Come, Follow Me—For Home and Church: Doctrine and Covenants 2025

Elder Ulisses Soares shares insights about “The Living Christ”

ChristmasThe Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2011], 49). Over 160 years later, this statement inspired the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to publish “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles” in honor of the 2,000th anniversary of the Savior’s birth (see Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 40).As Latter-day Saints, we rejoice in the blessing of continuing revelation through modern prophets and apostles. We are thankful for their inspired words of counsel, warning, and encouragement. But most of all, we are blessed by their powerful testimonies of Jesus Christ—at Christmastime and throughout the year. These are more than just stirring words of skilled writers or public speakers or insights from scriptural experts. They are the words of God’s chosen, called, and authorized “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23).

The Family: A Proclamation to the WorldEven before we were born, we were part of a family—the family of our heavenly parents. That pattern continues on earth. Families here, at their best, are meant to echo the perfect pattern in heaven.Of course, there are no guarantees that earthly families will be ideal or even functional. But as President Henry B. Eyring taught, families “give God’s children the best chance to be welcomed to the world with the only love on earth that comes close to what we felt in heaven—parental love” (“Gathering the Family of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 20). Knowing that families are imperfect and subject to attacks from the adversary, God sent His Beloved Son to redeem us and heal our families. And He sent latter-day prophets with a proclamation to defend and strengthen families. If we follow the prophets and put faith in the Savior, even though mortal families fall short of the divine ideal, there’s hope for families—on earth and in heaven.

The Bible and the Book of Mormon teach that monogamy is God’s standard for marriage unless He declares otherwise (see 2 Samuel 12:7–8 and Jacob 2:27, 30). Following a revelation to Joseph Smith, the practice of plural marriage was instituted among Church members in the early 1840s (see section 132). From the 1860s to the 1880s, the United States government passed laws to make this religious practice illegal. These laws were eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. After receiving revelation, President Wilford Woodruff issued the following Manifesto, which was accepted by the Church as authoritative and binding on October 6, 1890. This led to the end of the practice of plural marriage in the Church.

The Articles of Faith and Official Declarations 1 and 2Since Joseph Smith’s First Vision, God has continued to guide His Church by revelation. In some cases, that revelation has included changes to the policies and practices of the Church. Official Declarations 1 and 2 announced this kind of revelation—one led to the end of plural marriage, and the other made the blessings of the priesthood available to people of all races. Changes like these are part of what it means to have a “true and living church” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30), with a true and living prophet, led by a true and living God.But eternal truth doesn’t change, though our understanding of it does. And sometimes revelation casts additional light on truth. The Articles of Faith serve this clarifying purpose. The Church is solidly founded on eternal truth yet can grow and change “according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:15). In other words, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Articles of Faith 1:9).

A vision given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, January 21, 1836. The occasion was the administration of ordinances in preparation for the dedication of the temple.

The word and will of the Lord, given through President Brigham Young at Winter Quarters, the camp of Israel, Omaha Nation, on the west bank of the Missouri River, near Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Doctrine and Covenants 135–136The afternoon of June 27, 1844, found Joseph and Hyrum Smith in jail once again, accompanied by John Taylor and Willard Richards. They believed they were innocent of any crime, but they submitted to arrest, hoping to keep the Saints in Nauvoo safe. This wasn’t the first time that enemies of the Church had put the Prophet Joseph in prison, but this time he seemed to know that he would not return alive. He and his friends tried to comfort each other by reading from the Book of Mormon and singing hymns. Then gunshots were heard, and within a few minutes the mortal lives of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum had come to an end.And yet it was not the end of the divine cause they had embraced. And it was not the end of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was more work to do and more revelation that would guide the Church forward. The end of the Prophet’s life was not the end of the work of God.See Saints, 1:521–52.

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Hiram, Ohio, November 3, 1831. Prefacing this revelation, Joseph Smith’s history states, “At this time there were many things which the Elders desired to know relative to preaching the Gospel to the inhabitants of the earth, and concerning the gathering; and in order to walk by the true light, and be instructed from on high, on the 3rd of November, 1831, I inquired of the Lord and received the following important revelation.” This section was first added to the book of Doctrine and Covenants as an appendix and was subsequently assigned a section number.

Revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, recorded July 12, 1843, relating to the new and everlasting covenant, including the eternity of the marriage covenant and the principle of plural marriage. Although the revelation was recorded in 1843, evidence indicates that some of the principles involved in this revelation were known by the Prophet as early as 1831. See Official Declaration 1.

Items of instruction given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Ramus, Illinois, April 2, 1843.

Doctrine and Covenants 129–132Through Joseph Smith, the Lord took some of the mystery out of eternity. The greatness of God, the glory of heaven, and the vastness of eternity can seem almost familiar in the light of the restored gospel, even to finite minds like ours. The revelations in Doctrine and Covenants 129–32 are a good example. What is God like? He “has a body … as tangible as man’s.” What is heaven like? “That same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22, 2). In fact, one of the most joyous truths about heaven is that it can include our cherished family relationships, if sealed by the proper authority. Truths like these can make heaven feel less distant—glorious yet reachable.But then, sometimes God may ask us to do things that seem uncomfortable and unreachable. For many early Saints, plural marriage was one such commandment. It was a severe trial of faith for Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, and almost everyone who received it. To make it through this trial, they needed more than just favorable feelings about the restored gospel; they needed faith in God that went far deeper than that. The commandment no longer stands today, but the faithful example of people who lived it still does. And this example inspires us when we are asked to make our own “sacrifices in obedience” (Doctrine and Covenants 132:50).

An epistle from Joseph Smith the Prophet to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, containing further directions on baptism for the dead, dated at Nauvoo, Illinois, September 6, 1842.