Lesson 126: Doctrine and Covenants 111–114

Doctrine and Covenants 112

“The Lord Thy God Shall Lead Thee by the Hand”

The humility of Jesus Christ helped Him understand and fulfill His Father’s will throughout His mortal ministry (see John 5:30). In Doctrine and Covenants 112, the Savior taught Thomas B. Marsh that humility can help us receive direction from our Heavenly Father. The purpose of this lesson is to help students humbly seek guidance from Heavenly Father.

Possible Learning Activities

Seeking divine guidance

To prepare students to learn about receiving guidance from Heavenly Father, you could display the following questions and invite students to ponder their responses. You could also have students choose one or two of the questions to respond to in their study journals.

• What guidance do you need from Heavenly Father in your life?

• What helps you receive guidance from Heavenly Father?

• What sometimes gets in the way of receiving guidance from Heavenly Father?

As we discuss one of the Savior’s teachings about receiving divine guidance, pay attention to what the Spirit teaches you about how you can improve your ability to be led by Him.

Humility leads to divine guidance

To help students understand more about the context of Doctrine and Covenants 112 and why Thomas B. Marsh was seeking guidance from the Lord, you could display the following information and invite a student to read it:

In 1837, Thomas B. Marsh was serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. A spirit of apostasy and fault-finding had developed among some of the Kirtland Saints, including some members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In January of 1837, Church leaders organized a bank called the Kirtland Safety Society. Facing a variety of challenges, including a nationwide financial crisis, the bank ultimately failed, intensifying the outcry against the Prophet Joseph Smith. Concerned about these dissensions, Thomas B. Marsh left his home in Missouri and traveled to Kirtland, determined to meet with the Twelve and show support for Joseph. However, upon his arrival, President Marsh learned that Joseph had sent two members of the Twelve to England on missions. As quorum president, President Marsh was upset that Joseph had not first sought his counsel. Nevertheless, Thomas B. Marsh visited Joseph Smith to seek direction from the Lord.

Decide which reading method would best help your students study the following verses. You could divide the verses among individual students or groups of students. Or multiple students could volunteer to read groups of verses aloud as class members follow along.

Read Doctrine and Covenants 112:2–3, 10, 12–15, 20–22, 28, 33–34, looking for counsel the Lord gave to Thomas B. Marsh that would help him receive guidance from the Lord.

• What meaningful words or phrases did you find?

• What are some principles we can identify from these verses?

Students may identify many principles from their study. Follow promptings from the Holy Ghost to ask follow-up questions and deepen students’ understanding of the principles they identify. The remainder of this lesson will focus on the truth that if we are humble, Heavenly Father will lead us and answer our prayers (see verse 10).

To help students deepen their understanding of this principle, consider placing students in groups to discuss the following questions. They could then read Elder Soares’s statement and discuss the question that follows:

• How would you define humility?

• How do think humility helps us receive answers to our prayers?

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

I believe, brothers and sisters, that only those who are humble are able to acknowledge and understand the Lord’s answers to their prayers. The humble are teachable, recognizing how dependent they are on God and desiring to be subject to His will. The humble are meek and have the ability to influence others to be the same. God’s promise to the humble is that He will lead them by the hand. I truly believe that we will avoid detours and sadness in our lives as long as we walk hand in hand with the Lord. (Ulisses Soares, “Be Meek and Lowly of Heart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 10)

• What else did you find that helps deepen your understanding of verse 10?

You may want to provide a brief opportunity for a few groups to share what they learned from their discussion.

Ways we can be humble in our prayers

Think of ways to help students understand how we can demonstrate humility in our prayers. Students could list ideas on the board. They could also study and discuss some of the following ideas. Give students an opportunity to share what the Spirit is teaching them.

The following are some ways we can show humility when we pray:

• We can express gratitude (see the Savior’s example in 3 Nephi 19:19–20, 27–28).

• We can acknowledge our weakness and Heavenly Father’s power (see the example of the brother of Jared in Ether 3:1–6).

• We can seek correction (watch the video “How I #HearHim: Elder Neil L. Andersen” [2:51], available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org; see also Hebrews 12:5–9).

You could also invite students to reflect on times Heavenly Father has answered their prayers to give them the guidance and direction they needed. A few willing students could share their experiences.

The following is intended to give students an opportunity to make a plan to humbly seek guidance from Heavenly Father:

Listen for promptings from the Holy Ghost as you respond to the following questions in your study journal:

• What guidance or direction are you seeking from Heavenly Father?

• What can you do to humbly seek His guidance?

Invite students to act on impressions they received. You could share a personal experience about receiving Heavenly Father’s guidance in your life.

