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Kirtland Temple, by Jon McNaughton. Image by Church of Jesus Christ.
Come Follow Me 2021: Doctrine and Covenants 109–110

D&C 109–110

September 27–October 3. “It Is Thy House, a Place of Thy Holiness”

New from BMC

Watch videos from Gospel scholars and teachers to learn more about these sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Book of Mormon Central produces weekly videos from Tyler Griffin, Taylor Halverson, John Hilton III, Anthony Sweat, Casey Griffiths, Stephanie Dibb Sorensen and Marianna Richardson. Read commentaries and other resources from KnoWhys, Steven C. Harper, Casey Griffiths, and Susan Easton Black.

Videos

Doctrine and Covenants 109

Fayette New York, Doctrine and Covenants Central
D&C Central
D and C contexts cover
Steven Harper Commentary
Restoration Voices cover
Susan Easton Black Insight

Doctrine and Covenants 110

Fayette New York, Doctrine and Covenants Central
D&C Central
D and C contexts cover
Steven Harper Commentary
Restoration Voices cover
Susan Easton Black Insight

Daily Reading Plan

Structure your personal scripture study by following a 15-minute, day-by-day plan. Each day's assignment includes the required scripture passages from the Come, Follow Me curriculum, as well as suggestions for additional resources to bring context and understanding to your study. For the best experience, use our Reading Plan in the free ScripturePlus app! You can track your progress and have access to the best resources.

Monday

  • Commentary: Section 109 Context, Steven C. Harper
  • Scripture: D&C 109:1­–13
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 109:1–5.
  • Quote: Truman O. Angell, later named as the architect of the Salt Lake Temple, was commissioned to draw the plans for the building, as shown by the long forgotten drawing recently found.
    Had the project been carried out the structure undoubtedly would have possessed unusual architectural interest, for it had a majesty and beauty all its own, surpassing anything on the frontier in originality and dignity. Truman Angell’s plans show his response to the contemporary Gothic revival, then in its early stages. It was designed to be the repository for the first library brought to Utah in 1851, but owing to the poverty of the people who were just beginning to establish their homes, President Brigham Young prevailed upon his brother Joseph, President of the Seventy, not to build for some years to come. For this reason the edifice was never started. The seventies continued collecting books however, and they soon had a fine library of the modern and ancient classics. From the time of the organization of the First Quorum of Seventy in Kirtland, their duties were pointed out by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and they came to realize that they were to be the teachers, the missionaries of the Church. Sensitive to the words as found in the 109th section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
    . . . Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith (D&C 109:7).
    Levi Edgar young, “Seek Ye Diligently,” October 1952 General Conference.
  • Quote: The doors of the temple open to us many experiences. Increasing numbers of family files that our computers help us to compile will soon become a large portion of the work taking place in our temples. They will lead us into involvement in other ordinances where we will have unexpected experiences. If we include our family, friends, or ward members and come as a group to do the work for our ancestry, we will be able to share together a very spiritual and precious few moments. I have seen the impact on converts who come for the first time with friends, bringing a family group sheet and completing the work in the sealing room. We can also be called as ordinance workers for ward and stake excursions, providing involvement that adds greater appreciation of the temple. From the Doctrine and Covenants, section 109, we read: “And … all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord’s house may feel thy power, and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness” (D&C 109:13).
    Gerald E. Melchin, “Decisions,” April 1994 General Conference.

Tuesday

  • Scripture: D&C 109:14–28
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 109:6–21.
  • Quote: I suspect that some of you may be wondering if your gospel learning actually can become home centered and Church supported. Perhaps you are the only member of the Church in your home, or have an unsupportive spouse, or are a single parent, or live alone as a single or divorced Latter-day Saint, and you may have questions about how these principles apply to you. You may be a husband and a wife looking at each other and questioning, “Can we do this?”
    Yes, you can do this! I promise that enabling blessings will flow into and be evident in your life. Doors will open. The light will shine. Your capacity will be increased to persevere diligently and patiently.
    I joyfully witness that compensating blessings will come as we strive to fulfill our individual responsibility to learn and love the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We truly can “be prepared to obtain every needful thing” (D&C 109:15).
    David A. Bednar, “Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing,” April 2019 General Conference.
  • Quote: Preparation also includes qualification for a temple recommend. Our Redeemer requires that His temples be protected from desecration. No unclean thing may enter His hallowed house (See D&C 109:20). Yet anyone is welcome who prepares well. Each person applying for a recommend will be interviewed by a judge in Israel—the bishop—and by a stake president. They hold keys of priesthood authority and the responsibility to help us know when our preparation and timing are appropriate to enter the temple. Their interviews will assess several vital issues. They will ask if we obey the law of tithing, if we keep the Word of Wisdom, and if we sustain the authorities of the Church. They will ask if we are honest, if we are morally clean, and if we honor the power of procreation as a sacred trust from our Creator.
    Russell M. Nelson, “Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” April 2001 General Conference.
  • Quote: Now a little word of warning. There are those who would undermine your ability to call upon the power of God. There are some who would have you doubt yourself and minimize your stellar spiritual capacity as a righteous woman.
    Most certainly, the adversary does not want you to understand the covenant you made at baptism or the profound endowment of knowledge and power you have received or will receive in the temple—the house of the Lord. And Satan certainly does not want you to understand that every time you worthily serve and worship in the temple, you leave armed with God’s power and with His angels having “charge over” you (D&C 109:22).
    Satan and his minions will constantly contrive roadblocks to prevent you from understanding the spiritual gifts with which you have been and can be blessed. Unfortunately, some roadblocks may be the result of another’s misbehavior. It grieves me to think that any of you have felt marginalized or have not been believed by a priesthood leader or have been abused or betrayed by a husband, father, or a supposed friend. I feel deep sorrow that any of you have felt sidelined, disrespected, or misjudged. Such offenses have no place in the kingdom of God.
    Russell M. Nelson, “Spiritual Treasures,” October 2019 General Conference.

