Lesson 78: Doctrine and Covenants 64–66

Doctrine and Covenants 64:20–43

“The Lord Requireth the Heart and a Willing Mind”

As the early Saints sought to establish Zion, Jesus Christ asked them to sacrifice and contribute in different ways. In our continued efforts to follow Jesus Christ, He asks that we give Him our hearts and willing minds. This lesson can help students feel an increased desire to give the Lord their hearts and willing minds.

Possible Learning Activities

Personal possessions

You might begin class by asking students to think of personal possessions they consider valuable. Consider providing questions that could facilitate sharing with the class or in small groups. For example:

• What is something you possess that you worked hard to obtain?

• What is something you own that would be difficult for you to give away to someone else? Why would it be difficult?

The Isaac Morley farm

You could show the image at the beginning of this lesson and invite a student to read the following information out loud.

Isaac and Lucy Morley worked hard to build a prosperous 80-acre farm near Kirtland, Ohio. As part of their religious beliefs, they invited people to live on their property, share their possessions, and have all things in common with one another. When Latter-day Saint missionaries stopped in Kirtland, they preached the Restoration message to those living on the Morley farm. Among those converted were Isaac and Lucy Morley. Shortly after their baptism, the Morleys welcomed Joseph and Emma Smith to live on their farm. (See Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants [1997], 198.)

Read Doctrine and Covenants 64:20, and look for the Lord’s instructions to Isaac Morley.

• How do you think you would have responded if you were in Isaac’s situation? Why?

• How might knowing the request came from the Savior help you obey?

Explain that Isaac had previously been asked to sell his farm and refused. But upon receiving this revelation, Isaac obediently sold his farm, gave the money to the Church, and moved his family to Missouri to help build up Zion. You might also point out that other men were told in this revelation not to sell their properties (see Doctrine and Covenants 64:21, 26). These men consecrated their properties to the Lord by using them to support the Church and Saints in Kirtland. This could be a good place to remind students of truths they learned about the Savior and the law of consecration in Doctrine and Covenants 42:29–39.

The Lord requires our hearts and willing minds

Explain that though the Lord may not require us to sell our property, there are things He asks of us as we strive to follow Him.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 64:22, 34. Look for requirements the Lord asks of us.

• What did you find?

Help students identify that the Lord requires us to give Him our hearts and willing minds.

Think of ways to help your students better understand what it means to give the Lord our hearts and willing minds. One way is to invite students to imagine they were asked to help write a Come, Follow Me lesson for Doctrine and Covenants 64. On their own or in small groups, students could study the following scriptures or ones they find on their own, then write an explanation of what it means to give the Lord our hearts and willing minds. Allow them to share and discuss what they wrote.

Encourage students to seek personal revelation to know how they can personally give the Lord their hearts and willing minds.

Read the following scripture passages and look for insights that can help you understand what it means to give the Lord our hearts and willing minds. You could write an explanation in your study journal.

Teachings in the Scriptures

• Proverbs 3:5–6

• Matthew 22:36–39

• Mosiah 3:19

• Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79

Examples from the Savior’s Life

• John 6:38

• Luke 22:42

• 3 Nephi 27:13–14

• Doctrine and Covenants 19:24

• How is Jesus Christ a good example of giving His heart and willing mind to Heavenly Father?

• In your efforts to follow Jesus Christ, how has giving Him your heart and willing mind made a difference in your life?

You might take time to help students understand that there is a difference between merely doing what the Lord asks of us and obeying Him with our hearts and willing minds.

Consider inviting students to list on the board multiple commandments the Lord asks us to keep or sacrifices He might ask us to make. Ask students to discuss in pairs or small groups how we might give the Lord our hearts and willing minds as we do these things. For example, they might discuss how we can give the Lord our hearts and willing minds as we strive to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Personal reflection

If you have chosen to write commandments or sacrifices on the board, invite students to look at the list and reflect on their willingness to do these things. Consider instructing students to draw a heart and a mind in their study journal. You could display the image below as a template. Invite them to reflect on how much of their hearts and minds they are giving to the Savior and then color in the quantity they feel they are giving Him. You could then invite them to ponder and write their answers to the following questions.

• What have you learned today that could increase your desire to give the Lord your heart and a willing mind?

• How do you think giving your heart and mind to the Savior can help you to become more like Him?

Consider inviting students to share what they have felt and learned. You might also bear testimony or share an experience when you have observed someone give the Lord their heart and a willing mind.

Additional Resources

Doctrine and Covenants 64:23–25. What does it mean to “labor while it is called today”?

The Lord used the word today to refer to the period of time from when Doctrine and Covenants 64 was received to the Second Coming (see Doctrine and Covenants 64:23). From the Lord’s perspective, today refers to “this life,” the time that God’s children are to “perform their labors” and “prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32; see also Alma 34:31, 33–35). In Doctrine and Covenants 64:24, the word tomorrow refers to the destruction of the wicked at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:23. What is the tithing the Lord refers to?

Rather than a percentage of earnings, the word tithing in Doctrine and Covenants 64:23 refers to all of the Saints’ contributions to the Church, particularly under the law of consecration. The Lord promised that those who obeyed the laws of sacrifice and consecration would escape the burning that would destroy the unrepentant at the last day. Our current understanding of the law of tithing was further clarified in 1838, when the Lord gave the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 119.

How can I give the Lord my heart and willing mind?

Elder Jörg Klebingat of the Seventy taught:

Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence

Elder Jorg Klebingat's address at the October 2014 General Conference.