Additional Resources

Where can I learn more about the historical background of Doctrine and Covenants 112?

The following resources provide additional historical context for section 112:

• “Every Snare,” Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, vol. 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846 (2018), 260–73

• “Truth Shall Prevail,” Saints, 1:274–83

• Kay Darowski, “The Faith and Fall of Thomas B. Marsh,” in Revelations in Context (2016), 54

• Church History Topics, “The Kirtland Safety Society,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org/study/history/topics

What is humility?

To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God. It is not a sign of weakness, timidity, or fear; it is an indication that we know where our true strength lies. (Topics and Questions, “Humility,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

How is the Savior an example of humility?

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then a member of the First Presidency, taught:

In all things, Jesus Christ is our perfect example. Whereas Lucifer tried to change the Father’s plan of salvation and obtain honor for himself, the Savior said, “Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever” [Moses 4:1–2]. Despite His magnificent abilities and accomplishments, the Savior was always meek and humble. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Pride and the Priesthood,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 57)

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained:

The Savior’s example of humility and sacrifice for all mankind is the most profound event in history. The Savior, even as a member of the Godhead, was willing to come to earth as a lowly infant and begin an existence that included teaching and healing His brothers and sisters and ultimately suffering indescribable pain in Gethsemane and on the cross in order to perfect His Atonement. This act of love and humility on the part of Christ is known as His condescension. He did this for every man and woman God has created or will create. (Quentin L. Cook, “The Eternal Everyday,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2017, 52)

Supplemental Learning Activities

“If They Harden Not Their Hearts”

To help students understand what was happening in Kirtland, Ohio, during 1836 and 1837, you could show the video “If They Harden Not Their Hearts” from time code 0:00 to 6:12.

After watching the video, students could read Doctrine and Covenants 112:2–3, 10, 12–15, 20–22, 28, 33–34, looking for teachings that could have helped the Saints avoid pride and receive direction from the Lord. Students could then share how these principles can help them avoid pride today.

Then you could show the remainder of the video, from time code 6:12 to 11:21, to see how Thomas B. Marsh struggled to follow the Lord’s counsel. It also depicts his reconciliation with the Church years later.

Hymns

Consider singing or listening to a hymn that could help students see the blessings that come from humbly seeking the Lord’s guidance. Examples include “Be Thou Humble” (Hymns, no. 130), “With Humble Heart” (no. 171), and “In Humility, Our Savior” (no. 172). Students could then share the lyrics that stood out to them.

Doctrine and Covenants 112:10. “Thy God shall lead thee by the hand”

To help students understand the imagery of Heavenly Father leading us by the hand by answering our prayers, show an image of a child holding his or her parent’s hand. Discuss reasons a child might hold a parent’s hand (for comfort, for safety, for stability, to be led, and so on). Help students see that just as a child relies on a parent’s hand, we can rely on Heavenly Father through prayer. You could discuss how Heavenly Father can provide blessings similar to what a child receives from holding his or her parent’s hand.

Principles of prayer

To help students understand what can happen as they humbly pray, consider reading the following statement from President Steven J. Lund, Young Men General President:

Every time we utter a prayer, we are inviting Heavenly Father to intervene in our lives. Every prayer is a prayer for a miracle. Even prayers of gratitude hope to deepen our relationships with the divine. (Steven J. Lund, “Seminary, Institute, and Other Things That Work” [address given at the Seminaries and Institutes annual training broadcast, Jan. 27, 2023])

Reviewing the following principles of prayer may help students understand ways they can pray with greater humility:

Make our prayers meaningful.

Use language that shows love, respect, reverence, and closeness.

Always give thanks to Heavenly Father.

Seek Heavenly Father’s guidance and strength in all we do.

Remember the needs of others as we pray.

Seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost so we will know what to include in our prayers.

When we make a request through prayer, we must do all we can to assist in its being granted. (adapted from Topics and Questions, “Prayer,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

You could divide the principles among groups of students. They could then come up with some examples of how they can apply these principles in their prayers.

First missionaries in England

Doctrine and Covenants 112 was revealed on the same day that Elders Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, and John Goodson began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in England. You could show the video “The Eternal Everyday” from time code 5:51 to 6:39 to help students learn about the humility it took for these missionaries to preach the gospel for the first time outside of North America.

You could then display the picture of the River Ribble below and share the following information with students: A week after the missionaries began preaching, the first converts were baptized in the River Ribble. Two of these converts were so excited to become baptized, they raced each other to the river. George D. Watt won the race and became the first baptized convert in England. (See Saints, 1:281–82; Global Histories, England, “George D. Watt and the Journal of Discourses,” history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.)