The most sublime of truths can lead to the most practical of actions.
The first 40 verses of Doctrine and Covenants 93 teach transcendent principles, including:
- Jesus is our light and life, the Spirit of Truth (v. 2, 9).
- He created all things (v. 10).
- He grew from grace to grace until He received a fulness of the Father’s glory (v. 12-16).
- We can also receive of the Father’s fulness by growing grace for grace (v. 19-20).
- Like the Savior, we lived with God before we were born (v. 21, 23, 29).
- A fulness of joy requires a spirit and body, inseparably connected (v. 33-34).
- Light and truth are the glory of God (v. 36-38).
In v. 41, the tone suddenly shifts as the Savior provides specific instructions and correction to multiple church leaders. Frederick G. Williams, Sidney Rigdon, Joseph Smith, and Newell K. Whitney are instructed to set their houses in order (v. 43-44, 50) and to “be more diligent and concerned at home” (v. 50). They are also directed to proclaim the gospel and to accelerate their efforts in translating the scriptures.
The gospel of Jesus Christ provides the backdrop for the seemingly small decisions of our daily lives. We teach our children, amplify prophetic messages, and study the scriptures because “the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” v. 36).
Here are some of my favorite passages from this revelation with relevant blog posts and Book of Mormon connections.
Scripture Highlights and Related Blog Posts
1. Jesus is the true light.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:2, 37
And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. …
Light and truth forsake that evil one.
Blog Posts
📄 He Is the Light and the Life of the World
Jesus is our light because He helps us perceive and understand truth; He is our life because He made eternal life possible and because He helps us live more joyfully.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 16:4, 7, 9; 3 Nephi 15:9; 3 Nephi 18:16
📄 Light
God’s light chases darkness away, so instead of trying to remove darkness, we should invite His light into our lives.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 10:14
2. Our spirits must govern our bodies.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:4
The Father because he gave me of his fulness, and the Son because I was in the world and made flesh my tabernacle, and dwelt among the sons of men.
Blog Posts
📄 The Flesh Becoming Subject to the Spirit
We must not allow our physical appetites to dictate our behavior.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 15:2-5
3. Jesus is “the Word of God.”
Doctrine and Covenants 93:8
Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation
Blog Posts
📄 Why Is Jesus Called “the Word?”
The words of Jesus bring us closer to God as we put them into action.
Book of Mormon connection: 1 Nephi 15:23-24; 3 Nephi 11:10
4. He helps us perceive and understand universal truth.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:11, 24, 28, 30, 39
And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us. …
And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. …
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. …
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. …
And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers.
Blog Posts
📄 What Does It Mean That the Savior Is “Full of Grace and Truth?”
Kindness, mercy, and compassion are not antithetical with honesty, integrity, and faithfulness. God possesses both attributes.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 2:6
📄 What Is Truth?
There is an objective reality, independent of the opinions and arguments which we read and hear.
Book of Mormon connection: Jacob 4:13; Jacob 7:7; Alma 30:15
📄 “From Darkness to Light”
God brings light to those who walk in darkness.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 15:20; 2 Nephi 19:2; 2 Nephi 26:23; 3 Nephi 8:20-21; 3 Nephi 10:9-10
5. We receive the abundant blessings of God by striving to emulate His goodness
Doctrine and Covenants 93:12-13, 20
And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness. …
For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
Blog Posts
📄 Grace for Grace
God gives us His abundant grace in exchange for our small and imperfect efforts to emulate Him.
Book of Mormon connection: Helaman 12:24
6. God openly and consistently expresses love for His Son.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:15
And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
Blog Posts
📄 “My Beloved Son”
Our Father in Heaven loves His Son, Jesus Christ.
Book of Mormon connection: 2 Nephi 31:11, 15; 3 Nephi 11:7
7. True worship is based on knowledge.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:19
I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
Blog Posts
📄 How to Worship
The Spirit can help us know how to show our love for God and our desire to become more like Him.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 18:25; Alma 15:17; Alma 31:23; Alma 32:10-11; Alma 33:2-11; Alma 34:38; 3 Nephi 11:16-17; 3 Nephi 18:32; Moroni 7:1
8. Our bodies have eternal significance.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:33-34
For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
Blog Posts
📄 The Loosing of the Bands of Death
The incompleteness we will feel after experiencing death will end, because Jesus loosed the bands of death.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 15:8-9, 20, 23; Mosiah 16:7; Alma 5:7, 9-10; Alma 7:12; Alma 11:40-41
📄 Soul: Spirit and Body
The resurrection will bring us supernal joy.
Book of Mormon connection: Alma 11:43-44; Alma 34:34; Alma 40:11, 23; 3 Nephi 11:14
9. God expects parents to teach their children.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:40, 43-44, 50
But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth. …
And now a commandment I give unto you–if you will be delivered you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house.
Verily, I say unto my servant Sidney Rigdon, that in some things he hath not kept the commandments concerning his children; therefore, first set in order thy house. …
My servant Newel K. Whitney also, a bishop of my church, hath need to be chastened, and set in order his family, and see that they are more diligent and concerned at home, and pray always, or they shall be removed out of their place.
Blog Posts
📄 “Set Thine House in Order”
We must prioritize our responsibilities as parents.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 4:14-15
📄 “Prepare the Minds of Their Children”
Consistency in teaching our children today builds an important foundation which will bless them in the future.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 1:4; Alma 39:16; Helaman 5:12; 3 Nephi 17:23
📄 What and How to Teach Your Children
How you teach your children is as important as what you teach them.
Book of Mormon connection: Mosiah 1:4; Mosiah 4:15
Questions to Ponder
Here are some questions and topics I intend to work on this week:
- How does Doctrine and Covenants 93 build on the principles taught in John 1:1-34?
- How can we “infuse the light of Jesus Christ into every corner of our lives?” (v. 2, Amy A. Wright, “Thou Art the Christ,” General Conference, April 2025)
- What do we mean when we say that Jesus is the Son of God? (v. 11-17)
- How are truth, intelligence, and agency connected? (v. 29-30, 36)
- What does it mean to receive of the “fulness” of God?
- How is our parenting enriched by our understanding of premortality?
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