Do the right things for the right reasons. The Lord, who “requireth the heart and a willing mind” (D&C 64:34) and who “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (D&C 33:1), knows why you go to church—whether you are present in body only or truly worshipping. … Remember that casualness in spiritual matters never was happiness. Make the Church and the restored gospel your whole life, not just a part of your outward or social life. (Jörg Klebingat, “Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 36)

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom, then of the Presidency of the Seventy, shared:

The heart is symbolic of love and commitment. We make sacrifices and bear burdens for those we love that we would not endure for any other reason. If love does not exist, our commitment wanes.

If we love the Lord with all our heart, we are willing to give Him everything we possess. …

Having “a willing mind” connotes giving our best effort and finest thinking and seeking God’s wisdom. It suggests that our most devoted lifetime study should be of things that are eternal in nature. It means that there must be an inextricable relationship between hearing the word of God and obeying it. (Donald L. Hallstrom, “The Heart and a Willing Mind,” Ensign, June 2011, 31–32)

To further understand how we can give our hearts and minds to the Lord, you could watch “Our Heartfelt All” by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from time code 12:25 to 13:37.

Our Heartfelt All

Elder Uchtdorf teaches that we can offer our whole souls to the Savior through sacrifice and consecration.

Supplemental Learning Activities

Examples from Church history

Consider placing students in pairs. Give each student within the pair a different story from Church history, such as those listed below. Invite students to read the story and then share it with their partner along with an explanation of how these individuals are good examples of giving their hearts and minds to the Lord. Students could then share a personal example from their own life or from someone they know.

Isaac and Lucy Morley

After moving to Missouri, the family of Isaac and Lucy Morley faced severe religious persecution. They lived in constant fear that mobs would burn down their home. Isaac hid in a cornfield for a month to escape the mobs. Throughout the persecution, the Morleys stayed true to their faith. On one occasion, Isaac was among six men who offered to give their lives if the mobs would spare their friends. Isaac and Lucy moved their family several more times, always caring for the welfare of others who were also trying to escape the persecution. Eventually Isaac and Lucy traveled west with the Saints. Under the direction of Brigham Young, they helped settle Manti, Utah. (See Susan Easton Black, Who’s Who in the Doctrine and Covenants [1997], 199–200.)

Edward and Lydia Partridge

While traveling with the Prophet Joseph, Edward Partridge was asked to stay in Independence, Missouri, and help build up Zion. Edward worried he was not up to the task. In a letter to his wife, Lydia, he wrote, “I fear my station is above what I can perform to the acceptance of my Heavenly Father. Pray for me that I may not fall” (Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846 [2018], 131). Lydia received the letter and prepared her family to move to Independence and join her husband. The neighbors expressed disbelief that the Partridges would give up their beautiful home and prosperous business. Lydia knew abandoning her home would be a trial, but she believed it would be an honor to lay the foundation of the city of God. (See Saints, 1:130–31, 134–35.)

Alternatively, you could watch “The Heart and a Willing Mind” (7:57) or “Your Day for a Mission” (3:31) as a class. Invite students to look for examples of how the individuals gave the Lord their hearts and willing minds.

The Heart and a Willing Mind

(D&C 64:34) Elder Heber C. Kimball and his family willingly serve the Lord as Elder Kimball leaves first from Kirtland and then from Nauvoo to preach the gospel in England.

Your Day for a Mission

At 19, Sid Going was a shoo-in for New Zealand's national rugby team, but he chose to serve a mission first.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:34. The heart, a willing mind, and receiving revelation

If your students would like to understand better how to receive revelation from Heavenly Father, you could help them draw connections between what the Lord requires in Doctrine and Covenants 64:34 and how Heavenly Father communicates with us, as taught in Doctrine and Covenants 8:2–3. After students have studied what it means to give the Lord their hearts and willing minds in section 64, you could discuss how this can help them receive revelation. As part of this discussion, you could invite students to review paragraphs 1–3 in the “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge” section of the Doctrinal Mastery Core Document (2023), looking for the pattern the Lord has established for us to receive revelation from Him.

• How does giving the Lord your heart and willing mind help you receive revelation from Him in your mind and in your heart?

Doctrine and Covenants 64:33. “Out of small things proceedeth that which is great”

Consider showing “Flecks of Gold” (3:15). Invite students to look for truths from Doctrine and Covenants 64:33 that are reflected in this video. They could then share examples of “small things” we can do that make a big difference in our efforts to follow Jesus Christ.

You could also invite students to read Alma 37:6–7 or to share stories from their own lives or the scriptures that illustrate this truth.

Flecks of Gold

This compelling story of an 1850s gold prospector illustrates how giving service to others blesses our lives.

A repeated invitation

Consider inviting students to mark the similar phrase repeated in Doctrine and Covenants 64:22 and Doctrine and Covenants 64:34. You could then explain that the Savior repeatedly invites us to give Him our hearts and minds throughout the scriptures. Invite students to link Doctrine and Covenants 64:34 with Doctrine and Covenants 4:2 and Matthew 22:36–39. Ask them to share additional insights from these or other verses that can help or inspire us to give the Lord our hearts and minds.

Doctrine and Covenants 64:41–43. An ensign unto the people

Consider inviting students to read Doctrine and Covenants 64:41–43 and look for ways the Lord describes Zion. You might explain that an ensign is “a flag or standard around which people gather in a unity of purpose or identity” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Ensign,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org). You could invite students to search “Global Histories” in the “Church History” section of Gospel Library to find accounts of people from many nations gathering to the Savior’s Church. They could read a story and share it with a partner or in small groups.