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Come Follow Me 2021: Doctrine and Covenants 88
Scripture Block

D&C 88

August 9–15. “Establish … a House of God”

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.

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D&C Central
D and C contexts cover
Steven Harper Commentary
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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 88 Context, Steven C. Harper
  • Scripture: D&C 88:1–20
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:6–13.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:14-16.
  • Quote: We believe that God is omniscient: that he is all-knowing, that he sees all things and that he hears all sounds. In other words, that his sight and his hearing know no bounds, and that his knowledge is absolutely unlimited. We even believe that so great is the infinite power of that Divine Being that he can see the things that we do at nighttime in our private chambers or even read the secret thoughts of our hearts.
    We also believe that God the Eternal Father is omnipresent. Now by that I might point out that since he is a personal being, he can be in only one place at one time; and yet from him emanates a divine substance or spirit which we term the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit. That divine substance emanates from God to fill the immensity of space (D&C 88:12). It is through that divine spirit that he performs his great work. Also, it is through that divine Spirit that he is omnipresent.
    Milton R. Hunter, “God the Eternal Father”, October 1948 General Conference.

Tuesday

  • Scripture: D&C 88:21–39
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:17-26.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:27-31.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:32-35.
  • Quote: To abide in God’s love in this sense means to submit fully to His will. It means to accept His correction when needed, “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6). It means to love and serve one another as Jesus has loved and served us (John 15:12). It means to learn “to abide the law of a celestial kingdom” so that we can “abide a celestial glory” (D&C 88:22). For Him to be able to make of us what we can become, our Heavenly Father pleads with us to yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and [put] off the natural man and [become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and [become] as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19).
    D. Todd Christofferson, “Abide in My Love”, October 2016 General Conference.

Wednesday

Thursday

  • Scripture: D&C 88:62–80
  • Quote: We want to be encircled in the arms of our Heavenly Father’s love and guidance, and so we put His will first and with a broken heart plead that Christ will pour streams of cleansing water into our pitcher. At first it may come drop by drop, but as we seek, ask, and obey, it will come abundantly. This living water will begin to fill us, and brimming with His love, we can tip the pitcher of our soul and share its contents with others who thirst for healing, hope, and belonging. As our inner pitcher becomes clean, our earthly relationships begin to heal.
    Sacrifice of our personal agendas is required to make room for the eternal plans of God. The Savior, who speaks for the Father, pleads with us, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you” (D&C 88:63). Drawing near unto the Father can mean learning of His truth through the scriptures, following prophetic counsel, and striving to do His will more completely.
    Neill F. Marriott, “Abiding in God and Repairing the Breach”, October 2017 General Conference
  • Quote: Many of us have cried out from the depths of our hearts a variation of this woman’s words: “If I could spiritually stretch enough to draw the Savior’s power into my life, I would know how to handle my heart-wrenching situation. I would know what to do. And I would have the power to do it.”
    When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do (D&C 88:63).
    Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives”, April 2017 General Conference
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:62-73.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:74-80.

Friday

  • Scripture: D&C 88:81–102
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:81-85.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:86-94.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:95-102.
  • Quote: As the forces of good and evil polarize more and more, those who have not prescribed a moral consequence to their actions will find their lives in such chaos that their style of life will be unbearable to them. Then the prophecies will be fulfilled which say, “And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people” (D&C 88:91).
    When that day comes, the righteous Saints of God will be the only well-governed people unto whom the world can turn. It will be there and there only that they will find stability and steadfastness. They will come, not knowing the doctrine of the righteous, but it will be as foretold: “For, behold, I say unto you that Zion shall flourish, and the glory of the Lord shall be upon her; And she shall be an ensign unto the people, and there shall come unto her out of every nation under heaven” (D&C 64:41–42).
    Righteousness is the better way. Finally, it is the only way. In righteousness is the power to provide the joy and happiness and the safety and security that men and women have longed for and searched for through all the generations of time.
    William R. Bradford, “Righteousness”, October 1999 General Conference