Wednesday

Thursday

  • Scripture: D&C 109:43–53
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 109:43–53.
  • Quote: The practice of Church members is to kneel in family prayer each morning and evening, plus having daily personal prayers and blessings on our food. President Monson said, “As we offer unto the Lord our family and our personal prayers, let us do so with faith and trust in Him.” And so, in praying for temporal and spiritual blessings, we should all plead, as did Jesus in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done” (D&C 109:44; Matt. 26:42).
    Russell M. Nelson, “Lessons from the Lord’s Prayers,” April 2009 General Conference.
  • Video: What Happened in the Kirtland Temple? Casey Paul Griffiths (D&C 109-110)

Friday

  • Scripture: D&C 109:54–67
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 109:54–58.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 109:59–67.
  • Quote: Peace must be a triumph of principles. Selfishness and lack of patience seem to block the way. We cry out today with urgency, “Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth; have mercy upon the rulers of our land; may those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever” (D&C 109:54). The respected Winston Churchill once said, “The day will come when … victorious nations will plan and build in justice and freedom a house of many mansions, where there will be room for all.”
    We would pray earnestly today that all leaders of nations, large and small, free or oppressed, would know: “And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace” (D&C 88:125).
    Marvin J. Ashton, “Peace—A Triumph of Principles,” October 1985 General Conference.
  • Quote: In this dark and cloudy day (D&C 109:61), when, like the leaves of the forest, many sad tears are falling, we can go to the holy scriptures, those wells of salvation, and draw from them peace and comfort which only Jesus Christ and his prophets can give.
    The Apostle Paul eloquently declared:
    Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb.12:2).
    How wonderful it is to have a finisher of our faith. There are many beginners in this world, but there are few finishers.
    Charles A. Callis, “Heirs of the Promises,” April 1945 General Conference.

Saturday

Sunday

Bibliography

Doctrine and Covenants 109

Steven C. Harper, “Section 109,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 278–281.

Susan Easton Black, “Dedication of the Kirtland Temple - Insight Into D&C 109,” Restoration Voices Volume 2: Insights and Stories of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Susan Easton Black, “Orson Hyde,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Susan Easton Black, “Oliver Cowdery,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Lisa Olsen Tait and Brent Rogers, “A House for Our God,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.

Nathan Waite, “A School and an Endowment,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.

Steven C. Harper, “Joseph Smith and the Kirtland Temple, 1836,” in Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer, ed. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Kent P. Jackson (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010), 233–60.

Steven C. Harper, “Opening the Heavens: The Restoration of Temple Keys and Power," in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844 (Second Edition), ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2011), 351–393.

Frederick G. Williams, “‘An Angel or Rather the Savior’ at the Kirtland Temple Dedication: The Vision of Frederick G. Williams,” BYU Studies Quarterly 56, no. 1 (2017): 119–134.

Temple Dedications and Dedicatory Prayers,” Church History Topics.

Endowment of Power,” Church History Topics.

Solemn Assemblies,” Church History Topics.

Temple Building,” Church History Topics.

Book of Mormon Central. “What Does the Book of Mormon Teach about the Temple? (2 Nephi 5:16).” KnoWhy 309 (May 5, 2017).

D&C 109:1

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Should We Take the Time to Give Thanks to God? (Mosiah 24:22),” KnoWhy 238 (November 24, 2016).

D&C 109:7

Book of Mormon Central, “What Role Should Scholarship Play in Studying the Book of Mormon? (2 Nephi 9:29),” KnoWhy 487 (November 22, 2018).

