Doctrine and Covenants 18

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

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:1-5
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:1-5
• Video: Scriptural Foundation - Taylor Halverson
• Additional Study
  • KnoWhy: Why Did Helaman Compare Christ to a Rock? (Helaman 5:12)
  • Commentary: Oliver Cowdery
  • Video: Doctrine and Covenants 18 with Scott Woodward

Tuesday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:6-8
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:6–8
• Quote: “Given the vastness of God’s creations, it’s no wonder the great King Benjamin counseled his people to ‘always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness.’ But even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that ‘the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.’ And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, ‘What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?’ God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters. This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.”
  - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Matter to Him," October 2011 General Conference
• Video: Worth of Souls - John Hilton III
• Quote: “The ordeal of the Atonement centered about the city of Jerusalem. There the greatest single act of love of all recorded history took place. Leaving the upper room, Jesus and His friends crossed the deep ravine east of the city and came to a garden of olive trees on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives. There in the garden bearing the Hebrew name of Gethsemane—meaning ‘oil-press’—olives had been beaten and pressed to provide oil and food. There at Gethsemane, the Lord ‘suffered the pain of all men, that all … might repent and come unto him.’ He took upon Himself the weight of the sins of all mankind, bearing its massive load that caused Him to bleed from every pore.”
  - Russell M. Nelson, "The Atonement," October 1996 General Conference
• Additional Study
  • Quote: “We forgo real repentance when we choose to separate God from His commandments. After all, if the sacrament were not sacred, it would not matter that the smell of the firecracker was disruptive to that Göteborg sacrament meeting. We should be wary of discounting sinful behavior by undermining or dismissing God’s authorship of His commandments. Real repentance requires recognizing the Savior’s divinity and the truthfulness of His latter-day work. Instead of making excuses, let us choose repentance. Through repentance, we can come to ourselves, like the prodigal in the parable, and reflect on the eternal import of our actions. When we understand how our sins can affect our eternal happiness, we not only become truly penitent but we also strive to become better. When faced with temptation, we are more likely to ask ourselves, in the words of William Shakespeare:
    What win I, if I gain the thing I seek?
    A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
    Who buys a minute’s mirth to wail a week,
    Or sells eternity to get a toy?
    If we have lost sight of eternity for the sake of a toy, we can choose to repent. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have another chance. Metaphorically, we can exchange the toy we so ill-advisedly purchased in the first place and receive again the hope of eternity. As the Savior explained, ‘For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.’”
    - Dale G. Renlund, "Repentance: A Joyful Choice," October 2016 General Conference
  • Quote: “As a Church, we believe that through the atonement of Christ all mankind may be saved by obedience to the laws and the ordinances of the gospel and that because of his great love for man the Lord has granted each of us an opportunity to live in the flesh, and through obedience to the laws of the gospel, find happiness and peace here, and prepare to live hereafter in a ‘state of never-ending happiness,’ as the Book of Mormon expressed it. But the Lord does his work according to eternal principles and eternal laws. While he is a God of love, he is also a God of order. He does not deviate from the established principles and laws. He and they are the same yesterday, today, and forever. The laws and conditions prescribed for the welfare of mankind cannot be changed nor circumvented, because they are divine, and were declared before the foundation of the world was laid. They are, in fact, the only means by which we can have that peace of mind here, and gain eternal life hereafter. This is expressed in a great revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith: ‘For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.’ So, brothers and sisters, we need simply to remember that which is expected of us. The Lord will remember that which is expected of him.”
    - ElRay L. Christiansen, “‘...Come the Blessings,’” October 1956 General Conference

Wednesday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:9-16
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:9–16
• Quote: “And, brethren, in this dispensation, when men were first converted to the Church they went to the Prophet Joseph to find out through him from the Lord what thing they should do that would be the most pleasing unto the Lord and almost invariably the answer came back from the Lord through the Prophet of this dispensation, that they should thrust in their sickles and reap because the harvest was white already to be garnered, and then he added, and if it so be that ye shall labor all your days and bring save one soul unto me, how great shall be your reward in the kingdom of my Father. I have thought of that promise and have reached the conclusion that I would not exchange the friendships that have been mine with those whom I have had the privilege of bringing into this Church, with the help of the Lord, as one of his missionaries, for all the wealth of this world. When the Lord said, “If you bring save one soul unto me how great shall be your joy,” I never realized just what that meant until I had a letter from a man from Phoenix while I was president of the Southern States Mission, in which he indicated that his father was one of the first converts out of the State of Mississippi back in 1840, and said “Since that time my father’s own descendants have given 100 years of missionary service to this Church,” and there were 15 then in the mission-field, and we had three of them. I told that story here in the Barratt Hall at a Missionary Conference in 1940, just 100 years after that man had been gathered into the fold by the efforts of a missionary, and this good brother happened to be present, and at the close of the meeting he came up and said “Brother Richards, it is now 160 years.” When you get to adding 15 or 20 years, a year, it soon runs into figures. Think of the young missionary who might have traveled through the swamps of Mississippi in those early days, when many of the missionaries contracted the malaria fever, and if he only brought, say, this one soul into the Church, he might have felt that his labors had been in vain. But in 100 years time there are 160 years of missionary service from the descendants of that one man, alone not counting all the converts they had made, and their converts, and their converts, until you would have, literally an empire of people who had joined the Church because this missionary brought this one man into the Church.”
  - LeGrand Richards, "Untitled," October 1953 General Conference
• Video: Special Witnesses of Christ - Casey Griffiths