Saturday

  • Scripture: D&C 88:103–120
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:103-107.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:108-116.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:117-126.
  • Quote: Questions about our Church history and beliefs do arise. Where we turn to find the correct answers requires great care. There is nothing to be gained in exploring the views and opinions of the less informed or disenchanted. The best counsel was given by the Apostle James: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God” (James 1:5).
    Asking of God is to be preceded by careful study, for we are under scriptural mandate to seek “out of the best books words of wisdom” and to “seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). There is a rich abundance of these books, written by heaven-inspired Church leaders and recognized, safe, and reliable Church history and doctrine scholars. With that said, none surpass the majesty of the revealed word of God in canonized scripture. From those thin pages thick with spiritual insights, we learn truth through the Holy Ghost and thereby increase in light.
    Ian S. Ardern, “Seek Ye Out of the Best Books”, October 2017 General Conference

Sunday

  • Scripture: D&C 88:121–140
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:127-133.
  • Commentary: Casey Paul Griffiths, Doctrine and Covenants Minute, Doctrine and Covenants 88:134-141.
  • Quote: The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. It is selfless because it seeks nothing in return. It does not countenance evil or ill will, nor rejoice in iniquity; it has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. It refuses to condone ridicule, vulgarity, abuse, or ostracism. It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture.
    The Savior has commanded us to love one another as he has loved us; to clothe ourselves “with the bond of charity” (D&C 88:125) as he so clothed himself. We are called upon to purify our inner feelings, to change our hearts, to make our outward actions and appearance conform to what we say we believe and feel inside. We are to be true disciples of Christ.
    Howard W. Hunter, “A More Excellent Way”, April 1992 General Conference
  • Video: The Very First Temple - Casey Griffiths (D&C 88)

Bibliography

Doctrine and Covenants 88

Steven C. Harper, “Section 88,” Doctrine and Covenants Contexts (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021), 213–217.

Susan Easton Black, “School of the Prophets - Insight Into D&C 88,” 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.

Samuel Morris Brown, “The Olive Leaf and the Family of Heaven,” 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), 182–91.

Holy Places,” Saints, Volume 1: The Standard of Truth (Salt Lake City, UT: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2018), 1:164–166.

School of the Prophets,” Church History Topics.

Solemn Assemblies,” Church History Topics.

Temple Building,” Church History Topics.

Washing of Feet,” Church History Topics.

D&C 88:14–18

Book of Mormon Central, “What Does the Book of Mormon Teach Us about the Resurrection? (2 Nephi 9:6),” KnoWhy 511 (April 20, 2019).

Book of Mormon Central, “How Are Atonement, Resurrection, Judgment, and Redemption Interconnected? (Mosiah 3:17), KnoWhy 275 (February 15, 2017).

D&C 88:40

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did Nephi Work So Hard to Preserve the Wisdom He Had Received? (1 Nephi 6:5-7),” KnoWhy 262 (January 16, 2017).

D&C 88:68

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Were the Plates Present During the Translation of the Book of Mormon? (Mosiah 1:6),” KnoWhy 366 (September 21, 2017).

D&C 88:104

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Did the People Fall Down at the Feet of Jesus? (3 Nephi 11:17),” KnoWhy 202 (October 5, 2016).

D&C 88:106

Sharon Anderson, “Three Shepherds,” in The Glory of the Son (Orem, UT: Time-Lines Etc., 2019), 88.

D&C 88:118

Book of Mormon Central. “Why Is It Good to Seek Both Spiritual and Secular Learning? (1 Nephi 1:1).” KnoWhy 324 (June 9, 2017).

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 Nephi 6:5-7),” KnoWhy 262 (January 16, 2017).

D&C 88:119–120

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 88:126

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Does Jesus Say that “Ye Must Watch and Pray Always”? (3 Nephi 18:15),” KnoWhy 344 (July 26, 2018).

D&C 88:139–140

Book of Mormon Central, “Why Are Ordinances So Important? (Alma 13:16),” KnoWhy 296 (April 5, 2017).