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 76—Doctrine and Covenants 63:57–64: Reverence for the Sacred Name of Jesus Christ

“Lesson 76—Doctrine and Covenants 63:57–64: Reverence for the Sacred Name of Jesus Christ,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)

“Doctrine and Covenants 63:57–64,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual

Lesson 76: Doctrine and Covenants 60–63

Doctrine and Covenants 63:57–64

Reverence for the Sacred Name of Jesus Christ

In the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 63, the Savior expressed His desire for His followers to “beware how they take [His] name in their lips” (Doctrine and Covenants 63:61). This lesson can help students feel the importance of using the Savior’s name with reverence.

Possible Learning Activities

Careful rather than casual

Write the phrase Careful rather than casual on the board. Then invite students to discuss the following questions:

What are some situations in which it would be important for someone to be careful rather than casual? Why?

If students need help thinking of ideas, you could mention a few examples, such as driving a car, searching the internet, cutting hair, or performing a medical procedure.
What are some things you think the Savior wants us to be careful about in our lives?

Sister Rebecca L. Craven of the Young Women General Presidency posed the following question:

Are we careful in our language? Or do we casually embrace the crude and vulgar? (Rebecca L. Craven, “Careful versus Casual,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 10)

What are some situations in which you might encounter language that is irreverent toward God or other sacred things?

Invite students to think about how they feel when they encounter such language. Encourage them as they study to look for teachings that can help them feel the importance of being careful in how they speak about sacred things, particularly how they use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Reverence for the name of Jesus Christ

The following explanation could help students understand the context for the verses they will study from Doctrine and Covenants 63.

At the time of the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 63, some of the Saints in Kirtland, Ohio, had used the Lord’s name without the proper priesthood authority (see Doctrine and Covenants 63:62). The Lord condemned these actions and taught the Saints important truths about how His name should be used.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 63:58–64, looking for what the Lord wanted the Saints to understand about Him.

What do these verses help you understand about Jesus Christ?
What did you learn from verses 61–64 about how we should use the Savior’s name?

One truth students might mention from these verses is that the name of Jesus Christ is sacred and must be used with care.
What do you think it means to use the Savior’s name with care?
What questions do you have about what you are learning in these verses?

If students have questions about what it means to use “the name of the Lord … in vain” (verse 62), explain that it can involve speaking irreverently of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (see Dallin H. Oaks, “Reverent and Clean,” Ensign, May 1986, 49–50). It can also involve using the Savior’s priesthood authority unworthily (see Neil L. Andersen, “Power in the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 93). Be sure students understand that it is appropriate to speak of the Savior in gospel or everyday conversations when we speak of Him with love and respect.

Before asking the following question, it may be helpful to have students imagine that they know someone who does not understand the importance of using the Savior’s name with reverence. They could keep this person in mind as they discuss.

What do you think can help us feel a greater desire to use the name of Jesus Christ with reverence?

Feeling greater love and reverence for Jesus Christ

Explain that understanding more about who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us can help us feel greater love and reverence for Him.

Before introducing the following study activity, consider inviting students to share experiences they have had or truths they know from the scriptures that motivate them to think and speak reverently about Jesus Christ. You could also share an example from your own life.

Take some time to search divinely appointed sources that can help you feel greater love for Jesus Christ and desire to speak of Him with reverence. You could search for scriptures, statements from Church leaders, hymns, or other helpful resources that describe who He is or what He has done. Record your insights and feelings in your study journal.

Students could look for resources on their own or with a partner. If needed, you could provide them with a few examples of resources they could refer to, such as hymns that teach of the sacred nature of Jesus Christ or some of the following scriptures: Matthew 8:23–27; 2 Nephi 25:13; Doctrine and Covenants 18:23–25; 35:1–2; 110:1–5.

After sufficient time, invite students to share what they learned and felt from their studies. If students found meaningful hymns, the class could sing one or more of them together. You could also invite students to read a scripture they found and share why it was meaningful to them.

The following questions could help students share their insights:

What did you study that inspired gratitude or respect for the Savior?
How could remembering what you studied impact your choices?

You could expand the discussion of the second question by dividing students into small groups and inviting them to discuss how specific aspects of their lives could be impacted when we feel greater reverence for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Examples of aspects of their lives they could talk about include:

The choices they make related to media use.
Their interactions with others.
Their willingness to share the gospel.
The way they pray to Heavenly Father.

Relating it to your life

To help students reflect on their learning, invite them to respond to at least one of the following questions in their study journals:

Based on what you learned from the Spirit or from your peers today, what changes do you notice in your feelings for or perspective of the Savior?
What is something you feel a desire to do better or differently as a result of what you learned today?

Invite a few willing students to share what they wrote. Then conclude the lesson by sharing your testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and explain why Their names are sacred to you.

Additional Resources

Why should I use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with reverence?