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Nephi Work So Hard to Preserve the Wisdom He Had Received? (1

D&C 109:26

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Does the Book of Mormon Use the Phrase “Secret Combinations?” (3 Nephi 7:6),” KnoWhy 377 (October 31, 2017).

D&C 109:35

Book of Mormon Central, “How Does Christ “Seal You His”? (Mosiah 5:15),” KnoWhy 558 (April 21, 2020).

D&C 109:46

Sharon Anderson, “Passover in Latter-day Israel,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 82.

D&C 109:64

Book of Mormon Central, “How Can We Receive the Blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant? (2 Nephi 20:25),” KnoWhy 408 (February 15, 2018).

D&C 109:71

Sharon Anderson, “Water to Swim In,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 28.

D&C 109:72

Sharon Anderson, “Daybreak,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 76.

D&C 109:73–74

Sharon Anderson, “Which Was Greater,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 44.

D&C 109:76–80

Sharon Anderson, “Likeness of the Lamb,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 7.

D&C 109:79

Sharon Anderson, “In The Beginning,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 4.

Sharon Anderson, “Three Shepherds,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 33.

Doctrine and Covenants 110

Steven C. Harper, “Section 110,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 282–285.

Susan Easton Black, “Elijah Returned - Insight Into D&C 110,” Restoration Voices Volume 2: Insights and Stories of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Lisa Olsen Tait and Brent Rogers, “A House for Our God,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.

Nathan Waite, “A School and an Endowment,” Revelations in Context: The Stories Behind the Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2016.

Susan Easton Black, “Oliver Cowdery,” Restoration Voices Volume 1: People of the Doctrine and Covenants (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Steven C. Harper, “Joseph Smith and the Kirtland Temple, 1836,” in Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer, ed. Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Kent P. Jackson (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2010), 233–60.

Kenneth L. Alford, “I Will Send You Elijah the Prophet," in You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, ed. Scott C. Esplin, Richard O. Cowan, and Rachel Cope (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2012), 34–49.

E. Dale LeBaron, “Elijah’s Mission: His Keys, Powers, and Blessings from the Old Testament to the Latter Days,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament, ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), 283–97.

Cynthia Doxey, “Elijah’s Mission, Message, and Milestones of Development in Family History and Temple Work,” in Joseph Smith and the Doctrinal Restoration (Provo: Brigham Young University, Religious Studies Center, 2005), 157–71.

Steven C. Harper, “Opening the Heavens: The Restoration of Temple Keys and Power," in Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820–1844 (Second Edition), ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: BYU Studies, 2011), 351–393.

Frederick G. Williams, “‘An Angel or Rather the Savior’ at the Kirtland Temple Dedication: The Vision of Frederick G. Williams,” BYU Studies Quarterly 56, no. 1 (2017): 119–134.

The Spirit of God,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:235–239.

Endowment of Power,” Church History Topics.

Solemn Assemblies,” Church History Topics.

Temple Building,” Church History Topics.

Washing of Feet,” Church History Topics.

Book of Mormon Central. “What Does the Book of Mormon Teach about the Temple? (2 Nephi 5:16).” KnoWhy 309 (May 5, 2017).

D&C 110:9

Book of Mormon Central, “How Do the Book of Moses and Book of Mormon Help Us Understand the Endowment? (1 Nephi 11:1),” KnoWhy 396 (January 4, 2018).

D&C 110:11

Book of Mormon Central. “Where Did Joseph Smith Get His Ideas about the Physical and Spiritual Gathering of Israel? (2 Nephi 21:11).” KnoWhy 290 (March 22, 2017).

D&C 110:13–16

Book of Mormon Central, “How Do the Bible and Book of Mormon Help Us Understand the Sealing Power? (3 Nephi 25:5-6),” KnoWhy 348 (August 4, 2017).

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Jesus Quote the Words of Malachi 3-4 in 3 Nephi 24-25? (3 Nephi 25:5-6),” KnoWhy 370 (October 5, 2017).

Book of Mormon Central, “What Does the Book of Mormon Teach about the Priesthood? (Mosiah 23:17),” KnoWhy 289 (March 20, 2017).

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Will God Turn the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children? (3 Nephi 25:6),” KnoWhy 219 (October 28, 2016).

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Jesus Give the Nephites Malachi's Prophecies? (3 Nephi 24:1),” KnoWhy 218 (October 27, 2016).

D&C 110:2

Sharon Anderson, “Pure Gold,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 26.

D&C 110:4

Sharon Anderson, “Week's First Day,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 50.

Sharon Anderson, “Master Gardener,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 51.

Sharon Anderson, “Folded Shroud,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 52.

Sharon Anderson, “Where Lilies Bloom,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 54.

D&C 110:12

Sharon Anderson, “Moments of Becoming,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 10.

D&C 110:15

Sharon Anderson, “Hearts of the Children,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 29.