Thursday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:17-25
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:17–25
• Quote: “By what name are you called? ‘Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved.’ Do the things which you think and do entitle you to bear the name of Jesus Christ? Does your love for that holy name inspire and lift you to lofty heights and cause desires within you to want all the world to know of him and receive for themselves his sacred name? Do you feel a sharp pain, as if a dagger had pierced your heart, when you hear the name of the Son of God taken in vain? Do you ever walk through doors where he would never enter? Have you kept his name unsullied and spotless so that because of you it has not been allowed to come in contact with that which is base and unbefitting? In his name are you builders of his kingdom? No man can serve two masters. Men must either declare themselves as Christ’s servants, take upon themselves his name, and do his work, or fall victim to the enticing trap of Satan, helping him in his work of destruction. What about your love for the Father? Christ loved the Father. He prayed to him. He praised him. He represents him in all he does. He serves him and delights to do his work. He obeys perfectly his every instruction. If we would be like Christ, we too must do these things, for hasn’t he said, ‘For that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do’? (3 Ne. 27:21) What is your relationship with your fellowman? The Master again has set the pattern:
  ‘Wherefore, hear my voice and follow me. …
  ‘And let every man esteem his brother as himself, and practise virtue and holiness before me.
  ‘And again I say unto you, let every man esteem his brother as himself.
  ‘… I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.’ (D&C 38:22, 24–25, 27)”
  - William R. Bradford, "Are We Following Christ's Pattern?," April 1976 General Conference.
• Quote: “In this conference, we will hear truths that inspire us to change, improve, and purify our lives. Through personal revelation, we can prevent what some call ‘general conference overwhelm’—when we leave so determined to do it all now. Women wear many hats, but it is impossible, and unnecessary, to wear them all at once. The Spirit helps us determine which work to focus on today. The Lord’s loving influence through the Holy Ghost helps us know His priority for our progression. Heeding personal revelation leads to personal progression. We listen and act. The Lord said, ‘Ask the Father in my name in faith, believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient.’ Our continuing role is to receive continuing revelation. As we attain a greater degree of proficiency at doing so, we can receive more power in our individual roles to minister and accomplish the work of salvation and exaltation—to truly ‘lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.’ We can then more effectively inspire our rising generation to do the same.”
  - Joy D. Jones, “An Especially Noble Calling,” April 2020 General Conference

Friday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:26-36
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:26–36
• Quote: “Consistent with these references, many scriptures that refer to ‘the name of Jesus Christ’ are obviously references to the authority of the Savior. This was surely the meaning conveyed when the seventy reported to Jesus that ‘even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.’ The Doctrine and Covenants employs this same meaning when it describes the Twelve Apostles of this dispensation as ‘they who shall desire to take upon them my name with full purpose of heart.’ The Twelve are later designated as ‘special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world,’ and as those who “officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church.”
  - Dallin H. Oaks, "Taking upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ," April 1985 General Conference
• KnoWhy: How Does the Book of Mormon Prepare Missionaries to Sacrifice, Serve, and Preach?

Saturday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:37-39
• Commentary: Doctrine and Covenants 18:37–47
• Quote: “In the Doctrine and Covenants we read that Joseph Smith, Jr., was called to be the first elder of the Church. The Lord said, ‘… Thou shalt be called a seer, a translator, a prophet, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an elder of the church through the will of God the Father, and the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ. Being inspired of the Holy Ghost to lay the foundation thereof, and to build it up unto the most holy faith.’ Though it was made known to the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery in June of 1829, before the Church was organized, that there would be twelve apostles and how they were to be chosen, it was not until 1835 that the first Council of the Twelve was appointed. Then under the direction of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon were directed to select the twelve who were to be ordained apostles.”
  - N. Eldon Tanner, "Chosen of the Lord," April 1974 General Conference
• KnoWhy: Why Did the Three Witnesses Select the First Twelve Apostles?

Sunday

• Scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 18:40-47
• Quote: “We read in the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord says that all those who repent and are baptized are to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Now we baptize our children at the age of eight years - that is the age that the Lord has designated as the age of accountability. Little children before that age are redeemed, should they die, without any act upon their part. One of the most wicked doctrines ever taught in this world was that little children were born in sin, contaminated, and have to be cleansed from that sin for which they themselves were not responsible. Little children were innocent in the beginning, the Lord says, and by his decree until they reach the age of accountability they are free from sin, but from that age on they are under the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins, and entrance into the Church and kingdom of God. Now, we are promised that when we are baptized, if we are true and faithful, we will have the guidance of the Holy Ghost. What is the purpose of it? To teach us, to direct us, to bear witness to us of the saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every child old enough to be baptized, and who is baptized, is entitled to the guidance of the Holy Ghost. I have heard people say that a little child eight years of age could not understand. I know better than that. I had a testimony of this truth when I was eight years old, coming through the Holy Ghost. I have had it ever since.”
  - Joseph Fielding Smith, "The Value of the Gospel," October 1959 General Conference.
• KnoWhy: Why Did Moroni Include Mormon’s Condemnation of Infant Baptism?