President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency taught:

There are no more sacred or significant words in all of our language than the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. …

When the names of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, are used with reverence and authority, they invoke a power beyond what mortal man can comprehend.

It should be obvious to every believer that these mighty names—by which miracles are wrought, by which the world was formed, through which man was created, and by which we can be saved—are holy and must be treated with the utmost reverence. As we read in modern revelation, “Remember that that which cometh from above is sacred, and must be spoken with care, and by constraint of the Spirit.”(Doctrine and Covenants 63:64.) (Dallin H. Oaks, “Reverent and Clean,” Ensign, May 1986, 50, 51).

What can help me feel greater love and reverence for Jesus Christ?

Sister Jean B. Bingham, former Relief Society General President, taught:

11:23

That Your Joy Might Be Full

Sister Bingham teaches that, despite the difficulties of mortal life, we can turn to Jesus Christ as the source of all healing, peace, and eternal progress.

Lasting joy is found in focusing on our Savior, Jesus Christ, and living the gospel as demonstrated and taught by Him. The more we learn about, have faith in, and emulate Jesus Christ, the more we come to understand that He is the source of all healing, peace, and eternal progress. (Jean B. Bingham, “That Your Joy Might Be Full,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 85)

How can feeling reverence for Jesus Christ impact my life?

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

13:25

In Awe of Christ and His Gospel

Elder Soares teaches that when we truly are in awe of Jesus Christ, we are happier, we have more enthusiasm for God’s work, and we recognize the Lord’s hand in all things.

When we truly are in awe of Jesus Christ and His gospel, we are happier, we have more enthusiasm for God’s work, and we recognize the Lord’s hand in all things. Additionally, our study of God’s words is more meaningful; our prayers, more intentional; our worship, more reverent; our service in God’s kingdom, more diligent. All these actions contribute to the Holy Spirit’s influence being more frequent in our lives. Thus, our testimony of the Savior and His gospel will be strengthened. (Ulisses Soares, “In Awe of Christ and His Gospel,” Liahona, May 2022, 115)

Doctrine and Covenants 63:62. How might someone “use the name of the Lord … in vain, having not authority”?

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

14:56

Power in the Priesthood

A man may open the drapes so the warm sunlight comes into the room, but the man does not own the sun or the light or the warmth it brings.

Unworthily administering or passing the sacrament, blessing the sick, or participating in other priesthood ordinances is, as Elder David A. Bednar has said, taking the name of God in vain [see David A. Bednar, Act in Doctrine (2012), 53]. If one is unworthy, he should withdraw from officiating in priesthood ordinances and prayerfully approach his bishop as a first step in repenting and returning to the commandments. (Neil L. Andersen, “Power in the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 93)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Example from the life of President Spencer W. Kimball

As you discuss the importance of using the name of Jesus Christ with reverence and respect, you could use the following account from the life of President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985):

“At St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City [President Spencer W. Kimball] was put under total anaesthesia and operated on, then wheeled on a table back toward his room. Still drugged, Spencer sensed his table stop by an elevator and heard the orderly, angry at something, profaning the Lord’s name. Half-conscious, he pleaded with labored sounds: ‘Please don’t say that. I love Him more than anything in this world. Please.’ An absolute silence. Then the orderly answered softly: ‘I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.’” (Edward L. Kimball and Andrew E. Kimball Jr., Spencer W. Kimball: Twelfth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [1977], 264)

After sharing the account, invite students to discuss what stood out to them.

Doctrine and Covenants 63:47. “Overcome the world”

Students might benefit from a discussion about the Savior’s teachings about overcoming the world found in Doctrine and Covenants 63:47. After reading this verse together, you could invite students to consider marking the phrase “overcome the world” in their scriptures. Then invite students to record the following questions in their study journals, with space below each question to write their answers.

What does it mean to overcome the world?
How do we do it?
How does overcoming the world bless our lives?

Students could study President Russell M. Nelson’s October 2022 general conference talk titled “Overcome the World and Find Rest” (Liahona, Nov. 2022, 95–98) to find answers to these questions. Invite students to record their answers in their study journals and to share their insights when they have finished studying.

Doctrine and Covenants 63:64. Treating sacred things with reverence

In addition to talking about using the Savior’s name with reverence, students may benefit from discussing other ways they can apply the Lord’s counsel in Doctrine and Covenants 63:64. The following questions might be helpful:

What are some words or subjects that “[come] from above” and are sacred? How can we make sure we speak about them “with care”?

Consider inviting students to think about situations they might face in which they see or hear sacred things being treated lightly or spoken of disrespectfully. For example, they may sometimes encounter inappropriate conversations among their peers, or they may be exposed to inappropriate videos, music, or social media posts.

Invite students to think of what they might do to avoid or deal with these kinds of situations. For example, they could choose to walk away from inappropriate conversations, unfollow inappropriate social media accounts, or be careful about the types of videos or music they choose to watch or listen to.