan to better keep the commandment they chose.

Additional Resources

Why does God give us commandments?

Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

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Elder Dale G. Renlund

God’s plan includes directions for us, referred to in the scriptures as commandments. These commandments are neither a whimsical set nor an arbitrary collection of imposed rules meant only to train us to be obedient. They are linked to our developing the attributes of godliness, returning to our Heavenly Father, and receiving enduring joy. (Dale G. Renlund, “Choose You This Day,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 105)

You could also show the video “Why Does God Give Us Commandments?” (0:39) to help students visualize why God gives us commandments.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:22–23. Why is lust such a serious sin?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

In addition to the completely Spirit-destroying impact it has upon our souls, I think it is a sin because it defiles the highest and holiest relationship God gives us in mortality—the love that a man and a woman have for each other and the desire that couple has to bring children into a family intended to be forever. Someone said once that true love must include the idea of permanence. True love endures. But lust changes as quickly as it can turn a pornographic page or glance at yet another potential object for gratification walking by, male or female. … Love makes us instinctively reach out to God and other people. Lust, on the other hand, is anything but godly and celebrates self-indulgence. Love comes with open hands and open heart; lust comes with only an open appetite. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 44–45)

Doctrine and Covenants 42:24–26. What is adultery, and why should we avoid it?

Adultery is “the unlawful sexual association of men and women” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Adultery,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught why we should all live the Lord’s law of chastity whether we are married or not:

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Elder David A. Bednar

The power of procreation is spiritually significant. Misuse of this power subverts the purposes of the Father’s plan and of our mortal existence. Our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son are creators and have entrusted each of us with a portion of Their creative power. Specific guidelines for the proper use of the ability to create life are vital elements in the Father’s plan. How we feel about and use that supernal power will determine in large measure our happiness in mortality and our destiny in eternity. …

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. (David A. Bednar, “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 42).

Supplemental Learning Activities

Missionary counsel

Invite students to consider what counsel they would give to a new missionary who is worried about how to serve effectively. Students could read Doctrine and Covenants 42:6–7, 12–17; 50:13–14, 17–20, looking for the Lord’s counsel to the elders He would send from Ohio to teach the gospel. Students could take what they learn in the verses and then role-play what advice they would give the missionary. Consider inviting students to ponder which missionary counsel applies to them right now.

Doctrine and Covenants 42:43–52. The Lord gives instructions regarding death and healing

Ask students to ponder their answer to the following question:

What counsel would you give someone who has prayed for relief from a sickness but has not been healed?

Explain that in Doctrine and Covenants 42:43–52, the Lord gave instructions regarding death and healing. Invite students to divide into groups of two or three. Ask them to read Doctrine and Covenants 42:43–52 in their groups, looking for what the Lord taught about healing. Invite them to write a statement of principle that represents the Lord’s law for healing the sick. They may write something like “If we have faith in Jesus Christ, we can be healed according to His will.”

Discuss students’ responses to the following question:

Why is it important to remember that healing is dependent on faith and the Lord’s will?

You could also refer students to the account of John and Heather in “Accepting the Lord’s Will and Timing” (David A. Bednar, Ensign, Aug. 2016, 31–35).